I am obsessed with pinterest. It's bad.

—
Aleksandra Stalmach (@alisaan) November 29, 2011

My obsession with butter chicken can only be shadowed by my addiction to pinterest. #ClassicAli

—
Aleksandra Stalmach (@alisaan) December 02, 2011

Since then I’ve watched in excitement as people flocked to the site wondering what all the fuss is about. After the jump I’m going to explain what Pinterest is, how to use it, how brands are using it, and to top it off I’ll give you some basic resources if you want more info (and yes, you will want more info).

So what is it?

These are my Pinterest pinboards. You like?

Pinterest is a virtual pinboard allowing users to pin all the wonderful things they come across on the Internets – essentially it’s a visual social bookmarking site. As one of the 10 most visited social networking sites on the Internet, it’s easy to see why it’s taking off. The learning curve is virtually nil and with the availability of mobile apps and browser add-on’s adding things to your pinboard a snap! According to the Mashable article linked above,

The site is especially popular with women between the ages of 25 and 44, which comprise 59% of its readership, and the majority of those visiting Pinterest are female, consisting of 58% of its visitors in the past 12 weeks.

Although the site may be popular among women, lots of my male counterparts are flocking to it out of curiousity and have started their own pinboards for topics that interest them. There’s literally something there for everyone. (Aside: There’s also a male Pinterest spin-off called Gentlemint if the guys feel they need something a little more focused.)

What is it used for?

Couple people have been spreading this on Facebook and it made me laugh. I went straight from step one to three, skipping two. Did you?

Although you can use it as a storage facility of cool stuff, I use Pinterest much like a virtual vision board – I pin pictures of the home decor that inspires me, healthy pictures/quotes/recipes that I want to try, and funny little sayings that make me happy. I find because I check Pinterest daily, it’s a re-affirmation of my vision which I believe will help me stick to my goals in the long run. Although I love old school vision boards, I have a hard time with the idea because it’s not dynamic. It’s a static, physical entity that sits in my room so the second I leave, it’s out of sight, out of mind. Even if I were to make a picture of said static board my iPhone homescreen, I’ll never see it amongst my file folders of apps.

Additionally, adding to a well planned vision board can be like trying to fit an 8×11 picture in a 4×6 spot – it just can’t happen without tearing the thing apart to make room for that little addition. Virtual pinboarding lets me add to my boards in (literally) a click!

Now if you’ve read my blog before you’ll know I sing the praises of Evernote (like here and here) and Pinterest has not changed that. Instead I found two very different uses for them:

• I use Pinterest for items I enjoy/things I aspire to do. If I like something, it gets pinned. It’s that easy.
• I use Evernote to curate information/ideas that I will be using so it goes beyond something that I like. It’s interesting articles I want to read/reference later in my blog, ideas for holiday/birthday gifts, items that can be clustered using tags and notebooks for improved searchability.

Can brands use Pinterest?

Yes, Pinterest presents a HUGE opportunity for brands to engage with their customers/fans and also to get more exposure to others who wouldn’t necessarily find them otherwise.

Pinterest helps shift the consumer process away from search and focuses more on discovery. Normally when you want something, you Google or crowdsource an idea. Because you already know what you’re looking for you’re in search mode. Pinterest is a constant sharing of ideas so users are in the discovery phase – they didn’t know they wanted something until they came across it.

Not convinced? According to this Mashable article,

Pinterest, with only 5.3 million active users, drives more traffic to Real Simple than Facebook.

In addition, Facebook recently announced Pinterest as one of 60 apps that will function with their new Timeline feature meaning more exposure to brand content (reach is now farther if I post on my Pinterest plus link it to Facebook Timeline), but also likely higher user adoption as non-Pinterest users get exposure to the social platform itself. This is like discovery squared!

How does discovery work? Well take this example: I’m single so I’m about as far from planning a wedding as one could get, yet I have a Wedding Bells pinboard. There I have ideas for creative “save the date” notes, table settings, themes, colours, hair do’s, dresses etc. Now these may not come in handy in MY immediate future (one can only dream haha) but already my friends on Pinterest who are planning weddings are re-pinning my finds and going after them.

Or take my Travel pinboard. I try to take one large trip a year but I normally go to the usual vacation spots – Cuba, Mexico, Europe. Thanks to my travel board (and one Jill Clark where the bulk of these pins are from) I’ve discovered great little nooks of the world I’d like to visit that I would have never considered and am now actively pursuing. Without this discovery I wouldn’t have known I wanted to travel to see the turquoise water in Slovania, the gorgeous sunsets of the Maldives, the architectural homes along the water of Portofino Italy, or the tropical heaven that is Wineglass Bay in Tasmania. By constantly discovering new ideas I’m shifting my purchasing habits to items I may not have considered before.

