Company Launches To Help You Zone in on your SWEET Spot!

You know when you meet someone and you immediately feel a connection? 

That's how it was when I met Andrea Shillington!

She was invited to join a very intimate meetup with some amazing friends of mine, Stephen Jagger and Jeff Booth and a few others and we were all immediately impressed with her beautiful smile, professional poise and dynamic conversation!

A Branding Professional having lived abroad in Dubai and England and now in Vancouver BC,  Andrea has a very global perspective. I've had the privilege of seeing her in action with one of her corporate clients coaching them in all areas of business. She is deeply intuitive, creative, strategic and articulate. She has the innate ability to drill down and pull out key elements, issues and goals of the client and I'm learning, branding has less to do with a pretty logo and more to do with understanding your core essence and then assigning a visual representation and creating an overall experience.

Coupled with her deep need to contribute and help others, I'm thrilled to announce that Andrea is launching her own company called

Brands for the people! 

I LOVE LOVE LOVE her tagline: 

Connecting entrepreneurs with brand strategy and design. To do, good.

Make sure to visit Brandsforthepeople.com to sign up for updates and be notified the MINUTE the site is ready so you can be empowered and get your FREE tools! (I've had a peek and you're going to LOVE it!)

Social Media Week Vancouver ~ What a Week!

Take A Deep Breath!

Ok EXHALE!........It's the Monday after Social Media Week (Sept 19-23, 2011) and I can honestly say I'm still recovering from a brain straining, info jammed, party packed awesome week of sharing, listening and learning from some of Vancouver's top Social Media "Jedi's" (that one is for Eric Weaver and Debra Trappen ;).

During the week there were more than 30 separate events; 72+ keynotes and guest speakers; multiple media mentions; Several different tracks; numerous parties......in other words - More than you could possibly do in 1 Week!!!

The Highlights:

Even as one of the organizers I couldn't possibly hit them all but I had a full week! My fingers were tested as I tweeted madly from the Blogger Summit; Facebook Marketing Strategies; Secrets of a Social Media Campaign; Leading Women in Business; Government 2.0; The Real Estate Summit; and especially the Enterprise 2.0 Summit! In fact I tweeted so much I trended (or rather my twitter handle @TLCHOME trended) in Vancouver! That's a first! I also landed as one of the top Canadian Tweeters during the week!  (to all my followers I hope you found value in my tweets and I didn't completely overtake your streams! We now return to my regular spewing ;) I even made the local news!!! (well sorta ~see story here: http://watch.ctv.ca/news/top-picks/rude-or-normal/#clip534944 ~  Rob Cottingham and Shane Gibson Interviews during our Blogging Summit)

My 3 seconds of fame ~ appeared on the screen in the B roll for The Rude of Normal CTV segment

What's Social Media Really About?

So despite all the fabulous attention and raised profile I received during the week...that's really not what it was about.  To me Social Media IS and will ALWAYS BE about building relationships....and not just any relationships, but relationships that matter! SO I have a ton of people I need to thank. 

(There are tons of great recaps out there already; "The Four Lessons I Learned From Social Media Week in Vancouver" on TechVibes by Rolando Fuentes sums it up beautifully! TY!)

First and foremost I need to thank Shane Gibson and Anthony Caridi ~ Cofounders of Socialized! Ltd. for their vision of bringing Social Media Week to Vancouver and for inviting me to be a part of their team.  It's been a crazy ride but I will never forget all the good times, challenges faced and met, and the level of success we achieved together.  You did something great for this city, it was an honor to be involved and I congratulate you on your success! (can't believe we didn't get one picture together!)

I also need to thank ALL of the people who jumped when I asked them to participate!:

• Matt Astifan ~ You rocked The Facebook Marketing Strategies; The Social Science of B2B and Secrets of a Social Media Campaign sessions! You contributed HUGE value and I am forever grateful for your participation! (Especially on your Birthday!!)

• Richard Loat Founder of Five Hole For Food ~ Whenever anyone needs anything you always JUMP! Social Good Summit would not have been the same without you! I am hands down your biggest fan (even if you call me 'Mom' ;)

• Debra Trappen and Scott Dawson ~ Your contributions to the Real Estate Summit were invaluable! Your passions are palpable! Thanks Deb for driving all the way from Seattle and risking life and limb (sketchy back alley reference!) Particularly HUGE Thanks to Stephen Jagger who organized and hosted the hugely successful RE Summit! Thanks to Cliff Stevenson who flew in from Calgary, Kye Grace, Tom Everitt, Bocar Dia of Hootsuite and to Ceilis Pub for allowing us to use their space for the RE Summit, Monday Launch party and of course the Wrap party! FUN TIMES!

• Kristine Carrick and Maryanne Lechleiter of UrbanLifeMedia ~ what can I say? Best PR Team EVER! Making phone calls way into the night...scraping info together at the last minute...you generated so many great media stories and interest! You ROCK! Your sponsorship is TRULY valued!

