Trending Huron County

Huron County, is located along the shores of Lake Huron. This vibrant rural community is the most agriculturally productive county in Ontario, and a leader in numerous areas of agricultural technology and innovation. When looking on the map, you can see very quickly that this community has lots to offer. Spanning coastal locations like Grand Bend, Bayfield, and Goderich offers fabulous beaches and lots of water sport activities. Then it expands out across beautiful countryside that encompasses places like Wingham, Brussels, Seaforth and Exeter.

Relax in the sun on the shores of sparkling Lake Huron, explore the picturesque countryside and heritage streetscapes, experience a breathtaking sunset and discover why Huron County is a vacation destination of charm, culture, beauty and endless possibilities!

Here are some interesting facts from Ontario's West Coast website 

TRIVIA & INTERESTING FACTS

• Kepple Disney, the grandfather of the famed creator of Mickey Mouse and many other beloved cartoon characters settled in Bluevale in 1857? Kepple’s eldest son, Walt’s father was born on the family farm in Bluevale. Elais attended the one room Central School in Goderich – now part of the Huron County Museum.

• The seasonal population along Huron County’s lake front exceeds the population of Goderich – the County’s largest town.

• 71% of Huron County residents have British ancestry, 11% have Dutch ancestry, 10% are of German ancestry and 8% are of other ancestry.

• Doctor William Dunlop, a founder of Goderich, was nicknamed “Tiger” because when in India, he allegedly stared a Bengal tiger into submission. He was also notorious for traveling with his “twelve disciples” – 12 jugs of whiskey!

• The Town of Seaforth is the proud hometown of Canadian figure skater Lloyd Eisler, who together with his skating partner Isabelle Brasseur, have captured 5 Canadian pairs titles, 2 Olympic bronze metals and 5 world championship medals for pairs skating, including the gold in 1993 and the silver in 1994.

• Huron County is Ontario’s most agriculturally productive County. It has more census farms (3,260), more acres of farmland (711,525) and more gross farm receipts than any other county or district in the Province. It produces more agricultural products than each of the 4 Atlantic Provinces of Canada!

• Canada’s first woman surgeon, Jennie Smillie Robertson, was born near the Village of Hensall in Tuckersmith Township, Huron County.

• Timothy Eaton operated a store in Kirkton, Huron County, before going on to opening one of the largest department stores in Canada.

• The Town of Wingham has the distiction of being the smallest community in North America to support a radio and television station.

• The Village of Hensall is the largest in-land grain centre in Canada.

• The Town of Clinton and former airforce base (now Vanastra) is considered Canada’s Home of Radar. They provided facilities, education and radar training for thousands of service men and women during and after World War Two.

• Huron County has one of the largest populations of rare turtle species in Ontario.

• Airports in Goderich, Huron Park (Centralia) and Port Albert played a major role in the British Commonwealth’s Air Training Program, training thousands of young pilots and navigators for service in the Royal Air Force during World War Two.

History text courtesy of Tim Cumming, a Huron County resident and local history enthusiast.

How to plan for a week on Twitter

Twitter has a great series all about Twitter for Business on their website. Here is the beginning how to plan your week of marketing for your business or service using Twitter from their "Make it a habit" section.

People wonder how often they should tweet. The answer: test and learn to see what feels right for you and your business. Here are some examples of how you might engage your customers over the course of a week: 

Monday: Special promotions

1. Launch special Twitter-only promotions to your followers. Tweet an offer code that unlocks a promotion or tweet a secret word that customers can mention to get a discount when they visit your business.

1.  

Tuesday: Behind-the-scenes

1. Tweet behind-the-scenes videos or photos that your followers can’t get any other way. 

Wednesday: Helpful tips

1. Create a regular series of Tweets that are informative or surprising. If you’re a chef, tweet recipes or kitchen tips. If you have a fashion boutique, tweet ways to match current trends with vintage items. 

