I recently did an interview w/ Chrissy, longtime friend, OG PR, and founder of Vocab Comm. I talk about the social media landscape, influencers, and my career. I included part of the interview below, read the whole thing here. Chrissy used to host MMVA and celebrity gifting lounges at the beginning of social media, we worked together on a few. This was a fun one. Tell us a little about yourself. I grew up in Cambridge, Ontario. My parents immigrated here from New Zealand and my dad had a custom Hot Rod shop growing up. I created my first business in grade 2 and at 14 I wrote a book and started a publishing company. I went to Conestoga College and last year was given an Alumni Award for my work from the President of the college. I went to university in Australia and have a B. Com in International Business. I have lived in Toronto since 2005 when I started my blog. Through my blog, I’ve built some amazing brand partnerships (Pepsi, Telus, Aeroplan, Sassoon) and traveled to incredible amazing places in the world (Thailand, New Zealand, Costa Rica, Disneyland). How do you define an influencer? I think the word ‘influencer’ has really taken on a whole new (kinda negative) meaning with the rise of Instagram influencers. To me, influence is a product of something someone does. It’s not something you get by having a lot of followers. My influence has grown from being a pioneer in a new industry and constantly innovating. I share my life with the world and love discovering new things, my influence comes from building trust with my audience. What advice do you have for other people looking to become an online influencer? Don’t do it. Find something you love and do that! Don’t…

Over the past two months, you’ve read my reviews of AfterShokz wireless headphones and how they’re great for walking, working out, and so lightweight you’ll forget you’re wearing them. This is part 3 of my 4-post series and today I’m going deeper into the tech specs and my thoughts after 2-months of use. Headphones are a really personal thing. They’re part of your style but also serve a different purpose for each person wearing them. For example, Lauren O’Nizzle is one of my friends who’s almost always wearing headphones, whereas me, not nearly as often. However, this year I’m growing into new habits and working out more. I mentioned earlier that one of the reasons I really like Trekz Air headphones is you can hear the world around you. I tried over the ear noise cancelling any they’re not for me. I need to be able to hear my environment to stay calm. I do a lot of walking outside and will soon (come on Spring!) be doing outdoor workouts so it’s important to hear what’s around me. As for comfort, the Trekz Air headphones wrap around the back of your neck and hang over your ears. I can’t speak for long hair but they’re totally fine for my short hair. You forget they’re there and the fit is fine with a hat and/or glasses. They’re a really great workout fitness headphone if you want something that will stay put, not get in your way, but keep you aware of your environment. The new AfterShokz Treks Air have improved bass from previous versions which improves dynamic sound range. When you turn up the volume you can feel a tiny vibration in your cheekbone. It’s pretty cool and not distracting, Ilike it. As a tech lover, one of my favourite things…

Over the past 45 days, I’ve been testing the Roomba i7+ from iRobot. Overall, awesome vacuum, especially great for bungalows, love the self-cleaning feature. I’ve wanted a Roomba or years and talked about it on Twitter back in 2012. Hello, who wouldn’t’ want a little cleaning robot?! We have quite a few stairs at home, so I decided Roomba would live at the 1188 office. Honestly, it’s been such a hit with everyone, they were all so excited when the big box arrived, it would be interesting to find out what is best robot vacuums to try out. It feels like we have an office pet again! This works for the floors, but for the rest of the Office Cleaning we do still hire a specialist cleaning team, as the Roomba can’t clean walls, fridges, technology, and other office items! I would say the only downfall about the Roomba Robot Vacuum is that it can’t do stairs, yet! It does have Cliff Detect so it won’t fall down or take a tumble should you have some stairs around. Once I got everything set up, it was really quick to download the app and connect the device. The Roomba i7+ is the smartest robot vacuum yet. It has a cleaning dock to empty itself plus an app that lets you control it and see where it’s cleaned. You can see it was super quick to set up. I snapped these screenshots all in the same minute! My favourite part aside from clean office floors is the app (by the way, this is the perfect vacuum for wooden floors). I’m able to see if there’s an issue, what’s been cleaned, or set it to clean at any specific time. Cleaning Two features that make this an amazing machine are 1) Dirt Detect™…

We all know it’s coming, the dark and cold months of winter where all hibernate a little more and give thanks to the Netflix gods. I’ve been trying to stay on track with being productive when I’m at home and working out and am determined this winter to exercise just as much time as I spend binge-watching. Luckily, we live in a tech world that allows us to have all kinds of smart devices to help our minds and homes running smoothly through the dark seasons. A site like Wired Smart has some great info on practically every type of smart device that can be useful but today I decided to focus more on the tech that will help get you through winter. Scroll down for tech accessories I find help me through colder days. Finess Tracker: FitBit I have been using a Fitbit on and off for the past 5 years. I love the reminders to move every hour and getting those steps in each day. It’s a small thing that keeps me accountable to move. I also love seeing my heart rate, the interval tracking, and getting text messages on my wrist. The weekly reporting is a great way to motivate yourself to be more active. I’m currently using the FitBit Versa and Sean has the FitBit Iconic. I still use my FitBit Alta HR sometimes because it’s slimmer and looks more like a bracelet. Telus also has Apple Watch if that’s more your speed. A Home Assistant: Alexa I love her, I ask her things every day. Mostly ‘what’s the weather’ so I know how many layers to put on and what type of jacket to wear. I love the weekly email from Amazon telling me with ‘What’s New with Alexa?” and all the skills you can…