Oh how I love these conferences for Digitally Connected women!!  Five years ago, I would have never have thought that I would one day be “Digitally Connected” !! I barely knew how to download photos let alone to blog.

This is now my third conference in three years and every year I’m excited to attend. I start to follow the twitter feed  @SCConference and #SCCTO and before you know it, I’m starting to plan.

Here’s whats going thru my mind as I prepare for Shes Connected 2012:

a)  Plan my outfit. I know it will be something comfortable. Not to fancy but not to casual.  I might even get my hair straightened. That is – if I could find a spare 30 minutes.

What to wear? Decisions..Decisions..Decisions

b) Wear my Twitter Necklace that I bought for myself from Blend Creations a few years ago.

The perfect necklace to wear to this event.

c) Bring Phone Chargers and the Computer Charger: This year, I’m going to label my names on those items (me. smart).

d) Bring business cards. (Even if they have the wrong info on them – don’t ask)

e) Bring this bag. Seriously…I have learned my lesson. Notice it’s on wheels and it has a handle to pull?

The best bag ever for my Mac, Kobo, Ipad etc. Bought it at Costco years ago

f) Take the TTC to get there. It’s indeed the better way.

g) SMILE and CONNECT with other fabulous participants as much as I can. That’s what it’s all about.

h) LEARN. Yes – I need to learn. Even after 3 years of blogging – I need more skills.

i) RELAX AND HAVE FUN.

Only a few days left till the conference begins and I’m super stoked.

For more info:

Shes Connected, Oct 19 & 20th, Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

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Social Media and Job Hunting. It works!! Here’s my Story:

I went away on vacation, only to return last Wednesday to find out that I was unemployed. I immediately updated my profile on Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter.  I stated that I was “Seeking Employment as a Sales Rep or a Community Manager”. Immediately I had two replies on Facebook to contact two separate companies and two retweets on twitter.I was impressed.

By 1 p.m…I had a meeting with 3 foodie friends (@TheBumpercrop, @afoodgypsy @lisataerk). They brainstormed with me and delivered a “go-Vicky-go” type of speech.

The pep talk worked!!

On Thursday, I met with @nearafar who also answered some more job hunting questions and gave me another pep talk.

On Friday, I received emails from @HorriblePeanut @FiestaCupcakes @CDNFoodieGiirl, and @Labamboche with leads. I was truly feeling supported by my twitter friends. Oh yeah – there was another friend (who sadly is not on twitter) who sent me numerous emails with ads too.

On Sunday I met with @sackman66 at 7:45 a.m for TWO hours of networking. WOW..I was on a roll. My friends were really there for me and I was ever so grateful.

On Monday morning, I had a phone call with someone from twitter who was looking for some assistance with her start up .We even met for coffee in the afternoon. Sadly it wasn’t a great fit but once again “twitter’ made the connection (thru a retweet cause I wasnt following her).

On Monday nite, I finally sent out my resume to one of the companies that contacted me thru Facebook earlier last week.

On Tuesday morning, I heard from her and at 2 p.m I was in the office…. armed with my MacBook, iPad, and iPhone….ready to work!!

Now how awesome is this story!! Whats even more awesome is I’m working with a company that I really believe in and when I walked into the office I knew FOUR people (thru twitter of course).

I have to finish this blog entry with this photo. The office has this machine in the kitchen:

It’s a VITA MIX and my boss was all too happy to demonstrate how it works!! This means, I was treated to this delicious bowl of hot soup that was made in less than 10 minutes.

I am now working for Shes Connected and I’m beyond thrilled to be part of this team.

Morale of the story: Use Social Media if you are job hunting and don’t be afraid to change your profile!!

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This photo might explain more about the Shes Connected Conference I recently attended:

Staying Connected!!

Ok..I will be serious for a minute. The conference looked like this:

You are probably asking..what’s Shes Connected? It was a conference that connected brands with digitally connected woman. We all had blogs, we were all on Linkedin, we all used facebook, we all loved twitter…basically we all embraced Social Media with open arms.

I did not have to shell out hundreds of dollars, like other conferences. We were all selected i.e we had to apply. I was positively thrilled to get an email that I was selected.

So that day, I got dressed in “business attire” and headed downtown for 8 a.m…armed with my camera, my iPhone, my laptop, a hundred business cards and of course, my beloved chargers. (see above photo).

I felt empowered by 8 a.m.. It felt very different than my usual day of visiting grocery stores. (I’m a food sales rep).

In the morning we listened to a variety of speakers talk about Social Media and in the afternoon we listened to a variety of brands.

Did I connect with the brands? Well I certainly took the opporttunity to talk to John Placko from Maple Leaf Foods coz he was easy to recognize (wearing chef whites and one of the few men there). I also approached a PR rep who works with Kraft Foods. I clearly wanted to connect with other foodies.

Did I connect with other women?  Absolutely. I came home with two dozen business cards, inputed the email addys into my address book …and sent a few people a quick email saying how much I enjoyed connecting with them at the conference.

Did the brands connect with the participants? I’m hoping that at the round tables they learned more about how as bloggers we can help them and how they can help us!!  They all listened, took notes, and asked questions.

The day certainly went by quickly and before I knew it, it was 6 p.m.

I went home feeling even more connected and have already scheduled the dates of ShesConnected 2011 into my calendar.

Happy Connecting!!!

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