Thursday: Media spotlights

1. Highlight positive press stories and news about your company, industry or community that your followers will find interesting. Be sure to mention the @username of the reporter or media outlet when you tweet the story. This provides clear attribution and recognizes the source. 

Friday: Focus on your people

1. Highlight the people who help run your company by tweeting photos of them hard at work and having fun.

Read more at Twitter for Business 101 and learn how to maximize your use of Twitter

Common Question - How Often Do I Tweet

One of the common question about using Twitter, is the frequency of tweets. We have already established that it is very important to have a business and individual account.

Here is a snippet from Garret Moon posted at the TodayMade Blog, and has some great information on frequency of tweeting for account types.

However, if you are tweeting a nice balance of links, retweets and conversations with others then you really have no limits, as 20+ tweets per day will only aid to your exposure. Here, is a quick gauge that you can use to determine just how much you should be tweeting. 

Beginner
For a new Twitter user, I would recommend 3 to 5 tweets per day. Three is really a minimum, and for a beginner, it often times more than they can handle. Work your way to this level, and then evaluate how you can improve.

Individual
If you are running a twitter account for yourself, you can easily tweet as many as 7 to 20 times per day without worry. With this frequency, you definitely need to maintain a good balance between promoting yourself and having conversations with others.

Business
It probably isn’t a great idea or even necessary for a business to tweet more that 10 times per day. Most users are far more likely to tolerate a high level of tweets from an individual than they are from a business, so it is important to keep your tweet levels in line with their expectations.

Content is king
Overall, these numbers are just basic guidelines. The main concern should be that you are providing valuable content. Think about why a user should follow you in the first place. Are you interesting, funny, helpful, or conversational? The question of what you are tweeting is often times far more important than how often you are tweeting it.

Followers & Likes - Quantity vs Quality

One of the most common questions I am asked is "how can I get more followers or likes for my social media accounts and pages". This is a valid question and initially, it is the first thing anyone who ventures into social media asks and strives for. The appearance of being well liked and followed does warrant some merit, but first there are some underlying principles to consider. If you focus solely on quantity when it comes to social media it can become misleading and be a distraction from what the goals and purpose of social media actually are for a business or service. Quality far out weighs quantity, but having both is worth the time and effort.

When It Comes to Twitter Followers, Focus on Quality, Not Quantityby Chad Brooks, BusinessNewsDaily Contributor   |   March 14, 2014 03:15pm ET 

When it comes to Twitter followers, it's not quantity, but quality. Credit: Two small birds via Shutterstock View full size image

In the light of a report this week of an alleged "massive" spambot infecting the popular social network, Columbia Business School professor Olivier Toubia said businesses shouldn't be concerned with how many followers they have, but instead concentrate on who their followers are.

"You could have a company with 10,000 followers, but half of them are not even real or not even relevant to your company," Toubia told Business News Daily. "This will make your CEO feel good because they feel they have a big footprint on social media, but there isn't really a lot of impact because they either aren't real people or they are people who don't care about your company." When it comes to Twitter, one professor believes businesses should be focused on quality over quantity.

Social media is all about being interactive with people who have common interests. Whether they are interested in interacting or just looking for more information, these are usually the reasons why someone will actively seek you out. When someone finds your business or service, you want to make sure you are providing information that they are looking for in any easy and concise manner. Only posting information that you would hang on your front door or window, is a really good question to ask yourself before posting anything. This also is one of the main criteria in being showcased in a Trending.Info community. 

At Trending.Info, we curate active twitter accounts within a community to filter out the chaos and provide a meaningful stream of social media.  The first step in doing this is researching a community and find those accounts that post relevant information about a community. Viewing an accounts activity and content will quickly determine whether it is a personal or business account, which in most cases, individuals should create. Business and service related accounts are added to our streams, and they are then showcased for our viewers.

Trending New Orleans

Trending New Orleans is live on Trending.Info. Mardi Gras sure looks like fun, and there is more a lot more to discover. Below is some great information from New Orleans Online.

