Thursday, April 25, 2013

Google+, anyone?


I used to wonder whether I was operating at a disadvantage because my blogs are hosted by Blogger instead of WordPress--that is, until Google+ made it a cinch to install their buttons on my blogs much more easily than by following the normal procedure required to install various widgets. 

Now that I and my blogs are connected to Google+, I’m happy to report that I’m experiencing a number of technical improvements (for example, better search-engine ranking and practically instantaneous blog feeds to Google+.)

But here’s the down side:  it’s downright spooky to find myself rattling around Google+, where I feel relatively alone because so many of my literally thousands of social-media contacts seem to be absent.  The system has managed to help me track down and contact only a disappointingly small number of you.  If you are already a member of Google+ but I’ve been unable to locate and contact you, please reach out to me there. 

My initial thought in joining Google+ was that it would provide an interesting new frontier for social-media experiments.  But I believe the experiments would be much more enjoyable and productive if more of my existing social-media contacts would come out and play.  So please give some thought to joining me on the platform. 

These are really my ideas.  Google+ didn’t hire me to say this.

But at the same time, if I’m overlooking any good reasons for not migrating to Google+, please let me know what they are.

https://accounts.google.com/ServiceLogin?service=oz&passive=1209600&continue=https://plus.google.com/?hl%3Den%26gpsrc%3Dgplp0%26partnerid%3Dgplp0&followup=https://plus.google.com/?hl%3Den%26gpsrc%3Dgplp0%26partnerid%3Dgplp0&hl=en

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Canadian government unveils revamped guide and Internet settlement tool for new immigrants


Yesterday Canada’s federal government unveiled “Welcome to Canada”, a revised 146-page guide for new immigrants.  
Compiled from academic research and consultation with immigration experts and new immigrants, the booklet is aimed at helping newcomers integrate and succeed in the Canadian economy and society as soon as possible.  It provides basic  practical information on such topics as Canada’s education system, justice system, laws, and labour market.  The new guide is available on line (either via download or as an e-book) and through settlement service providers (who often greet immigrants on arrival at the airport.)
Changes since the last guide (released in 2011) include descriptions of marriage fraud (marrying Canadian citizens or permanent residents only to gain entry into Canada) and human smuggling as criminal activities (against both of which crimes the federal government has recently launched crackdowns.)   Like the previous guide, the current guide also condemns such usually misogynistic practices as polygamy, spousal abuse, forced marriage, honour killings, and genital mutilation.

In addition, Minister Kenney announced the “Living in Canada Tool”, a new interactive Internet application that lets recently arrived newcomers produce a semi-customized settlement plan with tips, next steps, and links based on user responses to an initial questionnaire. Users can also locate immigrant services on a map and then supposedly bring along their settlement plan when they visit to receive additional, personalized support.

The “Living in Canada Tool” is the federal government’s second Internet immigration application.  The first was a tool for on-line assessment and application, called “Come to Canada Wizard”.

These latest initiatives have been launched under Canada’s current Conservative Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, whose other achievements have included:  eliminating a backlog of 280,000 applicants, decreasing health-care coverage for refugee claimants, freezing applications from grandparents and parents seeking to join children in Canada, cracking down on immigration consultants, tightening language requirements for newcomers, introducing harsh penalties for people who lie on immigration forms, and revamping citizenship documents to increase emphasis on Canadian culture and expectations.  Minister Kenney’s supporters credit him with changing Canada’s international status from a country with wide-open doors that asks few questions to a country that welcomes newcomers but has also raised its entry requirements and views citizenship as a privilege to be earned.
““To help newcomers integrate, the Government has tripled settlement funding since 2005-06 and remains committed to ensuring the distribution of settlement funding is fair, that immigrants receive the same level of service, regardless of where they choose to settle,”” said Minister Kenney in Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s official news release