10,000 Followers on Twitter!

I've been on Twitter for about 4 years now and have thoroughly enjoyed using this social media tool to communicate, learn, spread social good and meet many new friends like you reading this post!

I recently hit over 10,000 followers and I want to celebrate! It is not an easy thing to build an audience and trust of followers. Over the 4 year period I have been on this platform, I've organized over 40 Tweetups at restaurants, have the privilege to work with numerous brands, begun working as a social media consultant and even started a business -  all because of Twitter! The opportunities continue to grow and I look forward to continue to sharing everything I learn as well as listening to you.

I'll be the first to admit I tweet a lot, but, it's content that is viable and hopefully important to you - my followers, it is updates that keep you abreast on things that happen in my life  and all around Toronto. I enjoying meeting everyone online as well as at events, because we really do have a vibrant and talented social media community here in Toronto.  I hope you continue to follow me on Twitter and if you're new- well, I hope to bring some value to you and your Twitter experience!

On that note, I wish that I could celebrate with all of you but that would be difficult! As most of you know, I do so many contest and giveaways, so I thought I'd stay the course. If you send me any tweet with #clickflick you will be eligible to WIN a $50 Certificate to Rosewater located in Toronto. I'll pick a random winner on Monday.

Good luck and thank you for tweeting, listening and engaging with me on Twitter!

What are your "Social Media" Pet Peeves?

What are your "Social Media" Pet Peeves? It's a simple question with numerous remarks. I recently asked this question on Twitter to find the overall un-scientific sentiment of the user(s) I follow. I want to learn to use Twitter in a proper etiquette because it's always changing as more people utilize these tools. I for one make mistakes frequently on "Social Media" so learning to improve is always a good thing. Twitter can be used anyway you want. If you want to tweet about your cat all day, that is fine. If you want to engage in dialogue about being a social media guru that's fine too. The jest of this post is that everyone uses "social media" differently. Some use it for expression, some use it for attention or even business purposes. We are all different. Social Media is new to most people and continues to evolve so have restraint and understanding when using these tools.

Enjoy the Social tools and find a balance that fits you. Customize and mold the use of your social channels to fit you and your life. It's also important to listen to the conversations to better understand what makes people act the way they do. You start to create a mental profile of a person you follow and this is why listening is important. Taking that online persona and social cues and extending a meeting in real life completes the cycle of being social which is probably the most important value to "Social Media" for me. On that note, here is a compilation of "Social Media" Pet Peeves from my Twitter Stream that I thought you might like or help you understand the nuances of "Social Media". These tweets are a mix of funny and serious observations. Enjoy and continue to add value to your Twitter streams. To find more Pet Peeves just follow #Petpeeves hashtag.

@The_Jmoney by far the biggest #PetPeeve is disregarding RSVPs to FB Events. It takes 2 seconds to click maybe at worst.



@beachrockinc People who are overly emo that whine all the time and share way too much information #PetPeeves



@swaych the term "tweeple"



@stilez honestly? Ppl who 'pitch' or 'network' rather than "connect". Sick of the same SM tips RT'd 1000x & no valuable dialogue.



@beachrockinc Also when people overuse the RT button everytime they get mentioned or just b/c they are trying to get more followers



@E_freeds My biggest #PetPeeve is when I put my phone back in my pocket then people respond to my tweets #PetPeeve



@adamweitner people pretending to be somebody they're not. Your online identity should be a mirror-image of your offline self #petpeeves



@danaherlihey people who don't post original photos on instagram #PetPeeves



@panicmanual people who don't follow me #PetPeeves



@LauraJMacRumi repeating the same message word for word on multiple accounts. #PetPeeve



@Sassygirlcanada people who use social media sites like an online dating service....yuck! LOL! #PetPeeves



@kellyldewolf When people retweet their @ mentions. #petpeeves



@bizaaron "one-use only" hashtags #Petpeeves



@alexflint when people tweet pointless things like "I'm sad today :-(" #petpeeves



