Montréal, November 9, 2009 – The 2009 Protect Your Identity Online campaign will be more interactive, more participatory, more Web-based. It promises to have a significant impact in terms of information security, and Videotron is proud to be part of the campaign again this year. The purpose of the Québec-wide initiative is more relevant than ever: to educate Internet users about the importance of protecting personal information on the Web. It is also a natural complement to Vigilance on the Net (www.vigilanceonthenet.com), the awareness-raising campaign Videotron has been conducting in Québec high schools since 2007.
Awareness 2.0
The third edition of the campaign, organized by the Institut de sécurité de l'information du Québec (ISIQ) and the Ministère des Services Gouvernementaux (MSG) for the Government of Québec, has been revamped and rethought to reflect the changing face of the Internet, evolving Internet usage by the target audiences, the results of the 2008 campaign, and the growing popularity of social networking sites with many Quebecers, particularly young adults.
With the constant growth of online transactions and exchanges, awareness of privacy and identity-theft issues is increasingly important, said Marc Labelle, General Manager, Corporate Communications of Videotron. We have to be more proactive and persuasive than ever. In this respect, I think the 2009 Protect Your Identity Online campaign is very well designed and Videotron is pleased to support this initiative as lead partner.
New this year
This year's Protect Your Identity Online campaign boasts a number of noteworthy new features. First, the 2009 campaign will be entirely Web-based and will fully exploit the potential of all the channels of communication and exchange supported by the Internet. Among other things, the Web community will be marshalled to get the message out: active Internet users will be targeted to help spread the campaign's message effectively and broadly.
There will be webcasts of online security and privacy-related events, including a conference involving Dominique Vien, Minister of Government Services, and a panel discussion in which Videotron will participate. Leading social networking sites and tools such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube will be harnessed to publicize and circulate information and educational content, some of it user-generated. The new version of the monidentite.isiq.ca site will play a more prominent role as the spearhead of the campaign.
Secondly, MusiquePlus computer columnist Denis Talbot, who developed the content for the Vigilance on the Net tour, is serving as the spokesperson for the Protect Your Identity Online campaign this year. Denis Talbot has a strong following among young people and is a recognized expert on new media who has frequently worked with ISIQ.
Thirdly, in light of past experience, the campaign's main awareness-raising and information tools, including the monidentite.isiq.ca website and advertising and promotional materials, will now be available in English as well in order to get the message out to as many people as possible.
There are a number of other enhancements and improvements this year:
video contest: young Quebecers aged 18-34 can enter by producing a video clip on information security for the Web;
regular updates to the monidentite.isiq.ca website and the addition of Web 2.0 functionalities (RSS feed, Facebook links, Delicious, Twitter);
Facebook group;
Twittering;
YouTube videos;
contributions to existing blogs.
Videotron Ltd. (www.videotron.com), a wholly owned subsidiary of Quebecor Media Inc., is an integrated communications company engaged in cable television, interactive multimedia development, Internet access services, cable telephony and wireless telephone service. Videotron is a leader in new technologies with its illico interactive television system and its broadband network, which supports high-speed cable Internet access, analog and digital cable television, and other services. As of September 30, 2009, Videotron was serving 1,759,700 cable television customers in Québec, including 1,042,400 subscribers to illico Digital TV. Videotron is the Québec leader in high-speed Internet access, with 1,145,400 subscribers to its cable modem service as of September 30, 2009. As of the same date, Videotron had activated 79,800 handsets on its wireless telephone service and was providing cable telephone service to 979,100 Québec households and organizations. For the fourth consecutive year, Videotron has been named Québec's most respected telecommunications company by Commerce magazine, based on a Léger Marketing survey.
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