#virtual townhall platform

[multitv]

A powerful way to engage your employees. Create an immersive experience with MultiTV’s futuristic virtual townhall platform.

[prismmediawire]

Xcyte Digital Corp. Purchases Assets of A+ Conferencing

A+ generated US$1.4 million in annual revenue and US$207K normalized EBITDA during 2023 (unaudited)

Transaction is non-dilutive to Xcyte Digital shareholders

Acquisition to be funded via existing cash on hand

POMPANO BEACH, FL, April 03, 2024 - Xcyte Digital Corp. (TSXV: XCYT) (“Xcyte” or the “Company”), a spatial computing, event technology aggregator and developer providing a high value, cost-effective, multi-platform subscription service to host online virtual and immersive events, announced it has signed an asset purchase agreement today with A+ Conferencing, Ltd. ("A+","A+ Conferencing or Seller"), pursuant to which a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company acquired all of the assets of A+, a Texas-based conferencing services limited partnership (the "Transaction"). The consideration for the Transaction is comprised of a revenue share, whereby Xcyte will receive 70% of the gross revenue derived from the acquired business each quarter (subject to certain adjustments). This revenue share expires five (5) years from the signing of this agreement. Xcyte will make a cash payment of US$300K at the closing of the Transaction (the "Closing") today. Xcyte will also execute a promissory note in the principal amount of US$200K, which will be payable by Xcyte in four equal quarterly installments of US$50K, commencing on July 1, 2024 to the Seller. During the twelve months ended December 31, 2023, A+ generated US$1.4 million in revenue and approximately US$207K in normalized EBITDA[1] (unaudited). During the same period, being the twelve months ended December 31, 2023, Xcyte generated revenue and a normalized EBITDA loss of approximately US$1.2 million and US$915K[2] respectively (unaudited). This transaction is Arms-Length and no finder fees have been paid in relation to it.

A+ Conferencing operates a full-service conferencing services business, providing audio, video, and web conferencing services for medium to high volume customers, resellers, and agents. A+ Conferencing provides a comprehensive range of services, from reservation-less conference calling to web conferencing and video email, tailored to meet specific client needs.

"The combination of the A+ and Xcyte businesses creates a company with a combined 30+ years of experience and talent. The synergies are expected to enhance our clients' overall experience and provide a high level of service excellence in the conferencing services arena”, said A+ CEO, Mike Burns.

“We believe combining A+ and Xcyte’s conferencing businesses will bolster our service offering, enabling us to begin to scale our revenue and EBITDA as we progress the Company to its medium term growth goals," said Xcyte CEO, Randy Selman. "This acquisition is the first from our deep M&A funnel, and is intended to help Xcyte grow our infrastructure, talent and client base, and accelerate our organic growth.”

About A+ Conferencing

Founded in 2000, and led by Mike Burns, A+ Conferencing specializes in audio, operator assisted, web and desktop video conferencing solutions for businesses and non-profit organizations. A+'s  services range from small conference calls to large townhall meeting calls with thousands of conferees on each call. For more information, visit www.aplusconferencing.com

About Xcyte Digital Inc.

Xcyte Digital (TSXV: XCYT) is a spatial computing event technology aggregator and developer providing high value, cost-effective, multi-platform subscription services to host online virtual and immersive events. Xcyte was formed in 2022 through an amalgamation of operating businesses and assets in the virtual & immersive event sectors. The Company went public on the TSX Venture Exchange on November 15, 2023. Based in Fort Lauderdale, FL, Xcyte has operations in London, UK, Charlotte, NC and Union, NJ. Xcyte provides immersive event technology, virtual event technology and event support services. Visit us at xcytedigital.com

Non-IFRS Financial Measures 

This press release may include references to certain non-IFRS financial measures. These non-IFRS measures do not have any standardized meanings prescribed by International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. Accordingly, they should not be considered in isolation, in addition to, not as a substitute for or superior to, measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. 

For further information, please contact:

Xcyte Digital Corp. Randy Selman, Chief Executive Officer and Director Phone: (647) 777 7501 Email: investment@xcytedigital.com

Investor Relations Nikhil Thadani, Sophic Capital Email: nik@sophiccapital.com Phone: (647) 777 7501

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Information

Certain information in this news release constitutes forward-looking statements and forward-looking information under applicable Canadian securities legislation (collectively, "forward-looking information"). Forward-looking information in this release includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the expected synergies that Xcyte may realize as a result of the acquisition of A+, and the impact that the Transaction may have on Xcyte's growth prospects generally. Statements containing forward-looking information are not historical facts but instead represent management's expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events. Forward looking information is necessarily based on a number of opinions, assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by management as of the date of this news release, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements and future events to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including that the A+ assets may not perform or generate revenue at the levels experienced historically; that there may be obstacles to absorbing the A+ assets into Xcyte's broader business; that the synergies anticipated by the A+ acquisition may not materialize to the extent expected or at all; and other  factors that apply to the Company's business generally as described in greater detail in the documents filed under the Company's profile at www.sedarplus.ca. Although the Company has attempted to identify important risks, uncertainties and factors which could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be others that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Investors are cautioned that undue reliance should not be placed on any such information, as unknown or unpredictable factors could have material adverse effects on future results, performance or achievements of the Company. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update the forward-looking information in this release except as otherwise required by applicable law.

[1] Non-IFRS measurement, A+ Normalized EBITDA of approximately US$207,200 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023, was calculated based on a loss of $59,000 before interest ($0), taxes ($4,200), depreciation and amortization ($7,500), and considering non-recurring and discretionary partner compensation of $254,500. 

[2] Non-IFRS measurement, Xcyte Normalized EBITDA of a loss approximately $915,000 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023, was calculated based on a loss of $3,715,000 before interest ($261,000), taxes ($0), depreciation and amortization ($13,000) and non-recurring listing expense ($1,016,000), stock based compensation ($872,000) and non-recurring professional fees related to the Company’s qualifying transaction ($638,000).

SOURCE: Xcyte Digital Corp.

