Tag Archives: social media

Nuclear Education Nuclear Outreach

Taking the Grocery Store Conversation Online

October 1, 2012 – 05:13

Last Wednesday, I was invited to speak to a group of Women-in-Nuclear (WiN) members from the Eastern-Ontario chapter at AECL in Chalk River. We got together to “talk nuclear,” but more specifically, how to talk nuclear on social media.

With the WiN Eastern Chapter Executives. L to R: Bev Kidd, Laura Allardyce (me), Solly Karivelil, and Anne Giardini

There is a lot of interest in social media among members of the nuclear industry, among people who are enthusiastic about the work they do, the technology they support, and the communities in which they live and do this impassioned work. There is a lot of pride in Canada’s nuclear industry – pride in our home grown, low-carbon CANDU technology, in the development of nuclear medicine technologies for diagnostic and therapeutic cancer treatments, and in how safe our operations are every day and for the last 50+ years. We want to share our stories with the rest of Canada and the world.

Social media is people having conversations online. It’s the same as meeting your neighbor in the grocery store and chatting about your day. The only difference is, it’s a bigger grocery store and you’re bumping into more neighbors. The stories you tell online are the same ones you would tell your neighbors.

We shouldn’t be afraid to show our pride online, to share interesting information on Facebook, to tweet a link to a good news story on Twitter, or to tell our own story on a blog.

As the keeper of the community (I maintain the TalkNUclear channels on Facebook, Twitter, this blog, etc), I have a lot of discussions about using social media strategically. I think this can sometimes get us confused about what the purpose of social media is, which is this: at the end of the day, social media is about relationships, not transactions. We are not talking to Canadians to get them to buy more nuclear, we’re not selling a product. What we are doing is talking to Canadians about the mutually beneficial relationship we’re engaged in. Our industry produces low-carbon energy, medical technologies, food and materials safety advancements – all of these things that benefits Canadians every day. Our social media strategy is just to talk to Canadians about these incredible benefits, just like we all do when we run into our neighbors at the grocery store.

A good place to start is with us. There are so many ways to “Talk Nuclear”

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Nuclear News Nuclear Outreach

What’s NU? The Future is NU! Find out more at NUnuclear.ca

August 26, 2011 – 14:06

Announcing the official launch of NUnuclear.ca! Our new microsite NUnuclear.ca introduces Canadians to some of the many benefits of nuclear technology, beyond power generation. From the detection and treatment of diseases to food irradiation and the sterilization of medical equipment and so much more.  Read about it below and visit our social media release for extra NU content.

The Future Is NU -- NUnuclear.ca

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Ottawa — Canada’s nuclear industry is responsible for a broad range of products and services that benefit all Canadians, but just how many Canadians recognize how often our daily lives are impacted by nuclear technology? With the launch of the Canadian Nuclear Association’s (CNA) new microsite, NUnuclear.ca, the CNA is encouraging people to learn about the benefits of nuclear that go well beyond the safe, reliable power generation that contributes to a clean energy portfolio in Canada.

By visiting NUnuclear.ca, Canadians will learn fun and interesting facts such as how Canada became a leader in nuclear medicine or that nuclear technology helps keep medical devices sterile and safe for thousands of doctors, nurses, and patients to use every day.

“Every Canadian who has ever driven a car, has a smoke detector in their home or knows someone who has received diagnostic testing and treatment for cancer, has benefited from the contributions made by nuclear technology,” says Denise Carpenter, President and CEO of the Canadian Nuclear Association.

NUnuclear.ca visitors can explore the contributions the nuclear industry makes to healthy communities in Canada by visiting the five themed vignettes of the NU future: Nuclear at Home, Science & Innovation, Nuclear in Medicine, New Technologies, and Space Age Nuclear. Within each themed vignette are clickable cubes, which open up to reveal a fact about the daily impact of nuclear technology.

NUnuclear.ca is fully integrated with Twitter and Facebook so that users can share relatable and accessible facts and vignettes with friends around the world via the social networking sites. Information can also be shared via email.

“At a time of year when families are preparing for a new school year, we are proud to launch NUnuclear.ca to start a conversation with teachers, students and interested stakeholders about the innovations and applications Canada’s nuclear industry brings to our daily lives,” says Carpenter.

Canada’s nuclear industry is more than 70,000 Canadians, supporting nuclear medicine, exploring and mining uranium, generating power, and advancing Canada’s nuclear advantage worldwide.

Please visit our website and follow us on our Blog, Twitter, and Facebook to participate in our ‘TalkNUclear’ conversation.

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