Last night’s performance by Colin Hay at the First Baptist Church in Ottawa put them all to shame.

I’ve been a fan of Hay’s music since Men at Work and more so of his solo work. I’d heard about his amazing storytelling and how it’s an integral part of his live show. My guitar teacher has carried on about Hay’s performances and he walked me through Hay’s intelligent songwriting.

Nothing could have prepared me for what I experienced last night.

In fact, experience is probably the perfect word to describe last night. It’s exactly what I needed following the recent death of my uncle (some of Hay’s songs helped carry me through that process). Mr. Hay’s rapport with the roughly 500 people in the room felt very personal and individual — an analog in many ways of conversations I had with my uncle in the weeks leading up to his death. We often reflected on our conversations as being real, as each of us being present and willing to immerse ourselves in the moment. Mr. Hay channeled those same feelings by so clearly pouring himself into his songs and stories, simultaneously making the audience laugh, cry and think. He offered his own reflections in the way a true friend would, not as someone who revels in the adoration of a paying audience.

He was genuine. Real. Present. He will be a very tough act to follow.

And I would trade any opportunity to meet Sting, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland to talk about creative reinvention with Colin Hay over a a coffee or tea (with lapsang souchong) if he would have my company.

Colin Hay: a unique concert experience is a post from Mark Blevis. Sign up for my free digital public affairs newsletter.

The program for this year’s conference will be released very soon; hopefully early this coming week. In the meantime, I thought I’d build the momentum for PAB2012 by playing excerpts of Anthony Marco‘s 2011 session, The Unattended Moment in the Communication Jam. Anthony followed up his 2010 JOLT! with a session on story, joy, surprise, shivers and authenticity to explain how connections and spaces in content create moments between creators and the audiences.

Conference Saturdays: The Unattended Moment in the Communication Jam is a post from Mark Blevis. Sign up for my free digital public affairs newsletter.

I was planning on publishing a one-year later report, today. Circumstances prevented that. I do plan on publishing some form or retrospective analysis on the role of digital in Canadian politics in the time since May 2, 2011. I also have some other research and content production projects on the go. I’ll post updates as they become available.

In the meantime, I’ll continue to enjoy the thought that I won’t have to travel to my polling station for a federal, Ontario or Ottawa election this calendar year.

Has it been a year, already? is a post from Mark Blevis. Sign up for my free digital public affairs newsletter.

This is worth the full one hour and 40 minutes for anyone with an (even passing) interest in creativity, storytelling and communication.

Conference Saturdays: Creative process and teamwork is a post from Mark Blevis. Sign up for my free digital public affairs newsletter.

My most sincere thank you to you and Mr. Beeston for the kind note he wrote and you had couriered to my uncle, Kenneth Ain, at Baycrest yesterday.

I grew up (and still live) in Ottawa and would often visit my favourite uncle in Toronto. In fact, each summer from the time I was nine until I was 14, my parents would put me on the Voyageur bus in Ottawa and my uncle Ken and aunt Myrna would pick me up at the terminal in Toronto. I would spend a week with them and my two (amazing) cousins. During that week my Uncle and I would attend baseball games at Exhibition stadium watching the likes of Bob Bailor, Dave Stieb, Ernie Whitt and Mookie Wilson. Those are among the many special memories I have of my uncle. In teaching me how to throw tennis balls at a can, he became my first mentor, helping me understand focus, confidence and achieving goals through applied effort.

Last week’s season opener was another special memory of my uncle I will cherish. I had not expected he would be interested in watching the game, nor sticking through the full 16 innings. It was a great reintroduction to baseball for me after an extended break. While I have always enjoyed following the Jays, I was a devoted Expos fan (and worked for the Ottawa Lynx in 95/96) and still haven’t quite forgiven Bud Selig for his handling of the Montreal situation. It took my uncle’s cancer diagnosis for me to decide to reconnect with my favourite sport.

Ken was deeply touched by Mr. Beeston’s note. Despite his failing health and waining energy, he called me last night to thank me so much and to ask how I managed to make the note happen. Words cannot express how much I appreciate what you and Mr. Beeston did for my uncle, me and our family. I understand the card has been placed among some family photos in my uncle’s room at Baycrest where he’s expected to pass in the coming days.

I am now a re-committed Jays fan and look forward to taking my wife and our two daughters to the Rogers Centre to see a game this summer. I would be honoured to discuss ways in which I can volunteer some time to help the team and/or its foundation.

Best wishes for a great weekend, a successful home stand and a championship season. I’ll be watching tonight’s game and toasting the two of you.