[learnvirtualevents]

Virtual Event Monitoring - How to Make Your Virtual Occasion a Success

A digital event is a fantastic way to broaden your reach and also involve a target market. It can produce even more data, and it can also help you determine involvement as well as find out how to tweak your marketing and sales initiatives. Yet it is necessary to bear in mind that an effective online event isn't just a series of events. You require to incorporate the best mix of material, devices, and also modern technologies. Here's a good post to read about Webinars or Internal Corporate Townhall, check this out! You might need to consider a virtual occasion monitoring system, an event staff, and even a mix of these. Making use of a virtual occasion management system is a fantastic method to improve sponsor administration and also speaker onboarding. These tools can likewise be utilized to send out alerts, offer an aid desk, as well as extra. They can likewise supply a selection of attributes to make certain that your virtual occasion is a success. The complying with are a few things to bear in mind when assessing an online event administration option: The most effective online occasion monitoring platforms are ones that integrate with various other innovations, including video conferencing, disaster reduction, as well as more. These attributes make it simple to share schedules, appoint jobs, and also send out tips. They additionally permit staff to arrange internal consultations, build task lists, and also more. It's likewise a good idea to benefit from a digital event platform's post-event reporting capacities. This enables you to assess the ROI of your initiatives, fine-tune your target audience, and form future programming. You can see which sessions were one of the most prominent, which individuals were most engaged, and also other data-driven understandings. You can also track your budget plan as well as obtain suggestions for enhancing your following occasion. Read more great facts on Webinars or Internal Corporate Townhall, click here. A virtual emcee video is a nice way to catch individuals' attention. They ought to be brief, engaging, and include a shout-out to enrollers. You can also utilize a virtual host video to aim users to various experiences. As an example, you can aim individuals to a competition, social walls, or various other possibilities for enjoyable. You can also consist of a hashtag for your occasion. Lastly, the best digital event monitoring remedies additionally feature a range of other attributes, consisting of gamification as well as enroller management. An excellent platform will make it basic to establish digital booths, in addition to manage brand name possibilities. You can also create customized banners, histories, and overlays for added branding. The very best digital event administration tools are created to help you strategy, stage, and also implement your occasion, while providing the data and analytics you require to optimize your investment. You'll need to ensure that the ideal tools is in location, which you have backup systems in position. This can be an obstacle, specifically if you're preparing a big occasion. But an excellent option can keep you on the ideal track. The most effective online event management solutions consist of the devices to take advantage of your initiatives, while likewise providing the most worth to your attendees. You need to likewise locate the very best systems to sustain your demands, and also the right team to lead you. You require somebody that can assist you navigate the technology and also who is prepared to handle any kind of obstacles that come your method. You can click this link https://lifestyle.howstuffworks.com/event-planning/virtual-event-planning-software.htm for more great tips!

[iclick-blogs-singapore]

How do the various livestream platforms stack up?

 Virtual events organiser why do a livestream? With everyone settling down into the new-normal, hosting physical events for corporate conferences or D&Ds still seem like a long way to go. However, with the use of livestream softwares and various technologies, it is still possible to bring an audience infront of your business. 

Livestreams are an effective tool as we can leverage on its capacity to generate sales for our businesses all year round. Its accessibility makes it possible for you to tap into markets or reach demographics that have never been done before. 

 Unlike pre-produced marketing materials such as IGTV or Youtube videos, livestreams are all about engagement by listening in to the viewers in real time and interacting with them. It is less production intensive as livestreams are made to look a little gritty for authenticity purposes and this makes it cost efficient as compared to pre-produced videos.

 Social streaming: Facebook

Facebook live stream is targeted at business profiles that wish to connect with their audiences from different communities and demographics. Users of Facebook live streams are usually 40 and above, or the Gen X as we call it. Their applications usually surround more formal events such as conferences, panelist talks and corporate agendas (townhalls/ AGMs).

On a Facebook live stream, there are more privacy settings available depending on the Facebook page or group that you are streaming through virtual events organiser . There are allowances on Facebook for live streams on a business page to be crossposted onto other pages, however this is only possible with live broadcasts. As the live broadcast is automatically recorded, you can eventually share it to a group or page. This makes it more versatile than the other social streaming platforms. For most users, going live using the Facebook app is the most efficient way for a basic product. To achieve high quality visual and audio content, all you need to do is ensure that your internet connection is at a higher speed.

Facebook has rolled out ‘Live Producer’, a feature for high value productions that require a more expansive set-up. This feature works if you are using a professional camera and have access to a streaming software (encoder).

Social streaming: Instagram

You can’t miss out on Instagram live streams as users automatically get a notification when someone is going live, this gives the profile a boosted presence as their story is bumped to the front of the story feed. Like other livestreams, Instagram live is an unedited video presence for you to engage with your followers via textual commentary and emojis. It is commonly used for media personalities such as celebrities and makeup artists to promote products and share basic tutorials to boost brand awareness and sales figures.

Unlike the other platforms, the stream remains on your story for 24 hours after the stream ends and this is great leverage for e-commerce businesses who are doing timed sales events. Otherwise, the streams can be turned into IGTV and be kept on your feed for as long as you wish. For instagram, privacy settings include choosing your followers that are allowed to view your livestream and turning off offensive comments that may occur during the live stream. Users of Instagram range from Gen Zs to millennials and this demographic currently holds a large market share in e-commerce. This site is more preferable for a stream thats less than 30 minutes. Meet virtual events organiser for instagram streaming.

Social streaming: Linkedin Live

Linkedin is a platform for working professionals to connect and share their experiences.  Demographics for Linkedin Live spans a wide range of age groups but is concentrated with tech-savvy millennials looking for professional advice. This platform is great for guest speakers and prominent industry figures to hold conversations on current affairs or business trends. Organisations have been known to use this platform to promote their corporate culture in hopes of recruiting talent. Engagement duration on Linkedin Live is usually longer than 30 minutes and after a standard presentation, it is followed by an in-depth question and answer or interviews with stakeholders within the industry. The only downside to using Linkedin Live is that you would have to source for a third-party broadcasting tool such as Sociallive and Switcher Studio. Linkedin will automatically post your video to ‘recent activity’ or ‘page feed’ after the stream ends and you can repost this video onto other social media platforms.

Social streaming: Youtube Live

Some of the commonly used platforms for shoppertainment are actually e-commerce applications that double up as a content community with its own live-stream hosts. Taobao reportedly is home to over 4000 live-stream hosts and they produce content round the clock keeping shoppers entertained and product launches running smoothly. Some of the biggest events in shopping history like singles day sales and 12.12 has its own line-up of entertainment. China’s most famous live-stream host, Viya, reportedly commanded S$6 billion in sales last year just by talking about products in front of an audience.

Some of these e-commerce phone apps even have interactive games available for shoppers to earn vouchers and cash rewards that can be redeemed immediately when they check out their carts and so it is unsurprising that they have teamed up with other video game applications on the app store to run their event campaigns.

In physical outlets, brands use a variety of ways to entertain their customers, some of the common ones can include interactive touch-screen displays fitted with sensory motion technology where customers can play virtual football games or be transported into another location.

Zoom

Zoom is the current industry leader in livestreams and teleconferences so much so that the word ‘zoom’ is self-explanatory. The demographics for Zoom are rather widespread as its servers and interface allow high capacity events to be held concurrently in the highest quality and this alone has won them a huge market share. The virtual events organiser commonly uses zoom. They service educational institutions, corporate organisations and even religious communities with their webinar feature. The webinar feature allows multiple speakers to present via screen sharing and essentially give the attendees a view only function for a smooth event flow.

