Blog
I have been blogging about digital technology’s impact on culture and our lives since 2007. I post when inspiration strikes as I’m working on various projects.
I created a digital accessibility at-a-glance guide
A recurring issue that pops up at digital accessibility conferences and forums is how to get buy-in from colleagues and vendors to incorporate accessibility into staff workflow and part of their design process and not as an afterthought for a “next time” that never...
While you were tweeting
Thought I'd post a comic I drew way back in 2011 after I first learned about cyber espionage and other dark oppressive governments and hackers do behind the scenes so to speak. Since then, I've been listening to many podcasts about cyber security and keeping abreast...
My mission to create accessible web comics
A not-so quick update on what I’ve been up to since my last blog post. Long story short: I’ve become very passionate in and an advocate for digital accessibility! Particularly inclusive design. It all started with my tenure at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation...
How to tell if your digital/social/content marketing plan is going well
Your fantastically awesome digital/content/social media/etc./somanysubgenres campaign just launched and you can’t wait to see the fruits of your labour and report on its certain successes. So you fire up the ol’ analytics dashboard and…
Improving yourself with improv
My friend and professional networking and speaker expert, Dave Delaney, just launched an ebook offering his tips on using the skills he learned from taking improv classes at The Second City to handle situations that life tends to throw at you.
Comics for therapy and outreach
As a truly immersive medium, comics are a great way to engage and touch lives. I’ve recently came across a beautiful digital comic called Cancer Owl created by Matthew Mewhorter who is currently undergoing cancer treatments. Matthew turned to drawing comics about his treatments as a way to cope and share with others who are also going through…
How cartoons are a marketer’s dream
Steve Klinetobe, creative director and founder of The Cartoon Agency, describes comics and cartoons as a marketer’s dream. Steve gave me a chance to pick his brain on what makes our favourite medium and humour so effective.
What happens when you don’t have a dedicated social media person on your team
Budgets are tight these days and some organizations just can’t afford the luxury of having a dedicated person or agency for running the social media accounts and strategy…
3 ways how context gauges social media campaign success
There is no set formula for determining the success of a social media campaign. Something along the lines of “if you get over X number of retweets or reach on Facebook, then you were successful” doesn’t apply to the social media campaigns because each has its own unique goals (you are thinking about the goals first, right?)…
Everyone has the ability to learn how to draw
If you've grown tired of seeking out stock photos that no one else already used a million times for your digital content and social media posts, you may consider drawing your own cartoons. You'll end up with an original image and maybe even a recurring character for...
How to apply SEO and accessibility to infographics and comics
I'm a long time fan of infographics as they can provide a truly engaging way to present data in a visual and easy-to-understand way. I feel the same way about comics as a similar format to convey information with the additional benefit of creating empathy with your...
How I used Periscope at a live event
I've dabbled with Periscope and Meerkat with my own personal live streams (such as offering a sneak peek at the progress of my next comic book). Last night was my first time using mobile broadcasting for an event. I had the pleasure of live streaming the very...
How to ensure your infographics and comics aren’t cut off in news feeds
That infographic, comic, or other kind of visual you want to post on social networks that you or your team worked on and can't wait to unleash to the world... may only end up getting parts cut off across social networks. Unfortunately, each social network (and app –...
How to use comics to engage your audience
I've been drawing newspaper style comics since I was a little kid. I'd create my own characters and send them off on misadventures. In high school, I created Spud, who would later become the protagonist in my Super Spud comic. I drew all my Spud comics in a notebook...
Nuts and bolts of podcasting recap
I was guest expert on the excellent #ContentChat offering my advice on launching a podcast. Podcasting made a revival in recent months so I was honoured to have been asked to share my tips and experience along with participating podcasters. I've learned so much! You...
A Quick Guide to Podcasting
Podcasting seems to have made a resurgence in the mainstream, especially in social marketing circles, in recent months. As both a podcast producer and listener, it's natural that I'd be happy about this! I've been podcasting since 2006 and the amount of fun,...
Challenges of community changes
In celebration of Community Manager Appreciation Day (a.k.a. #cmad) on January 26th, one live Google+ hangout after another was broadcast for 24 hours covering a wide variety of topics about community management. I participated in a panel talking about change in...
Content lessons from the Corner Gas Movie
I'm a huge fan of Corner Gas who watches his DVDs over and over. I'm not usually a fan of tv shows being turned into movies but couldn't pass up the chance to watch the Corner Gas movie. Maybe it will turn out right? Thankfully, it did! I can sum up Corner Gas: The...
14 of my podcasting best practices
Podcasting seems to be popular again. I don't know if it ever wasn't popular but it seems like more and more marketers are talking about it. I've been podcasting since 2006, with my longest running show, Stuttering is Cool, still going strong. So, I thought I'd share...
NASA’s cool ABC’s of Orion
Photo credit: NASA How do you engage an audience on the many complexities of designing a spacecraft to send people to outer space? With infographics, of course! And not those wordy ones. The pictogram kind. Coinciding with upcoming test flight of the Orion spacecraft...