Education: Political Science and Journalism, St. Thomas University; Professional Communication, Ryerson University
Professional role model:
Amanda Nelson was my supervisor at Radian6. Similar to myself, she began as a journalist and turned those foundational skills of writing, editing and storytelling into an up-and-coming role based on content creation and management. I admire her because of what I learned under her guidance, but I also really aspire to work in a similar role.
In 140 characters or less, why should Canadians eat and drink at Jack Astor’s?
Jack Astor’s offers delicious food in a fun, unpretentious setting served by a team of infectiously energetic and pleasant people.
Which menu items do you recommend for first-time customers?
Without hesitation, the Holy Smoke BBQ Burger or The 10oz South American top sirloin steak. Insider tip: order the Jack’d n Stack’d garlic cheese fries on the side!
What do you love about Jack Astor’s food?
About 95% of the menu is made in-house. The Cluckin’ Fresh Chicken Fingers, for example, begin as a boneless, skinless chicken breast. They are then massaged for 2 minutes, chopped and breaded twice for extra crunch. Fresh is best and I don’t think we do a good enough job of communicating that—myself included!
This month’s Third Tuesday may have been scheduled on a Monday evening, but it was as informative, inspiring and engaging as always. Third Tuesday was generously sponsored by Rogers and Cision Canada and hosted by Thornley Fallis at The Pilot. So far, I’ve only gone when the guest speaker is an author – Mitch Joel, Nora Young and last night, the lovely Gini Dietrich.
While sharing her insights about astroturfing, whisper campaigns and media manipulation, Gini subtly promoted her PR firm, book and blog. It was especially interesting to hear Gini’s perspective as a blogger because I initially learned about her through a Behind The Brand interview on Hot On The Street! I had to laugh when Gini told a story about meeting blog commenters at a conference and referred to them as “Spin Sucks crazies.” Don’t worry, she was just kidding. Most bloggers are thrilled to meet their loyal readers in person!
Gini began her presentation with a simple overview of how Miley Cyrus’ career is a good case study for PR pros. Kicking off a presentation with slides about Miley is a sure fire way to excite an audience, but I wonder how much longer speakers can get away with it. When Toronto has a new mayor (fingers crossed!) and Ellen’s Oscars selfie is ancient history, presenters will need to find a new pop culture reference. When I pay to see a major thought leader, I want to hear their opinion about current events, not yesterday’s news. Marketers are increasingly encouraged to explore real-time marketing, memes and news-jacking and I think keynote speakers should take the same approach when preparing presentations.
Favourite Songza playlist: That varies based on my context – where I am, what I’m doing, what I’m feeling. A playlist that I discovered recently and played on my way to work is called Sensitive Men of the ’90s.
Professional role model(s): We have a lot of mentors and advisors that are really close to the Songza family. My dad has been a very hard worker and has a very entrepreneurial creative spirit. He’s responsible for my love of music. He’s been incredibly supportive as a father and as a mentor my whole life.
What excites you about working at Songza?
We’re a very small tight-knit team here. Everyone’s got their own quirky personality and is very excited to be working on this product. It’s a real pleasure and honour to work with the Songza team, who are in many cases smarter than me [laughs]. I’m privileged to learn a lot from [them].
What is the culture like at Songza’s headquarters in New York?
We’re a quirky and weird bunch. Our office space is bare bones. We’re not one of those start-up companies that buy lots of expensive furniture or goes into the cool, hip area of town where all the other start-ups are. We’re in our own little place, away from the action, so we can keep our heads down and stay focused.
Why should music lovers download and listen to Songza?
Songza—more than any other service by a mile—is effortless to use. Without you having to give us any information, we’re able to accurately predict what you are doing and feeling and recommend expertly curated content that’s going to make that moment better. No other service is able to deliver that experience for free nor do they have the personality.
How would you describe Songza’s personality?
Songza feels like your much cooler friend who always knows the right thing for every moment.
You’ve previously described Songza as a “lifestyle enhancer.” How has your lifestyle changed since Songza launched?
My life has changed immensely since launching the Songza business because everyone that I know now uses something I’ve created in their daily lives. In addition, I’ve been able to garner the attention and respect of a lot more people in the music and technology industry, as well as celebrities who now use Songza on a regular basis.
In terms of how Songza as an application has enhanced my life, I listen to a lot more music than I ever could have imagined. New moments in my life have been identified as moments that could use a soundtrack.
If Songza could partner with any brand(s), which brand(s) would you pick?
We would be most excited about working with Nike and Lululemon. Both are really great brands that started as athletic wear brands and have established themselves as lifestyle brands. People think of Lululemon and Nike as brands that are great at curating for their life, not just yoga and running. Their clothing and apparel is for athletics and fashion. I think both companies do a really great job at listening to their consumers and serving them with things that will make their life better. That’s very much in line with what we’re trying to do at Songza. Working with brands like that would add value to the user experience on our service.
On Tuesday I had a chance to connect with some industry peers and see not just any Canadian marketer, but one who’s so influential that he’s verified on Twitter! Mitch Joel, bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and president of Twist Image, was the featured speaker at the Third Tuesday meetup and he was awesome.
Surprisingly, the highlight of my evening was not the opportunity to meet people from Twitter in real life. It wasn’t Mitch’s jokes either (and there were a few). The best part of the event was the feeling I had when left. For the first time, spending two hours in a bar inspired me to be that girl sitting in the TTC’s red seats typing away. That’s why I like going to book signings – you always leave feeling inspired and last night was no exception.
Mitch made an interesting comment: “Writer’s block doesn’t exist. It’s bullshit.” From there, he went on to talk about how he likes to embrace the chance to write wherever and whenever he can, even if that means sitting on the floor at a conference.
I’m officially a university graduate now and the day after convocation, the celebration continues: today is my fourth anniversary on Twitter.
That means it’s been four years since I first tweeted “Jewellery is not a toy” after a beaded necklace that I made broke. I still have those grey beads in a ziploc bag. Today, the manager who worked at Toronto’s Bead Cafe is engaged to a family friend. As Twitter reminds us every day, it’s a small world!
To celebrate this exciting occasion, I’ve created a list of 4 reasons I love Twitter:
1. Twitter Contests
Twitter is responsible for helping me win many products and experiences. Contest prizes have included touchscreen gloves from Target Canada, an Aroma gift card, and a Rob Thomas concert DVD. More recently, I won a free hour of bowling from The Ballroom, which I have yet to redeem. The most amazing prize, however, came from MuchMusic, who gave me tickets to see Arcade Fire!
Arcade Fire
2. Job Opportunities
To apply for my current marketing role, I submitted links to my social media profiles, not a resume. And like the characters of The Internship, they hired me following an interview on Google+ Hangouts. Social media is a crucial part of the hiring process now and I’m curious to see how the relationship between social media and HR continues evolving. Twitter helps you showcase your industry knowledge and personality, so share your commentary and keep it clean!
