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 set your goal at being an influencer. I swear it’s not all it’s cracked up to be!

Don’t strive to be an influencer, aim to do something that has influence on the world.

– Casie Stewart

The other week I was at the Cannes Film Festival and someone said “I’m jealous of your life”. Shortly after, I tweeted, “You wouldn’t be jealous if you knew how much work it took to get here”. For almost 10 years I blogged every single day. I very rarely take a day off and hardly any of my travels are vacation. I love what I do and have turned it into a career. It takes WORK and consistency.

What’s your fav personal social media moment in your career so far?

I’ve some really cool moments in the last 10 years of my life. A lot of them tie back to my work in social media. Traveling around the world, working with Virgin America & Richard Branson, walking in Toronto Fashion Week, being in a film about TIFF, reporting on The Royals for eTalk, speaking at SXSW, doing a TEDx talk.

How do you inspire others through your work or personal life?

I try to keep it real. Being on the internet can be hard. I have a series of posts called ‘Sometimes I Don’t Feel Like It’ (See here: http://bit.ly/2KA5Bgd) where I write about how social media gives me anxiety or I don’t feel like being an ‘internet person’. I’ve had great feedback on those posts because they share the realness that you don’t see in curated Instagram feeds.