Sincerely,
Mark

Big league class is a post from Mark Blevis. Sign up for my free digital public affairs newsletter.

Register to be an organ donor at BeADonor.ca.

This video documents the entire Parliament Hill event.

(Quoted from alungstory.ca) The Torch of Life relay has been an annual event since 2004. The goal of these campaigns is to raise awareness of the need for organ and tissue donations. This event is sponsored by Step by Step Organ Transplant Association. Its mission is to empower students’ participation in promoting organ and tissue donations throughout their communities, inspiring the public, media, and the 3 levels of government.

The 2012 Torch of Life relay includes 75 Ontario cities, including Ottawa on March 30th. It will end its course on June 19th at Queen’s Park in Toronto. This year’s campaign, Register Now, is challenging people in each community to register at beadonor.ca and to actively promote tissue and organ donations.

Torch of Life Relay event in Ottawa for BeADonor.ca is a post from Mark Blevis. Sign up for my free digital public affairs newsletter.

Today’s talk features Derek’s analysis of the starting of a movement. His witty analysis explains a lot about various movements we’ve witnessed.

Conference Saturdays: How to start a movement is a post from Mark Blevis. Sign up for my free digital public affairs newsletter.

Today, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson will declare March 30, 2012 Hélène Campbell Day in a ceremony at City Hall (Hélène may join via Skype from Toronto where she is staying while waiting for the call for her surgery). There will be a procession to a rally on Parliament Hill immediately after the City Hall event.

A champion of organ donation (analysis performed using Sysomos MAP)

#BeAnOrganDonor total tweets Jan-Mar

It began with a well constructed web site. The design, navigation and information is clean — uncluttered. The story is simply told and the goal is clear. Hélène maintains a very personal blog on the site which reduces the distance between herself and the reader.

Hélène’s website is hosted by a very capable service provider. Webadmin Taber Bucknell informed me that Squarespace (which he learned about from the TWiT network) has been outstanding in keeping up with the traffic demands imposed on the site. As near as Taber can tell, the site has never been down.

JUSTIN BIEBER

On January 16, Hélène released a video on YouTube. The video set up a campaign which would launch three days later. The goal of the campaign was to get as many people as possible to “tweet up a storm” to @JustinBieber requesting his help to raise awareness of organ donation using the hashtag #BeAnOrganDonor. Why Justin Bieber? As Hélène says in the video, “because he has a ton of followers.” It was a simple call to action from an enthusiastic and energetic young woman.

And tweet they did. In the 14 days leading up to the launch of the video, there had been only 512 tweets referencing Hélène or using #BeAnOrganDonor. Twitter activity picked up with the launch of the video, resulting in 476 relevant tweets from January 16 to 18. Then came January 19. The campaign kicked off with 15,816 tweets. An additional 2,257 tweets trickled out on the 20th.

Justin Bieber joined the conversation on Saturday, January 21. He issued four tweets that day. That set off the firestorm; 39,634 tweets and 12,378 visits to Hélène’s website (a 100-fold increase in web traffic) . A thank you video was posted to YouTube by Hélène before the day was out. In the week that followed, the Trillium Gift of Life Network reported 1,200 new registered donors at BeADonor.ca during that weekend; 20-50 is the daily norm.

Hélène had been in the news about her situation before this campaign. The Bieber-effect made her a media sensation. That also fuelled momentum online. As we’ve seen in many cases of personal, consumer and political issues, social media and traditional media have a symbiotic, sometimes co-dependent, relationship. Social media can both drive the story and become the story.

(Read more about what Justin Bieber and The Fonz have in common)

ELLEN DEGENERES

#BeAnOrganDonor Twitter traffic analysis

A second campaign was launched with another video on February 8. The target this time was actress and TV talk show host Ellen DeGeneres. Traffic had dropped to 826 relevant tweets in the week leading up to the launch of the campaign. There were 4,096 tweets on February 9 and 1,792 heading into the weekend. Overall, the campaign was a quieter one with 7,308 total relevant tweets up to and including February 15. That would prove to be an inaccurate measure of this particular campaign. Even the big splash on February 16 had relatively little consequence online (compared to the Bieber-effect); 2,543 tweets and roughly 3,500 website visits that day.

No, the payoff of this effort was an unexpected appearance on The Ellen Show. This of course gave Hélène some major US media exposure and led to a whole new round of Canadian media attention. Suddenly the importance of signing organ donor cards was getting major media support. As many NGOs and non-profit organizations will tell you, you can’t pay for that kind of awareness.

