Whether we wanted to admit it or not, all eyes were turned to the election action south of the border last week.  Canada became involved with in the election’s final days when Quebec comedian Marc-Antoine Audette  prank-called  Sarah Palin by impersonating French president Nicolas Sarkozy.

Depending on who you ask in the U.S.,  the joke either strengthened or weakened our reputation among Americans.   I guess we’ll know for sure on November 5th.

Here’s what else we discussed last week on PR In Canada.

Starcom MediaVest Takes Top Honours At MAOY Awards

Now Could Be A Boom Time For Not-For-Profits

Friday Poll: If You Could Vote In The U.S. Election, Who Would You Choose?

Would You Pay To Access Social Network Sites?

Sinister Circus At Rideau Hall…There’s A Joke There, But I’m Not Touching It

Reputation Management All For Naught At York University

Is Hockey Still The Best Game We Can Name?

Iceberg Vodka Gives Back To Canada’s Heroes

Coca-Cola And WWF Canada Pair Up For Canada’s Environment

Are People Wasting Time Online-Or Is It Time Well Wasted?

Branding Hallowe’en As Dangerous Can Be Scary For Your Client’s Message

A Moment Of Silence For Frank Magazine

Not Only Is Extreme The Agency For Kids & Company…

Delta Media To Create Social Media Strategies For White Ribbon Campaign

United Church On YouTube: URL Come, All Ye Faithful

Get Your Clients Twittering…Before Someone Else Does

Do Your Clients Ever Place Fake Reviews?

Fair Trade Chocolate’s Message Delivered By “Reverse Trick-Or-Treating”

Microsoft Donates $25,000 To Award For Missing Gamer

The most hotly anticipated day of the year-on both sides of the border-is four days away.

On November 4, after a months-long presidential campaign, the U.S.  will elect either Barack Obama or John McCain as its new President.

Let’s admit it:  Canadians have been as fascinated with the American election as our neighbours to the south.  Our opinions are as set-and as sharply divided-as if we actually had a vote.

Since we don’t,  we’ll take a vote of our own.

If you could vote in the U.S. election, who would you choose:  the Democrats and Obama, or the Republicans and John McCain?

Tell us your answer below.

Happy Hallowe’en!

Rideau Hall, the Governor-General’s official Residence in Ottawa,  is inviting the community out for trick-or-treating tonight.

Costumed revellers of all ages-does that mean we’ll see our MPPs dressed up as Batman?-can visit from 5PM to 8PM at the Hall’s Hallowe’en-themed Sinister Circus.

I could say that describes what Parliament is like on a daily basis, but….never mind, I guess I just did.

Anyways, if you’re in the Ottawa area,  it’s worth checking out-if only to see if “Toupeed, Sweatervested Harper” costumes are more popular than “Dion Covered In Puffin Droppings” ones.

So Salary.com has released the results of its annual Wasting Time At Work survey, and,  not surprisingly,  nearly half the respondents (48 per cent) admit that surfing the net for personal use is their biggest time-waster at work.

That’s an unfortunate blow to anyone trying to implement social media tools at work.  At first glance, it gives ammunition to those on the SM-shy C-Level : the ones who have admitted they think social media works but who also don’t plan to implement social media tactics for their internal operations.

(These stats are U.S.-based,  but I think Canadian results would likely be the same.  If anyone has seen comparable stats, let me know.)

Reading more of the stats, though,  not only suggests that people are changing how they communicate, but that the lines are getting blurry between what’s procrastination and what is not. They also suggest many opportunities for PR professionals.

The second and third biggest time-wasters are socializing with coworkers (33 per cent) and conducting personal business (27 per cent).

Those are both things you can do on the internet. I’m not sure how Salary.com worded their question,  but it looks like there’s an overlap for the top three.

I’d also like a breakdown of what people are searching for while they’re procrastinating on the web.   Are they switching back and forth from researching venue sites for the next conference and where they should go for dinner?  Or are they doing both at once, if work and personal tasks collide?   That may mean that people are actually shortening the time they spend on non-work related issues.   It could indicate that the web is actually cutting down on how much time people “waste” at work.

Furthermore, since  people admit they’re spending time on non-work related tasks,  it likely means they’re visiting social networks, and surfing microsites for fun distractions from the day.

That means a greater opportunity to further your clients’ messages and initiate two-way dialogue.  Provided everyone isn’t too busy tagging Facebook photos of last Saturday’s martini night to finish the press releases, of course.

I think in the post-digital world, it’s difficult to quantify what’s a time-waster and what’s not.  But since people are spending so much time on the web at work,  PR professionals have a great chance to build and maintain relationships between clients and publics.

Now, if you’ll excuse me,  I want to watch this video my friend sent me.  It’s supposed to be really funny.

The pioneer of vicious Canadian satire has died a quiet death.

Frank magazine has announced that, due to a lack of readership, it will be discontinuing both its print and online editions.