@mylegaltweets Intentional misspells. #petpeeves



@Averill_P When a gazillion people RT the same thing from ginormous celebs. #PetPeeves



@Averill_P Genuine FFs for a specific reason are lovely & flattering. Generic #ff lists are ineffective & clutter the timeline (IMO)



@MariaAguilar Social Media Snobs / People who think they're celebrities because of their following #. A lil awkward lol #petpeeves



@nikkiwray When people Tweet/FB "That moment when..." Worst! #petpeeves and also, unnecessary hash tags



@Crisgenge Straight to the sales pitch! Like me, Link me, love me! Who are you again? #youdonthavemeathello! #petpeeves



@beachrockinc Another one, people who ask others to follow them back #PetPeeves





@bigdaddykreativ passive aggressive tweeting #PetPeeves



@bigdaddykreativ talking down to people #PetPeeves



@MariaAguilar Also auto DMs!! I feel a personal fail when I get one because I didn't detect it before I followed LOL #petpeeves



@Apay00 Having to read the SAME "breaking" news tidbit 90000 time in my feed :/



I'm sure we all have our favourite "Pet Peeves". Which ones did you like? :-)

TIFF - RealTVFilms Social Lodge

During the past week the Toronto International Film Festival took over the city with over 300 movies being presented from Sept 8-18th. RealTVFilms in conjunction with TCHAD Quarterly, SPINToronto and Vocab Communication presented the Social Media Lounge at FStop Toronto. It's basically a one stop shop for various products from various vendors. It's geared for celebrities, actors, filmakers, musicians and social media enthusiasts. It's was quite the experience with complimentary drinks and foods with the musical interludes of the DJ. It was a unique and intimate experience. I met many new faces and business that are showcasing interesting and great products. Check out the various photos and great people I met at Social Media Lodge.

The first company that caught my attention was @chocolachocola1 They are a wholesaler of various desserts and amazing chocolates. They've recently jumped on the Twitter bandwagon so say "Hello" to them. I really liked the chocolate covered popcorn.









Another vendor that caught my attention was @TreccaniMilano They specialize in luxury handmade and custom made shoes. I think they mentioned they would be opening a location in Yorkville very soon.



I love this pair of shoes.





Now can you ladies wear a pair of these red shoes? It's all customizable from design to colour.



The following is various pics from the great day at the RealTVFilms Social Lodge.












Thanks to @SocialLodge @RealTVFilms @TCHADQuaterly @MissVocab and @GordonVasquez for a great experience.
It was a great event to integrate Social Media and the Film Industry. Look forward to TIFF 2012.

SXSWi DailyFeats.com

I really found this group interesting because it's using Social Media for Social good. I'll be the first to admit that prior to the use of Social Media Apps such as Twitter and Facebook I did not contribute as much as I do now. The internet has brought more awareness to the plights of others around the world and locally. I enjoy a site that rewards you for doing something good. I've just signed up and hope it lives up to expectation. It is available in Canada and Toronto so I'll start using it! By the way the guys that started this are originally from Calgary and Toronto. Kudos to them on a great site and idea!

Here's the link to the site DailyFeats.com

Here they are on Twitter TheDailyFeats

I met Gary Vaynerchuk in his condo.

I had the opportunity to go to SXSW Interactive event in Austin Texas with the evoke salon crew which is a Hair Salon in Toronto with 2 locations. I was also representing hashable.com as one of the 20 evangelist being sent to Austin. The highlight for my trip was the opportunity to meet many of the people I follow online via Twitter and also the new and old faces I met at the conference.

It's funny but the first person that I said "Hi" to was Gary Vaynerchuk on the street corner in Austin with my luggage still in tow. It was just a random coincidence to meet him on the street. One of my highlights later in the trip was being able to meet Guy Kawasaki and also Gary Vaynerchuk again. I've tweeted with Gary the odd time and he has really adopted the true interactions i believe are reflective in growing online relationships. Having the opportunity to hang with Gary in his condo and be able to film him in his bathroom is a unique and different experience. I was able to ask him questions with regards to Social Media and social networks. He is very smart with his knowledge but it was also interesting to see the mentality and business savvy that evoke salon has with regards to business and One on One relationships. Overall I had a great time with those around me during the this trip. I can't wait to do this all over again in 2012.