DON CHERRY

A third campaign targeted Canadian celebrity hockey commentator Don Cherry, himself new to Twitter. His March 24 tweet “@alungstory Helene I’m a supporter organ donation. My son Timothy had a kidney transplant when he was 13. Keep fighting for a great cause” was one of 289 that day. Hardly a drop in the bucket compared to Justin Bieber or Ellen DeGeneres. Still, a very important win for the cause. Their efforts reached an audience they hadn’t yet gone after. Though, their hope was Don Cherry would bring the subject up on CBC’s very popular hockey analysis segment, Coach’s Corner.

While some may question the choice of Cherry as a meaningful online spokesperson, it’s clear Hélène and her support team are being strategic in picking their targets. It’s clear they’re hoping to activate a variety of demographics through a variety of media. And with today’s events at City Hall and Parliament Hill, they score new victories in their campaign.

Here’s hoping Hélène’s efforts help connect her with a perfectly matched, perfectly healthy set of lungs.

Analysis of all relevant tweets from January through March.

Hélène Campbell’s #BeAnOrganDonor campaign proves every voice counts is a post from Mark Blevis. Sign up for my free digital public affairs newsletter.

One of the projects I was involved in was the Canadian Government’s Secure Channel. It was a massive effort to bring government services online. The delivery team had to tackle many complex issues such as capacity, federated identity, security of information in transmission and storage, and privacy of personal information particularly as it applied to cross-departmental interactions.

Among the early design decisions; the entire system had to be available 99.999% of the time (the entire system couldn’t be offline for more then five-and-a-half minutes each year) and be able to handle the volume of traffic typical of the final hours of net filing of personal tax returns experienced by the Canada Revenue Agency.

Basically, Secure Channel was an incredibly complex system which had to be mostly over-architected for 364 days of each year.

Add to the mix that integrity of the data was incredibly important. If the data couldn’t be trusted the entire Secure Channel would be useless. That meant layering security controls such as intrusion detection, prevention and integrity monitoring systems.

To recap, we’re talking about a distributed, high-availability, high-capacity, load-balanced, trusted secure system which allowed citizens to do business with their government with confidence. The complexity and costs earned Secure Channel the label “billion dollar boondoggle.” (See I worked on The Secure Channel, a $1B ‘boondoggle’)

This past weekend provided an important example of why systems are becoming so complex. The reliability of the NDP Leadership vote results have been questioned by some because a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack against the online voting system interfered with NDP members’ ability to cast their ballots online.

Put simply, DDoS attacks are like orchestrated traffic jams. The data remains intact because it can’t be reached. The meaning of the data is questioned because of concern the data provided might come from a small sample. In one case I know of, a BC-based NDP member had to try for a full hour before being able to register his vote. How many people gave up trying or were never able to get through? How many people succumbed to voting fatigue brought on by each subsequent round of voting and cascading delays in reaching the system?

Like it or not, big money, big government and big politics are desirable targets for elements of computer culture interested in a personal challenge or making a political statement. This also introduces thoughts of political war room tactics.

In light of reports about voter-suppressing robocalls and contested polls, one can only wonder what kind of system would allow Canadians to cast their ballots online.

Photo: Days of a startup uploaded to flickr by dennis.tang.

Can cloud politics truly scale for the population? is a post from Mark Blevis. Sign up for my free digital public affairs newsletter.

However, I want to break form for a few minutes and comment on the presentation styles employed by the NDP leadership candidates during Friday afternoon’s showcase showdown.

You may have already read/heard a lot about the 20 minute final pitches by each of the candidates. Perhaps you were there or watched them on TV or over the web. They’ve inspired many conversations and have drawn out many opinions.

Here are my own thoughts on the presentation and communication styles exhibited Friday afternoon.

Nathan Cullen owned the showcase showdown. He walked to the front of the stage, put some notes on a stool and spoke to the audience as though it was a single person. As choreographed as his talk may have been, it seemed to be what Toastmasters folk call talking extemporaneously. In the moment. From the heart.

Paul Dewar’s showcase speech was overshadowed by his extended and raucous introduction. It was during his showcase that I started to recognize the awkward stage we middle-age men are often mocked for. We’re meandering between hip and hip replacement. Mr. Dewar’s showcase including a rap-duet and a battery of videos seemed like an oversell and it didn’t land in several demographics.

