Browsing Tag

TV

Behind the Books: Emily Liebert

Name: Emily Liebert

Best Known For: Facebook Fairytales (2010)

Education: B.A. English Language & Literature, Smith College

Current Employment and Projects: Author & TV Personality. Working on second book (first novel) and third book (second novel) set to publish by Penguin in September 2013 and September 2014 respectively. “Type A Mommy” Parenting Expert for GalTime.

Favorite Facebook feature: News Feed—including status updates and photos—I’m a total voyeur.

Professional role model: Jennifer Weiner—brilliant writer with a wicked sense of humor, who speaks her mind on behalf of Women’s Fiction authors (and she live tweets The Bachelor!)

What do you think motivates someone to share a positive story with Facebook? Gratitude

Describe how Facebook has changed your social life in 140 characters or less: It’s a blessing to be able to feel like I’m part of everyone’s lives even though we may not have time to chat on the phone or go to dinner.

How has Facebook helped you professionally? Facebook has been an invaluable asset. I’ve made countless connections which have translated into business achievements. And, through my Facebook fan page, I can share links to articles written about me, articles I write, significant videos, and important news.

Facebook Fairytales begins with an interview with none other than Mark Zuckerberg. How was that arranged?

I was very fortunate in the fact that Facebook agreed to support my book by sharing amazing stories that had been sent in to them by users and by granting me the interview with Mark for the foreword. I could spend a lifetime picking Mark’s brain, but—as you might imagine—he’s a busy guy. So it’s the kind of interview where you need to get in and get out quickly with the information you really need.

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October 27, 2012 by

Behind the Brand: Zellers

It’s one thing to “Like” a store on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

It’s quite another to learn about how Zellers uses social media while in Liquidation mode.

Name: Jennifer Zedic  

Position: Director of Marketing – In Store and Social Media

Employer: Zellers

Education: Fashion Marketing and Merchandising, Ryerson University

Favourite Zellers purchase: Pure by Alfred Sung knit scarf (I liked it so much I bought 5 different colours!)

Professional role model: Heather Reisman – Indigo: I love how she has taken the book store and made it a shopping experience and how she did not back away from technology when it threatens the business, but instead embraced it. She has built a strong and reliable brand and owns the market in Canada.

What makes Zellers a uniquely Canadian store?

History and memories only found in Canada make Zellers a uniquely Canadian store.  The fans’ comments from our Facebook page talk about their experience with Zellers growing up in Canadian communities and how the great Canadians who work at those stores made a difference in a lot of their lives.

How has the marketing department’s role and responsibilities changed since learning that Zellers stores will close?

The marketing team is focused on continuing to build great flyer deals that our customers are expecting. We have pulled away from other forms of marketing, such as TV, radio and specialty print but maintained our flyer program and invested heavily in social media. For our Liquidation stores, we are using an extensive amount of ROP’s in local markets to highlight the weekly deals to the customer.

How does Zellers decide which social media channels are worth the investment?

Social media strategy for us is to provide information to the community on what they want to hear about as it relates to Zellers.  We chose to invest in Facebook since it is the best way for us to communicate to our customer on a more personalized level and to the largest audience.

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October 17, 2012 by

Concert Review: The Barenaked Ladies

Not a million-dollar performance

According to an Orchestra London poster, the Barenaked Ladies’ show at Centennial Hall on Friday night was supposed to be the “hottest ticket in London,” but the famous foursome didn’t entirely live up to such high expectations.

Beginning the show with hits including “Lovers in a Dangerous Time” and “Another Postcard,” the band garnered the most excitement when they played “Big Bang Theory Theme,” which they made for CBS’ sitcom. Other songs performed on Friday included “Pinch Me” and “One Week,” until they closed with “If I Had $1,000,000,” the latter of which featured an excellent violin solo from an orchestra member.

When forty-something lead singer Ed Robertson joked about his old age, this fazed neither the middle-aged couples cozy in the balcony’s plush seats, nor the other patrons enjoying pitchers of beer while sitting around tables in the mezzanine. The band joked about the unusual seating arrangement by announcing “the next number is B9,” as if they were bingo callers.

Among the many jokes cracked throughout was Ed’s suggestion that they pass around a wireless microphone to each member of the orchestra, so they can say what an honour it is to play with the Barenaked Ladies. Albeit a poor testament to the band’s comedic expertise, the crowd seemed amused.

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October 16, 2012 by

Jian Ghomeshi Visits London

When someone famous visits London, take note because from what I can tell, it doesn’t happen often. However, CBC host Jian Ghomeshi visited the Forest City today to promote his new memoir 1982. Rather than telling his life story “from womb to tomb,” Jian chose to share coming of age stories about fitting in as a young immigrant to Canada, focusing on the awkward year that was grade nine. His fan base immediately bought the book  – enough to ensure it debuted as the nation’s #1 bestselling non-fiction book, which is a huge accomplishment.

Taking a break from Western Homecoming festivities, I went to Chapters South London for Jian’s book signing. Delighted by the chance to have a seat without waiting hours beforehand, I eagerly waited for him to come out of the green room. Once on stage, Jian talked about 1982 and his memories of London, such as performing with Moxy Fruvous at Western Fair and drinking at the Spoke. Then he read aloud 2 stories about men watching sprinklers in Thornhill and his parents’ disapproval of his fashion sense inspired by David Bowie.

The Q&A that followed covered Q interviews such as Billy Bob Thornton and Harrison Ford, his transition from musician to broadcaster and tips for preparing for interviews. Jian emphasized the importance of doing in-depth research about guests, adding that he insists on knowing his guests’ work well before doing a ‘dance’ with them, as that’s how he metaphorically described the routine between interviewer-interviewee. I found it interesting when he talked about how his show disproves that listeners and viewers suffering from attention defecits are uninterested in longer content. People don’t tend to turn off Q 3 minutes in to the show!

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September 29, 2012 by

Movie Review: Ruby Sparks

Created by the directors of Little Miss Sunshine (without the adorable Abigail Breslin), Ruby Sparks is about a gifted, yet struggling writer Calvin, whose therapist inspires him to meet the girl of his dreams. What’s peculiar is that Calvin (Paul Dano) meets her because he created Ruby’s character while trying to overcome writer’s block.

Anticipating a multidimensional story about Calvin writing a book within the movie, I figured my Community t-shirt, promoting the most self-referential TV show I could think of, would be highly appropriate attire for the screening.  Incidentally, a middle-aged man stopped me during the Free People opening event to ask about the characters arranged in Warhol-inspired fashion. I identified Troy and Abed, and then went to the Varsity.

Without giving too much away, it’s notable that Calvin writes Ruby a Post-it note in a far more charming manner than when Berger leaves one for Carrie in Sex And The City. That’s when I fell in love with Ruby Sparks.

After wondering if the film’s major conflict would arise when Calvin’s handy typewriter eventually broke, I was proven wrong with a wonderful ending reminiscent of (500) Days of Summer, complete with an upgraded tool to write his next works.

Lastly, the minimalist design in Calvin’s home could easily be recreated for the stage, but does Apple sponsor theatre productions too? If you’ve seen Ruby Sparks and want it to become a book and/or play, please discuss in the comments!

UPDATE: Ruby Sparks was released on Blu-Ray and DVD on October 30 and it’s available from Chapters/Indigo.

August 3, 2012 by