Weekly Wish - Check out ChickAdvisor at Third Tuesday

When it comes to the communities in the social media space, my memberships divide pretty neatly into two categories:
• fashion/shopping
• marketing/PR/communications

These days, my favourite communities are the ones where I can meet with other members both online and in person. So you can imagine how excited I was when I learned these two groups were mashing together for the next Third Tuesday Toronto (which is going to be on a Wednesday but don’t get hung up on details).

Third Tuesday, for those of you who don’t know, is a free monthly event for PR and marketing types interested in learning more about social media in business.

ChickAdvisor founders Ali and Alex de Bold are this month’s guests. They will be sharing the secrets of their success about their thriving online shopping community. What I really admire is their determination and risk-taking. And, you know how I feel about ChickAdvisor Shop Crawls and their adventures in social shopping.

If you can’t make Third Tuesday, don’t despair. ChickAdvisor will also be featured on CBC’s Fortune Hunters starting Saturday, Jan. 19.

So this week, I have wish for you: check out ChickAdvisor at Third Tuesday and who knows, you may even see me there too!

What?
Third Tuesday Toronto with Alex and Ali de Bold on starting a Web 2.0 site: ChickAdvisor

Where?
Fionn McCool’s Irish Pub
181 University Ave. (map)
Toronto

When?
Wednesday, Jan. 23
6 p.m.

How?
It’s free but you’ll need to register first!

Third Tuesday gearing up for another great season

Last season I became a regular at Third Tuesday Toronto, the local contingent of Canada’s social media meet-up led by Joseph Thornley.

Third Tuesday events are absolutely free thanks to the efforts of hard-working volunteers and sponsors. This season the scope is expanding to include Social Media Breakfasts too. I’ve added my name to the list of volunteers.

Perhaps you can help too. We’re looking for dynamic speakers who:
• have something unique and thought provoking to say about social media;
• are developing social Web applications; or
• have applied it to community building, communication, public relations or marketing.

If you have any suggestions for speakers who fit the bill, sponsors or locations for Social Media Breakfasts, please let me know by leaving a comment.

Want to attend? Sign up for updates. Hope to see you there.

Four questions for Ali de Bold from ChickAdvisor

I recently had the pleasure of emceeing Third Tuesday Toronto with guests Ali and Alex de Bold from ChickAdvisor. Donna Papacosta from Trafcom News also interviewed Ali and Alex for the first Third Tuesday Toronto podcast.

I still had a few questions, particularly about social shopping, so I interviewed Ali this weekend. I thought you might be interested in her answers too...

Why did you decide to start the Queen St. Shop Crawl?

Our members were asking for the longest time to get together. We wanted to create an event that would be a lot of fun and get the word out. At first I was thinking of booking out a nail bar and having drinks, snacks and manicures but we realized there was no way to accommodate a large group of people.

I started thinking about the things I love to do with my friends and of course shopping came to mind. I got the idea one night last spring (2007) as I was tossing and turning not able to sleep. (I suffer from insomnia quite a bit and have had many of my best ideas when I can’t sleep.) I immediately worked out how I would do it, and in August 2007 we had our first Shop Crawl.

Are you planning Shop Crawls in other locations besides Queen West?

Definitely. We did the strip between Spadina and John twice because there are so many independent boutiques and it is an easy walk, but we plan to hit up other areas of the city for future crawls, and eventually expand the idea to other major cities in North America.

Have you ever considered negotiating volume discounts for products or services like a hot new gadget or purse for ChickAdvisor members?

Yes. That is actually part of our original business plan. ;)

What advice do you have for PR or marketing professionals wanting to pitch you?

We are very careful to ensure that anything advertised on ChickAdvisor is appropriate and useful for our members, and that it delivers value for the advertiser. We are also flexible and have on a number of occasions worked out custom strategies/campaigns.

As a social network/platform, we have many ways to work with large national brands (we’ve worked with Maybelline New York, TravelZoo, Herbal Essences, etc.), as well as local businesses and smaller companies.

We have the ability to incorporate brands in our video series, “Where’d You Get That?” and Product Review Club (companies provide product, members review it).

There are opportunities for:
• email newsletter sponsorship
• category level sponsorship (Beauty, Shopping, Wellness, Deals, Restaurants); and,
• we also have a business service we just launched www.chickadvisor.biz, where local businesses can create profiles on ChickAdvisor similar to other business directories, for $300/year.

If you have something you’d like to promote, email us. If we believe it will be of value to our members, we’ll work something out.

Big changes during week 8 of the NutriSystem Challenge

Weigh-in (Day 56):
• Tamsin – 2.4 lbs (-10.5 pounds to-date)
• Eden –1.6 lbs (-19.1 pounds to-date)

Once again, I’m experiencing problems on weigh-in Wednesday. I woke up yesterday morning, stepped on my scale and watched it have a hissy-fit. The numbers started flinging around and after multiple attempts, I never saw the same number twice. Results showed anywhere from a 4 pound gain to a 12 pound loss since last week.

The lifetime warranty on my scale really came in handy tonight. I took it back to the drugstore and exchanged it for a new one. I’ll have to update my weight progress tomorrow.

There is some good news too...

Shout out to Tamsin had her best week ever since she started NutriSystem. Yay!

As for me, my clothes are starting to hang off and the only pair of pants that fit properly is one I just started wearing again after two years of taking up space in my closet.

Last night I was at Third Tuesday Toronto (yes, it was on a Wednesday), and friends who hadn’t seen me in several weeks commented on how much slimmer I looked. Slimmer but far from skinny - I’m not aiming for the Kate Moss look - I want to look and feel healthy. My self-confidence is coming back, I have more energy and I’m feeling pretty good - that’s the most important part of this whole exercise. Isn’t it?

Now, with just less than 4 weeks left, I’m thinking about how I’m going to keep the weight off and for good this time.

Announcing TO Social Media PR Events Wiki

Okay, so shoot me. Tonight’s post may be a bit off topic but on Blogger’s 10th anniversary and the eve of the season opener of Third Tuesday Toronto, it seemed only fitting that I give something back to a community that has done so much for me.

Lot’s of people in communications, marketing and PR whether they be part of the local fishbowl or not, have asked me to keep them informed about local events. This may surprise some of you who know me but I don’t go to them all. I don’t even know about some of them and as much as I’d like to have the time to keep you all in the know, I’m just not that scalable. ;-)

So, I’ve started a Toronto Social Media PR Events wiki (feel free to suggest a better name). I hope you’ll help keep it up-to-date with local events and/or events of interest to the local community.

If you’re looking for something more, Say Yeah maintains a more comprehensive event calendar.

HoHoTO Hangover Auction - the Daily Bread Food Bank

On Wednesday night I attended #hohoTO - the third event in a series initially conceived on Twitter by some hardworking Toronto folks a little over a year ago. Last year everyone thought it was incredible the community raised $25,000 within a matter or days. In August, the tally approached $15,000.

This time around, thanks to almost 700 people who bought tickets and a truckload of sponsors and prizes raffled off at the event, almost $50,000 was raised for the Daily Bread Food Bank. But see, that’s the hitch. Not quite $50,000 was raised and there are still some prizes that weren’t claimed at the event. So, what’s a savvy organizing team to do? Have a HoHoTO Hangover Auction on Twitter, of course.

You can share in the fun and holiday cheer Tuesday, December 22, starting at 8 p.m. ET. All you need is a Twitter account and your chequebook. Besides, doesn’t it feel good when you can do your holiday shopping and help others in need at the same time? See you there!

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