• Tracy Bymoen  ~ Amazing Video Sponsor! Thank you so much for ALL you captured this week! You are so talented and now we've documented some amazing highlights of the week! Everyone can view many of Tracy's video interviews on her You Tube Channel: MoenbyMedia

• Mark Smiciklas ~ Thanks so much for your contributions to the Agency Mashup and your awesome Power of Infographics session during our Enterprise 2.0 Summit. Such valuable information!!

• Dave Teixeira ~ What an amazing job interviewing all levels of governement! I LOVED the 'Donahue' style of your Government 2.0 session! Amazing creative segment with skyped in Icelandic Gov't official and BC Liberals, and Mayor of Coquitlam and even Police Chief Jim Chu which was picked up by CNN! (nice interview Tracy!)

• Meena Sandhu ~ You were such a huge part of Social Media Week....through contributing your space at the ING Cafe for so many mashups...hosting the Leading Women in Business Mashup and inviting me to participate and for sharing the ING story as a keynote at our Enterprise 2.0 Summit.  You are a force to be reckoned with in this town and I feel so lucky to call you friend!

• Marc Smith of Amuse Consulting ~ You are such an amazing friend and powerhouse! Can't imagine how we would have functioned without you! Thank you so much for being our Events Sponsor! (and for all the shout outs!)

• Tyrell Mara ~ Thank you for your willingness to roll up your sleeves and build some great content to help us promote the week! Great interviews with Shane Gibson, Meena Sandhu & Mark Smiciklas!!

• Jill Earthy ~ Thanks for stepping up at the last minute to be an integral member of our CEO panel at Enterprise 2.0! 

• Cathy Browne, Lorraine Murphy, Dave MacDonald, Jonah Lewis, Mitch Baldwin ~ To our team: WOW! You guys worked so hard and helped make this week so valuable for everyone who attended and especially those who couldn't! Cheers to your efforts and future success!!(All sessions live blogged can be found at the Socialized Blog (Thanks Lorraine) and Cathy's flickr stream captured all the pics.

• Eric Weaver ~ The WEAVE! What can I say....you blew minds with your amazing presentation at Enterprise 2.0! I can't thank you enough for coming "home" from Seattle to share you eloquent wisdom! I'm confident that everyone in that theater left with a far greater understanding of how social should be used in business.  And I LOVE "Salty's" story! ;) I HIGHLY recommend that everyone visits the blog to view the highlights : Where Business Meets Social I am forever your number 1 fan Eric!! xo

• Jeff Booth ~ Ok this one gets me a little misty (see picture below)  How can I possibly thank you enough for the amazing shout out at Enterprise 2.0!?  Your keynote was so genuine and authentic. Everyone was instantly touched by your level of integrity and your values.  As I was reading the stream I wasn't surprised to see everyone gushing at how inspiring you are....and then you do that!  I can honestly say ~ you are my business hero! I have the hugest level of respect for you and so to know that you place our friendship so high ....well there are not words to describe how special that makes me feel.  Your keynote Where Business Meets Social (like every time I have the opportunity to hear you speak) inspires me to be a better person and reach a little higher! If there's ever ANYTHING I can do for you all you have to do is ask! (Not surprised that we share the same favorite movie: It's A Wonderful Life!)

A Ginormous THANK YOU to Toby Daniels Founder and Executive Director of Social Media Week, Brian Leddy, Ben Sheim,  and Zach Smith! What amazing vision you have to undertake this monstrosity of a project! Kudos to you and everyone at Crowdcentric! Amazing achievement (and they do this bi-annually!!! - next one in February 2012!!)

Thanks to our Advisory Board, all our sponsors 

and thanks to everyone who attended any Social Media Week events this week! 

We could NOT have done any of it without YOU!!

Finally a very special heart felt thank you to my husband Tod Lansing, who supports me in every possible way, allows me the freedom and time to participate in great projects like Social Media Week, and encourages my efforts and growth. Thanks Honey ~ I LOVE you!

Government Summit Social Media Week

Dave Teixeira is founder of Dave.ca Communications which provides both on-line and off line campaigns to bring attention to client's events, products and causes.

He has worked with politicians, political parties, non-profit organizations and a variety of businesses.  He will be running the Government Summit during Social Media Week Vancouver and he has some AMAZING panelists joining him! Check out www.socialmediaweek.org for more info and to register.

The Power of Infographics ~ Mark Smiciklas Social Media Week

Social Media Week is only 1 week away! One of the "Must Attend" Summits is Enterprise 2.0! Mark Smiciklas, Educator and Speaker at Intersection Consulting is one of our keynotes who will be presenting on the power of infographics! Check out this little 'teaser' interview AND visit www.socialmediaweek.org to see get more info, check the schedule and register for your favourite events!

