Speaking | BRANDS & NARCISSISM, SXSW

I chuckle to myself at this title and the fact that I’m called upon to talk about the psychology of narcissism and how it affects brands. I know it has a lot to do with how technology and society have changed the way we communicate but it’s still kinda funny. I reckon Mum thinks it’s funny too. I’ve not changed much since I was a kid, seriously. Our SXSW panel was really awesome. The room was packed, we had great discussion and there were lots of questions following. I enjoyed meeting psychotherapist Dr. Jacob Small and discussing my own ‘personality disorder’ and how narcissism is extremely prevalent in todays society. During our panel I learned that Narcissism as a clinical disorder is being removed from ‘the book’ and added as merely a symptom of other personality disorders. Good looking panel, eh? 🙂 It was ADVANCED Level. Oh yeah. Interestingly enough, a couple days before this panel I was written about in local Toronto weekly, The Grid about being an introvert then the very next day an extrovert. I definitely have both sides to my personality but I’m clearly a highly functioning crazy person. I’m speaking at NXNE in June about the same topic and hope you’ll be there to see it. I’m sure I’ll be able to hook up some tickets for our panel closer to the date. Yeeeeeeehaw! All photos by the lovely Kate Killet. Now I am late for lunch w/ Telus. Byeee! Wear sunscreen!

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Speaking | Panels, Parties & People #SMW

Social Media Week kicks off around the world today. Here’s my picks on what you wanna check out including parties and panels. I’m speaking on two that fall on Thursday & Friday. There’s a TON of things going on so check the schedule & see what peaks your interest. Image is from Say Media’s blog, LEGGOOOO, VROOOOOOOOOM! Monday: 7pm: SMW Tweetgasm & Official Launch Party (Both at Gladstone Hotel) Tuesday: 8am-6pm SMW Coffee House @ ING Direct 2-3:30 Keynote: Jon Sinden on Brands & Fans 3:30-4:30 Conversation in Social Metrics @ Entrinsic Wednesday: 10am-12pm: Content may be king, but without Context – no one will pay attention 4:30-5:30: Not Another Open Bar Event: Is Your Brand Seeing a Return On Influence? 9pm: Social Media Week Toronto Official After-Party: After Hours Conversation Thursday: there’s LOTS of great stuff! 9am-1pm: Entrinsic Presents: CaseCamp (No it’s not Camp about ME!) 1-2:30: Social Media Friends, Anxiety & You: 5:30-6:30: Community Management beyond Twitter & FB 5:30-7pm: Getting Serious About Travel Blogging 5:30-9pm: SXSW Pre-Party @ Spice Route Friday:  8:45-10:30pm: Driving the Social Media Conversation w/ GM 12:30-3:30 Post it, Pin It Party (lunch/drinks) 3-4pm: Social Storytelling: Creating and Curating Content Strategies That Work Friday 6-8pm: Building Valuable Social Features into your Web and Mobile Applications Information about my panels:  Thursday, 1-2:30: Social Media Friends, Anxiety & You: Hosted by Maria Lianos-Carbone, publisher & editor of amotherworld.com, this panel will be talking about the anxiety that can come along with being so open in social media and sharing more of your life than ever. I’m looking forward to this cause I deal with anxiety ALL THE TIME. Other panelists include Stéphanie Montreuil Principal, The Lotus Pad Consulting, and Chris Eh Young. Location is The Office Pub, 117 John Street, 2nd Floor at Adelaide. There will be networking after so come say HI. Friday 6-8pm: Building Valuable Social Features into your Web and…

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Speaking | SociaLIGHT

Social what? There’s a new buzz word created every :02 seconds but ‘socialight’ is one I wasn’t really familia with. Socialite, yes. I’ve been a social person my whole life and I also like working hard and doing nice things for others. When I was introduced to the SociaLIGHT conference, I smiled knowing there’s gonna be lots of like minded people in a room together. I’m speaking on a panel this weekend at MTCC for the Socialight Conference. It’s a one day event for entrepreneurs & small business people from across Canada. Never heard of it? No problem! This vid will give you the low down in < :60 seconds. Did you know that “Last November, more than 100 countries celebrated Global Entrepreneurship Week and now 2011 has been recognized as the Year of the Entrepreneur in Canada.”  Learned that and some other smart facts from the Canadian Guv’s Biz dept. I’ve had an entrepreneurial fire burnin’ for years. In 1996 I won Young Entrepreneur of Cambridge for a publishing company I co-founded. Being on a panel at MTCC is totally checking something of a list for me. I’ve been going there & seeing speakers since I was a kid. Check out the other great speakers here. This past summer I hosted the Bench room during BHD Suites Gifting Lounge on MMVA weekend (here, here & here). The lovely peeps at Bench asked me if I have any upcoming events they could dress me for.  I mentioned the SociaLIGHT conference and today I had a shopping party for one at the Eaton Centre! Say hello to the Bench store babes who assisted me in picking a bunch of gear. Thanks girls! We were looking for two full outfits and I was leaning towards non-sporty or too branded. Thanks Bench Canada for a fun time and new digs. This is what I tried on: I…

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Speaking | Social Media Marketing 101, Workplace One

What are you doing next Thursday evening? I’m speaking at Workplace One about social media & branding along with Daryl from Lou Dawgs/NextStep Consulting and Sheldon from Sysomos. Workplace One is a shared boutique office space for entrepreneurs, professionals and anyone in between. It’s gorgeous in there! This is a free event and a great opportunity to learn about social media for your small business or personal brand. We’ll be talking branding, analytics, monitoring, how to grow your audience and more.  Food had been generously donated by  Lou Dawgs and beverages by Natural Vines and Steamwhistle. We have limited space available so please register sooner than later. For more information see the event page here or leave your questions in the comments. Hope you can make it 🙂  

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Speaking | Connecting Digital Women & Brands

Thursday & Friday this week Toronto hosts the She’s Connected Social Media Conference which brings together hundreds of women from across Canada who have a passion for digital, social and all things online. Friday at 1pm I am speaking on a panel called “Social Media Rock stars: Veteran, New and rising stars” with a whole bunch of successful Canadian women in media. Panel includes: Carrie Burrows , Proud member of the Walt Disney World Mom’s Panel Casie Stewart , Lifestyle Blogger, Personality & Co-founder GenYTO Christine Cushing , TV Personality, Chef & Entrepreneur Tracy Moore , Host, CityLine, City TV Lianne Phillipson-Webb ,Founder, Sprout Right Shannon Mischuk , Blogger, Shasher’s Life Moderator Tom Gierasimczuk , Editor in Cheif, Marketing Magazine Unfortunately, the event is not open to the public but I do have a public event coming up October 6th at Workplace One that you can attend. I’ll get details about that out to you today or tomorrow. Hope you are having an awesome day 🙂

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