Blissdom Canada 2011

This weekend I lucky enough to be able to attend the sold out Blissdom Canada Social Media Conference here in Toronto. It was billed as a woman's event, but there were a few men there too, attending and presenting.(huge thanks to the organizers -- Barbara Jones, Paula Bruno, Alli Worthington, Catherine Connors)

This is a short video that CBC made at the Gala Opening.

I met many, many, many wonderful, inspiring women.

Julie Demers (@TweetJewels) (Julie blogs for Caprina -- the wonderful goat's milk skin care products) and I met at the Thursday night Presidents Choice Financial Tweet up (yeah, hahaha, really funny for me to attend, because up to that point I had never tweeted).

(that thing that Julie is holding is a cookie! I kid you not. We ate it a few seconds after I took this photo)

Shannon Sveda (Canadian ECE) and Kelly Williams saved me from aloneness ( hey, spellcheck isn't changing that -- is " aloneness" really a word?) at the Gala opening at the CBC on Thursday( I had lost Julie) (we found her shortly after). Thanks girls! Barb Fine (Little Footprints) joined us too! The cosmic alignment teamed us up many more times throughout the event.

(Kelly, Shannon and me eating. That's what we did. Ate)

Of course, it wasn't all fun and parties ( okay, maybe it was all fun, but not all parties)
I attended some GREAT sessions!
(you can find the whole agenda and descriptions of the sessions here)

The Art And Science Of Finding Inspiration – And Using It
Tanis Miller, Elan Morgan, Bon Stewart

She Works Hard For The Money (And So Do You): Why And How You Should Be Making Money From Your Blog.
Janice Croze, Andrea Tomkins, Susie Parker, Katie York

Canadian-Ish: Being Canadian in A Borderless Digital World
Kyran Pittman, Allana Harkin, Catherine Connors (Moderator)

Take your Craft To The Next Level
Karen Green, Angella Dykstra, Aidan Morgan

What’s In A Brand? The Art Of Defining Yourself And Your Creative Work
Kimberley Seldon, Gail Vaz-Oxlade, Dee Brun, Julie Cole (Moderator)

To Publish Or Not To Publish: Taking Your Writing Beyond The Blog (Or Not)
Ann Douglas, Jen Reynolds, Theresa Albert, Nadine Silverthorne

New Media Vs Old Media Vs Next Media: What’s On The Canadian Cultural Horizon

I had kind of a blog epiphany during the Art of Defining Yourself session... I got all teary.... because I am finally figuring out who I am and who I want to be :)

On Friday night there was a fabulous party -- MabelBliss -- hosted by Mabels Labels)
Mmmmm.... Mabel' Tinis.....


There were some totally amazing snowcones by Sweet Ice Snow Cones! I'd show you a picture, but I can't seem to find any promo pics on their website....
-- I am still dreaming about the strawberry lime one that I had. You can book them for your event! Wouldn't snowcones be SO FUN at a wedding?

Urban Moms hosted a screening of Miss Representation -- a film that explores how the media’s misrepresentation of women has led to the underrepresentation of women in positions of power and influence. Powerful and moving......
I was too tired to attend the closing night Costume and Karaoke Party, but I heard that it was so much fun. I'll go next year! I promise!

So, what did I learn? That I needed a twitter account ( to tell you the truth,I'm still not totally sure why). So I set it up while I was there. you can follow me @m4martha. Many, many thanks to Shannon and Barb who helped me brainstorm my name.....

I also learned that I really need to "define" who I am, why I'm blogging, and what I want my message to be... More on this in my next post.

My business card garnered LOTS of interest.


It totally reflects who I am and what I do, so I was really pleased with all of the compliments :). Next time I need to have a bit more info on it-- my Twitter handle, and maybe a line about what I do...and my teacher blog addy too.... Looks like I'll need a few more rubber stamps! ( I don't like to print my cards because I like to make them from recycled card.....). I designed my stamp in photoshop and then emailed it off to Vistaprint to make for me. I am very happy with the quality of the stamp ( self inking). I've had some stamps custom made on etsy and I wasn't happy with the quality.... one of the few instances that I could do something better than an "expert".

Special thanks to the sponsors! (there were many more than I have listed below)

Kelloggs gave us bags full of coupons, lots of cereal, a special travel cereal bowl, and A super cute Toucan Sam tshirt! We got to pose for a cereal box cover too! They also sponsored our breakfasts -- Blueberry MiniWheats are so yummy!

Arm and Hammer gave bags of product too! ( I've already tried the OxyClean stain remover-- it rocks!)

Fisher Price gave out toys and diapers ( mine are going to a Woman's Shelter nearby)( except for the super cute iPhone cover for babies -- that's going to my cousin for her adorable baby!)

Maple Leaf gave us bread ( Mr. B made French Toast with it this morning- very yummy), and lots of other yummy stuff and coupons!

Kraft Canada had a spooky room set up filled with yummy Halloween treats made from their products -- and we got loot bags too!

And check out these super cute labels from Mabels Labels!!!

Lisa Leonard made all attendees this pretty Blissdom necklace! Checkout her website for having your own custom necklace made! (and also other very cool personalized things. How about some customized collar stays with a message on them. What a great gift!)

I will definitely go back to Blissdom next year! Will you see me there?