Check out CEO Brett Serjeantson, newly-minted CTO David Nadeau and president Chris Morrison explaining their vision for the future, and what the acquisition means for the company:

Short for “What’s In Media,” the app uses analysis technology and a sleek interface to filter tens of millions of news headlines by preferred regions, topics and even by global or regional popularity. Users can read only stories that interest them the most, or broaden their news search and consume content from across the globe.

The app, developed in-house, will be sold on Apple’s App Store for 99 cents.

“The release of WIM News shows not only MediaMiser’s commitment to developing a suite of mobile tools for PR and marketing professionals, businesspeople and consumers,” said MediaMiser CEO Brett Serjeantson, “but also shows the diversity of MediaMiser’s talented development team.”

The app’s web link shortener feature – which allows users to rebroadcast quality, trusted news through a brand that stands for news and news only – provides for easy sharing without leaving the app via popular social networks or e-mail. Visit the WIM News website for more information.

The acquisition will provide MediaMiser with its own built-in, automated toning engine able to gauge the sentiment of news stories, tweets, blog posts and other content in multiple languages.

Previously, InfoGlutton’s technology had conducted online reputation management and social media listening specifically for the restaurant and hospitality industry. It was founded in 2009 and incubated via the Talent First Network’s Lead To Win program.

“This is our first acquisition and an extremely important one,” said MediaMiser CEO Brett Serjeantson. “Integrating InfoGlutton’s market-tested sentiment technology with MediaMiser’s own social media monitoring and analysis tools will help the company provide real-time, as-it-happens feedback to both large enterprises and SMEs.”

Mr. Serjeantson added the acquisition will allow MediaMiser to roll out a standalone social media product separate from its flagship software, MediaMiser Enterprise.

InfoGlutton co-founder and CEO David Nadeau, a PhD in computer sciences from the University of Ottawa, joins MediaMiser as Chief Technology Officer.

“We see this opportunity as a chance to grow from a relatively small firm into a large company almost overnight,” said Mr. Nadeau. “Working within MediaMiser gives us the means to achieve our ambitions.”

Whatever your reasons for potentially holding off, it’s time to make 2012 the year to overcome your measurement phobia.  After all, if you track and know what kind of impact your PR efforts are making, you can then  make those efforts more efficient and cost-effective through the implementation of appropriate measures.

In my experience, the most common obstacle executives or PR practitioners have is not knowing where to start. And that’s not surprising, given the ever-growing and complex landscape of traditional and social media, questions of copyright and licensing, archiving all your content and, finally, finding the right people to help connect the dots.

But don’t let this deter you. There’s always a first step, and for this post I’d like to focus on that.

The first step to your PR or media analysis program is defining your objectives: why do you need to conduct a media analysis?  What do you hope to accomplish? What actionable results will come out of the analysis?

If your objectives are clear, the rest will follow.

In order to define your objectives, start by asking some basic questions:

1)      What is it that you need to measure?

2)      Why do you need to measure it?

3)      What will you do with the results, and who should see them?

4)      Where are you currently spending your money?

5)      How often you want to measure?

Your answers to each of these questions will lead to more clearly defined objectives. If you’re from a brand-oriented company, for example, then there’s a range of measurements which may interest you:

- Share of voice for your brand vs. competitors’ brands;

- Share of voice among all of your company’s brands;

- What people are saying about the brand and in what tone (positive, neutral or negative);

- Are key messages being conveyed and who is talking about you and your competition;

- Which media channels (broadcast, print, social, etc.) are most effective for you; and

- How is the brand spokesperson perceived by the public.

And so on. You can then use this information to better target those in your space, and create strategies to better communicate key messages to the people that matter to you – this information is vital not only for communications staff, but also for your marketing and even sales departments. It takes the guesswork out of planning and allows you to determine ROI and outcomes. As a result, your approach naturally becomes more scientific and data-driven.

Depending on your organization and its objectives, you‘ll all have different answers to the above questions. The good news is these answers will help you determine your objectives, which will then lead you to the next steps in your measurement program (which I’ll discuss in an upcoming post).

Indeed, now more than ever professionals need to take advantage of the many opportunities available to meet new people. MediaMiser employees know full well the value of getting out and meeting people at events such as Social Media Breakfast, Third Tuesday and various OCRI (Ottawa Centre for Regional Innovation) events.