Like Dewar’s, Brian Topp’s showcase featured a turnstyle of endorsements from recognizable figures. Driven by a teleprompter, Mr. Topp was more traditional in nature with a little flash added using video. His showcase was largely familiar in politics and did little to help or harm him.

Niki Ashton was high energy. Charging out on stage with the freedom afforded by the use of a headset mic, she seemed unaware her audience’s ear was a mere inch or so from her mouth. Her delivery caused @InfoAlerteBot to tweet “NIKI ASHTON PROMISES TO YELL AT EVERYONE: MEN, WOMEN, CHILDREN, RANDOM STRANGERS IN THE STREET!” Ms. Ashton’s hand gestures seemed incongruent to her enthusiasm: thumb-to-index-and-middle-finger hand thrusts and cupped hands. Her hands contradicted someone campaigning as a young leaders with fresh ideas.

Thomas Mulcair made a grand entrance with a marching band. It was a smart way to amp up the energy in the room without activating the generation divide. However, the entrance was poorly timed and Mr. Mulcair seemed inexperienced to edit his speech on the fly. Rather than make some quick mental cuts and deliver concise thoughts people would remember, Mr. Mulcair raced through his prepared speech like a cheetah on Red Bull.

Peggy Nash oscillated between yelling at her audience in English and talking to her audience in French. Despite my nearly-absent bilingualism, I had a better time understanding and connecting with Ms. Nash when she spoke French. Sadly, Ms. Nash ran up against her time limit and found herself having to yell louder and louder to be heard over the give-her-the-hook music.

Martin Singh was a bit of surprise in the showdown. Like others, his featured an opening video. Only, his was different. It was informative, fun and animated. It told his story in a concise way and did a lot to help those unfamiliar with him understand how he got “here” and from where his ideas come. Then his son played the violin (more below) and he spoke in a very person-to-person way.

There is merit to all of the approaches featured on the stage Friday afternoon. I think a mix in any presentation is a good idea. However, I believe trying to pack too much into a finite time invites a variety of challenges; sometimes even disaster. Above all, what you present on stage must be believably you.

Just one more thing. I mentioned Martin Singh’s son played the violin. I’m certain more than a few people braced themselves for this one. I was among them. However, the performance was solid, all things considered, and it was the ONLY time during the showcase showdown that everyone in the room, people in all seven camps and probably even some of the media folks, clapped in unison and applauded together.

Presentation is all in the delivery is a post from Mark Blevis. Sign up for my free digital public affairs newsletter.

We’re in the midst of fourth round of voting in the NDP Leadership convention. About 90 minutes after writing this, a new NDP leader will be elected. Popular wisdom is that leader will be Thomas Mulcair and that Brian Topp’s name of the fourth ballot sends a pointed message to Mr. Mulcair.

Despite their names being on the final ballot, both Messrs Mulcair and Topp individually represent a relatively small portion of the online chatter today. That’s been dominated-and-a-half by Nathan Cullen, followed by Peggy Nash who was eliminated in round two, several hours ago. Yes, despite being out of the running in the last ballot, even Ms. Nash is the subject of a greater measure of the Twitter conversation.

As of 7:00pmET, there had been 41,282 NDP leadership convention related tweets on the day. Those tweets represent an estimated 49.6 million impressions.

Most of the tweets are known as retweets (RT) or rebroadcasts of updates published by others (46.74%). That’s the equivalent of forwarding an email you received to everyone you know. I call that the amplifier effect. It doesn’t represent engagement as much as it represents an act of sharing or relaying. Some might consider it an endorsement. That’s not always the case since some people RT other content and prepend a comment that adds context to the relay. That context may be positive, constructive or critical. A healthy portion of the tweets are original content (43.91%). Fewer than 10% represent what I would consider to be legitimate conversation or engagement.

The following is a breakdown of #NDPldr Twitter traffic for the day as of 7:00pmET. The number of tweets is indicated in brackets. It’s important to remember that quantity of traffic doesn’t suggest quality of content or engagement. It’s simply a measure of mentions, including the candidate’s own Tweets.

1. Nathan Cullen (9,281)
2. Peggy Nash (5,219)
3. Thomas Mulcair (3,988)
4. Brian Topp (2,776)
5. Paul Dewar (1,006)
6. Niki Ashton (939)
7. Martin Singh (371)

Like most of the political and public affairs digital analysis I’ve performed over that last few years, #NDPldr traffic is predominately male generated (68%). The numbers are nothing if not consistent.

And, traffic largely emanates from Ontario (55.7%), distantly followed by British Columbia (16.5%) and Quebec (9.2%).

