Breaking In

I had a great brunch today with some of the girls from the Art Institute at Locus (Main St. at King Edward).  Over omelettes, Locus Hash, and mimosas, we got talking about how difficult it's been to gain footing in the industry since graduation.  While some of us are finally making headway, there are still quite a few people chasing down leads and fighting for interviews. 

I found that I left the Event Management Program with pretty high expectations of myself - too high.  With the high standards in every class, I think it's safe to say that most of us were expecting to step right into an event coordinator or assistant role.  Over the course of the year, we developed so many great ideas into actual event proposals and presentations that we all felt we could make significant contributions to the industry right out of the gate.  Unfortunately, most of us (myself included) lacked the experience everyone was looking in candidates for the jobs we actually wanted.

Personally, I've really lucked out.  I have a steady job that is challenging enough without causing any real stress.  This means I have time to do contract work with the great team at The Finer Details and with BBW International to keep my industry connections alive.  In an industry as small as the event one is in Vancouver, it really is about who you know and how much you put yourself out there.  Which is why I want to take the time to recognize two amazing up & coming event planners who happen to be part of my graduating class =)

Taryn Beauvais

Specialty: Weddings, F&B, Catering, Special Events

Currently: Working an admin position with Calhoun's Catering

Why Taryn?  I had the pleasure of sitting beside Taryn for over a year and working on at least four major projects with her so I know firsthand how hard she works.  She is extremely meticulous and examines all event elements from multiple angles to maximize their use and/or presentation value.  She has a great eye for design and decor details and is passionate about making each event a unique reflection of the client.

Follow: Taryn has two blogs on the go; Taryn in the City and Taryn's Event & Wedding Services.  Both are great resources for spots in Vancouver and the latest in the wedding world. [ps...thanks for the follow!]

Diana Newson

Specialty: Anything from concerts to adventures to destination events and weddings

Currently: Co-Founder of Original Newson Events

Why Diana?  Diana has a vivacious personality paired with a great flair for design and a take charge attitude.  She has a knack for reading people and figuring out how to bring a team together.  This came in handy when Diana was elected as a co-Project Manager to lead our class of 16 through our final project; planning and coordinating the first ever Inside Ride in Vancouver for the BC Children's Hospital Foundation. Any event by Diana and ONE is sure to be an amazing one!
Follow: Check out the ONE website and Facebook page for more info.

To sum it up - I would trust either of these ladies to take care of my wedding which is saying a lot when you consider just how much of a control freak I am.  Good luck ladies!

On the Fringe

Like any other homebody, I watch a lot of television.  I like to think I've cut down over the years, but it's still quite a bit of time spent watching fictional characters live their lives.  To give you an idea of how much I used to watch, we used to have 2 VCRs in my house during the pre-PVR days.  These devices were meticulously programmed to record up to 9 hours of television depending on the night.  The upstairs VCR recorded shows aired between 8-11 in the evening, while the downstairs VCR recorded shows from 5-8 for Eastern broadcasts then 8-11 Pacific broadcasts just in case something was showing the same time as a show recording upstairs. 

I had almost 100 VHS tapes and a ledger to catalogue what was recorded where and after a while, my family knew better than to try to change the channel between 5-11.  It was a strange obsession but beneficial to any family member or friend that happened to miss a show that I watched.  To add to the hours of television I was already watching, my slight obsessive compulsive disorder meant that anytime someone was going to watch one of the tapes at home, I would watch it with them to ensure they found the show and would usually be in charge of skipping through the commercials since I already knew when they started and ended.

I used to tell my parents that I was doing research because I wanted to be a television writer.  I had a dream to be the person who made teenagers talk like middle aged academics on Dawson's Creek or create a kick-butt character like Buffy (keep in mind I was a teenager during the WB's domination of prime time television).  While this dream clearly hasn't come true, I think my early obsession made me more perceptive in some ways.  This can be translated to mean I am fairly good at predicting what will happen in shows and movies (something I wish I could do in my own life) because I can catch little things that foreshadow what is coming.

After all these years watching shows come and go, I'm sad to say one of my current favourite shows is on the cusp of cancellation.  Fringe, (filmed here in Vancouver) staring Vancouver's own Joshua Jackson (I <3 him!) along side the delightful John Noble and Aussie Anna Torv, which airs on the FOX network has just returned from a two month hiatus.  The problem?  It's landed in the Friday night, 9:00 time slot behind Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares.  While Friday night used to centre around the TGIF line-up, it's now become the place where many shows transition to termination, especially when it's a mid-season shift.  Fox has denied rumors that the show isn't popular enough.  They're actually saying the opposite - they hope that Fringe's popularity will attract more viewers on a night that is expected to have low numbers.