Below are 10 reasons why we feel networking is a must:

1)      Networking is a great way to gain exposure for yourself, your brand, and your employer;

2)      It gives you exposure to industry leaders;

3)      It allows you to meet people in your field;

4)      It provides the opportunity to share innovative ideas with your peers;

5)      It is an easy and fun way to learn new things;

6)      It’s a great way to stay on top of what’s new in your field;

7)      It’s the perfect way to make important connections and foster business relationships;

8)      It’s great if you’re looking for a job, often making you aware of positions that haven’t yet been posted;

9)      It’s excellent for finding new business opportunities;

10)   Finally, it’s also a fun way to socialize outside of the office.

Wondering where you can go to get your networking on? If you’re in Ottawa, there are great online resources available to scope out future events such as the Ottawa Business Journal’s online events calendar and OCRI’s online calendar. Similar resources are available in other cities, of course, such as MaRS in Toronto, Communitech in Waterloo, and MakeItBusiness.com in Vancouver.

With contributions from Amy Campsall 

Since November, we’ve been tracking the popularity of items of the ToysRUs Fab 15 holiday gift guide. The list includes items like the Leapfrog LeapPad Explorer learning tablet, Let’s Rock Elmo, Air Swimmers and other popular items.

And while the LeapPad Explorer jumped out to an early lead back in November, it has since sunk to second place as buzz surrounding the Skylanders game works itself into a fever pitch.

It’s a trend that made the Ottawa Citizen‘s Vito Pilieci take notice – see his article on the ongoing study here.

There are still a few days before the holidays begin, however, and it’s anyone’s guess which product could eventually come out on  top.

Here’s a breakdown on the popularity of the top eight items on ToysRUs’s Fab 15 on Twitter, as of Dec. 19:

Total tweets (from Dec. 1-19 overall)

Tweets over time (overall)

We’ve also taken the opportunity to track items Future Shop’s Must-Haves gift guide on Twitter, but in this case we’ve looked at tweets only sent from Canadian IP addresses.

As the chart below shows, entertainment and video game-related products, led by the PlayStation 3 but followed up by the Nintendo 3DS and Apple TV, have thus far been the most popular products (with the PS3 out to a very healthy lead indeed – however as the chart shows, its traction has been slipping recently).

Overall, we’ve found that a relatively large amount of overall tweets have come from what appear to be consumers, while a healthy chunk has also come from retailers pushing their products. However, where Canadian tweets are concerned, a far higher proportion seem to have come from consumers.

Stay tuned for the full report, coming out after the holidays!

Tech tweets over time (Canada only)

It’s obvious that the recent #Movember campaign for prostate cancer research and awareness wouldn’t have been nearly as successful without social media. People tweet pictures of their moustaches, often with an attached link to donate. Would that be as efficient if just sent through an e-mail? Not likely – after all, e-mail can only target specific people while Twitter’s reach is remarkable in this regard. Plus, adding a hashtag to your message makes it searchable for anyone.

This past year, Canada alone raised $36.6 million for Movember, surpassing last year’s total of $22.3 million. Granted, last year social media was available and active. But in 2011 more people than ever are jumping on the social media bandwagon, with the understanding that you need to be part of the conversation to stay informed.

In a recent article from the Globe and Mail Mia Pearson asked Adam Garone, Movember CEO and co-founder, how the movement grew so fast. Interestingly enough, he said “Social media has fundamentally changed the way brands are managed. It is a two-way communication now and all about creating brand ambassadors.”

Social media has become a platform for people to share successes, and for others to either partake or donate. The one person that comes to mind right now is Nick Charney, who created a Movember blog entitled “MoCharney MoProblems”. Every day he posted a picture of himself aside his father, showing of their ‘staches. Brilliant! Talk about utilizing social media.

So, is fundraising ultimately about being social or is being social about fundraising? I think it all depends about your ultimate goal, but in the end, it’s always best to be social.

As a spinoff on the classic 12 days of Christmas theme, we’re giving away Kiva gift certificates, in support of global entrepreneurship. This means that you get to choose which initiatives to support. When the fund you’ve chosen is repaid, you get to gift it all over again. It truly is the gift that keeps on giving!

Here’s how it works: the MediaMiser Christmas tree will go up on our blog 12 days before Christmas. Each day there will be a new present for you to unwrap! Just click on an open gift to enter the draw. On Dec. 23 the MediaMiser elves will randomly select a winner, who will receive a $25 gift certificate to Kiva! Plus, at the end of December, all contestants will be entered in a draw to receive a $50 gift certificate to Kiva!

