Vancouver | Social Signal

Last week, the Vancouver Police Department launched their Twitter presence with a day-long marathon of tweeting the calls that came into the force. It was a success, rocketing them from zero to well over 1,800 followers that afternoon.

If you've ever accidentally soaked your shoes in a puddle on a freezing day, you'll appreciate how miserable the experience can be... and how desperate you can be to get to your home, school or workplace to change into a spare pair.

When you're living on the streets, though, it's more than just discomfort. Cold, wet feet can quickly become agonizing to walk on - adding a big barrier to finding a job, food or shelter for the night.

And I'm going to let Kate Dugas from ChangeEverything.ca take it from here:

One of our favourite things about working in this field is the chance to pass on what we know, to see what happens when people start to grasp the potential of social media... and to see what they do when they run with it.

So I'm delighted to announce we'll be teaching an introductory course in social media this September at the University of British Columbia. The course runs for three Wednesday evenings at UBC's downtown Robson Square campus, from Sept. 9 to 23. Tuition is $375 plus GST.

Few industries have faced greater disruption from the digital revolution than publishing. From Craigslist's impact on newspapers' classified ad revenue, to the rise of e-books and the dominance of Amazon.com, huge changes are underway. And this is probably only the beginning; social media's influence has only just started to be felt.