I reacted to this with a mixture of sadness and relief. Frank was a thorn in the side of anyone trying to reputation-manage Canada’s controversial politicians, entertainers and media figures. I remember it particularly delighted in savaging blatant efforts to spin an issue.  Many a PR professional learned to think on their toes after one of Frank‘s attacks on a client.

Then along came blogs, YouTube and Flash capabilities, and Frank found itself competing with a thousand other media mavens.  Publisher Michael Bate admitted to the Toronto Star, “More and more publications started doing what we were doing.  And we couldn’t compete.” It’s almost sad such avant-garde journalists with their fingers on the pulse of the Canadian public failed to predict what the web was going to become.

In the infancy of the Internet,  Frank was the only source for bold, fierce and, well, frank opinion in the Canadian media.   And it showed many in the PR industry the importance of communicating with, not communicating to, its stakeholders.    Frank will be missed.

Boyd Neil, Hill & Knowlton‘s Senior Vice-President, Corporate Communications, says the looming economic troubles means the time is now for public relations professionals to bring their unique talents to the corporate table.

“There will be cuts,” he says matter-of-factly. “That’s because communications people, when cutbacks are threatened, tend to put their heads in the sand and duck.  That’s absolutely the wrong thing to do.  This is precisely the time you have to prove your worth.”

That’s part of the reason that Hill & Knowlton launched their Global Corporate Response group last week.  The team, composed of H&K executives from around the world and led by Chairman and CEO Paul Taaffe,  will coach corporations through the coming economic storm through reputation building, change management, and improving employee communications.

“It was developed out of a recognition that there’s going to be a fallout in corporations-a significant impact on people’s trust,” Neil says. “We saw the opportunity for PR professionals-we know how to maintain trust.”

It’s the goal of Hill & Knowlton to show that communicators are not only useful contributors during economic slowdowns, they’re absolutely essential.

“We need to think like business people,  we have to have that understanding, and we need to show how to integrate social media tools,” Neil says, adding that many corporations still don’t realize how inexpensive and useful social media tools are to improving employee communications.

The Global Corporate Response group’s services have been offered to existing Hill & Knowlton clients, and Neil says their primary market will be in the U.S. and the U.K.

“Now is the time for communicators to show they’re vital to guiding corporations through a tight economy.”

Want to use technology to make things better in your community? The Knight Foundation wants to hear from you.

The 2009 Knight News Challenge wants the world to help improve the way news and information is shared in their communities, and it has $5 million to offer to make the most innovative ideas come to life.

Entries and ideas are being accepted from all over the world, so for once, Canadians have a chance to win an American-based contest. All entries must meet three rules: 1. Ideas must benefit one or more geographical communities, 2. Serve the public interest and 3. Use or create digital, open-source technology as the code base.

It’s this third rule that is the most significant. The Knight Foundation has recognized that social networks and Web 2.0 tools are the key to truly accessible information to the people. The challenge can eliminate geographical, demographic and financial barriers that currently prevent universal access to these tools.

The deadline for entries is November 1st. The Knight Foundation will begin announcing winners in 2009.

Here’s a look at what we discussed in the last week in Canadian Public Relations:

Features:

Car Free Day: VIA On Board, TTC, Not So Much

Tory Mudslinging? Er, Not Quite

Memo To The Khadrs: It Isn’t Going To Work

News:

TorontoTechWeek Announces Marketwire As Official Media Partner

Metro News Bumps Circulation by 20,000

All-New Metro Coming To A Bus Stop Near You

Events:

Looking to Score With Fans

Frequent Flying=Happy Retailers Online

A Fair-Trade Frosh Week

Don’t look now, but the Toronto Blue Jays seem to be on a roll.
After muddling all summer, the Jays are just off a 10-game win streak , are only 6 ½ games back from the  American League wildcard spot, and are actually making a realistic run at the playoffs.
The whole prospect must have Rogers, the team’s owner, gleeful at the prospect of the city of Toronto jumping on the playoff bandwagon and the immense possibilities for both the company and the team to come.
But, as it always is with sports, the situation could change on a dime.  Which leads me to wonder-how do you build a last-minute PR campaign around a team that could either soar high or fall flat on its face?
The Jays’ public relations team is likely in a rather joyful crisis mode right now, monitoring the situation as it unfolds and crafting their response in the most appropriate fashion.
They’ll use the usual PR tools on their website-stories and the official blog-and  highlight links to other blogs dedicated to the team.
If the team accelerates its run at the postseason after its current road trip,  Rogers would be wise to do whatever it takes to gets fans in seats down at the Rogers Centre (free ticket night anyone?)
The Jays open a series with Boston, the current AL wildcard holder, this weekend.  After the final out on Sunday, we’ll have a better idea of how Rogers is going to run with this.

No more reading Metro over your subway neighbour’s shoulder-there’s now enough copies to go around during the morning rush hour.
Coinciding with its plans for an editorial revamp, Metro News has bumped its circulation to 320,000.
Increased transit ridership and reach have upped the commuter demand for the free daily, so Metro began distributing an extra 20,000 copies on September 2.
Circulation has been increased throughout the GTA.  Metro News is available at newspaper boxes and Gateway Newsstand locations.