Countdown is ON! Social Media Week Vancouver

In one month from today, Social Media Week will launch in Vancouver and in 12 other cities around the world!

When the President of my company Socialized! Ltd. Anthony Caridi (http://ca.linkedin.com/in/anthonycaridi ) announced we were taking on a little project, I had no way of knowing how much of an understatement that was going to be!

But AJ (Anthony prefers AJ ;) likes to do things BIG! So our little project of organizing 20+ free Summits, Mashups and Soirees, all taking place in 1 week beginning Monday September 19, has pretty much consumed our lives since then.

The thrill is we have the opportunity to highlight and celebrate some local Social success stories in multiple industries that you might not even have been aware of!

For instance, one of our rock star Advisory Board member Caroline Clapham has slotted a lunch and learn every day of the week in the Accountability Track at her law firm Fasken Martineu! EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK!

Accountability is a hot topic!
Does your company have a Social Media Policy?
Do you have an awesome Social Media idea but you want to protect it and wonder about copyright laws?
As an employer are you aware of your limitations of using Social Media in ‘hiring and firing’?

Caroline will be covering these timely topics and much more! (Check out the Accountability lunch and learn schedule: http://www.fasken.com/en/fasken-martineaus-accountability-summit-09-19-2011/)

One that I’m REALLY looking forward to is the Leading Women in Social Media Mashup hosted by Meena Sandu, Regional Manager Marketing and Sales at ING DIRECT on Tuesday afternoon at the ING DIRECT Cafe! There are some amazing women in this town using social in pretty creative ways.

The Real Estate Summit Thursday afternoon hosted by Stephen Jagger is a must attend for anyone in the Real Estate space including Brokers, Mortgage Brokers and Agents.  The Real Estate industry has been leading in SM and I’m looking forward to sharing best practices and more case studies.

The SOCIAL side of Social Media Week will be going down at some KILLER parties we have lined up! Stay tuned!!

As you can see...its all coming together! Keynotes/Venues and Sponsors are all coming on board and the schedule will be revamped and updated on the Social Media Week site very shortly! 

For more information be sure to keep checking www.socialmediaweek.org/vancouver and watch for us on Twitter @SMWVAN and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/socialmediaweekvancouver.


For more information about my company Socialized! Ltd please visit our website: www.socialized.me

Social Media Week Vancouver Community Outreach!

Breakdown of Social Media Week Tracks

Tuesday night the Socialized! Ltd. Team had a great outreach meeting with many of Vancouver’s very talented/generous and invested Social Media Community.

Our Founders of Socialized Shane Gibson and Anthony Caridi (AJ) presented our goals and objectives about Social Media Week in the fall.  Lorraine Murphy live blogged the event and you can read all about the details and breakdowns of the different tracks (as seen in pic to the right) here: SocialMedia Beer and FAQ 

There have been so many questions about what it is and how to get involved….Let’s start at the beginning:

Social Media Week is the creation of CrowdCentric:
An Agency in NewYork with a focus on brand collaboration:

"Our mission is to help people, brands, companies, not-for-profits and governments around the world establish deeper and more valuable relationships through collaborative learning and social communication.

In 2009, we launched Social Media Week, a global conference which brings people, brands and organizations together to explore how communications is changing how we connect as a society with an emphasis on the implications of emerging trends in social and mobile media.

Since launching Social Media Week we have hosted over 1,300 events for more than 50,000 people in 15 cities worldwide, including London, Paris, Rome, Milan, Berlin, Hong Kong, Istanbul, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Toronto, São Paulo, Buenos Aires, Mexico City and Bogota."

This fall we're adding Vancouver for the first time!

So how is it going to look?

Watch this video with Toby Daniels (Founder and Executive Director Social Media Week/ CEO Crowdcentric) sharing the purpose and sponsors and opportunites of partnering with Social Media Week. (He's referring to Social Media Week last February but many of the players remain the same)

So how do you get involved? 

There are a number of ways to get involved.  As illustrated on the infograph at the top you will see we need:
Venues, 
Speakers/Panelists, 
Organizational Help/Volunteers,
Logistics,
Entertainment,
Sponsorship $ and in kind Sponsorship.

We have established our stellar Advisory Board who have been reaching out to their connections and many have eagerly stepped forward to participate. 


If you're interested in hosting an event or you have any questions there are a number of ways you can reach us.  Follow Social Media Week Vancouver on Facebook or Twitter.  Leave a comment or question for us there and we'll try to answer them all!  If you know you want to host an event, please go to Social Media Week Vancouver to submit your proposal.

We have been on conference calls with New York, Chicago and Los Angeles and we are in great shape! With your support we are going to have a jam packed, socially engaging, brand building, community celebration of new proportions!  Please share this post with anyone you think may be interested and again ~ please leave us any comments/questions you may have :)

Social Media will Bring Justice for Vancouver!

This may NOT have been his smartest move :)