You can choose to link the live stream to Facebook or Youtube to capture a larger audience. For a basic Zoom account, it is free for all at a maximum of up to 100 minutes per session, consisting of a maximum capacity of 100 attendees each time. To host a webinar, you would require a Pro, Business, Education or Enterprise account that entitled you to the webinar add on and all of its features.

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams announced in March this year that its platform had over 44 million daily users, the jump was in part attributed to work from home practices due to the pandemic. For education, Microsoft teams allows teachers to distribute, edit and grade students’ work via the software itself and has distributed breakout rooms that make it conducive for team learning and project discussions. One of its favoured features is its ability to share files within the assigned group/chat and this makes it easier for attendees to refer to any event materials when provided by the host.

Cisco Webex

Cisco Webex was founded in 1995, making it one of the earliest teleconferencing software companies to roll out packaged plans and had a Global network servicing on-demand TV programs. It features a wide range of products and the most commonly used livestreaming services in its portfolio includes Webex meetings and teams where organisations favour it for its collaborative features.

Cisco Webex is highly rated on Google for its security features, it has functions to lock rooms and this is especially important for upper management as confidential details could be leaked through hackers eavesdropping on virtual conference rooms. Cisco Webex has data centers globally and this accounts for its high quality video and audio content, which is why it has garnered plenty of praise. Their livestreaming software is famously used in the prime-time TV show ‘Ellen Degeneres’, where the host herself calls participants through a live TV recording. One of the conveniences

 Bluejeans

Bluejeans is a cloud video conferencing service and was founded in 2009 before it was acquired by Verizon in May 2020. Its name ‘Bluejeans’ is a tongue in cheek reference to its user-centric focus, wanting the software to be as easy and casual to use just like wearing a pair of jeans. It’s viewers are mostly working adults who tap into the Bluejeans network for its interoperability between platforms and devices. For businesses, Bluejeans by Verizon provides conferencing solutions via partnerships with Cisco, Microsoft Sync and polycom, making it accessible to a wider range of organisations. With its paid plans, Verizon has made standard pricing as affordable as possible starting from $9.99 a month and for video webinars at $83 a month.

If you’re thinking about setting up an online event to generate sales for your business, contact us today!

[evenesisevent]

How important is a virtual events platform?

When hosting virtual event, it is just not the event quality that matters but equal attention must be given to the platform hosting the event. With technical glitches, the effort put in arranging the event and its value will be lost. Therefore, choosing the right virtual event platform is necessary. The four main virtual events being hosted these days are webinars, virtual conference, internal hybrid events and external hybrid events.

Webinars

A webinar involves few speakers presenting their content in front of a virtual audience from every corner of the globe. It is typically of 40–80-minute duration and concerns a particular topic that involves people in a panel discussion. Those who are attending the webinars are usually asked to pay by the companies hosting them. The video conferencing tool used in webinars must have a Q&A facility. Paid events generally have 100% attendance.

Virtual conferences

Just like live conferences, virtual conference include sessions like keynote, multi-session panel discussions, presentations, breakouts, and other engagement activities. This is more complex and needs to be supported by high-end virtual event platforms.  

Internal Hybrid Events

These are in-company events that could be about a Townhall, sales kick-off, countrywide networking, training event, departmental event or just a meeting. This could span beyond borders for multinational companies.   The platform needs to support complex meetings without any interruption.

External Hybrid Events

These events are hosted outside the organization’s circle. They could involve, dealer meets, stakeholder meets, industry conferences and virtual exhibitions etc. They demand very dependable software support. You must have a highly efficient virtual event platform to host this event.

Conclusions

Virtual events are held for the same purpose as in-person events. They increase network, knowledge sharing scopes and also expand the marketing width of a company. Choose a virtual event platform that provides all the benefits of a virtual event. Make Evenesis your first choice. Visit https://www.evenesis.com/ to know better.

[tatateleservices]

Are You Just Meeting Or Collaborating?

The COVID-19 pandemic spurred the largest work-from-home experiment in the world. Once the pandemic ends, remote work would still be here to stay. The Indian government’s recent policy changes to reduce the compliance burden on IT and ITES companies further support this trend.

As alternative ways of working transform the work cultures at small and medium businesses (SMBs) in the Indian IT/ITES sector, three prominent trends emerge. Even once the pandemic ends, these trends will not be disappearing anytime soon.

Remote work: The new normal

2020 was the world’s largest experiment in remote work. The pandemic pushed companies worldwide through cultural and technological barriers that previously hindered remote work.

For many industries, going remote was the key to survival. For instance, the events industry had to adapt to virtual events and onboard digital platforms almost overnight. Even courts and compliance-heavy businesses such as law firms had to switch to virtual communication platforms to remain functional.

The remote work experiment has reaped several benefits for most service-based business, from advertising agencies to accounting firms. Going remote levelled the playing field by making the location or size of the office space irrelevant. It also enabled small businesses to hire talent from anywhere, regardless of the location.

After experiencing the perks of remote work, companies would be reluctant to go back to the way things were before the pandemic. Instead, they would look for a blended or hybrid work model that brings the best of both worlds.

95% of Indian companies plan to continue with remote work for the next two years. TCS has already announced that 75% of its workforce will work remotely over the next five years. One of the main reasons is to ensure that every project gets staffed with the right talent, regardless of their location. Wall Street investment firms such as Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo also approved remote work for their back offices in Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Mumbai. Moreover, a survey of employees at InMobi, an adtech firm, revealed that 75% of the workforce prefer a hybrid working model.

Until vaccines are widely distributed, and the dangers of the COVID-19 pandemic subside, remote work and more recently, hybrid work is here to stay.

A mindset shift from meeting to collaborating remotely

As hybrid work becomes mainstream, companies must move beyond conducting meetings. Instead, they should focus on building a culture of remote collaboration using virtual communication tools. It’s the key to making collaboration-heavy activities such as building new relationships, onboarding new employees and customers or strategic decision-making as seamless and real as possible.

The first step is to develop a collaboration-first approach requiring constant asynchronous communication and culture of diligent documentation and knowledge sharing. While remote work has helped boost productivity, it can become isolating. That’s why companies should emphasise conducting regular catchups using digital communication tools to keep everyone in the loop and to improve morale. With the mindset on point, the next step is to pick the right digital tools.

The role of technology in taking virtual collaboration to the next level

Before rushing to pick the software, it’s important for businesses to identify the problems they want to solve. One example is that of advertising agencies and management consulting firms, which invest heavily in acquiring clients. Previously, the process involved several rounds of in-person meetings at the office of the agency or consulting firm. Another is that of IT services firms that conduct monthly or quarterly townhalls with thousands of employees dispersed geographically.

Both situations require a digital platform that facilitates remote communication, collaboration and experiences that surpass in-person meetings. A unified communications suite with high-quality video streaming across all devices would be a major game-changer for these businesses. That’s where an offering like the TTBS Zoom Solutions Suite comes into the picture.

