THE GRID: Introvert or Extrovert?
This week has been full of awesome fun. While I’ve been away I was written about TWICE in Toronto’s culture newspeper The Grid. One day I was in an article about being an introvert and the very next day was a video about me being extroverted and all over the city. Truth is, I’m a little bit of both. I really love spending time alone, in silence and at home and, as you all know, I also love being around lots of people and in the spotlight. Here’s a link to each article. Casie Stewart is a 29-year-old blogger who was recently featured in an article in The Walrus by Maryam Sanati called “Brand Me,” which shone a spotlight on the major players among Toronto’s “Gen Y personal branders.” These professional internet personalities have managed to generate the success and attention they quite openly—and shamelessly—seek, simply by transcribing the minutiae of their existence online. “Because Stewart’s peers have not known self-doubt as much as we have,” Sanati, a self-identified Gen-Xer, writes, “and because they’re so much better at maneuvering in the digital age than we were, they feel perfectly at ease.” That may be true for Stewart. When it came time for her to speak at the pub, she described herself as “hyper-social.” In fact, the only time she admitted feeling less than socially fluent was during her offline hours. One more thing! If you are at SXSW Storify will build a story from all your online activity automatically if you connect your accounts. I’ll publish mine tomorrow. Now, off to the convention centre for some fun! Have an awesome day 🙂
View PostMY CITY LIVES: TORONTO’S BEST VIDEO CREATORS & STORYTELLERS
Earlier this year in between my travels I filmed this video with my friends at My City Lives. I’ve got a bunch of videos on their platform and I’ve watched the company grow over the past few years. I’m happy to share with you this awesome vid put together by My City Lives and The Biz Media. Enjoy! Here’s an excerpt from the My City Lives blog. Read the whole post here! Meet Casie Stewart: daily lifestyle vlogger, brand ambassador, and one of Toronto’s most influential bloggers. Casie is a household name in the Toronto social media community – and for good reason – she’s got an infectious personality and an enormous amount of hustle. We’ve been fans of Casie for a long time so being able to collaborate with her was really special. Casie, having worked for brands like MuchMusic and MTV, is well armed when it comes to communicating with different audiences and succeeds in showcasing her talent in her blog, which she has been writing for over seven years now. Aside from creating a constant flow of contents for her blog, Casie has been an avid creator of My City Lives videos for years. Kate was on the scene with her camera. Here’s a few behind the scenes pix from her Flickr stream. My City Lives Co-Creator, Adil Emma & Xavier from Timeless on Queen (before renos was CTS) I like laughing! Thank you to the My City Lives team for featuring me. I love you guys <3
View PostMONDAY MARCH MADNESS
Good morning, good morning, and how are you today? I’m feeling a wee bit frazzled since we leave for SXSW Wednesday. I woke up early, cleaned my room, did the dishes and started packing. I’m about to get dressed and head to MTCC for The Art of Marketing, Randi Zuckerberg from Facebook is speaking today. Been offered a pretty sweet new in fashion so I need to make one stop around Dundas Square today. I can’t wait to tell you about it, it’s cool. Meeting Lauren at Yorkdale mid day for a SHOPPING SPREE at West 49 & Billabong cause they’re sponsoring us for SXSW. How freaking cool eh? Ahhhhh. On my way back downtown I’ve got a fitting at Peach Berserk cause guess what? I’m walking in the (huge) closing show, Dare to Wear Love for Mastercard International Fashion Week on March 17th. Ahhhhhh again! Tonight my SXSW team has a meeting to plan out the final details and out route from Toronto to Texas. It’s been years since I went on a big road trip and this is by far the biggest one ever. I can’t wait to get there. If you’re gonna be there LMK & make sure you add my panel to your schedule. It’s Sunday at 12:30! Have an awesome day! P.S. MUM, I miss you. Call me xo
View PostVICE & PROJECT X @ TWIST GALLERY
This week I went to Twist Gallery for the after party for Vice’s movie PROJECT X. Kwasi, Ross, Brock, Sam Jean in H&M Miss Emma Recourt from Timeless on Queen Project X : mini review by Jason Nip If you’ve watched the trailer you know what you’re about to see. 3 unpopular high school teens, parents leaving for a weekend trip and a house ripe for the most destructive house party ever captured by a shaky handheld camera. What you don’t expect is just how far this party escalates and the number of “oh shit!” moments peppered with some laughs that carry the audience on a train ride to some unexpected dark places, keeping the genre fresh with a more realistic and less Disney like conclusion. I half expected to hate the film and there are those who will but the bastard child of Superbad and Cloverfield works on most levels if you let it. It’s a ride you want to stay on till the wheels fall off and do they ever. Project X hits theaters March 2nd.