For those of you unfamiliar with the show, Fringe is the brainchild of J.J. Abrams (creator of Alias and Lost) and follows an FBI agent, Olivia Dunham (Torv), who pairs up with an eccentric scientist who previously resided in a mental health facility, Dr. Walter Bishop (Noble), and his wayward but equally brilliant son, Peter (Jackson).  Together, this team investigates strange occurrences that all seem to stem from Walter's previous experiments.  Click here for a breakdown of what the show is all about.  Then click here to read a great article that looks at why this show is so relevant in this day and age.

Why am I writing about this today?  Because I just saw the first episode back and it blew my mind in ways that doesn't really happen in television today.  I'm writing this because I think this show deserves some love and I'm willing to vouch for it.  On the off chance that anyone associated with the show reads this, feel free to throw some love back my way =) So readers, please go and watch the pilot episode then decide for yourself if this is one of those shows worth saving.

The Social Scene - Facebook Country

I heard an interesting stat from Megan Halkett at Patio Social - if Facebook was a country, it would rank as the thrid most populated country in the world behind China and India.  With over 500 million users, it's being predicted that Facebook will reach the 1 billion user mark as early as 2012 which just seems preposterous to me.  There are over 6 billion people in the world and just over 7% of them are connected through a program that started off as a university directory.  Facebook nation is holding strong and I'm almost ashamed to say I'm a part of it.

There's not much I can say about Facebook that you don't already know.  I always think it's crazy when I meet someone that doesn't have Facebook because it's so rare to find; just take a look at the Facebook Stat page and you'll see what I'm talking about.  Aside from using Facebook to keep up with friends, users can connect with celebrities, businesses, politicians and sports teams.  Unlike MySpace, Facebook maintains a unified look that still allows users to adjust the content and layout of their page.  This was one of the pros that drew me in.  I was tired of constantly re-vampng my page and saw Facebook as the answer to my prayers.

As it's grown in popularity over the years, I've found Facebook sliding away from the simplicity that made it great in the first place.  With so many applications available to users, majority of them being games, and constant "improvements" to the site, I've found my own usage time steadily decreasing.  My favourite Facebook application is the Event function which would be an obvious choice given one of my chosen professions. 

Tick Tock

It's that time of night again.  After a full day of work, dinner, and a bit of relaxing, I'm always surprised when I look up and it's almost 11.  All this being productive in the office is really putting a crimp in my blog writing duties here! Not that I would spend company time working on this, but my lunch hour is often punctuated by emails (I haven't quite mastered ignoring the little new mail icon when it appears on my screen), phone calls, and other requests.  It's not really the most conducive atmosphere for writing.  I have the best ideas when I'm propped up in bed, cozy under the blankets, with my laptop to help keep me warm.  Unfortunately, this is also a good recipe for falling asleep so I'll push on and hopefully finish before that happens. =)

If you haven't figured out by now, I'm not continuing the Social Scene Series (click on Part 1 - Intro or Part 2 - Is MySpace Dead to review) tonight.  I'm still sifting through stats and various research in hopes we avoid another bunk post like the first one, which also translates to I'm fighting through writer's block and am delivering another lame filler post.  Since I'm not giving you my insights on social networking tonight, I'll take this time to welcome our 5th official follower Big Red!  Clearly you hit follow by accident but I think the more, the merrier so hopefully you're not disappointed =)

In an effort to get to know my readers better, I've decided to open up a poll.  Every Monday I'll post a new question for you to answer throughout the week.  Personally, I like polls so hopefully some of you will too.  I'm hoping it'll help me get a sense of what you're looking for and possibly generate some interesting topics to write about.  Another thank you to everyone that has provided feedback so far.  No matter the length or the content, comments really do mean a lot.  I know it can be cumbersome to write out an entire comment sometimes (especially for a post like this) so I've installed some reaction buttons at the end of each post.  To encourage more feedback.  While this blog is mainly about me and the things in my life, I'd love to be able to turn it into a conversation or discussion on things that matter to you.  On that note...comment away (on the better posts)! =)

The Social Scene - Is MySpace Dead?

Apologies for yesterday's thoroughly bunk post - I couldn't even look at the link without cringing today!  I thought I'd take another stab at it today which was an excellent idea before the Canucks blew three leads and lost to the Avalanche in overtime.  However, I did promise Shawn that I would take another stab at this topic and I'd hate to disappoint a quarter of my followers =) To compromise, I'm breaking social networking into five parts - MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, & Blogs.  Not only am I keeping this short enough for you to read in one go, but I'm giving myself a few extra days to write...sneaky, but you'll thank me in the end.

The Old MySpace

With formatting similar to the networking site Friendster, MySpace had it's fifteen minutes of fame between 2004 - 2006 before Facebook was open to the general public.  As a member since 2006 (before Facebook exploded), I fondly remember MySpace as full of creepy people wanting to be my friend and bands trying to make it big.  The great thing about MySpace was that it literally was YOUR own space.  Your page was whatever you wanted it to be which I think is the biggest draw for those in school (both high school and in post secondary institutions) and for young people just starting out in the working world.  It can be a battle to be heard, so why not set up a page to express who you really are. 