To read further please visit below article,

https://www.tatatelebusiness.com/articles/are-you-just-meeting-or-collaborating

[bangkokjacknews]

Thailand NOT INVITED to the Democracy Summit

The prime minister ignored reporters on Thursday after they asked him why the US State Department did not invite Thailand to the Summit for Democracy in December. On Wednesday, the State Department announced a list of 110 countries that would participate in the first online Summit for Democracy on December 9 and 10. Thailand did not appear on the invitation list. China and Russia, too, were not invited. Only three Asean countries will attend the summit – Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. When reporters asked Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha about the matter on Thursday, the premier just gave them a grim look before walking into Government House. The US-hosted summit is aimed at helping to halt the decline of democracy and the collapse of rights and freedoms around the world. The December 2021 Summit for Democracy  On December 9-10, 2021, President Biden will host a virtual summit for leaders from government, civil society, and the private sector. The summit will focus on challenges and opportunities facing democracies and will provide a platform for leaders to announce both individual and collective commitments, reforms, and initiatives to defend democracy and human rights at home and abroad. For the United States, the summit will offer an opportunity to listen, learn, and engage with a diverse range of actors whose support and commitment is critical for global democratic renewal. It will also showcase one of democracy’s unique strengths: the ability to acknowledge its imperfections and confront them openly and transparently, so that we may, as the United States Constitution puts it, “form a more perfect union.” In advance of the first summit, we are consulting with experts from government, multilateral organizations, philanthropies, civil society, and the private sector to solicit bold, practicable ideas around three key themes: - Defending against authoritarianism - Addressing and fighting corruption - Promoting respect for human rights Leaders will be encouraged to announce specific actions and commitments to meaningful internal reforms and international initiatives that advance the Summit’s goals. These pledges will include domestic and international initiatives that counter authoritarianism, combat corruption, and promote respect for human rights. Civil society will be represented on panels and in townhalls as a part of the official program. Their inclusion is based on a variety of factors including geographic representation, political context, and subject matter expertise. Read the full article

[atlanticcanada]

Trudeau calls federal election, voters to go to the polls Sept. 20

Justin Trudeau has set in motion an early federal election, sending voters to the polls on Sept. 20 and setting up his re-election bid as a chance for Canadians to have their voices heard about who they want to lead the country at this pivotal moment in the pandemic.

The prime minister and Liberal leader visited Gov. Gen. Mary Simon at Rideau Hall Sunday morning where she accepted his request to dissolve the 43rd Parliament and draw up the 338 writs, triggering a summer election.

With voting day scheduled for Sept. 20, the campaign will be 36 days, the shortest possible election period under federal law.

Facing just over five weeks of campaigning, Canadians will be weighing the pitches from each party to determine who they feel is best to carry the country through the rest of the pandemic, and out of it.

Election Dispatch: Sign up for a daily update on the campaign

Following his meeting with Simon—who has been the Queen’s representative in Canada for less than a month— Trudeau spoke to reporters outside Rideau Hall. There, he sought to frame the rationale for a pandemic election while reopening and vaccination efforts are still underway, and given he’s managed to maintain the confidence of the House of Commons.

“The decisions your government makes right now will define the future your kids and grandkids grow up in. So in this pivotal, consequential moment, who wouldn’t want a say? Who wouldn’t want their chance to help decide where our country goes from here? Canadians need to choose how we finish the fight against COVID-19 and build back better,” Trudeau said, facing a series of questions from reporters about why he called the vote after he and his caucus stated multiple times a pandemic election was not in their plans.

“Canadians deserve their say, and that’s exactly what we are going to give them,” Trudeau said. He is kicking off his campaign Sunday afternoon with a virtual townhall with candidates.

“After making it through 17 months of nothing like we’ve ever experienced, Canadians deserve to choose what the next 17 months, what the next 17 years and beyond, will look like. And I know that we have the right plan, the right team, and the proven leadership to meet that moment,” he said. “So to the other parties: Please explain why you don’t think Canadians should have the choice? Why you don’t think that this is a pivotal moment?”

Following Trudeau, all other federal party leaders will kick off their campaigns with remarks in which they will frame their focus for the race, and likely call out Trudeau for triggering the vote while the country is still trying to rebound from the last 17 months.

While the opposition parties have criticized Trudeau's timing, arguing that the Liberals are unnecessarily putting their own political interests above those of Canadians who are once again facing another wave of COVID-19 cases, all sides have already been engaging in pseudo-electioneering all summer long.

Given the ongoing pandemic, parties have had to map out public health parameters in an effort to safely crisscross the country pitching themselves, their candidates, and their platforms. This has included various elements of protections depending on each campaign, including mandatory vaccination and regular rapid testing.

Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole is doing virtual-only events for the first day of his campaign. Making use of the party’s studio setup in Ottawa, the leader who his running his first federal race at the helm of his party has two “telephone townhalls” scheduled with supporters in Quebec and British Columbia. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh will be starting his 2021 campaign in Montreal and will attend a Pride event. Green Party Leader Annamie Paul will be launching her campaign from her coveted riding of Toronto Centre with a rally, “mainstreeting,” and a virtual evening launch party with candidates.

In the 2019 federal election, voters reduced the 2015 Liberal majority to a minority and now Trudeau is ready to gamble that his handling of the pandemic—and the unprecedented financial support doled out— will propel his party back to majority territory.

However, polling data issued Friday by Nanos Research showed Liberal support dropping out of majority territory after the election call was reported.

While the next fixed election date isn’t until October 2023, minority governments rarely last the full four years between elections.

With Elections Canada embarking on a series of new public health measures to ensure that the vote is conducted safely amid a forth wave, the price tag for the election is estimated to be $610 million.

Canada's Chief Electoral Officer Stephane Perrault has previously spoken favourably about of having a longer writ period—campaigns can be up to 50 days in length under current rules— to allow Elections Canada to have a longer runway to get all elements of a national election in place. Nevertheless, the agency says it will be ready to safely conduct a vote that’s expected to include much more uptake in mail-in ballots.

After a last-minute crunch to pass as many key bills as possible before the House of Commons and Senate adjourned in June given the rampant speculation of a summer election call, all outstanding business in both chambers has died with the dissolution of Parliament, leaving it up to the next government to restart a legislative agenda.

During the process of dissolving a Parliament there are three main steps: dismissing the senators and members; calling the next Parliament and ordering the writs to be issued; and setting the date for when Parliament will next meet after the writs are returned with the results.

Writs are written orders instructing the returning officer in each of the 338 federal ridings to hold an election to select a member of Parliament.

The government, and the bureaucracy in each federal department and agency, will now enter a "caretaker" mode in which major decisions are limited.