These are just some of the West Elm pinboards.

So take a big established brand like West Elm – their Pinterest not only showcases their products but also gives added value beyond just the products they carry. They have boards just dedicated to different decor styles (like modernism and naturalist). trends (like stripes), or ideas (like how to furnish that space that doesn’t get used under the stairs). I never thought to put a powder room under the stairs, have you?

Then there are brands who I think would really benefit from Pinterest. Take a brand like Audi – the maker of (my favourite) luxury automobiles. My Cars pinboard is 99.9% Audi (I aim high!) and Audi shared some great shots on their Instagram feed recently from NAIAS (North American International Auto Show) that they could have shared on Pinterest for traction. One could argue that perhaps the Pinterest demo isn’t necessarily the Audi demo given that Pinterest is a female dominated space, but automobile purchases are not a male dominated decision. (Check out this study for more info on that.)

Or what about one of my favourite brands, lululemon athletica. I was surprised that I couldn’t find them on Pinterest (excluding their lululemon lab profile which is on there). Remember this is a huge opportunity not to push the products but to plug their brand proposition which they do so well on their blog. They could showcase their running playlists, desktop screensavers, or their successful goal setting content for others to share.

But don’t be disappointed if you don’t see your favourite brands on Pinterest yet! As I said before, this is a huge opportunity for brands to engage pending there is room in their social engagement strategy for Pinterest as a platform.

Predictions for the future? I think we’ll start to see that it’s not just a consumer tool as more brands adopt the tool over the coming year. Now does it have staying power? That’s a whole other blog post my friends!!

Want more info on Pinterest?

• About Pinterest
• Study Shows Pinterest Will Compete With Top 10 Social Networks
• Pinterest: A Beginner’s Guide to the Hot New Social Network
• The Rise of Pinterest and The Shift From Search to Discovery
• The 50 Best Websites of 2011 – Pinterest
• How to use Pinterest’s pinboard for the Web
• 10 cool Pinterest accounts you should be following
• Pinterest for Brands: 5 Hot Tips
• Curated Commerce: How Retail Brands can Cash in on the Latest Craze
• Pinterest Fans Rejoice: Facebook Adds Pinterest Plus 59 New Apps

So tell me – do you use/have you thought of using Pinterest? Know of any brands using it well? I want to hear all about it!

This is my Christmas wreath. You like?

Now here’s something you don’t hear someone say too often? “I love shopping for gifts during the holidays!”

But guess what?

In my case, it’s true!

I know it sounds crazy but I have mad holiday shopping skills. So if you want some tips on how to make this year’s shopping activities one of joy and not as much bah humbug, read on!

Recently Urban Barn, one of my favourite home decor stores, ask their blog readers to share their advice on staying stress-free over the holidays. I figured I’d take the time to also share that advice here since the moaning and groaning over holiday shopping has started and let’s be honest people, the retail rush has not yet begun so you still have time to make big things happen!

Shopping advice

• Plan it out – I use Evernote throughout the year to keep tabs on potential holiday gift ideas for my family and friends. Then closer to Christmas, I plan a strict budget that I try to stay within and match the up with the gift ideas I have tagged in Evernote.
• Do your research – Then I research my purchases to find the best deal (whether it’s in store or online). This helps me figure out all the places I need to physically visit to pick the items up. And from this list, yes you guessed it, I plan the most efficient route using a combination of transit, driving and carpooling to carry my packages home.
• Shop til you drop - Once you know what you need to buy and the best route to save on transportation costs, get out there and make it happen!
  • Handy Tip - Take a random weekday morning off (like a Wednesday morning) and go shopping. The stores are emptier so you won’t have to fight the crowds and you’ll also have time to wrap and hide the fantastic gifts you just picked up.

Want more? You got it!

• Being a gracious guest – What about being the perfect guest for all those holiday parties you’ll be invited to?
  Make sure when you make your shopping list in the planning stage, you include a number of unisex stocking-stuffers like bottles of wine, vases, appetizer plates, picture frames, candle hurricanes, cheese sets, etc. Buy a few of those, wrap them up and keep a few gifts at home and at work so if you get invited to a last minute holiday party you’re always ready with a fab host/hostess gift without the stress.
  • Handy Tip - I make sure each gift has different wrapping paper to I can easily tell them apart. Before I wrap the gifts I lay them on the floor on top of the paper they’ll be wrapped in and take a picture. This is an easy way to make sure I pick the perfect gift depending on the occasion. Have leftovers? Use them as office gifts, give them to neighbours or save them for next year. If you wrap these items in festive but neutral paper (like silver or gold metallic) they can be used as year round party gifts for any occasion!
    Remember to email yourself a copy of the above picture or to upload it to Evernote so that way if the batteries on your phone ever die or you’re in a pinch, you can easily identify each gift.