I'd never been a big user of MSN instant messaging, ICQ, or Friendster, so this was my first foray into social networking.  I'm not a computer savvy person but even I found setting up my page to be extremely easy.  So easy that I would change it at least once every month.  Eventually, I found myself bogged down friend requests that were somehow getting past my privacy settings and the core of who I was got lost beneath the clutter of posted comments and quizes, etc. on my page.  Enter Facebook in 2007, a cleaner, efficient way to keep in touch with all of my friends. 



My current MySpace



I've pretty much abandoned MySpace since joining Facebook but I keep my account to connect with new artists (i.e. Annie Stela, The Kin, Matt Nathanson etc.).  If you're desperate to see my MySpace Page (for whatever reason), click here to see what the general public sees.  To me, MySpace is dead except for musicians and their most loyal fans.  Apparently, I was wrong...

In an article by Jeremiah Owyang, posted on his Web Strategy blog, MySpace is still 76 million users strong and is showing signs of increase (as of 2009).  He's put together a collection of stats in his article, breaking down user populations, daily use rates, growth, and even geographical info.  It's a pretty interesting read and I'm looking forward to see what the stats from 2010 will look like (he hasn't posted them yet). 

Reading Owyang's article made me think twice about MySpace and prompted me to go login and see what the current MySpace is all about.  I still love the individuality and freedom that MySpace gives its users and the new layout is looking pretty cool, but I'm in too deep with Facebook to pull out at this point.  The amount of content I have on my page would be too much to lose (which is the same reason I gave back in 2007 when I refused to delete my MySpace page...) so I guess I'll just have to enjoy the best of both worlds.

In closing, is MySpace dead?  Definitely not.  I think that if it plays it's cards right, MySpace could be poised to make a bit of a come back.  I know it's already started with me =)

The Social Scene

I had a great opportunity to meet Megan Halkett of Patio Social at The Finer Details staff meeting tonight.  First - super excited to be a part of TFD team this year!  I've had so many great experiences volunteering with them over the past year, it's nice to be able to contribute at a higher level.  Second - Megan had so many great insights to really take advantage of the various social media platforms. 

Typical perceptions are that blogs are for the opinionated, Facebook is for connecting with your friends, LinkedIn is for connecting for work, MySpace is for musicians, and Twitter is kind of ridiculous.  What Megan tried to teach us tonight is how to use these tools to grow business, tap into a plethora of information from and about our industry, and how to navigate the Twitterverse. 

It's amazing to think of how many people you can reach by simply publishing a tweet or posting a link on Facebook.  I'd share more but I'm running out of time.  What I can do is tell you to click on the Patio Social link above and to follow Patio Social on Twitter @patiosocial to learn more!

Drunken Globes

The Canucks were shut out in their second game in three so I needed a pick-me up.  Cue the drunk celebrities at the Golden Globes.  I have to say that of all the award shows throughout the year, the Golden Globes are my favourite.  The tables are full of movie and television stars with a handful of musicians focused on mixing, mingling, and drinking the night away.  I'm sure there's a lovely dinner served but no one ever seems to be eating.  With camera operators clogging the narrow aisles, no celebrity wants to run the risk of getting caught shovelling food into their mouth.  So they all sit there with bottles of champagne and, according to Paul Giamatti, boxes of Godiva chocolates, hoping they won't be the target of Ricky Gervais' next joke.

There's something about Ricky that inspires other celebrities to bring the funny.  Maybe they're trying to show they can give it just as well as Ricky makes them take it.  Sadly for them, it usually doesn't work out which just adds to the amusement value for me.  Most notably was the comment by one award winner about all the waiters having been deported along with Javier Bardem; calling ths offside is putting it lightly. 

There were a few surprise winners tonight as I didn't expect Glee to do as well as it did.  Up for five awards (Supporting Actor/Actress in a Comedy/Musical - Chris Colfer & Jane Lynch, Actor/Actress in a Comedy/Musical - Matthew Morrison & Lea Michele, and Best Television Show - Comedy/Musical), Glee stole Best Show and both supporting role titles.  No offence to Mr. Shue and Rachel Berry but they're pretty annoying these days so I'd take Sue and Kurt over them any day.  Loved Chris' acceptance speech in which he told those that are considered to be outsiders or different to say screw you to anyone that doubts them.

Another surprise for me was The Social Network winning Best Motion Picture - Drama.  I figured it'd be the last of the nominees to win this category but I suppose it just goes to show the depth of influence social media plays in this day and age.  Three more highlights before I call it a night - 1) Claire Danes' emotional acceptance speech for her portrayal of autistic genius Temple Grandin.  2) True Grit's Hailee Steinfeld (14)presenting the award for Best Animated Film with Justin Beiber (16) to Toy Story 3 Director, Lee Unkrich who turned and asked if they were even born when the first Toy Story Movie came out 15 years ago.  3) Colin Firth's reference to the trifecta of man love between himself, Geoffrey Rush and Richard Dixon (I think??) that developed throughout the filming of The King's Speech.

On to the next awards!