Heading into the campaign, here's the current seat breakdown in the House of Commons:

Liberal: 155

Conservative: 119

Bloc Québécois: 32

NDP: 24

Independent: 5

Green Party: 2

A party needs to win 170 seats for a majority government.

from CTV News - Atlantic https://ift.tt/3iO4s4I

[stock-dehko]

Why the NRAI wants to cut out the middleman of aggregator platforms like Swiggy and Zomato

Why the NRAI wants to cut out the middleman of aggregator platforms like Swiggy and Zomato

At a recent townhall webinar, The National Restaurant Association of India discussed the need for restaurants to reprioritise direct delivery National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), a voice of the Indian restaurant industry, in their Townhall 4.0 recently discussed the importance of ‘direct order and the way to get your business future-ready’. At the townhall, held virtually, prominent…

[phgq]

Dagyaw 2020 responds to Covid-19 concerns

#PHnews: Dagyaw 2020 responds to Covid-19 concerns

MANILA – The government continues to build cooperation and deepen unity with the Filipino people through the conduct of the “Dagyaw 2020: Open Government Virtual Townhall Meetings” that will run from Oct. 8 to Dec. 3.

Cabinet officials, together with experts from non-government sectors, will tackle issues and provide updates about major plans, programs, and projects that would help address the needs of the people in the face of coronavirus-induced headwinds.

Dagyaw 2020 will also serve as an open, neutral, and protected space for the public to freely ask questions, raise their concerns, and give suggestions on the ways to improve government policies.

The conduct of this series of virtual town hall meetings is a result of a successful collaboration among different government agencies, spearheaded by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Budget and Management (DBM), and the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) in cooperation with the Caucus of Development NGO Networks and Right to Know, Right Now! Coalition.

It is anchored in the objective of the National Task Force Against COVID-19 Sub-Task Group on Governance to ensure people-centered, clean, technology-enabled, and responsive governance in addressing Covid-19.

Dagyaw began on Oct. 8 with its first episode, “Usapang Edukasyon: Is PH Ready for Distance/Blended Learning?” that was participated by the Department of Education, United Nations Children’s Fund, and E-NET Philippines.

Dialogues will resume on Oct. 15 for “Usapang Trabaho” with the Department of Labor and Employment, International Labor Organization, and NAGKAISA Labor Coalition.

This will be followed by “Usapang OFW: Kinabukasan at Kalagayan ng OFWs sa Panahon ng Pandemya” on Oct. 22 with the Department of Foreign Affairs, Blas F. Ople Policy Center and Training Institute, and Center for Migrant Advocacy.

On the last Thursday of the month, Oct. 29, the Department of Agriculture, World Bank, and Samahan ng Nagkakaisang Samahan ng mga Magsasaka will join “Usapang Agri: Ahon Lahat Para sa Pagkaing Sapat.”

The outputs from these dialogues will serve as key references of government in public decision-making, and shape and update government policies that can lead to better public sector performance and service delivery.

In observance of the required health protocols and limitations to travel and mass gatherings in place due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the conduct of the Dagyaw 2020 will utilize various civic technology and online platforms.

The episodes will be livestreamed through the official Facebook pages of various government agencies including the Philippine Open Government Partnership, DILG, DBM, and PCOO, 2 to 4:30 p.m.

To join the Dagyaw dialogues, visit the Philippine Open Government Partnership Facebook page for announcements. Also, check the social media pages of DILG, DBM, and PCOO for more information and for the schedule of the next four episodes. (PR)

***

References:

* Philippine News Agency. "Dagyaw 2020 responds to Covid-19 concerns." Philippine News Agency. https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1118243 (accessed October 12, 2020 at 11:55PM UTC+14).

* Philippine News Agency. "Dagyaw 2020 responds to Covid-19 concerns." Archive Today. https://archive.ph/?run=1&url=https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1118243 (archived).

[un-enfant-immature]

Discord now has a $3.5B valuation and $100M for a sales pitch lighter on the gaming

Discord wants to be more than just a place for gamers, and is now billing itself as the Slack for users’ social lives.

The new pitch, and a new funding round of $100 million at a reported valuation of $3.5 billion, will help the company as it looks to erase its legacy as a home for gamers (and a virtual townhall for white nationalists).

Discord shuts down alt-right server and accounts for ToS violations

Now, the company has more money at its disposal to monitor its user base and promote the image that the service isn’t just for gamers. “It turns out that, for a lot of you, it wasn’t just about video games anymore,” write co-founders Jason Citron and Stanislav Vishnevskiy in a blog post.

The two men frame their company as “a place designed to hang out and talk in the comfort of your own communities and friends.” Discord, they say, is “a place to have genuine conversations and spend quality time with people, whether catching up, learning something or sharing ideas.”

It hadn’t always been that way. Three years ago, the company tried to boot a number of its most racist users, but their ability to use the platform to disseminate hate speech has stubbornly persisted. Up until mid-2019 white nationalists were comfortable enough using the service to warrant a shoutout from Daily Stormer founder, Andrew Anglin, who urged his fellow travelers to stop using the service.

“Discord is always on and always present among these groups on the far-right,” Joan Donovan, the lead researcher on media manipulation at the Data & Society Research Institute, told Slate. “It’s the place where they do most of the organizing of doxing and harassment campaigns.”

Discord says these users are a small (and dwindling) fraction of a user base that now also includes Black Lives Matter organizers, social media influencers, and, of course, gamers.

There are now more than 100 million active users on the service that spend 4 billion minutes in conversation on 6.7 million active servers, according to a statement from the company.

If anything, Discord’s success is both a function and feature of the rapid rise of social gaming and social media. The company’s servers enabled real time communication across gaming platforms that turned them into the dominant social experience for a generation of players. They also enabled influencers on a variety of social media platforms to have a more direct relationship with their fans.

As Taylor Lorenz noted in her reporting on Discord’s newfound fanbase among social media entrepreneurs and celebrities:

Last March, Ninja, one of the most popular video-game live-streamers in the world, taught Drake how to use Discord while playing Fortnite. YouTube A-listers such as Philip DeFranco, Grace Helbig, and the Try Guys all have their own servers, and subreddits such as those dedicated to discussing The Bachelor and The Real Housewives have their own Discord groups too. More than 200 million people use the service.

“We designed Discord for talking. There’s no endless scrolling, no news feed, and no tracking likes. No algorithms decide what you ‘should’ see. We designed Discord to enable the experience and feelings we wanted to recreate: being together with your community and friends. You’ve made your servers into personal spaces filled with people you invited and set the topics of discussion,” the founders write.

The kinder, gentler Discord belies both the company’s name and its roots. But it is a sign of its efforts to shift the perceptions of investors and woo potential new users to the service.

In addition to its new cash, the company is highlighting a new user experience and added server video so that users can communicate more readily. There are templates available to help users create servers, and the company has increased its voice and video capacity by 200%.