New Orleans is one of the world's most fascinating cities. Steeped in a history of influences from Europe, the Caribbean, Africa and beyond, it's home to a truly unique melting pot of culture, food and music.

You'll find bowls filled to the rim with gumbo, late nights in dark jazz clubs, strolls through historic neighborhoods, and tantalizing festivals throughout the year. Come down and experience New Orleans, one of America's most culturally and historically-rich destinations. NewOrleansOnline.com can introduce you to all of the Big Easy's greatest charms. As the official New Orleans tourism guide, the site is loaded with resources that will help you make the most of your visit. Download our free New Orleans city guide book for more information on things to do, where to eat and great places to stay.

How much do you know about New Orleans? Here are 10 fun historical facts about the city from The Rental Show.

1. New Orleans is where opera was first performed in the U.S., back in 1796.
2. The first Mardi Gras parade took place on Shrove Tuesday 1838 in New Orleans.
3. New Orleans is the largest port on the Gulf of Mexico, the second largest in the U.S. and the third largest in the world in volume of cargo handled.
4. The Superdome is the largest enclosed stadium/arena in the world.
5. The first U.S. theater was established in New Orleans.
6. Antoine’s, established in 1840, is the oldest continuously operating restaurant in Louisiana.
7. The name “Uncle Sam” was coined on the wharfs of New Orleans before Louisiana was a U.S. territory — goods labeled “U.S.” were said to be from “Uncle Sam.”
8. Poker was invented in New Orleans in the 1700s.
9. When individual states had their own currency, the Louisiana dix (French for 10) was a favored currency for trade. In English they became known as “dixies” and the term “Dixieland” was coined.
10. New Orleans is the birthplace of jazz, which still reigns supreme in the city today. Later, jazz spawned both the blues and rock and roll.

Twitter 101 - Your Profile

Twitter is the perfect medium to reach new and existing customers. Below is a write up from Twitter.

Perfect your profile

Make your Twitter profile work for you.

This is the entry point for your audience. Every element of your profile—your @username, photo, bio and links—should reflect your brand identity and personality.

1. Put your best face forward.

   Your profile and background images visually represent your brand. Logos work, but you can also feature a person or character. Feel free to get extra creative with a background or header image—these elements will only add to your unified look.
   

2. Choose your @username.

   Your @username is your Twitter URL, so it should be an obvious choice that reinforces your brand identity. Once you’ve decided on your @username, put it on your marketing materials so your customers and partners know where to find you.

3. Introduce yourself.

   Write a clear, concise bio that describes your brand, products or services. No need to write a novel—shorter is often better. To help drive traffic, include a trackable link to your main website or to a specific landing page.
   

4. Make it work together.

   Design every element of your profile to best reflect your business. Your name, bio, website and profile picture should all come together to tell your story. Profile pages look the same across screens, from smartphones to tablets to laptops to desktops, so think about how your audience may view your page.
   
   
   More about establishing your brand’s personality

Trending Winnipeg

Trending Winnipeg is now live on Trending.Info and we are excited to showcase this community. There is lots to do and see year round. Below is some information from The Official Website of Tourism Winnipeg.

Winnipeg Information

From what to pack in July to what kind of currency you’ll need to liquor laws and other useful information; we’ve got everything you need to know before and during your next trip to Winnipeg

Population 

753,600

Climate

Winnipeg experiences a continental climate characterized by four distinct seasons. Average temperatures range between -12 degrees Celsius (+10.4 degrees Fahrenheit) in the winter months to +26 degrees Celsius (+78.8 degrees Fahrenheit) in the summertime. Due to its northern location, Winnipeg residents enjoy 2,300 hours of sunlight annually and up to 16 hours of sunlight daily during the summer months. Winnipeg averages approximately 51.4 centimetres (20.2 inches) of precipitation each year.

