Tag Archives: immigration

Poz couple wins immigration case

An American couple has won a federal court case that could change the way Canada treats would-be immigrants who are HIV-positive.

Justice Sean Harrington’s December 31 decision could be appealed before the end of January, but if it stands, it will make it easier for applicants who can afford to cover their own prescription costs to immigrate.

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Filed under News, Xtra!

Videos that Play with Numbers, Dangerously

Topping the week’s Viral Video Chart is the trailer for a new book on social media marketing, arguing that social media is not a fad. It closely mirrors XPLANE’s viral hit, also about the importance of new technology. Say what you will about social media, but this sort of video, combining surprising statistics with flashy graphics and electronic music, is emerging as a fad in its own right on YouTube.

The video is rife with the arm-waving hyperbole and confusion of trends favoured by so-called social media experts — at one point, it seems to define books on the Kindle as a kind of social media — but it does grab your attention. That is the strength of stats videos — while most of us would never read a list of unconnected facts about social media, a video can keep our attention with some bright colours and catchy tunes. There is something authoritative about statistics rendered in slick animation. But YouTube is actually a terrible vehicle for stats, because it does away with the web’s greatest strength: easy, plentiful links to sources, survey methodology, and study sponsors.

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Filed under The Tyee, Video Column