When is Michael Geist going to stop writing about Internet Voting in Canada when he has no clue about what is really happening.

I just read an article written by Michael Geist in the Ottawa Citizen entitled “Here’s a vote against Internet balloting” where Michael describes why Canada should not consider Internet Voting as an option for an election.  He even goes as far as trying to compare a federal election to an unsuccesfully run ICANN Board election – ridiculous!!

The facts don’t lie. Internet Voting has been successfully implemented in binding elections in Canada since 2003. They have received an almost 100% satisfaction rating when implemented. They have increased voter turnout. They provide those who cannot physically go to a polling station (phyically challenged, elderly, out of town) with an opportunity to vote in an election. And as the head of elections in Halifax stated after they offered Internet Voting – it provides a “Green” alternative to paper ballots.

Michael would probably say that Delvinia is biased because we have worked on the communications for the past two elections with Markham and have been exposed first hand to Internet Voting. Trust me, it works. Delvinia has nothing to do with the technology itself, so I have no vested interested other than being a voter who likes to vote online.

Internet Voting is here. Canadians want it. It is reliable, accurate, transparent and safe. Most of all, Canada is leading the world in successfully implementing Internet Voting. Instead of saying why we shouldn’t do it, you should be writing about the fact that Canada is already demonstrating the potential of Internet Voting and further research is needed where it is being implemented so we can show the world that Canada is a world leader in successfully implementing Internet Voting.

AC Pulse Poll Results – Canadian Broadcast Consortium wins with Canadians – Broadcast coverage a hit up north

- TORONTO, March 1 /CNW/ – After 16 gruelling days of competition, the results are in – Canadians believe the broadcast coverage of the 2010 Winter Games was a success.

While CTV – dubbed Canada’s Olympic broadcaster, came under harsh criticism throughout the Games for its hot tub programming and in-your-face patriotism, Canadians continued to tune into watch their athletes compete. In fact, according to a recent survey conducted by AskingCanadians(TM)Pulse (ACPulse), 72.5% of Canadians believe that the coverage of the Vancouver Olympics was executed very well when compared to previous years. The online panel, managed by Delvinia Data Collection, reaches 1000 Canadians from across the country.

“With all the chatter and conversation that erupted after the opening ceremonies, it made sense to ask Canadians what they really thought of how the events were being televised,” said Adam Froman, CEO Delvinia. “ACPulse quickly identified that Canadians were proud of what they saw.”

With the Games officially at a close, Canada’s Broadcast Consortium is wrapping up a whirl-wind of media coverage that saw Canadians downloading Olympic applications to their smart phones, live streaming the Games online and round the clock broadcasting with those most up-to-date coverage available. Any questions as to whether the consortium was equipped to handle the challenge of an international sporting event on home soil have now been quashed with Canadians looking forward to the Summer Olympics in 2012.

About AskingCanadians(TM)Pulse

AskingCanadians(TM)Pulse is a research vehicle that runs biweekly, surveying 1000 Canadians from the Asking Canadians(TM) panel. The sample is demographically representative of the Canadian population, and the margin of error is +/- 3%. AskingCanadians(TM) and its French counterpart Qu’en pensez-vous(MC) are comprised of over 150,000 demographically representative and profiled Canadians from all walks of life that significantly influence today’s leading brands.

About Delvinia

Established in 1998, Delvinia is dedicated to creating effective and innovative digital customer experiences for its clientele. A pioneer and authority on interactive design and digital marketing solutions, Delvinia’s unique Insight Engine and proprietary research tools provide unmatched knowledge into how people use new digital technologies and how best to reach, influence and inspire them. Delvinia’s Insight Engine is continually updated through quarterly and adhoc profiling surveys through its AskingCanadians(TM) online panel, which is managed by Delvinia Data Collection. For a decade, Delvinia’s interactive expertise includes designing innovative digital solutions that focus on its understanding of the customer first and implementing truly integrated, and frankly, better digital customer experiences.

For more information, visit www.delvinia.com. For further information: Nick Cowling, (416) 934-8101, Nick.cowling@cossette.com; Gabrielle Totesau, (416) 934-8035, Gabrielle.totesau@cossette.com

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/March2010/01/c5586.html

An Opportunity for Change

If you live in Toronto, it is hard not to hear about what has been going on with the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) front line workers and commuters of the TTC.  For those that may have not, it started a couple of weeks back when a TTC rider took a picture  of  TTC ticket operator sleeping behind the ticket window and posted it on the Internet.  This was followed by another rider taking a video of a TTC bus driver taking an extended break and posting that video as well.  The media have loved this type of issue with story after story.

This led to the TTC Chief General Manager Gary Webster issuing a letter to the TTC employees saying that their customers deserve better.  Brilliant.  This led to TTC staff creating a facebook site called “Toronto Transit Operators Against Public Harassment” and they are threatening a Work-to-Rule Campaign. Once again…brilliant!!

What is really happening is that social media, mobile cameras and devices, and the fact that people have incredible power today has led to people fighting back.  And management and unions alike are struggling with how to deal with this.  And just check out the firestorm of comments on the various media sites around this topic.

A work to rule campaign against the very customers who ride the TTC?  Aren’t work to rule campaigns supposed to be used against management as a negotiating chip?  But the unions are trying to use the same tactic on an issue that TTC Management has absolutely NO CONTROL over.  And all that the head of the TTC said was, “Serve our customers better”. The TTC Operators are trying to fall back on collective bargaining agreements that are between management but not the customers themselves. 

Well the winds of change are among us, and it is time for TTC Management and the Unions to realize that the public has a voice and they have are now entering a period where their traditional collective bargaining agreements have very little control over that voice.  The TTC is not alone.  This is occurring everywhere that people are using a service that a union-management relationship exist, including such established union environments as the Peforming Arts.

I don’t have the answers of what will be the solution for this issue, but I do know that it is time to change the way both unions and management look at how they work together to deliver products and services to customers.  It is time for unions and management realize that this new digital age is upon us and it is only going to grow.  For the TTC workers, what do you think will happen if they actually implement a work to rule campaign and disrupt service for TTC riders, all because they don’t want to be videotaped or pictures taken when they do something wrong.

What they don’t realize is that they can turn the tables, and people will do the same thing for something good.  Imagine the great feeling TTC employees will have when people videotape a TTC Bus Driver helping someone in distress.  They will be hero and the TTC will look great.

It doesn’t have to all be bad.  It is just different.  I hope that both the TTC Management and the union representing TTC workers can sit down and realize that this is not going away, and that they need to change they way they will address the public outcry in the digital medium.  Applying their traditional methods of controlling the situation will no longer work in this digital age.   They need a new perspective and that starts with embracing the fact that digital technologies have given people incredible power and control, and they are speaking up. 

This change won’t be easy, but it will happen. This is only the beginning…