Time Zone

Winnipeg is located in the Central Standard Time Zone (CST). In Manitoba Canada Daylight Saving Time begins at 2:00 am local time on the second Sunday in March. On the first Sunday in November areas on Daylight Saving Time return to Standard Time at 2:00 am. During Daylight Saving Time clocks are turned ahead one hour.

Emergency Information

Emergencies Only – Call: 911

Non-emergency Police Services – Call: 204.986.6222

Language

English and French are Canada’s two official languages. English is the predominant language spoken in Winnipeg. Old St. Boniface -- Winnipeg’s French Quarter, is largely French-speaking. Many banks, hotels, airline offices, service institutions, shops and key tourist destinations have multilingual staff.

Currency

The currency used in Winnipeg is the Canadian Dollar. It is recommended that visitors exchange their currency at a bank, a foreign exchange outlet or use a banking machine.

View all the information at http://www.tourismwinnipeg.com/visitors/general-winnipeg-information

Trending.Info paves ‘digital sidewalk’ that leads to informed communities

by Jared Lindzon — Mar 12 '14

As a resident of Stratford, Ontario — a small town known for its tourism, festivals and events — Randy Huitema often struggled to find relevant information about various activities taking place in his community.  He would spend time scrolling through event listings, searching out useful Twitter feeds, and looking up restaurant reviews and specials, trying to plan his weekends and evenings with his wife and three kids.

Randy Huitema

That’s when Huitema, who has worked in the web development and tech industry for more than 20 years, decided to create a solution for himself. He began by creating a list of people and businesses in Stratford who tweeted useful information about community events, and showcased all of their tweets on a single web page.

Soon enough people began to take notice. “All my friends were going ‘how’d you hear about that’ or ‘how’d you know about this?’” he said.

Though it began as a hobby and a personal tool, Huitema soon saw a demand for this information in his community. He moved into theStratford Accelerator Centre approximately eight months ago, developing his website, Trending.info, during early mornings, lunch breaks, evenings and weekends while continuing his day job as a system administrator for the government of Perth County.

Today, Trending.Info is a publicly available service that amalgamates community-based information from various online sources. Its pages not only cover events in Stratford, but also cities as far-reaching as Dubai and Beirut, post-secondary institutions from Western University to Michigan State, and sports communities ranging from Premier League Soccer to UFC.

“It sort of creates a digital sidewalk of what’s going on in a community in real time,” said Huitema, adding that many of his users prefer not to have social media accounts, but still need a reliable source for local information. “It embraces what’s going on on social media for the non-techie people.”

Though Huitema continues to work at his day job, the company has seen tremendous growth in its first few months. Trending.info now provides information on 51 different communities, including 18 Canadian cities and towns. Huitema has plans to bring Trending.info into 17 to 20 new locations in Canada this year, as well as at least one community in all 50 states, and is currently working on a large deal in the Caribbean.

Huitema’s secret is finding community managers in each location who are knowledgeable and passionate about their beat. He uses either a licensing or franchising model that allows community managers to sell their own ads, sending a small cut back to Stratford. “We’re throwing around a number of models right now,” he said.

Perhaps the biggest testament to the usefulness of trending.info came when Famme and co., a local accounting firm which replaced the community posters hanging in its window with a large LCD screen, displaying the Stratford feed.

“As people walk by they’ll see the Trending.info Stratford page, which has been customized for (Famme and Co.) so that only the people they want followed are displayed,” he said. “People stop and watch to see what’s going on in town on their way downtown.”

Having recently hired four staff members, Huitema is planning a major overhaul of the site.

“This has been pulled together by a guy and a half over the last eight months, and now it’s expanded to five people who are passionate and they see the vision,” he said. “We’re going to do our best to make it what we hope and know it should be.”

Jared Lindzon

Jared Lindzon is a freelance journalist based in Toronto covering technology and Canada's startup community, among other topics. He is regularly featured in the Toronto Star, the Globe & Mail, the National Post, as well as an array of other print and digital publications.