View PostIRISH EYES ARE CHARMING
No, my eyes aren’t Irish but they might be charming. St. Patty’s day has always been one of my fav days of the year. My friends back home and I used to get all dressed and plan our parties for weeks. One of the best times was going to the old Heidelberg Restaurant near Waterloo in the middle of nowhere and singing & dancing to Irish tunes with Luke & Sara Baker & their parents. Last night a little gift arrived from my friends at Pandora! Thanks guys. It’s a sterling silver four-leaf clover charm. I got my first Pandora bracelet last year at the Tastemakers Lounge during the Toronto International Film Festival. Kate & I both got one! This charm is part of the St. Patrick’s Day styles this year which also include “Kiss Me, I’m Irish” Murano Glass charm ($40), sterling silver dangle green enamel clover charm ($60), sterling silver four-leaf clover charm ($45) and green colour cord bracelet ($25). Pandora doesn’t sell online but if you pop into a store near you‘ll find one of these charms with your name on it just in time for St. Patrick’s Day. If you’re wondering what to do for St. Patty’s Day this year, next week I’ll have some tickets for St. Party’s Day the HUGEST Irish party happening in Canada. I’m off to a meeting then meeting a director who wants to have me in his documentary about social/culture. Gah! I’m running late, as per susual. I really need to stop doing this!
View PostToronto International Auto Show
This photo was taken using 360 pano for iPhone. I love this app. Check out the interactive 360 here. This is similar to the Sonic I won from GM last year. Man I loved driving that little car. This mustang is modelled after Hot Wheels. I get to take the brand new mustang for a spin this summer. Ahh, I’m so looking forward to summer. I’m totally gonna drive it wearing a muscle shirt listening to hard rock. The size of the booths at the Toronto Auto Show vs Detroit Auto Show is very different. Been coming to this Toronto show since I was a kid and always thought Toronto’s was so huge but Detroit is MASSIVE. There’s a lesson there… Something about not knowing how big/great things are until you go out and see them. There’s a big world out there. Lauren and I are driving this bad boy allllllllll the way deep down south to Austin, Texas. The team at Ford Canada are really cool. Thanks for car hookup guys! They won a couple awards last night. NICE WORK! I’d love to drive this little rocket. Probably only a concept car. Small, fast card are my favourite. I didn’t love driving until I started taking all these cars for test drives. It’s rad to take so many different ones, I know what features I really like. I’ve never owned a car but I’ve always seen my first one as a Porche. Not joking. I’ve never driven a Mini either. I’d like to. MINI, CALL ME! Thank you GM for breakfast. I’m prepping for my panel this evening while this presentation takes place. I think it’s full but if you are keen try & sign up here. It’s 6-8pm at the TWG office in the Burroughs building. Happy Friday!
View PostSpeaking | 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…
View Post#FIRSTANDFOREVER: Dr. Martens SS 2012 Preview
All photos by Becca Lemire for She Does the City. See the entire album of who was there & what they were wearing here. See FW 2011 post here. Thanks for a fun time. Great pix Becca! Love my docs for life xo
View Post(I’VE HAD) THE TIME OF MY LIFE
Last night at the SAY Media party for DX3 I had the time of my life playing with a parachute. It was so fun/cool/awesome, seriously. The band man is Rich Aucoin and here are his deets so you can follow him. Canadian and good looking too. I was shaking the parachute with about a hundred other people. A bunch were in the middle and running from side to side as the parachute went up and down dancing the air. Charlotte from SAY emailed this photo to me after the show and I’m sure there are heaps more in cameras around. Right when photo was taken I was in this totally awesome childlike state where I swear I don’t know if I’ve ever had so much fun. It was absolute bliss. I’ve said it before and will again, the SAY Media team really know how to throw a party. In conversations last night I learned that lots of people were learning about the company for the first time. This is pretty rad for me because I’ve been working with them for almost a year now. I’m their Canadian ‘poster child’ for social & one of their passionate people building culture. I’ve mentioned them a few times on blog before. I think lots of old friends were surprised to see my face on their signage. “Hey look, that’s you“ I fell in love with how SAY Media really ‘get it’ the first time I received an email and checked out their site. They work with Passionate Voices connecting us with brands and stuff we like. Last year when I was an Android user, I did a national campaign with HTC. SAY is the first ever real advertising I hooked up with too. Those fancy video ads in my sidebar, that’s them. I’m heading to DX3 for day two today and will probably…
View PostWe’re second best in the world! Embrace Winter!