Just want to give thanks to Evoke Salon (Jason and Jon) and to the Hashable crew! Memorable trip.

Here's the video I recorded on behalf of Evoke Salon:



I thought this was great explanation of Twitter by Gary. "Treat Twitter like a cocktail party"

Twitter is mainstream now.

If you happen to be watching the news yesterday in Toronto, Global Tv was the first local newscast to incorporate "Twitter" into the news. It enabled viewers who are already on Twitter to submit "Tweets" (short text messages) for viewers to read on television. Leslie Roberts is the 6:00 news anchor for Global and is still very new to Twitter, even jumbling up the lingo used in Twitter. Twitter was also mentioned in the tv show "The View" with Barbara Walters explaining how popular the social marketing has taken over the internet. During the time it was televised it was also noticed that Twitter had a slowdown on the system. So there is an obvious jump in users as the word gets around. Even celebrities such as Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher, SHAQ, Barbara Walters, Lance Armstrong the list goes on and on. Large companies are also jumping the bandwagon because they realize the huge potential and the instant audience a company or person can have. It will only be a matter of time before the other media outlets start a "Twitter" feed on there newscast. One example of a company adopting the Twitter frenzy is "Skittles". Skittles has adopted and redesigned there website to be just a Twitter Feed. You can see this here: SKITTLES

Don Tapscott and Social Media

Who is Don Tapscott? Don Tapscott is a business executive, consultant and speaker specializing in technology and business and society. He has written over 11 books including the top seller called "Wikinomics". Don Tapscott had made a presentation yesterday with a showing of a documentary/movie called "Us Now". It is about a movie in which the internet or social media can affect social change and how this can change the way we live. Here is a quick preview below:



You maybe wondering why I would venture to this event. The reason is quite simple. I think we are now in a phase in society where there will be change coming and we can already see it with the economy and the way governments are changing. Technology has made a big influence on this change. Don Tapscott is visionary in the way technology will influence us and our surroundings. What is happening around us in 2009, Don was already talking about it in 2007. So I knew he had the knowledge and forsight. In the movie he basically states how we as an internet nation can create change socially.
The internet is full of information and has basically become one big computer of information. For example, you can go to a doctor and ask for a recommendation on an ailment, but you can also ask the same question on the internet with hundreds of people responding. Would you trust the judgement of one doctor or the judgement of various people who may have experienced your ailment already? This is just an example of how powerful the internet has become. This leads to the question, Why do we need to re-elect government every 4 year in which those running for election pick the platforms they think are important to society. Why can't we just choose what is important via the internet and go with majority think is important? That sounds more like democracy right? Don showed examples of how the internet can create social change. He showed it through how these sites work: Couchsurfing This site allows people to use other registered users couches in other countries in a Ebay ratings style format. Interesting right? Or how about a bank that lends you money by the other users in the bank like this site: ZOPA These are just a few examples of how internet has been changing things around us. Before the internet was all about "HTML" which is presentation, how a website looks. Now the internet is all about "XML" which is computation. It's like mapping the whole world digitally now. Everything now is becoming digital. Your id card you use to swipe in to work has a chip with an IP address. Your cellphones can now geo-tag your location.
We are living a new era of change. This is why it was interesting to listen to Don Tapscott. He made a point that we are seeing live before our eyes on tv. President Obama is not only the first black president but he is the first president to embrace the internet. He has decided to make everything transparent for all to see through his platforms and decisions on the internet.So you can view on the internet where the money is being spent and leaves little room for mistakes by our politicians.
This will be an interesting time for all and can't wait to see what the future holds for all of us.