Day 346: The Rebel Mama Hotline – What’s Up with IG Filters?

This week I was a guest on the Rebel Mama Hotline podcast where I talked about Instagram filters. I love these ladies, their group is the one for ‘mom group’ dropouts, the badass, rebellious women out there like us. They’ve also got two books The Rebel Mama’s Handbook for (Cool) Moms and Get Your $hit Together: The Rebel Mama’s Handbook for Financially Empowered Moms. I started creating IG filters about 2 years ago using a free program from Facebook called Spark AR. I made a beauty filter called LoLo Lash, inspired by my bff, Lauren O’Neil. I drew the lashes in Procreate with Apple pencil using a face mesh rentering then created the filter in Spark AR and added skin smoothing. This filter has 2.2M impressions, 99% of them are women aged 25-35. I understand this is (prob?) the biggest demo on IG but it also goes to show who is using beauty filters the most. In this ep of The Rebel Mama Hotline, we talk about how filters can create unrealistic beauty standards especially when the filter drastically changes your face shape. People are now going to beauty clinics with a filtered image of themselves saying ‘can you make me look more like this?’. I have a filter on this post from Day 341 and deff thought about how botox or filler could enhance my face to make it more like this ‘pretty’ filter. One of my filters that is just the smoothing effect bumped way up (Smooth AF) has almost 400K impressions. I often use filters and other beauty filters, I like the way they look, the creativeness of them, and a lot of them hide when you look tired…or feel old. Tap the play button below to listen to a snippet of the podcast or hit play…

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Day 270: Spice Up Your Zoom w/ Snap Camera

This year we have all spent more time on Zoom or Google Meet than ever. If you’re feeling Zoom-fatigue, you are not alone. It’s totally normal to feel exhausted right now, there are so many contributing factors work, health, covid, money, plus the holidays are just around the corner. I used to love getting groceries but I find it stressful now. The other day I download Snap Camera for Mac and it’s a great way to spice up your meetings. You can get festive for the holidays, add a filter for perfect skin, or use all kinds of camera effects. It’s kinda fun. I’ve been using a colour filter to change my lighting and make my skin look flawless. Check out this great video by my friend Amanda Cosco on how to easily add Snap Camera to your computer.

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TRANSFORM – What to See at FITC Toronto 2018

Over the past couple years, I’ve attended FITC in Toronto and highly recommend it. I’m not shy about my love for emerging tech and welcome any opportunity to see what’s new, learn from innovators, and get my hands on the latest gadgets. If you love that stuff too, you should GET A TICKET NOW. Use code FITCCASIE for a 20% discount. Tell your boss you need to go for professional development.  FITC is a hub for creatives and stands for Future, Innovation, Technology, Creativity. My first FITC was in 2011 and I was blown away by all the cool stuff I saw. It’s amazing to think about how technology has changed since then. Last year I was walking around showing off my Snapchat glasses and this year nobody really uses the app anymore. I love tech because it moves so fast and it always changing. I’m writing this to you from the tech centre of the world in San Francisco, California. ? Since 2012 FITC has held events all around the world bringing people like-minded people together to embrace design and technology. FITC: The Technology & Creativity Conference   What to See at FITC Toronto 2018 Here’s a few things I picked I’ve added to my schedule. You can make yours on the website. The list of speakers is great and there’s heaps to learn. Something I really like about the website is for each session they detail an overview, objective, target audience, and 5 things the audience will learn. This helps you maximize your conference experience based on your own personal interest and desire to learn. Play By Your Own Rules, Jessica Walsh April 8 2018, 10:00 – 10:45am How to Tell Your Story, Matt McCue, 99U Magazine April 9 2018, 11:00 – 11:45am The Weird and Wonderful World of Book Publishing, Radim Malinic…

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Social Media Week Kicks Off Today – Visit YouTube, Twitter, Inspiring Speakers