As part of this new focus on product, Discord has launched what it calls a “Safety Center” which clearly defines the company’s rules and regulations and what actions users can take to monitor and manage their use of service for hate speech and abuse.

“We will continue to take decisive action against white supremacists, racists, and others who seek to use Discord for evil,” the founders write. 

Danny Rimer, the co-founder of Index Ventures, which led the investor group that invested in Discord’s latest $100 million cash infusion, is an advocate for the company’s expanded vision for itself.

“I believe Discord is the future of platforms because it demonstrates how a responsibly curated site can provide a safe space for people with shared interests,” Rimer wrote in a statement. “Rather than throwing raw content at you, like Facebook, it provides a shared experience for you and your friends. We’ll come to appreciate that Discord does for social conversation what Slack has done for professional conversation.”

Discord shuts down alt-right server and accounts for ToS violations

The parallels to Slack are interesting and begin with the fact that both companies began their lives as gaming studios before moving to become communications services.

“In France this year, Discord was adopted as the primary app for distance learning after the government’s official service failed. As a result, Discord reached the top ten app downloads in France in March and is still in the top 50 in the US and UK today,” Rimer noted in his explanation of Index’s latest investment. “As Discord plans its next phase of growth, it will become even more inclusive and welcoming for new users and communities and it will continue to be guided by the users that have informed its development from the start.”

[productionplustechnologies-blog]

How to Get the Most Out of Your Virtual Event

Event planners know they must be flexible and adapt quickly to new challenges, those skills are put the test with recent global events.  We often must adapt for weather changes or last minute cancelations by artists or caterers, but last minute cancelations of live events entirely takes adaptability to a new level.  Learning how to adapt to virtual events are important skills in today’s world and provide a solid contingency plan. Production Plus is here to help you get the most out of your virtual event with high audience engagement.  With a host of digital options available, you can even see the bright side of hosting online events such as: Cost savings on venues, vendors and travel Open to a larger audience Social media tools and chats unavailable with live events You can salvage your event by making some alterations to your presentation and experience these benefits.  Here are some considerations to meet and exceed your attendees’ expectations. Determine the Feasibility of Online Events Many types of events can be converted into online events, also called virtual events or webinars.  You may be surprised just how many types of event productions can be produced virtually and still provide value to your audience. Live ConcertsYou may think that live performances or concerts need to be in-person, although streaming live performances is a great way to broaden your audience beyond physical boundaries.  People can still experience the wonder of your show and feel like they are part of the action.  Don’t rule out hosting your concert for an online audience, you may be surprised at the level of viewers and feedback you receive. Leadership Forums / Townhall MeetingsLeadership forums and townhall meetings can be transitioned into online forums with some planning and preparation.  Think about recording your keynote speaker address ahead of time and have the same materials available for download that you planned to distribute in person. Evaluate Your Technology With so many options for digital connectivity today you may want to speak with a professional about the best online platform to host your event.  You may consider doing a full live streaming event, a pre-recorded event, or a combination of both.  Event technology today has already expanded into the digital world with many options available such as: Chat features and Q&A polling to maintain networking opportunities Virtual hand raising for audience participation Online registrations, ticketing and promotion codes Event apps with a host of options available to your audience Virtual and augmented reality apps Integration with YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook and other social media platforms Make sure your production equipment is up to the tasks at hand.  Speaking with a virtual event planning specialist can help you to conduct a thorough IT evaluation to avoid online pitfalls.  Testing your audio and video ahead of time is a must and be sure to utilize good quality cameras, headsets and internet connections. Production Plus is here to help you convert live events to virtual events with seamless transition.  We offer IT evaluations and tips to wow your audience with engaging virtual event solutions.  Contact us to learn how to get the most out of your virtual event. Contact us today to learn more about our Virtual Event Streaming services. Read the full article

[mcdouglecompany-blog]

Big Tech Is Big Brother, Ronald Reagan, The YouTube Boiling Frog Effect and P.I.G. to Vietnam.

Big Tech Is Big Brother, Ronald Reagan, The YouTube Boiling Frog Effect and PIG to Vietnam.

Big Tech Is Big Brother.

Ronald Regan Patriotic Speech

YouTube Slow Censorship? The Boiling Frog Effect.

The Politically Incorrect Guide to Vietnam.

  Big Tech Is Big Brother.

https://youtu.be/rA6pazfxkxw

PragerU

Published on Jun 3, 2019

George Orwell's fictionalized world where Big Brother reigns supreme is no longer a figment of the imagination, but a prophetic vision of present-day threats. Brent Bozell, founder of the Media Research Center, explains how and why Big Tech is making Orwell’s 1984 a 21st century reality. SIGN OUR PETITION against YouTube for restricting over 100 PragerU videos: https://www.prageru.com/petition/yout... Check out the new Brent Bozell/Tim Graham book, "Unmasked: Big Media's War Against Trump": https://amzn.to/2Io4JrJ Donate today to PragerU! http://l.prageru.com/2eB2p0h To view the script, sources, quiz, and study guides, visit https://www.prageru.com/video/big-tec... VISIT PragerU! https://www.prageru.com Get PragerU bonus content for free! https://www.prageru.com/bonus-content Join Prager United to get new swag every quarter, exclusive early access to our videos, and an annual TownHall phone call with Dennis Prager! http://l.prageru.com/2c9n6ys Join PragerU's text list to have these videos, free merchandise giveaways and breaking announcements sent directly to your phone! https://optin.mobiniti.com/prageru Do you shop on Amazon? Click https://smile.amazon.com and a percentage of every Amazon purchase will be donated to PragerU. Same great products. Same low price. Shopping made meaningful. FOLLOW us! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/prageru Twitter: https://twitter.com/prageru Instagram: https://instagram.com/prageru/ PragerU is on Snapchat! JOIN PragerFORCE! For Students: http://l.prageru.com/2aozfkP JOIN our Educators Network! http://l.prageru.com/2aoz2y9 Script: The year is 1984. One company—Microsoft—dominates the computer world. It’s their way or the highway. Conform or die. This snapshot in time was perfectly captured in one of the most famous commercials in TV history. Set in a gray, dystopian future, row after row of men stare blankly at a giant screen from which Big Brother—the all-powerful leader from George Orwell’s classic novel 1984—addresses them. Suddenly, riot police burst into the hall, chasing a beautiful, blonde woman in a white shirt and red shorts. Before they can grab her, she hurls a sledgehammer into the screen, shattering Big Brother and his grip on the masses. The narrator informs us that Apple’s breakthrough product, the Macintosh computer, will be the device that sets us all free. Looking back, Apple largely lived up to its promise. A new wave of companies, each in its own way, followed the example set by Apple’s legendary CEO, Steve Jobs. Google gave us instant access to vast amounts of information. Facebook gave us a new way to connect with friends, family, and the world. Twitter brought this world to us in real time. And YouTube allowed anyone with a smartphone to become a virtual broadcast network unto themselves. It was glorious and empowering. But that was yesterday. Today, it’s 1984 all over again. Big Brother is back—with an important twist. Our former liberators now want to be our masters. Apple, Google, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, the giants of social media, are demanding conformity to their values. It’s their way or the highway. Conform or die. This image is perfectly captured not by an ad, but by this recent real-life scene: Row after row of men and women stare up at Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, as he makes a presentation—ironically—before a civil rights group. “We only have one message for those who seek to push hate, division, and violence: You have no place on our platforms,” Cook tells his audience. “You have no home here.” “Hate”? “Division”? According to whom? The answer is obvious: according to Apple, Google, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. They are becoming the Big Brother Orwell foresaw. Cook concluded his speech by saying anyone Apple deems objectionable is committing a “sin.” That was his word, making his statement not merely a political one, but a quasi-religious one. Conform or die. Cook’s ideas are exactly the same as his fellow chief executives at Google, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. Disagree with Big Brother on, say, politics, or morality, and Big Brother will shut you up by shutting you down. And what is it that Big Brother doesn’t like? Well, Tim Cook, said it: anything that doesn’t conform to his left-wing worldview. The examples are numerous and growing. Megan Murphy, a Canadian feminist, is permanently banned from Twitter for refusing to refer to the transgendered by their preferred pronoun, and for writing “women aren’t men.” For the complete script, visit https://www.prageru.com/video/big-tec...