Twitter Spam

Twitter Spam - How to recognize and fix your account


Beware of these types of Twitter messages;

1. Found you in this funny picture lol. {link} 
2. LMAO did you see this funny twitter update? {link}  
3. Did you really say this about me? one of your followers sent me this {link}

You will be seeing these message because someone you follow has been hacked, and if you click on the link your twitter account will start sending out direct message spam to all your followers.

The problem is that all these links are to a fake Twitter "phishing" site. It looks like Twitter so you enter in your name and password and it then forwards you to the real twitter page so you didnt notice anything particularly wrong.

However what then happens in a few days is your twitter account will start sending out direct messages to your friends with more of these fake messages, which they then click and the cycle continues.

So what can you do about it;

1. Check your outbound direct messages 
2. Revoke access to any applications you dont recognise (account-settings-applications)
3. Change your password (account-settings-password)

This way the spammers will no longer be able to send out spam messages using your username and password and your account wont be used to capture friends user names and passwords.

Trending Las Vegas

Another successful launch of an exciting community at Trending.Info is now live at Trending Las Vegas.

The sights and sounds of Las Vegas are enjoyed by millions of visitors every year. They stay in some of the most glamorous, unique hotels in the world. They eat at five-star restaurants and expansive buffets. They play at casinos, pools, health spas and golf courses. Sometimes (many times, actually) they even marry each other.

Las Vegas Facts

• Las Vegas has inspired plenty of myths, legends and lore. Here, though, are a few surprising and actual facts.
• When Paul Anka first played Vegas he was too young to be allowed in the casino.
• Bugsy Siegel named his casino the Flamingo after the long legs of his showgirl girlfriend.
• In Nevada it is mandatory that video slot machines pay a minimum of 75 percent on average.
• Vegas Vic, the enormous neon cowboy that towers over Fremont Street, is the world's largest mechanical neon sign.
• Howard Hughes stayed at the Desert Inn for so long that he was asked to leave. He bought the hotel.
• Camels were used as pack animals in Nevada as late as 1870.
• Over 38.9 million people visit Las Vegas each year.
• Seventeen of the 20 biggest hotels in the U.S. are in Las Vegas.

Vegas, the Handbook

Las Vegas, an ever-changing fantasy-land of a city, has seen unbelievable expansion since it emerged from the desert just over 100 years ago.

The sights and sounds of Las Vegas are enjoyed by millions of visitors every year. They stay in some of the most glamorous, unique hotels in the world. They eat at five-star restaurants and expansive buffets. They play at casinos, pools, health spas and golf courses. Sometimes (many times, actually) they even marry each other.

You will be dazzled by Vegas, but the sheer number of things to see and do can seem overwhelming. A little advance planning will help you to enjoy your Vegas trip. Continue reading for basic visitor information (what to bring, things to know) and an overview of this special destination.

Thanks to www.lasvegas.com for the great facts and some of the details above.

Unlock Twitter for your business

Twitter is the perfect medium to reach new and existing customers. Below is a write up and video from Twitter.

How do you turn your Twitter conversations into direct business results? To answer this question, Twitter created a video that illustrates how businesses like yours can use Twitter to interact with potential customers now and over time. Watch now to see an example of how one business can use Twitter to build new customer relationships that result in sales.

Trending Sarasota Launched

We are happy to announce we have just launched Trending Sarasota. Hopefully it is a useful resource for all those travelling there for March Break.

Looking forward to watching what happens there over the coming months to see what goes on in Sarasota, real-time.

Here is some information about Sarasota from one of there local websites. To view more information click here.