FRENCH

Please note the above analysis only considers English traffic. A quick review of Twitter traffic tagged with #NPDldr OR #NPD reveals 3,539 tweets (representing and estimated 10.7 million impression), issues mostly by men (65%).

French tweets were issued mostly in Quebec (69.2%), followed by Ontario (24.6%) and the remaining 6.2% from the rest of the country.

Analysis performed using Sysomos MAP.

#NDPldr and #NPDldr Twitter traffic report for voting day (7pmET) is a post from Mark Blevis. Sign up for my free digital public affairs newsletter.

The NDP is learning about the triumphs and trials of “cloud politics” — online communication, engagement and especially voting.

The story coming in to the the convention had two narrative streams. There’s the established norm of a high volume of Twitter chatter and, for the first time in NDP history, online voting which allows members across the country to follow the convention on television and online, and cast their ballot through the NDP website.

Brilliant in theory. As it turns out, it can be incredibly painful in practice.

The new narrative seems to be changing with each passing moment. At first it appeared the NDP voting system was under-architected and became overwhelmed by demand; doomed because of instability. The most recent updates suggest a possible deliberate attack on the system. No matter the source of the problem, the interrupted vote is the new narrative and will be the lead story on this convention for weeks to come. If the attack turns out to be true and the police are brought in to investigate, a fresh gallon of 1.28/l gasoline will be thrown on to the fire of partisanship.

A Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack is a network security term to describe a system that fails when multiple dispersed computer systems direct more traffic at the system than it’s designed to handle. You’ve probably heard of this kind of attack. It’s been used against major credit card companies, eCommerce sites and government departments around the world in an attempt to interrupt economic and government activity. It violates the third tenet of the information security triad of Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability (CIA). Essentially, a secure system protects the privacy and quality of the data in both transmission and storage, and the data must always be available.

A DDoS is like a coordinated traffic jam on all roads leading to a particular destination. Poorly designed cities impose a DoS on fans of the local sports team on game night.

Taking voting and political engagement systems online invites adversaries to attempt interfering with business. It’s one of the many challenges presented in the age of cloud politics.

Right now there are more questions than answers. My guess is the NDP is focussed on using band aids and duct tape to hold what’s already there in place, take a few Tylenol and do what’s necessary to make sure the vote happens. The answers will have to be chased down once the hangovers are gone.

Welcome to Cloud(y) Politics is a post from Mark Blevis. Sign up for my free digital public affairs newsletter.

Anyone trying to stay on top of the conversation about the NDP Leadership convention is likely struggling. The volume of Twitter traffic is absolutely overwhelming. As of the time of writing this post (1:50pm), there have been 20,075 tweets. That’s one tweet every 2.5 seconds. The question becomes, do all of the tweets, the streaming video and audio, the blog posts and Facebook status updates play any measurable role in the convention?

I conducted an informal poll to see if I could arrive at a meaningful answer. The poll was launched just after the first round voting results were announced so I could ask if the online commentary was playing a role in second round voting decisions.

The second round results have just been announced and the runaway leader in my poll is that digital/social media have allowed NDP members to save travel expenses, follow the convention and cast their ballots from the comfort of their own living room. The ultimate reality show? One quarter of respondents made their second round voting decision before the convention began. Nearly 12 per cent claim their decision was influenced by what they read/saw online.

SUMMARY OF RESULTS

• 71 people volunteered a response to the question “Is digital (online streams, blogs, tweets, Facebook updates…) playing a role in your NDP leadership vote?”
• 56.34% (40 votes) Digital streams allowed me to stay at home and participate in the convention remotely (rather than going to the expense of travelling to the convention).
• 23.94% (17 votes) My second round voting decision was made before the convention began.
• 11.27% (8 votes) Commentary on social media and/or digital streams helped me make my second round decision.
• 8.45% (6 votes) Digital is playing no role in my decision.

Digital allows NDP members to follow and vote from home is a post from Mark Blevis. Sign up for my free digital public affairs newsletter.

Hands down, the most active and engaged of the Facebook campaigns by any of the NDP leadership candidates was run by Nathan Cullen and his team. Well, “run” is the probably the wrong word for it. Run has a task-oriented connotation. Cullen’s camp turned this digital property into a gathering place where all participants could interact among themselves and with the campaign. Nathan and his team returned the favour by doing more than just pumping out messages and content. They answered questions and responded to comments. True social media.

In the last 21 days of the leadership campaign (up to and including yesterday), Nathan’s page became home to more than 500 posts with an average of 3.6 comments per post. They attracted 1,805 comments and 6,920 likes during that period.