    Ronald Regan Patriotic Speech

Watch this video- https://youtu.be/GiuFzpl28io

  YouTube Slow Censorship? The Boiling Frog Effect.

https://youtu.be/m9DtPkHozS4

Computing Forever

Premiered Jun 2, 2019

Support my work here: https://computingforever.com/donate/ Support my work on Subscribe Star: https://www.subscribestar.com/dave-cu... PayPal Donations Welcome. Click here: http://goo.gl/NSdOvK Help Support My Channel. Buy Computing Forever Merchandise, Mugs, Hats, T-Shirts: http://ow.ly/3v3TWq Subscribe to my Second Channel: http://ow.ly/XgZm100E1L6 SUBSCRIBE TO THIS YOUTUBE CHANNEL: https://www.youtube.com/user/LACK78 http://www.computingforever.com KEEP UP ON SOCIAL MEDIA: BitChute: https://www.bitchute.com/channel/hybM... Gab: https://gab.ai/DaveCullen Minds.com: https://www.minds.com/davecullen Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/ComputingFor... Google+ : LACK78: http://goo.gl/k4gWsg Google+: Computing Forever: http://goo.gl/Q8gZpY

  An Interview with Vietnam Veteran and Author, Phillip Jennings.

https://vimeo.com/16739046

Papa GiorgioPLUS

Michael Medved interviews Phillip Jennings about his book The Politically Incorrect Guide to Vietnam. A wonderful interview that deals with some of the history of this conflict, some of it myths, all while taking dissenting and supportive calls from listeners.

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------

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[jennierosehalperin-blog1]

Townhall, not Shopping Mall! Community, making, and the future of the Internet

I presented a version of this talk at the 2014 Futurebook Conference in London, England. They also kindly featured me in the program. Thank you to The Bookseller for a wonderful conference filled with innovation and intelligent people!

A few days ago, I was in the Bodleian Library at Oxford University, often considered the most beautiful library in the world. My enthusiastic guide told the following story:

After the Reformation (when all the books in Oxford were burned), Sir Thomas Bodleydecided to create a place where people could go and access all the world’s information at their fingertips, for free.

“What does that sound like?” she asked. “…the Internet?”

While this is a lovely conceit, the part of the story that resonated with me for this talk is the other big change that Bodley made, which was to work with publishers, who were largely a monopoly at that point, to fill his library for free by turning the library into a copyright library. While this seemed antithetical to the ways that publishers worked, in giving a copy of their very expensive books away, they left an indelible and permanent mark on the face of human knowledge. It was not only preservation, but self-preservation.

Bodley was what people nowadays would probably call “an innovator” and maybe even in the parlance of my field, a “community manager.”

By thinking outside of the scheme of how publishing works, he joined together with a group of skeptics and created one of the greatest knowledge repositories in the world, one that still exists 700 years later. This speaks to a few issues:

Sharing economies, community, and publishing should and do go hand in hand and have since the birth of libraries. By stepping outside of traditional models, you are creating a world filled with limitless knowledge and crafting it in new and unexpected ways.

The bound manuscript is one of the most enduring technologies. This story remains relevant because books are still books and people are still reading them.

As the same time, things are definitely changing. For the most part, books and manuscripts were pretty much identifiable as books and manuscripts for the past 1000 years.

But what if I were to give Google Maps to a 16th Century Map Maker? Or what if I were to show Joseph Pulitzer Medium? Or what if I were to hand Gutenberg a Kindle? Or Project Gutenberg for that matter? What if I were to explain to Thomas Bodley how I shared the new Lena Dunham book with a friend by sending her the file instead of actually handing her the physical book? What if I were to try to explain Lena Dunham?

These innovations have all taken place within the last twenty years, and I would argue that we haven’t even scratched the surface in terms of the innovations that are to come.

We need to accept that the future of the printed word may vary from words on paper to an ereader or computer in 500 years, but I want to emphasize that in the 500 years to come, it will more likely vary from the ereader to a giant question mark.

International literacy rates have risen rapidly over the past 100 years and companies are scrambling to be the first to reach what they call “developing markets” in terms of connectivity. In the vein of Mark Surman’s talk at the Mozilla Festival this year, I will instead call these economies post-colonial economies.

Because we (as people of the book) are fundamentally idealists who believe that the printed word can change lives, we need to be engaged with rethinking the printed word in a way that recognizes power structures and does not settle for the limited choices that the corporate Internet provides (think Facebook vs WhatsApp). This is not as a panacea to fix the world’s ills.

In the Atlantic last year, Phil Nichols wrote an excellent piece that paralleled Web literacy and early 20th century literacy movements. The dualities between “connected” and “non-connected,” he writes, impose the same kinds of binaries and blind cure-all for social ills that the “literacy” movement imposed in the early 20th century. In equating “connectedness” with opportunity, we are “hiding an ideology that is rooted in social control.”

Surman, who is director of the Mozilla Foundation, claims that the Web, which had so much potential to become a free and open virtual meeting place for communities, has started to resemble a shopping mall. While I can go there and meet with my friends, it’s still controlled by cameras that are watching my every move and its sole motive is to get me to buy things.

85 percent of North America is connected to the Internet and 40 percent of the world is connected. Connectivity increased at a rate of 676% in the past 13 years. Studies show that literacy and connectivity go hand in hand.

