Bixi Bicycles Booming in Montreal

By Mark Evans in Main Page 4 Comments

Bixi
There are lots of things to like about Montreal – the nightlife, restaurants, cafes, parks, shopping, et al – but the thing that has really impressed me over the past week has been a system called Bixi that lets people use bicycles when needed.

There are stations scattered throughout downtown Montreal where you can pick up a bicycle, travel to where you want to go, and then park it at another station. The system, which can be accessed and monitored online (that’s the technology angle here!) can tell where you pick and drop off a bicycle, along with how many kilometers it’s been used. Since Bixi’s launch a few months ago, more than 1,000,000 kilometers have been racked up. Now, that’s impressive!

It was thought that Bixi would be particularly popular with tourists looking an easy and eco-friendly way to get around the city but, surprisingly, Bixi has also been enthusiastically embraced by Montrealers who view as a convenient way to commute.

Of course, this shouldn’t be a huge surprise given how Montreal is one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in North America. As someone who commutes via bicycle in Toronto, the focus on promoting bicycles is just another thing to like about Montreal. Along with Bixi, Montreal has aggressively expanded the number of bicycles paths.

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Twitter Bling on Bing for Famous People

By Mark Evans in Search Engines 1 Comment Tags: , , , ,

You have to give Microsoft’s new search engine, Bing, a lot of credit. Since the launch last month, it has done a terrific job of winning over a growing number of people with some savvy public relation efforts.

The latest is the launch of results that show Twitter updates….as long as you’re famous. Dipping its toe into the real-time search market, Bing now presents Twitter updates from “prominent and prolific Twitterers”.

“We’re not indexing all of Twitter at this time… just a small set of prominent and prolific Twitterers to start. We picked a few thousand people to start, based primarily on their follower count and volume of tweets. We think this is an interesting first step toward using Twitter’s public API to surface Tweets in people search. We’d love to hear your feedback as we think through future possibilities in real time search.”

Not surprisingly, the inclusion of Twitter results has received enthusiastically received by many high-profile bloggers – many of whom fall into the “prominent and prolific” category.

It’s another example of how Microsoft is making some smart moves to give Bing a fighting chance. While Bing has some interesting wrinkles, Microsoft has realized that going head-to-head with Google is not a game it’s going to win, so it’s taking another tactic based on coming across as fuser-friendly and a willing to be creative.

So far, it looks like a smart strategy based on Bing’s market share gains recently.

Social Media Shouldn’t Be a Chore

By Mark Evans in Social Media 4 Comments Tags: , , , ,

Chris Brogan is a smart and insightful blogger and one of the leading social media consultants/practitioners but his recent post on establishing an online presence and building relationships should be taken with a grain of salt.

The problem – at least the way I see it – is his prescription for social media success comes across as far too structured, methodical and contrived as opposed to being sincere, transparent and well-intentioned.

Brogan goes through 19 daily rituals for Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and blogs, which he describes as “chores”, that you should do each and every day. For example, on Facebook, he suggests you:

“Check in on birthdays on the home page. (Want a secret? Send the birthday wish via Twitter or email. Feels even more deliberate.)”

I’m sure it can be an effective technique but “checking in on birthdays” seems a long way from a sincere, from-the-heart kind of behaviour.

What makes social media so effective is it’s not a blatant sales vehicle or something that should be faked or seen as a chore. Strong brands and relationships within social media are built on a solid foundation of honesty, sincerity, friendliness and transparency.

You don’t “work” social media by methodically doing the same exercises day in, day out. Instead, you should focus on building your social media brand and relationships inch by inch without taking any shortcuts. In some respects, it’s like making new friends in life – nothing happens overnight but, rather, over time.

There are lots of tools and techniques available to extend your brand and content such as Facebook, Twitter, Friendfeed, del.icio.us and StumbleUpon but those are weapons within your social media arsenal.

But if you’re looking to build a strong social media presence and relationships, it takes time, effort and a straightforward and honest approach.

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