Today kicks off Social Media Week in Toronto. I’ve been part of it every year since it started, in some capacity. This year I’m on the SMTWO  Advisory Board for my second year and speaking on a panel Wednesday. It is truly amazing to be part of an industry that has grown and developed SO MUCH the last 10 years. I could go on an on about how special the start of it was and how there were so few people. Back then, the role of Community Manager didn’t exist, we couldn’t’ schedule updates, there were no analytics, no budgets, and advertising was few and far between.  Back then people had influence, we called them leaders. Fearless self-starters who took chances, tried new things and did things differently. We followed to see what they would do next. Influence came from their work and the impact it had on others, not just followers.  Things have really changed and they continue to change. This is what makes Social Media Week such an important event for our growing industry. Every year the topics are different and there’s new platforms, policies, and processes to discuss. For the past couple months, I’ve been tweeting ‘NEW THINGS EVERY DAY‘ almost daily when a new feature is added to Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat. It’s a challenging space to work in because your tools and the entire drawing board are always changing. #SMWTO has TONS of cool things, here are a few of my favourites! Take a Tour of Twitter Interview with Instagram Mega-Star @GirlWithNoJob Tour YouTube Space Canada Ready to Lead w/ Kirstine Stewart “Clapback” and the Progression of Brand Tone on Social Media Working with Influencers: Then and Now (My panel wd/ Deb from RockIt!) Fireside chat w/ Founders of Diply How to Make Friends and #ReachPeople Thank you to Michelle & Pinch…

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Speaking at Centennial College – Advanced Social Media

Here I am on the TTC again. I really wish I had headphones but they’re still in my travel bag at home. I’m heading over to Centennial College to chat with a class of Advanced Social Media year 3 students about my life and work. I try to say yes as often as I can when a friend or close contact asks me to chat with their class. It’s always an opportunity for me to learn. I love their questions. I love reminding them that the job they’ll have one day might not, and probably doesn’t even exist. It’s ok if they don’t know what they want to do yet. I remind them to find something they love doing and become really, really good at it. I tell them to explore creativity and try new things. To not be afraid of other people who can’t see their vision or grasp their unique idea. There have been so many times in my career where the person/people I was working with or for, didn’t get my idea. Most the time it was because only I could see so far ahead, not as far as me. They weren’t there yet. Having the skills and knowledge to see an idea before anyone else will often keep you ahead of the pack.  When I worked at CTV for Much/MTV Canada I remember telling my boss it would be a good idea to put the show hashtag on the tv screen. He totally thought I was crazy and made me feel bad about my ‘dumb’ idea. We all know how that turned out, eh? Another time at an agency job I suggested we get this cool InstaPrint thing from NYC. It involved hiring a guy to man 4 machines onsite for the event that would print little…

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Watch Sean Rip It Round the Track! #FordFathersDay

Wednesday this week I took Sean to a track with Ford Canada to giver in the Ford RS and Mustang GT. I’ve driven on tracks with Ford a few times so know just how fun it is. It really helped me learn to handle a vehicle and be a more confident driver. Ford invited me to bring a dad in my life in celebrations of Fathers Day. Sean works really hard and I knew this would make him feel great! I only went one lap and let him take a few extra just to see the smile on his face. WATCH THIS Our options to drive were Ford Mustang GT Convertible, Ford Mustang GT Fastback, and the Focus RS. The Focus RS is REALLY FAST. You’ll see Sean say it’s amazing in the video. ? One of my fav things of the day was doing a ‘hot lap’ with professional drivers Darryl Timers (Ford of Canada’s Performance Driver since 2013). Our vehicles were fully stocked with GoPro’s to catch our reactions. I also woer my Snapchat specs while driving so hit play below to see a first person view of me on the track. Wore my @Spectacles on the track. Cool experience. Really teaches you to handle a vehicle! TY @FordCanada! #FordFathersDay #FordMustang pic.twitter.com/2zgweeqXLC — CASiE STEWART (@casiestewart) June 14, 2017 THANK YOU Ford and the team from National PR for a memorable experience with a fav dad in my life. We’ll continue to talk about this day for a loooooong time! Don’t forget to say hi & love you to the dads/uncles/granddads/brothers and dad friends in your life this weekend!

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