SOCIAL MEDIA MASTERY CONFERENCE

                                             

I love men!
I love their physical strength! I love their courtesy! I love how they get out of their way to make me feel comfortable!
OK, OK, you got me! I just described The Best Man of All (husband) and my father!
Joke aside, I do love men! Especially the way they think! It's all about logic and practicality for them! Nothing is too complicated! Men just figure stuff out!
For example, send a man Christmas or food shopping and he will be back within the hour. Full shopping bags included!
Men could have invented one-stop-shopping (did they?) They don't do what we women do, like comparing prices, cutting out coupons, strategically planning our trip and squeezing in a coffee date.

The way we shop is definitely much more adventurous than how guys go about it! However, they spend so much less time than we do!
As I said, it's one-stop-shopping-for them!
And given the chance, I will do the same!

But I am getting off topic- what I really wanted to tell you about is
The Social Media Mastery Conference held in Vancouver on Saturday, Feb. 21 2015 at the gorgeous Diamond Ballroom + Catering in Vancouver!

And yes, you guessed right, this conference is the brain child of a man!
Mr. Ricky Shetty, ueber blogger and community builder from Vancouver!

In true male fashion he organised this one-stop-shopping for us social media enthusiasts, novices and experts alike!
Mr. Shetty made it easy for all of us:
One day, eight hours, 10 speakers, ten subjects!
In between presentations we were treated to a few minutes of gentle stretching and some cheerful music!
Here are the experts who dazzled, educated and impressed:

Facebook (Matt Astifan)
Google + Michelle Costillo
Pinterest Vincent Ng
Linked In Wendy McClelland
Instagram  Cadi Jordan
Snapchat Jonathan Christian
Twitter Katt Stearns
Hootsuite Kemp Edmonds
You Tube Steve Dotto

In good female fashion I picked and chose what I needed, wanted to listen to and love. In my case it was Facebook, You Yube and LinkedIn!
What can I say? I love Mr. Steve Dotto! Even if half the time I have no clue what he is talking about in his Dottotech episodes! I like listening to him anyway, he has a fun presentation style - on and off screen!

I was all ears during Mr. Astifan's (Facebook) talk- and followed one of his recommendation as soon as I got home (completed my profile!)

Linked In is always a good one because it's all about sophisticated business over there! Wendy McClelland tips included to say Thank you after somebody connected with us!

 Pinterest? Uhhh, this platform scares me! Why? Because I get so intimidated by all the beautiful, gorgeous photos everybody is posting! Nope, not for me!
However, Vincent Ng was so eloquently spoken, I sat up straight in my chair. I even promised myself to at least check out the site and give it a go!
One click at the gorgeous, beautiful pics and I went straight back to my trusted friend facebook! Nope, Pinterest is not for me! My photos don't look half this good! Facebook, you and me, we will stay together!

And for the rest?
Unfortunately I can't tell you too much about the other presentations- but I am sure they were as awesome, informative and fun to listen to as the ones I just mentioned!
In true female fashion I took the liberty to go my own way. It was just too awesome to run into so many old and new friends.
No wonder I couldn't sit still. There was always somebody to greet, meet, chat to, catch up with or get to know:

With Ms Tazeem Jamal

Anne Shetty, the gorgeous wife of our ueber blogger!

With photographer Alan Katowitz

Mr. David Dyer

The part were the presenters sold from stage wasn't too bad, awkward or even painful!
Not everybody did it and the ones who did kept it in moderation- a book here, a course there- a freebie here! Not too bad!

All in all, the day was one stop-shopping at its best!
The location was easy accessible, the parking fee was inexpensive ($4.00/day), the information was easy to digest! In other words, it was a smorgasbord of useful information!

Unfortunately I had to leave before Mr. Hootsuite had his turn and the panel of experts had their last chance to impress us all!
Well, a mother is still a mother- I needed to get back to our kiddos. And all good adventures, as wild or crazy, tame or informative have to come to an end!

I will leave you with this one tidbit: When it comes to learning about social media, go and find yourself at the next

What is your preferred social media platform? And why do you like it? Are you a tweeter? If yes, please convince me why I should start tweeting! Thanks for your pearls (of wisdom)!

VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF YVRFOODIES / Vancouver Meet Up group

Life is like a bottle of ketchup, you always know what your gonna get: Routine and familiarity!
                                         or

Life is like his younger sister Hot Sauce, full of flavour and taste!

Photo by C.Waschko

 As energetic, spontaneous or creative I might be I love ketchup.

 Especially on a Sunday: Until late morning you can find me tucked in our bed, reading a book, sipping freshly made coffee out of my favourite cup.
The only pressing matter I need to consider is when and where I am going for a run- the rest of the day is spend in comfortable routine activities.

Not on the previous Sunday though.
I had the fantastic opportunity to film an episode for MotherpreneurTV during 
the get-together of   (YVR Foodies! )Meet-up group here in Vancouver!

Event host Ricky Shetty, photo C. Waschko

Before you read any further you need to know this one thing: Foodies (lovers of food) and I have as much in common as fish and a bicycle.
Of course I eat. I just don't get all gooey, gooey over it.
My favourite recipe is called "Fast" and
the only reason I watch Jamie Oliver is to listen to his cute British accent.

For the longest time I wrecked my brain how Foodies fit into the "Kiss your Excuses Goodbye" theme of us Motherpreneurs.

Well, we are mothers and
I could give you 5 Awesome Tips of How to Eat Healthy in a Restaurant - compiled by Adam Hart, keynote speaker, author and creator of POWER OF FOOD.

Adam Hart, photo by. C.Waschko

After some debating with myself I decided to do this: 
I filmed the event from a non-foodie point of view  and asked questions I always wanted to ask food obsessed individuals: Do you actually make healthy choices when you eat out in a restaurant? or, What to you prefer, sex or food? (Well, if I am allowed to ask I should ask the relevant questions).

My Sauerkraut and Currywurst loving self is so in the wrong city! Vancouverites love food. Restaurant owners toppling all over themselves to offer their clienteles fresh, healthy, organic, locally grown produce, lovingly prepared...food (or so I heard).


So, my first objective is to entertain you and secondly, to encourage and motivate you!
If your Sunday afternoon looks and tastes like a bottle of ketchup (just like mine) I want to encourage you to swap to Hot Sauce!
Go out, spice up your weekend with the company of strangers! You will be surprised how much fun you can have if you just ...go and make the effort!

Hanging with strangers, making new contacts and perhaps even make new friends feels like a mini holiday for body, soul and mind! A new location, new taste experiences, new impressions, new individuals to chat with....it all adds up, doesn't it?

With Michael Rubin, photo C. Waschko



Singer/ song writer Angie Faith, photo C.Waschko

We Motherpreneurs and Foodies have a few things in common:

We are passionate about something (food vs. our dream).
We both need to get off our butt to either create a dish, walk to a restaurant or to make our passionate dream come true!
See, here we have it, Foodies and Motherpreneurs are 'sort of' the same!
Allrighty, I know it takes more effort on our part, but you get the point!

And here you can watch for yourself: How Foodies entertain Foodies!

And last not least:
Four more awesome tips on how to eat healthy in a restaurant, compiled by Adam Hart:

-2. Skip the bread basket.
-3. Order dessert at the same time as your main meal (you will eat less main to keep room for dessert)
4.-  Try not to drink too much before, during or after your meal (liquid waters down the enzymes we need to digest our food)
-5. Add plant based nutrients to every meal (e.g. hemp seeds. They will keep our blood sugar leveled)

What do you think?
Any ideas on how to eat healthy in a restaurant?
I would love to hear from you!