Could Social Media Monitoring Have Better Predicted the Alberta Election Results? After reading Joanne O’Connell’s post “Why Were the Polls Wrong?”, I was intrigued by her insight and wondered if social media could shed some light on why there was such a difference between the polling vs. actual results. As Joanne stated, this election had…
Month: April 2012
Starting a Business while Keeping your Day Job
To be a bit of a fortune teller, here are ten words that I think guarantee business failure. “I’m starting a business, but I’m keeping my day job.” Hmm…it may be an obvious mistake to some people, but it’s sure something I’ve heard many times. Actually, what’s more common is that people do intend to…
Costs of Marketing
How much should you spend on marketing? As a marketing consultant, the most common question people ask me when they call is, “What’s it going to cost?” Which is kind of a funny question, because although I can generally ballpark the cost building a marketing or business plan, what people really want to know is…
12 Tips for Starting a Business in Calgary
So you’re ready to start a business in Calgary? Good for you! It’s a giant leap. Calgary has for years been reputed as Canada’s most entrepreneurial city. As a business owner myself, and having helped hundreds of other entrepreneurs get started, I thought I’d give you a few tips on how business is done in…
Twitter Phishing and MMF
Mass Marketing Fraud, and What Needs to Be Done About It Last night I was surprised to receive a note in my email inbox notifying me of a direct message (DM) from Twitter. The message was from a high-profile businessperson that I follow; a CEO of an industry association. The message read “Hi someone is…
Why Were the Polls Wrong?
Insights on the Alberta 2012 Election The poll slippage in last night’s election was certainly extraordinary, and all the pollsters on the evening newscasts were saying how surprised they were. There are several common reasons why polls are “off”. The pollsters are going to have to (and they will) do their own research and then…