Olivia Culpo landed on the cover of Sports Illustrated! A couple years ago, I visited Simon Huck’s pop-up in New York and stood *thisclose* to her at the entrance, but didn’t take a picture because I didn’t know who she was. When I saw that she landed a major magazine cover, I decided to Google her and then I uncovered an amazing feature that you probably haven’t heard about called Cameos on Google.
If you Google Olivia Culpo on your phone – this feature only works on mobile – you’ll see there’s a section near the top called Top Questions Answered. Olivia’s Google results feature 5 short videos of her answering questions. For example, she says that she stays in shape by running. They’re filmed in different locations, she looks beautiful in all of them and they’re quick snippets, which are perfect for our attention span.
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.
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!
Twitter is one of the best websites around. Without it, I never would’ve connected with Amber Mac.
Why is Amber Mac so special? Well, Tony Robbins explains it best:
For all things social media and technology, Amber Mac’s got you covered. So when I was reading tweets on Wednesday afternoon and Amber posted about a keynote in London the next day, I froze. “London, ON” might as well have been written in bold neon font in caps lock because that’s how much those key words stood out. A few Google searches, emails and direct messages later, I arranged to attend her presentation at London’s annual EDCO conference.
