Thanks Gmail

I don't think I will be switching to Gmail anytime soon. I just got a Gmail account to help organize the food for WOTS and the company that I am working with uses it. Well, it has a really annoying feature: I sent out a message to a group but all the replies get funneled into one continuous inbox response. Gmail calls this Conversation View: (sets whether emails of the same topic are grouped together). I fear that I will miss emails because I consider each response its own discussion but they might get trapped in this gathered way of viewing things. For a long time there was no way to turn it off manually and the response given by Goggle when asked was, "Conversation Threading is the heart of Gmail" which is just a terrible reply. Luckily they finally realized that some people didn't really like it so you can now ungroup your messages in the Settings. However, it took a while for me to find out how to turn it off. I am much less scared of missing an email now, but I am also a lot less impressed with Gmail.

Life's In The Way

Both my parents and Heather have reached out to chat and catch up, and I haven't been able to return their calls. I have been so busy lately that I feel like I am falling out of touch with everyone. I have been able to see a bunch of my friends over this past week but the visits feel rushed and I am often late or have to change/cancel plans. I have a contract with CSOL working on some Event Management things that I work on in the early evenings after I am done at the BIA and there seems to be lots of other little chores and life details that are getting in the way. I feel a bit overwhelmed. I miss having free time, I miss talking on the phone with my friends and parents, I miss reading, and I miss posting regularly on Always Standing.

Time For Gmail?

I have had my YahooMail account since I was 12. I didn't change it to something 'more mature' or 'more professional' at any of the logical times to do so: applying for university, updating a resume, etc. I have never had any issues and hate the idea of changing something that has been so easy and the same for so long. But over the weekend at The Cottage I had issues getting into my account, which I assumed were related to the terrible internet there. However, now that I am back in Toronto I am locked out of my email account to the point that Customer Care has to help me. Of course, even though Customer Care is free to call, they are so busy that it just tells you to hang up when you phone. I have Tweeted at them and sent in an online form. I hope this gets sorted out soon, I have CSOL related emails in there that I need to access!!

Will Advise For Food

I am hoping to get CSOL going again. I am always available to meet with business owners (or individuals who would like to improve their professional presence online.) I am free most evenings to have a brainstorming/consultation/strategy meeting for the cost of 'dinner.' Later on, if desired I do actually charge for content creation, execution services, and media management but all of that is work and not just sharing information and advising.

CSOL - Christine Sweeton OnLine
General Strategy and Social Marketing Integration Consulting
First Meeting - 2 Hours - Cost: Dinner
Discuss the proper integration of all aspects of marketing and messaging with clear objectives, target audience, and content flow. Determine how to get optimal performance and ROI with social media marketing. Often, very few individual components are in place; this leaves a significant opportunity for unified and consistent messaging. Suggestions for various upgrades in digital marketing norms, resulting in the opportunity to better connect and engage customers and/or professional community.

Shut It Down

After weeks of excitement, chat, thought, and early prep, I am closing down my 'almost company' before it even begins. I had wanted to start a baby product subscription box service in Canada called Baby Crates:

I had been researching daily, learning about the market, business model, etc. I was sure that this was not avalible in Canada yet and that I could start something fun and unique here. Well, today I ran across LittleEcoFootprint which is starting this very month. LittleEcoFootprint is a new Canadian subscription box for new moms focused on healthy, natural and Eco-friendly products, which wouldn't have been my slant but is close enough to cancel my plans. However, I still love the subscription box business model and don't want to walk away from the idea of starting my own business, but Baby Crates is over.

I want to thank all my friends and family who have talked with me about this over the past month. Your support and ideas have been so wonderful and helpful. Thank you!

CSOL November Presentation

I got to visit Ter's school again yesterday to give a presentation on Social Media Marketing. I last went in May and even though it wasn't necessary, I redid the whole presentation and branded it slightly with CSOL. I think I got some pretty good points across and got the students thinking about the roll social media plays in marketing, both for products and people. It was a large group of them and the presentation was over lunch hour - I was able to hold their attention. Part of my success in this is that the current curriculum does not really include much about social media so the topic is interesting and rare. I love presenting and working with the topic and teaching people - it was awesome!

First Client - Balachandran Law

Today I worked with Aghi Balachandran to bring his law firm, Balachandran Law, to a wider audience through online marketing. Many people in professional fields are hesitant to move their business into the exciting world of social media. I hope to help Aghi Balachandran ensure that his online presence reflects the sharp and successful reputation he has already developed as a Criminal Defence Lawyer in Toronto.

Beyond social media, he is also planning on revamping his website www.balalaw.ca with a local developer. I hope to also assist him with this as well.

CSOL - Christine Sweeton OnLine

After some pressure from my parents and Teri, I have decided to slowly start to brand myself and consider starting a small side business based on my Communications and Social Media background. I work with the business side of social media every day, it is an area of marketing that I am very comfortable with. I am also very confident in my abilities to provide advice and services to others in this area, so it really isn't a bad idea to slowly start to see where this could take me.

And of course, I always like to start with a name:

CSOL - Christine Sweeton OnLine