Got any tips I left out? Keep em coming in the comments!

This is Kurt Cobain.

This is Kurt Cobain in 12 inches of plastic glory. The outfit, pose and scenery (notice the gym floor he’s standing on) is from the epic anthem “Smells Like Teen Spirit” from the Nevermind album. Today marks the 20th anniversary of its release. With the anniversary comes a special collector’s edition of Nevermind. I’m not going to sit here and tell you what’s in the 20th special edition album. Nay nay. You can Google that. What I will tell you is about why that album is so special to me.

The door that was Nevermind

For me, Nirvana was the door to grunge. I found that cd in my dad’s collection. You see, my dad is cool (if you didn’t know this from earlier posts) and listened to amazing music – Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam and (yes) Nirvana.

I remember seeing the unmistakable cd – the baby swimming towards a dollar bill on a fishing line – lying around his stereo. I distinctly remember sneaking it into my sweater, tiptoeing up the stairs to my bedroom, silently closing the door and blasting it through my earphones.

The music was amazing. The words to every song are seared into my lips; every guitar riff etched into my brain. It was the album I turned to when I needed to release my teen angst; the album I turned to when I needed a moment to be down. Even now, when I’m in a bad mood I often turn to many of those songs as my release.

When I ran my first 10 km race, Nirvana was on my playlist. Smells Like Teen Spirit was my anthem for just about anything – it still is. Something about the energy in the song keeps you going even though your legs feel like lead, your lungs feel like they’re drowning and all you can think about is how it feels like an alien is trying to escape through your stomach (aka stitches). Somehow I made it through and I firmly believe the music I listened to had a big hand in that. Trying to shake off the feeling of pain and use it to motivate yourself to finish.

Many thanks for the music

So let me say this – thanks for 20 great years Nirvana. That cd is a staple in my collection and will be for years to come. And with this I end with one of my favourite Kurt Cobain quotes (no it’s not the burning out and fading away one…he did have other great quotes you know!):

I’d rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not.

Well, Kurt, as I look to see you staring at me with your empty plastic eyes, I can say with great confidence you still hold a special place in my cd collection and on my desk. I know what playlist I’ll be listening to tonight.

Patrick Huard as David Wozniak (aka Starbuck). Image credit: www.lindaleith.com

What’s Starbuck?

Starbuck is a feature film by director Ken Scott inspired by a true story of a bull (named Starbuck, duh) who fathered thousands of children through artificial insemination.

Cue David Wozniak (played by Patrick Huard) – he works a dead-end job as a meat delivery man, just found out his gf is pregnant, owes crazy amounts of money to some thugs, and finds out he’s fathered a few hundred children from his numerous sperm bank donations way back in the day (apparently he has strong swimmers).

Just how many children?

A lot – 533 children in fact; of which 142 or so file a class action lawsuit to find out the identity of their biological father (aka Starbuck…see it’s all coming together!). And so the movie begins as David tries to clean up his act to be a good father to the child his gf is currently carrying as well as helping his 142 other children stay out of trouble without them finding out who he is…all while battling this lawsuit with his best friend, the lawyer.

My thoughts

That's exactly how I felt about the movie! Image credit: www.TIFF.net

In two words: Must see!

This is a great movie with an excellent plot, great character development and humour that transcends language (I did mention this film is in French with English subtitles, non?).

Ken Scott’s direction was excellent and Patrick Huard is a stunning Starbuck – extremely believable as the well-meaning David Wozniak. The film is funny, heart-warming and is full of inspiration. The audience laughed (out loud…literally…and very loudly) during the film and once the film ended stood to give the director and actors present a standing ovation!

If I had stars, I’d give it 4.5/5 stars…the movie loses 0.5 stars only because the subtitles need thicker black shadowing as there are scenes where I can’t actually read the subtitles. Yeah I know I’m a stickler so sue me!

Either way I encourage you all to see it if/when it hits theaters. Totally worth it and I don’t see many movies (except the good ones cos $13 ain’t cheap) so that’s a big deal coming from me!

