Communicopia

In my studies in Communications recently, I have come across some interesting theories on the social and cultural implications of media, and specifically the social impact of the internet. Most recently I've come across pessimistic theory that media technology dissociate us from public space and involvement, into a simulated world of "hyperreal" information.

Last week, we launched a new site for a long time client, the Canadian Mental Health Association. Their site HeretoHelp.bc.ca is a resource for individuals and families dealing with addictions and mental health issues, and is actually one of BC's most active online community sites. The site was first conceived in the mid-90's when the BC provincial government asked the major mental health and addictions organizations in the province to collaborate on a shared online portal.

With all the advances and excitement over 'Web 2.0' these days, we've been inundated with emerging online avenues for marketing and communicating a message. From Flickr to YouTube to MySpace to Facebook to Delicious to Digg to Reddit and on, organizations are intelligently seeking and seizing new virtual opportunities to get the word out. Parallel to the explosion of social networking, or perhaps because of it, we've also witnessed and immense growth in choice in some of the more mature avenues, such as email marketing tools.