AQR in the Herald – Sept. 29th
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1265642.html
Agency helps companies capitalize on social media By BRUCE ERSKINE Business Reporter Thu, Sep 29 - 4:55 AM
You say you want a revolution? Rob MacArthur is your man.
The co-founder of Halifax co-work space, The Hub, recently launched a new technology consulting company, A Quiet Revolution, which he’s dubbed a social disruption agency.
The agency is designed to help businesses capitalize on the sometimes wasted potential of the brave new world of social media, MacArthur said in an interview.
“It’s causing disruption, but there are great new opportunities,” said the Sydney native and Dalhousie University science graduate.
MacArthur said social media like Twitter and Facebook and online sharing have turned the way people connect upside down, causing confusion and uncertainty for many businesses and organizations.
But those new media technologies can be tailored and focused to work effectively to “find the others,” he said, citing one of ’60s guru Timothy Leary’s favourite maxims.
Rather than simply helping clients set up social media accounts, MacArthur said A Quiet Revolution will work with them to maximize the benefits of social media and give them a competitive advantage.
He characterized the agency’s approach to clients by posing a question he would ask in trying to help them.
“What are you trying to do and who are the people who want to do the same thing?” he said, suggesting it is more effective to connect with 300 like-minded people online than it is to have a million Twitter followers.
A Quiet Revolution offers social media site and strategy development, web and mobile application development, new business model development and related advisory services.
It also plans to stage new technology events and draw on MacArthur’s experience as a musician, a rehearsal space operator and co-founder of the crowd funding website, IOUMusic.
The site gives fans the opportunity to make donations to bands they listen to online.
“It goes back to our focus,” said MacArthur, who noted that the music industry in particular has been transformed by the advent of new technology.
IOUMusic will be part of the new agency, as will a quarterly magazine, SPIDER, which will address new technology issues and focus on local entrepreneurs.