Toronto’s been named second best city in the world! The big apple took the cake for first place but hey, it’s NEW YORK. Read it here in the Globe & Mail. We had a mini blizzard in Toronto today. When I say ‘we’ I mean Toronto and not the kind of blizzard you get from Dairy Queen! Brrrrr. Took this pano from the balcony just before sunset. The weather was really moody today all up, down, angry, then the sun finally came out. I felt a bit like that too. This video is down by the lake when I was almost BLOWN OVER. keek/casiestewart Stopped by the beach in the afternoon. No really, I went to the urban beach even though it was FREEEEZING. Sand & snow! Embrace winter! I love how the boats look, pretty, peaceful and cold. I have so man memories from this spot. Hung out at CTS with Emma in the afternoon and she dressed me in a full leather outfit. Decided to walk back from my meeting to get some fresh air. Hanging out with these guys tonight. These are my favourite chocolate treats if you are wondering what to get me for valentines. In celebration of Toronto’s awesomeness and being one of the BEST CITIES to live in here’s a lovely tune from GTA cool kids Walk Off the Earth called ‘Corner of Queen’. Queen Street FTW!
View PostWhen opportunity knocks? I’m waiting by the door.
Well, here we go packed and ready for a week of two cities, two climates, two time zones and two conferences. It’s a beautiful day to fly and my sister is coming to meet me for brekky then wisk me off to YYZ for afternoon takeoff. Luggage packed carefully last night. Layers and all the same colour scheme to accommodate the many activities. I’m really not sure why I need two cameras but I’m testing the new Nikon and the Olympus is my baby. Now that I have iPhone I hardly use my camera. I took, edited and am posting all this from it now. THE FUTURE. All that stuff goes in my purse for easy access. My passport photo always gets a giggle cause I’m wearing bright red lipstick with a bow in my hair. I love this painting. It’s the last thing I see before going out the door. The title is “keep this one” and it was done by Hinto in 2008.
View PostTHIS IS PARADISE
Ahhh. WHIRLWIND the last few weeks but nice to home. Not going anywhere but the parents till January. Reckon what happens now -March will determines most of 2012. I love this time of year and if my lunch meeting gets rescheduled today (I was still in CST not EST, whoops!) then I am going to the Eaton Centre and walking on Queen to see if I can catch some holiday spirit. Lots of work the next couple weeks, feeling really good about it. Can’t wait to spend time with my family & friends now that I’m back in the city. Those killer bites on my ankles are so ugly right now. I’m dyyyyying to go for a pedicure but they’re too gross to show ANYONE. These shots are from a recent afternoon shooting with My City Lives and the Biz Media Agency. Kate was on set as my PA and took some great shots, her flickr here. I love that my hair is growing. Lipstick is my most fav ‘999 Ara Red’ by Dior. In other exciting news: SXSW– My Speaker profile is live! Check out this fancy Gold Registrant -Panelist. See you in 2012 Austin! Air Canada, En Route Film Festival 2011- I made the credits for Working It Out a short film by Matt Apedaile. His film is one of the top finalists and will be shows in Air Canada flights. Watch in in the sky or here! HoHoTO – Toronto’s biggest most fun charity holiday event is Thursday. I have a ticket. Get one here. Community 54– Some friends opened a rad shop, check it out here. Gonna be there for a party Friday. Independent Fashion Bloggers – I’m there. I would love a BLT. Stop. Showertime.
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