Social is Mr. Right Now, Your Website is Forever

Let’s talk about the importance of owning your own website and content. As creators, we have no control over what happens with social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or…X (Twitter). I’ve had a blog for the past 18 years, and over that time, I’ve seen a lot of apps come and go. I lost my first blog when MySpace shut down, years of Daily Booth photos when they ceased operations, and RIP the thousands of videos and views I lost when Vine died (I’m still sad about this one). The only thing that has lasted the test of time is my website, my home base on the internet, the place I own. As a long-time blogger, I’m passionate about making the web a more empowering and profitable place for creators. Invest in Yourself, Own Your Digital Real Estate Our social media accounts are just rented spaces, we don’t own them. Algorithms change, policies are updated, and one day, our accounts could be suspended or deleted without explanation. I’ve seen friends lose years of content when their account gets shut down (often for no reason!) or hacked. This is why it’s more important than ever to build a home that you own for all your digital content. How Hvr is Changing the Game for Websites When I first learned about Hvr, I was inspired by and related to the founder’s goals of empowering creators & publishers to reclaim their communities and earnings power at their sites. Over the past two years, I’ve worked with our Hvr team to build a suite of tech that transforms websites into community spaces where publishers can truly connect with their audience. Our partner program (Hvr Sitepartners) helps creators/publishers increase revenue & engagement at their sites. Increase Revenue & Engagement as a Hvr Sitepartner All…

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Latest Obsession: Octobuddy!

This thing from Amazon is my latest obsession, Octobuddy! It’s amazing for taking selfies when you don’t have a photog around (which is almost always lol). All the photos in this post were taken with my new lil’ guy! The name has over 38M views on TikTok while the brand account only has 662 followers. Influencers everywhere have been posting about Octobuddy and I had to get one. It’s a little silicone sticker with multiple suction cups that attaches to the back of your phone and sticks to shiny surfaces (mirror, window, etc). It’s great for hands-free selfies/videos and is around $20 CAD on Amazon. ORDER ONE AND JOIN THE CLUB.

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Collision Conf 2023 – See You There?

Next week, Toronto’s biggest tech conference is back! Collision Conf is like the ‘Olympics of Tech’ and brings together people and companies redefining the tech industry. Nelson and I were there each day last year and it was so much fun (see blog post here!). We even filmed a couple of Cast of Creators episodes in the glass podcast booth. Including one with Raine Maida from Our Lady Peace! Trending Topics to Watch I chatted with the Collision Conf team this week to see what sessions and topics are trending: There are some big-name speakers (see here) and I’m looking forward to hearing from Geoffery Hinton, the founder of artificial intelligence. Early registration is open this weekend at the Union Station UP Express platform and then onsite at Beanfiend Centre from Monday to Thursday. I’m planning to get my badge this weekend to avoid the chaos. I’ll be at the opening party on Monday night and then at the conference each day. I look forward to seeing familiar faces and meeting new people. My experience last year was so great I left feeling excited, inspired, and with a few new friends! If you’ll be there LMK, download Hvr to leave a comment on my blog!

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Hvr: Where Browsing Meets Social

Right before the pandemic hit, Sean and I spent a weekend hanging out with my good friend Talia and her husband Nelson. I’d met Nelson briefly in passing but we’d never really chatted. Once we got to talking, he shared what he was working on and we bonded over our thoughts about the web, publishing, and social. Nelson grew up in the publishing business as his family were co-owners of the Toronto Star. He and his brother Henry were building an app called Hvr that blends the features of browsing and social, bringing engagement back to websites. One of the first things he said was “We’re making browsing fun again” and from that moment, I was on board. As a long-time creator and publisher to the web, I’d never seen something so exciting! Since 2005 my blog has been my home base on the internet. As social media emerged in 2010, conversations moved to platforms like Facebook and Twitter, taking engagement with them and away from websites. Today, when I hit publish on a blog post, then copy-paste the URL from a browser to a social platform, people will talk about it there. This gives engagement to huge platforms but doesn’t do much for me as a creator or for my website. Fast forward to 2022, the web is changing, social media is just rented space, the best thing you can do as a creator is have a place you own online, a website. Introducing Hvr, Where Browsing Meets Social For the past year, I’ve been working closely with the Hvr team to develop the app by sharing my experience on the web and contributing to everything from design to copy and marketing. We’re changing the browsing experience by making it easy to follow your favourite sites, discover new content,…

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