Niki Ashton was also a participant in her own Facebook community, though not to the same extent as Nathan. During the same period, Niki contributed a handful of the 50 comments on her page’s 78 posts, an average of 0.6 comments and 3.2 likes per post. Like Nathan, Niki responded to comments and questions.

In one case I’ve been following closely, a new voting member of the NDP (joined during the recent pre-convention membership push) posted the same question to the Facebook Fan Pages of all the remaining candidates in an effort to help him make a voting decision. Nathan and Niki were the only candidates to respond in the comments to the post — publicly, that is. I understand Martin Singh contacted the member over email. None of the remaining candidates acknowledged the question, costing them a potential voter.

Joe Cressy of the Paul Dewar camp informed me during an interview that their team had a workflow which involved identifying the comment/question, checking the commenter’s name against the NDP database and then contacting them over the phone. The flow, while effective in a traditional model, overlooks the very public perception of apathy or absence. I have confirmed with the member in question that this offline contact did not take place.

Some of the remaining candidates enjoyed a respectable amount of activity over the last 21 days of the campaign even if their own role was that drawing out a chorus of support. Appearances suggest they did not actively harness the energy of their respective Facebook communities.

Here are the stats for the remainder of the candidates in the field entering the convention:

• Peggy Nash: 108 wall posts, 48 comments (average 4.5 comments and 37.8 likes per post)
• Thomas Mulcair: 186 wall posts, 302 comments (average 1.6 comments and 6.8 likes per post). Added problem of a significant number of critical posts and comments from one individual.
• Paul Dewar: 170 wall posts, 205 comments (average 1.2 comments and 11.6 likes per post)
• Brian Topp: 76 wall posts, 48 comments (average 0.6 comments and 4.7 likes per post)
• Martin Singh: 33 wall posts, 20 comments (average 0.6 comments and 2.2 likes per post)

Analysis performed using Sysomos MAP.

Analysis of Facebook Fan Pages and the #ndpldr convention candidates is a post from Mark Blevis. Sign up for my free digital public affairs newsletter.

A podcast featuring discussions about the role of digital in the NDP Leadership Campaigns, the future of the NDP and Canadian politics with:

• Evan Solomon (CBC Power and Politics)
• Joe Cressy (Paul Dewar)
• Mike Fancee (Thomas Mulcair)
• Dave Scrivener (Peggy Nash)
• Coree Tull (Nathan Cullen)
• Brian Topp

I hope to speak with Niki Ashton and Martin Singh, today.

Podcast: Digital, #ndpldr, #ndp and Canadian politics is a post from Mark Blevis. Sign up for my free digital public affairs newsletter.

I’d be grateful if you could help spread the word to NDP members to participate in the poll below. If you have any further thoughts, please share them in the comments.

Thanks!

POLL: Is social media playing a role in NDP member voting decisions? is a post from Mark Blevis. Sign up for my free digital public affairs newsletter.

Twitter has been alive with activity about the NDP Leadership Convention. People issuing Twitter updates identified with the so-called hashtag (text identifier) #ndpldr or #ndp were responsible for 16,164 tweets before the Jack Layton tribute began at 7:00pm. That’s more than the average number of election-related tweets issued each day during last year’s federal campaign.

As far as Twitter mentions are concerned, Nathan Cullen had been the runaway leader until late afternoon when Peggy Nash gained momentum. Martin Singh’s showcase, including his son’s violin performance, helped him significantly. His tweet count had been firm below 50 prior to him taking the stage. Thomas Mulcair, despite being considered the frontrunner, has lagged.

The following is the breakdown of which of the seven leadership candidates dominated Twitter chatter just before the tribute began. The number of tweets is provided in brackets. It’s important to remember that quantity of traffic doesn’t suggest quality of content or engagement. It’s simply a measure of mentions, including the candidate’s own Tweets.

1. Peggy Nash (2,937)
2. Nathan Cullen (2,491)
3. Brian Topp (1,166)
4. Niki Ashton (1,082)
5. Thomas Mulcair (1,049)
6. Paul Dewar (1,026)
7. Martin Singh (473)

Analysis performed using Sysomos MAP.

#NDPldr topped Canadian Twitter trends for March 23 is a post from Mark Blevis. Sign up for my free digital public affairs newsletter.

Twitter is a lot of things and has been called many more. I view it as a real-time, self-selected, voluntary focus group. During political debates, Twitter allows observers to measure who and which issue is getting the most attention, good or bad.