How do you envision a fully connected world? How do you envision a fully literate world? How can we empower a new generation of connected communities to become learners rather than consumers?

I’m not one of these technology nuts who’s going to argue that books are going to somehow leave their containers and become networked floating apparatuses, and I’m not going to argue that the ereader is a significantly different vessel than the physical book.

I’m also not going to argue that we’re going to have a world of people who are only Web literate and not reading books in twenty years. To make any kind of future prediction would be a false prophesy, elitist, and perhaps dangerous.

Although I don’t know what the printed word will look like in the next 500 years,

I want to take a moment to think outside the book,

to think outside traditional publishing models, and to embrace the instantaneousness, randomness, and spontaneity of the Internet as it could be, not as it is now.

One way I want you to embrace the wonderful wide Web is to try to at least partially decouple your social media followers from your community.

Twitter and other forms of social media are certainly a delightful and fun way for communities to communicate and get involved, but your viral campaign, if you have it, is not your community.

True communities of practice are groups of people who come together to think beyond traditional models and innovate within a domain. For a touchstone, a community of practice is something like the Penguin Labs internal innovation center that Tom Weldon spoke about this morning and not like Penguin’s 600,000 followers on Twitter. How can we bring people together to allow for innovation, communication, and creation?

The Internet provides new and unlimited opportunities for community and innovation, but we have to start managing communities and embracing the people we touch as makers rather than simply followers or consumers.

The maker economy is here— participatory content creation has become the norm rather than the exception. You have the potential to reach and mobilize 2.1 billion people and let them tell you what they want, but you have to identify leaders and early adopters and you have to empower them.

How do you recognize the people who create content for you? I don’t mean authors, but instead the ambassadors who want to get involved and stay involved with your brand.

I want to ask you, in the spirit of innovation from the edges

What is your next platform for radical participation? How are you enabling your community to bring you to the next level? How can you differentiate your brand and make every single person you touch psyched to read your content, together? How can you create a community of practice?

Community is conversation. Your users are not your community.

Ask yourself the question Rachel Fershleiser asked when building a community on Tumblr: Are you reaching out to the people who want to hear from you and encouraging them or are you just letting your community be unplanned and organic?

There reaches a point where we reach the limit of unplanned organic growth. Know when you reach this limit.

Target, plan, be upbeat, and encourage people to talk to one another without your help and stretch the creativity of your work to the upper limit.

Does this model look different from when you started working in publishing? Good.

As the story of the Bodelian Library illustrated, sometimes a totally crazy idea can be the beginning of an enduring institution.

To repeat, the book is one of the most durable technologies and publishing is one of the most durable industries in history. Its durability has been put to the test more than once, and it will surely be put to the test again. Think of your current concerns as a minor stumbling block in a history filled with success, a history that has documented and shaped the world.

Don’t be afraid of the person who calls you up and says, “I have this crazy idea that may just change the way you work…” While the industry may shift, the printed word will always prevail.

Publishing has been around in some shape or form for 1000 years. Here’s hoping that it’s around for another 1000 more.

[multitv]

A powerful way to engage your employees. Create an immersive experience with MultiTV’s futuristic virtual townhall platform. Virtual Town Hall Platform for Globally Distributed Teams. We empowered engaging global town halls for 1000s of iconic brands including. End to end solution for an engaging, immersive and successful virtual townhall.

[phgq]

NGO commends gov't agencies on hosting Dagyaw 2020

#PHinfo: NGO commends gov't agencies on hosting Dagyaw 2020

BUTUAN CITY, Oct. 30 (PIA) -- Speakers of the first episode of Dagyaw 2020: Virtual Town Hall Meeting praised the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Caraga, Department of Budget Management (DBM) Caraga and the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) Caraga for spearheading the event, which helped shed light on the strong partnership between civil society organizations, private sector, and the government.

Glenn Bais, regional coordinator of Philippine Partnership for the Development of Human Resources in Rural Areas (PhilDHRRA) – Mindanao, who discussed the first topic of the said episode “Building Resilience” commended the said agencies for hosting the event.

“We are so happy that through Dagyaw and other platforms, we are able to display the spirit of partnership and collaboration between and among CSOs and the government and even with the private sector,” he said.

Dagyaw is one of the main campaigns of the current administration that aims to bring the government closer to the people. This year’s campaign focused on making the actions of the government and non-government stakeholders and partners on the current issues, such as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

The event was launched virtually on Thursday via Facebook Live on DILG Caraga and PIA Caraga's official Facebook pages. This was aimed to make it more accessible to the public without compromising their health and safety.

The organization head discussed how Caraganons can build resilience, the ability to overcome and recover from challenges and difficulties, despite the pressure brought by the pandemic.

This entailed nurturing the said trait in oneself by keeping a positive outlook in the situation and facing stressors head-on. Having a strong support system can also help with maintaining resilience, which could comprise of friends and families or even peer groups.

Financial literacy was also briefly discussed. According to Bais, to achieve financial freedom, certain habits must be formed.

“These include making financial goals, budgeting, identifying firstly the needs before wants, knowledge on managing finances, investing, and taking care of one’s mental health. You must also be willing to commit to these habits. Doing so will guarantee financial freedom,” he said.

The PHilDHRRA head also emphasized the need to prepare for future uncertainties. On the part of the government, it is suggested that a recovery master plan that includes innovative strategies that address and mitigate multifaceted issues and a financial literacy program must be made. Government agencies and local government units (LGUs) must also mobilize CSOs to deliver its programs to the marginalized and vulnerable groups.

He concluded his presentation by lauding the efforts of the government to strengthen their links with non-state actors (NSAs) such as PhilDHRRA.

“I am so happy that the government is opening its doors. We all know that social accountability works when there is an open and responsive government. Through this, we can also fortify our partnership. When we are united, we can extend more help especially during this unprecedented crisis.”

"Dagyaw", the Hiligaynon word for "bayanihan," is a series of Open Government Partnership (OGP) and Participatory Governance Regional Townhall Meetings launched by the DBM and DILG with support from the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) and non-government partners.

The event serves as a platform for productive, valuable, sincere and visible engagement between senior officials of government and the citizens, promoting and disseminating information on the open government and participatory governance initiatives of the Duterte administration.

Episode two of this year’s series entitled “Urban Gardening and Livelihood” will be aired on November 5, 2020 at 2:00 pm via Facebook Live, which can be streamed on DILG Caraga and PIA Caraga’s official Facebook pages. (DMNR/PIA-Caraga)

***

References:

* Philippine Information Agency. "NGO commends gov't agencies on hosting Dagyaw 2020." Philippine Information Agency. https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1057571 (accessed October 30, 2020 at 05:42PM UTC+08).

* Philippine Infornation Agency. "NGO commends gov't agencies on hosting Dagyaw 2020." Archive Today. https://archive.ph/?run=1&url=https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1057571 (archived).