It was easy to introduce social media into Thornley Fallis. After all, I’m not only a believer in the potential of social media to enhance information sharing and bring us closer to the communities that care about the company, I’m also the CEO. So, we had a well-placed social media champion from day one.

It’s not like that in most companies. And introducing social media into enterprises can be a complicated process requiring the active buy in of many players, including communications, marketing, legal, and human resources.

Nyree Embricos, Senior Counsel, TELUS Legal Services, and Peter Hartl, TELUS Manager Manager, Corporate Web Services, provided attendees at the Managing Social Media conference with insight into how social media had been introduced into TELUS.

I’m capturing the highlights of the session from the Twitter stream using the #CdnInst hashtag and posting them here using CoverItLive.

Click on the CoverItLive window below to see the Twitter discussion of this session.

Maggie Fox closed out day one of the Managing Social Media conference with a session focusing on how Ford has used social media.

I’m capturing the highlights of the session from the Twitter stream using the #CdnInst hashtag and posting them here using CoverItLive.

Click on the CoverItLive window below to see the Twitter discussion of this session.

David Jones and James Topham presented a case study of War Child Canada’s “Help Child Soldiers” campaign at the Managing Social Media conference being staged by the Canadian Institute in Toronto today.

I’m capturing the highlights of the session from the Twitter stream using the #CdnInst hashtag and posting them here using CoverItLive.

Click on the CoverItLive window below to see the Twitter discussion of this session.

Jen Evans and Patrick Thoburn are covering metrics and ROI of social media in their panel at the Managing Social Media conference being staged by the Canadian Institute in Toronto today. The title of their session: Searching for the Holy Grail: finding the Right Metrics and ROI Measurements for your Organization.

I’ll be capturing the highlights of the session from the Twitter stream using the #CdnInst hashtag and posting them here using CoverItLive.

Click on the CoverItLive window below to see the Twitter discussion of this session.

What guidelines should you provide employees so that they can use social media in the workplace in a way that will let them benefit from it without exposing the organization to an undue level of risk? What are the risks for the employees? What are the risks and liabilities for employers? What are their rights?

Tudor Carsten is tackling these issues at the Managing Social Media conference being staged by the Canadian Institute in Toronto today. The title of  his presentation: The Facebook “Problem”: Developing Guidelines and Procedures for Dealing with Social Networking Sites in the Context of Employment Law.

I’ll be capturing the highlights of the session from the Twitter stream using the #CdnInst hashtag and posting them here using CoverItLive.

Click on the CoverItLive window below to see the Twitter discussion of this session.

I’m on the first panel at the Managing Social Media conference being staged by the Canadian Institute in Toronto today and tomorrow.

Collin Douma, Adina Zaiontz and I are talking about how to identify the social media channels, apps and tools that meet the needs of your organization.

I’ll be capturing the highlights of the session from the Twitter stream using the #CdnInst hashtag and posting them here using CoverItLive.

Click on the CoverItLive window below to see the Twitter discussion of this session.

I’ll be co-chairing and speaking at the Canadian Institute’s conference on Managing Social Media in Toronto Tuesday and Wednesday this week.

The conference has drawn a high quality lineup of speakers, including Collin Douma, Jen Evans, Patrick Thoburn, Leona Hobbs, James Topham, Maggie Fox, Parker Mason and Jay Moonah. They and other speakers will be talking about issues such as how to find the right social media channels and apps for your business, ROI measurement, online crisis management, how to create an social media content strategy, how to bring your legal department onside, privacy and social media, copyright, and integrating social media with traditional media.

I plan to post about each section using CoverItLive. So check back Tuesday and Wednesday for coverage of the conference. Or you can follow it live on Twitter. We’ll be using the hashtag #CdnInst.

We’re down to the second last session at the ALI Social Media for Government conference.

Eric Sauve of Tomoye offered his insights on “fostering collaboration and increasing performance across and outside your organization using communities and social networking.” Deep breathe.

I’ve used CoverItLive to capture the highlights of the Twitter stream from the conference participants who tagged their posts #ALI. You can review these highights below.

One of the sessions I look forward to at each ALI Social Media for Government conference is the session late in the last day when we ask participants what they’ve found to be most useful or enlightening in the sessions and discussions they’ve participated in.

I’ve used CoverItLive to capture the highlights of the Twitter stream from the conference participants who tagged their posts #ALI. You can review these highights below.

The City of Ottawa has been introducing social media from the inside out – making people comfortable with it behind the firewall before using it to serve citizens. As they’ve developed their approach, they’ve realized they need to focus on measuring a Return on Investment in order to speak the same language as the decision makers.

Chris Wightman and Mark Faul shared their learnings with the participants at the ALI Social Media for Government conference. I’ve used CoverItLive to capture the highlights of the Twitter stream from the conference participants who tagged their posts #ALI. You can review these highights below.