So, good or bad, this is the breakdown of which of the remaining seven leadership candidates dominated Twitter chatter the day before, the day of and the day after each of the debates. The number of tweets is provided in brackets. It’s important to remember that quantity of traffic doesn’t suggest quality of content or engagement. It’s simply a measure of mentions, including the candidate’s own Tweets. Analysis performed using Sysomos MAP.

OTTAWA; DEC 4, 2011

• Before: Niki Ashton (40), Peggy Nash (35), Brian Topp (23)
• During: Peggy Nash (482), Brian Topp (326), Nathan Cullen (221)
• After: Peggy Nash (98), Brian Topp (66), Nathan Cullen (52)

TORONTO; JAN 18, 2012

• Before: Thomas Mulcair (387), Paul Dewar (148), Peggy Nash (138)
• During: Peggy Nash (769), Nathan Cullen (607), Paul Dewar (335)
• After: Brian Topp (262), Nathan Cullen (160), Peggy Nash (106)

HALIFAX; JAN 29, 2012

• Before: Peggy Nash (148), Brain Topp (103), Paul Dewar (85)
• During: Nathan Cullen (935), Peggy Nash (871) Paul Dewar and Martin Singh (453)
• After: Nathan Cullen (166), Peggy Nash (155), Thomas Mulcair (121)

QUEBEC CITY; FEB 12, 2012

• Before: Nathan Cullen (190), Thomas Mulcair (153), Peggy Nash (121)
• During: Nathan Cullen (548), Paul Dewar (383), Thomas Mulcair (361)
• After: Nathan Cullen (292), Brian Topp (283), Peggy Nash (274)

WINNIPEG; FEB 26, 2012

• Before: Nathan Cullen (182), Brian Topp (158), Thomas Mulcair (106)
• During: Nathan Cullen (921), Peggy Nash (719), Brian Topp (471)
• After: Peggy Nash (480), Nathan Cullen (240), Thomas Mulcair (166)

MONTREAL; MAR 4, 2012

• Before: Nathan Cullen (284), Paul Dewar (220), Thomas Mulcair (135)
• During: Nathan Cullen (624), Thomas Mulcair (558), Peggy Nash (503)
• After: Nathan Cullen (488), Peggy Nash (314), Paul Dewar (259)

VANCOUVER; MAR 11, 2012

• Before: Nathan Cullen (442), Brian Topp (186), Thomas Mulcair (158)
• During: Nathan Cullen (1,537), Peggy Nash (887), Thomas Mulcair (737)
• After: Nathan Cullen (627), Thomas Mulcair (251), Paul Dewar (212)

Considering all Twitter traffic throughout the leadership campaign, Nathan Cullen’s name or Twitter handle has appeared in more tweets than any other candidate (23.9%), followed by Peggy Nash (22.3%) and Thomas Mulcair (17.3%).

Yesterday, as candidates made their way to Toronto for the Leadership Convention, Peggy Nash dominated mentions of the candidates (684) followed by Nathan Cullen (585) and Thomas Mulcair (377).

Twitter and the #NDPldr debates is a post from Mark Blevis. Sign up for my free digital public affairs newsletter.

I’ve already written about my surprise that, for the most part, NDP leadership candidates have only embraced the notion of democratized media rather than social media. The difference may seem subtle, though it’s important. Democratized media are channels over which anyone can publish content. Social media are digital gathering places where people interact. If someone goes to your Facebook page and posts a question, everyone sees that question. That’s democratic. If the candidate or campaign fails to answer the question, that’s anti-social. More importantly, it’s a public act. It devalues terms often touted by politicians: transparent, engage, modernize.

Having said that, there have been a few digital activities over the campaign trail worth a few props.

CONTENT

Thomas Mulcair‘s campaign has prominently placed an energetic video shot at Brixton’s in Ottawa following the December debate. The video breaks the pattern of stuffy political staples like talking heads.

PARTICIPATION

Although she hasn’t fully configured her Facebook Fan Page, Niki Ashton is treating it as an actual gathering place. Not only does she allow others to post content, she monitors and responds to questions and comments, and prominently features posts by others near the top of the page.

ENGAGEMENT

Nathan Cullen‘s pledge page offers the ability for visitors to indicate if they will, may, or will not support his campaign, complete with voluntary feedback. As of this writing, 1,156 people have left comments including one I noticed which indicates someone withdrew their support six days ago. Social media efforts are far more credible if they show all points of view. I also like Nathan’s events page which features a pinned map of Canada, his very specific volunteer registration form, and that he responds to comments/questions on his Facebook Fan Page.