Prizes will be drawn randomly among all the contestants who entered. All contestants will be entered in the grand prize draw, winner to be announced on Jan. 3, 2012. We know you’re excited, but there’s a limit of one entry per person, per day.

Check out the MediaMiser Christmas tree below, and click on an open gift to enter the draw!

Update Jan. 3, 2012:

And the two lucky winners of our 12 days of Christmas draws were:

Heidi Richardson – $25 Kiva gift card

Nancy Lalonde – $50 Kiva gift card

Thanks to everyone who entered, and be sure to check out www.kiva.org to learn more about supporting global entrepreneurship in 2012!

With that in mind, we at MediaMiser have undertaken that most pressing of holiday tasks: a list of the most popular toys this year in online news and on Twitter!

After a month of analysis, we’ve found that tablet computers that emphasize learning such as the LeapFrog LeapPad Explorer have dominated this year’s online conversation thus far.

But not only have kids caught tablet fever – perhaps not a surprise, considering the popularity of gadgets with most parents – but they’re also personalizing their tablets, the report shows. The words “pink”, “green”, and “case” are three of the top-mentioned words associated with the LeapPad on  Twitter.

The Leapfrog LeapPad Explorer.

And though all toys in MediaMiser’s top five have some kind of technology component, the report also shows kids will always be kids and that parents can’t go wrong with purely fun toys such as interactive robots and radio-controlled fish.

MediaMiser’s 2011 Hot Toys in Media report – based on the Toys”R”Us® Fabulous 15, billed as “the 15 best toys of the season” – has used MediaMiser patented software to monitor mentions of the retailer’s list of must-have playthings since late October, along with overall mentions of the “#toys” hashtag. The report has monitored both online news sites and Twitter.

We’ll release bi-weekly updates of activity on Twitter and in online news regarding the Fabulous 15, with a full report due just before Christmas.

The most popular Fabulous 15 toys on Twitter, as of 10 p.m. on Nov. 21, were:

1)       LeapFrog LeapPad Explorer Learning Tablet: Tablet computer for kids ($99.99) (4276 mentions)

2)       Air Swimmers: radio-controlled toy fish ($19.99 – $39.99) (1749 mentions)

3)       Fijit Friends: Interactive, robotic toys ($7.99-$47.99) (1369 mentions)

4)       My Keepon: Interactive dancing robot ($34.99) (1026 mentions)

5)       Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure Start Pack for Wii ($49.99) (984 mentions)

The five most Tweeted-about toys of the Toys"R"Us Fabulous 15, including the LeapFrog LeapPad Explorer.

Total Twitter mentions of any of the Fabulous 15 or #toys hashtag.

Online news coverage trends of the top five since late October.

After ordering our dinners at The Black Tomato, Serena’s presentation got underway. Her goal in launching the Ottawa chapter of Girl Develop It was to increase the number of women in technology-related careers, and she hopes strong female role models will inspire girls to feel more comfortable pursuing this career path.

At one point in her presentation, Serena asked us to name six women in prominent technology roles.  Even as a group we couldn’t come up with six.

This is exactly why Girl Develop It Ottawa exists.

Serena also highlighted the ever-widening gender gap in technology-related careers, presenting the problem as three-pronged:

• Diversity – women may be uncomfortable being outspoken in a male-dominated environment;
• Advancement – women who have not studied technological fields at a post-secondary institution may feel it would take too much time and effort to learn now;
• Role models – without them, women don’t have anyone to look to for inspiration

The above illustrates the widening gap between U.S. women and their male counterparts in tech-related fields.

Girl Develop It Ottawa hopes to change this by creating a friendly, supportive environment where women can learn new tech skills. At its workshops, Girl Develop It Ottawa provides out-of-classroom instruction (with what they say is a low time commitment) to help women build their skill sets.

The next Girl Develop It workshop, Intro to HTML and CSS, is on Nov. 29 and Dec. 6, from 6:30 – 9:30 p.m., and Serena says she’s also looking for volunteers to help run workshops and share technological skills with Ottawa women.

As the evening wound down, Girl Geek Dinner Ottawa thanked its sponsors:  National Arts Centre, Used Ottawa, and of course, MediaMiser.

For information on the next Girl Geek Dinner, search its hashtag on Twitter… and remember tickets sell out fast!