Welcome to the City of Sarasota! Whether you are in town for the day, the week, the month or you have made the right choice to live here, Sarasota has a host of urban amenities and the kind of small-town feel that will have you falling in love with the area the moment you arrive. Sarasota is a great place to live, work, and play. Walkability around town and the variety of businesses available make your "shopping day" safe, healthy and convenient. With downtown providing the dynamic heartbeat, this is a community with an abundance of outdoor activities both on the water and on land. Residents and visitors enjoy fishing, sailing, swimming, kayaking, and boating, and the indoor activities range from museums and galleries, to shows and the opera. There is truly something for everyone of every age. Following a day of shopping or taking advantage of Sarasota's many activities, stop by one of our many fine and diverse eateries for dinner and cocktails with friends or family.

Trend Your Community

We work with community champions to simplify the chaos of social media. We moderate social media information specific to a community and present it free in real-time on a Trending.Info website. Trending.Info communities provide a venue for local businesses to showcase their products, services, specials and offerings through the tweets they post.

A Trending.Info community page complements existing local websites and calendars as it engages those who would like more information to go to those websites.

Become a Community Champion

A Community Champion helps people discover what’s hot and what’s not in culture, dining, accommodations, sports, festivals, events and more. You can earn income through online ad generation. (Yes, you get paid for moderating social media!) Trending.Info fully automates setup and billing so you just curate, moderate and champion your community!

This licensed, fee-based service also generates revenue that can is shared with the hosting organization or individual who takes on the curation/advertising role. Trend your community to be that local champion while earning an income.

A champion can be part of an organization, municipality, business or an entrepreneur who want to generate some income. Contact us and become a Community Champion for your community.

Bring the best of social media to your residents, visitors and businesses.

1. A social media moderated list is custom built for your community
2. A simple website page displays real-time community information 
3. People can discover local events or special offers in real time
4. Visitors can real time information for planning and discover more about a community
5. View and benefit from social media activity without requiring an account
6. Business, services, groups and associations or events can post for free, allowing a continual flow of real time information
7. Increases community collaboration and awareness
8. Improves reach using social media to a larger audience
9. Promote events in advance and create buzz while its on    

Trending.Info complements existing community websites and calendars as it engages those who would like more information. Want to have a Trending.Info site for your community? Contact Us

Why use Trending.Info

Build your Business, Assist your Association, Grow your Group, Communicate about your Community with Trending.Info.

By aggregating and selecting online social media posts, comments and tweets about particular communities (geographical or by interest), we help people, businesses and municipalities get the word out about what’s going on now and in the near future.  People who are interested in that community can then read all the real-time stream of social media that is relevant. Choose categories (our Go Lists) from within a community to further fine-tune your interests so you get only the information that’s important to you.  Plus, it’s completely free to read.

Having a “community” in Trending.Info means local businesses and services can post real-time information about products, services, events, specials and promotions. Cultural activities from festivals, concerts, fundraisers and special events will benefit by reaching an audience curious about what’s happening. Associations and groups can grow awareness and membership.  Whenever someone tweets about your community, and meets the moderator’s guidelines, it will appear on Trending.Info.

Visitors and residents benefit by knowing what’s going on immediately plus they can visit specific websites related to posts for more information. This means visitors can plan better and discover more about a destination!

Trending.Info is your community's social pulse and will help connect communities in real-time. Trend your community to be that local champion while earning an income.

What is Trending.Info

Trending.Info offers a real-time web site that curates local social media for a community.

1. We deliver social media to you with one easy-to-read webpage.
2. No accounts are required or you do not need to be tech savvy. Just choose the “community” that interests you and start reading.
3. What you get is a real-time stream of what people in that community are saying, doing and recommending about what’s hot or not.
4. Find out the “insider” information about the things that interest you from people who know the community. It’s your one source of real time, real information from real people.

Trending.Info

Trending.Info creates a digital sidewalk of social media buzz about a community. Residents, visitors or people of common interests can go to one website using their computer, tablet or smart phone and see recent, current and future information about a community. Information details include events, specials, promotions and general day to day information that is useful and fun. Businesses, services, groups and associations within the community who use social media, benefit from having their posts showcased for free, in this simple and easy to use website. We are a community's social pulse.