A few #NDPldr campaign digital activities worth noting is a post from Mark Blevis. Sign up for my free digital public affairs newsletter.

Three things are certain when it comes to digital at this weekend’s NDP leadership convention:

1. A leader will be selected on March 24th whether social media plays a role, or not. While social media is likely to be a prominent part of the narrative, it’s unlikely to play a role in the outcome of the vote.
2. There will be a lot of online chatter throughout the weekend. Participants in the chatter will include delegates, NDP members scattered across the county and politically-enthusiastic Canadians.
3. I’ll be watching the online chatter, reporting on it and seeking answers from candidates and delegates: what role should digital be playing in the future of the party and in this evolving era of Canadian politics?

I’ve been researching the role of social media in Canadian politics and public affairs for over two years. Thankfully, our political system has generously indulged me with municipal, provincial and federal elections, a provincial and a national party convention, two provincial leadership and now one federal leadership campaign. In each, social media have figured into two primary roles; campaign outreach, and a gathering place for political conversation — like a massive cocktail party in an aircraft hangar.

Using tools including Sysomos, I’ve been able to collect and analyze volumes of data. I’ve identified usage patterns, trends and outcomes, and mapped online traffic as it pertains to political issues and scandals — Bill-C30 and election robocalls have added some spice to the chatter.

Despite the number of opportunities Canadian politicians have been presented over the last two years, social media in politics is still in its infancy. Perhaps that’s why it’s so prominently featured in much of the political reporting. For strategists like me, it’s an exciting time because digital is so new in this realm, and everything changes so rapidly. What hasn’t changed, though, is the nature of social media.

Social media is fundamentally about technology-enabled, community-building conversation. It’s a newish world well-suited to politics since much of politics is ideas, communities of interest and groundswells of support. The people who have benefited the most are those who have figured out how to adapt their social media use from simply staying in touch with their inner-circle of family and friends to building new and meaningful connections through online interactions.

Internet marketing research firm ComScore released the Canada Digital Future in Focus 2012 report at the beginning of this month. Though it may come as a surprise, the report shows Canadians lead the world in online engagement. For political teams there is a wealth of important information in the report.

For instance, Canadians spend an average of 45.6 hours per month on line (5.3 more hours per month than our American friends). We consume more online content. Our use of social media is on the rise across all age groups; anywhere from 14 per cent (ages 45-54) to 67 per cent (ages 18-24). We’re heavy Facebook users, and our participation in Twitter grew 60 per cent in 2011. On YouTube, Canadian views of news/information videos which grew 185 per cent are second only to our love of entertainment videos. Smartphones have reached 45 per cent of the mobile telephone market with noticeable growth in Quebec and the Atlantic provinces. Reading news/information and participating in social networks are the two dominant mobile phone activities for Canadians; both increased at least 40 per cent since 2010.

Armed with this information, politicians and their teams should be personally and financially invested in social media. Digital should be baked into all communication strategies rather than tacked on after the fact. Politicians should be using a variety of tools to engage Canadians and hopefully get them out to the polls — perhaps even become active members of a political party.

Why does this matter as we head into the NDP Leadership Convention?

With few exceptions, the seven remaining NDP leadership candidates have been weak in immersing themselves in digital culture. Veterans and newcomers alike use the requisite tools of social media almost exclusively as additional channels over which to broadcast their messages. They’re practicing (sometimes schmaltzy) politics-as-usual in an ecosystem that expects something disruptive – something worth getting excited about or investing energy (no footage found). While we often hear candidates talk about engaging with Canadians, there’s been little to suggest they understand how.

On one hand, this is surprising coming from the NDP. The party’s focus has been on changing politics. Social media figured into their federal election strategy. They witnessed the power of social media outposts as gathering places to support Jack Layton when he was diagnosed with cancer and to grieve his untimely death last August. They’ve also seen how social media participants are influencing discussions in Parliament. It’s that freshness of everything digital that results in news stories becoming online conversations and online conversations becoming news stories.

On the other hand , who can blame them? The Conservative Party has proven elections can be won with almost no online communication at all and online crises can be ridden out.

The Conservative approach is not likely to be effective for much longer. Anyone who expects to be well-positioned to meet Canadians where they gather online needs to grow with the tools. Waiting until social media become cemented into our political system will be too late.

Social media adoption in politics is more evolutionary than revolutionary is a post from Mark Blevis. Sign up for my free digital public affairs newsletter.