Disclosure and shout outs: Big thanks to Diet Coke Canada as I won these tickets through their TIFF draw on Twitter.  I wasn’t asked to blog about this at all but seeing as this is my first TIFF movie screening ever, I mean come on!! You know I’m really excited about sharing my thoughts about the movie I ended up falling in love with.

Here's part of my Google + screen. Still figuring out how to use this network so it's not a repeat of Facebook or Twitter.

Let me ask you something – do you sometimes feel like a little spread thin when it comes to your social networks? I mean between my social networks (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and now Google+), my location-based services (Foursquare, Hashable and Google Latitude) and my blog (WordPress and the still unknown fate of Tumblr that I haven’t quite worked out the det’s for) I’m not feeling like I’m giving 100% of myself to any one network.

I was reading a great article today about the pro’s and con’s of Google+ and when I finished it I had to say outloud – “Do we really need another social network to keep up with?”

I found that ever since I started using Google+ all people talk about on there is (you guessed it!) Google+!

As gorgeous as the UI is, much of Google+ is solving gaps that other social networks choose not to – I’m sure you’ve read the dozens of pro/con articles out there. The circles feature solves for Facebook’s inability to group friends letting us share updates with certain groups versus 100′s of acquaintances. I’ve found shortcuts for ways to share articles on multiple networks (tweeting with #in adds to my LinkedIn stream, #fb for my Facebook) but now I need to learn a whole new set of shortcuts. Anyone feeling like it’s getting a little much?

I haven’t properly integrated my life with Hashable yet let alone Google+….and yet I sit here staring at the UI thinking: this is pretty sexy. How am I going to make this happen? I just can’t WAIT to customize my feeds and profiles on here. Sick isn’t it?

So tell me – how many networks is too many? Have all you Google+ users found a way to integrate the new network into your day-to-day? Is Google+ going to add to the noise (think Google Buzz which never took off on my end for that very reason)? Is there going to be a whole niche set of users on the system or is it just more noise to filter out?

I laid out my items the night before. Yes kids, I'm all ready for class!

As many of you may have heard, I’m currently taking a night course through the Canadian Marketing Association to acquire a Digital Marketing certificate.  w00t!

Now as many peeps have asked me, why are you taking classes long after university and post-grad has ended for you? Good question. Lemme start by saying – HEY! My post-secondary/post-graduate education was NOT that long ago!

Sorry I digress – the question was why am I still taking courses? Right…good question! In fact, while creating my study notes I may have asked myself the same question, mumbling it under my breath. In all honestly I love school *nerd alert*. I find it really stimulating, challenging and all around good fun (pending you’re taking courses you have interest in and now…let’s say…accounting). Here’s why I recommend everyone should take some continuing education courses during their lives long after they think they’ve finished school forever…

Stay in school

1. Keeps ya sharp – Always learning means always flexing those muscles! I like a big healthy brain.

2. Contributions abound – I feel like I can really bring some insight to the table regarding digital marketing (versus people seeing me as a marketing geek who just happens to be doing digital in my personal life). Plus, I’ve caught up on some facets of digital marketing I previously was not comfortable talking about (in my case, SEM & SEO which is now my new language. YAY!).

3. I love school – No really, I do. I just feel like I’m never wasting time in school. I always chose my classes wisely in a way that would benefit me down the line but something I’d still really enjoy learning about. Plus, sometimes it’s nice to have something outside of your everyday routine (whether you’re working or not) that challenges and stimulates you.

4. Expand your network – I love meeting new people and always rave about getting out there and being involved and this is just another way to do that. I’ve met some really interesting people in my classes and hope that we stay in touch long after it’s done.

5. Stay on top of your changing world – Digital marketing today is not what it was five years ago. The world is changing so quickly often times it’s nice to get a refresher to see what you’ve missed or round out those skills you think need smoothing over. I’m sure other fields are the same way.

6. Return on investment – Sure, classes costs money and money doesn’t grow on trees (but if it does, be sure to holla at ya girl!). If you’re interested in a class that pertains to your work, see if your company has an education program that helps cover some of that cost. Not sure if they do, talk to your manager or someone in HR. Might be worth looking into – what’s the worst that could happen? They say no and you fund it yourself. Additionally, if you are gunning for your next role (or a different role), continuing your education can help you springboard that goal into reality.

And me? Well I hope to take more classes in the future but it takes a lot of time/energy to keep up with which can be difficult if you’re like me and already have a full calendar to keep up with. Courses are a big investment of time, money and effort but their benefits definitely outweigh the drawbacks.

So have any of you taken night classes/gone back to school? How did you feel when you went back? What course(s) did you take? Did it help with your career advancement?

Random Aside – my class has since finished and am waiting on final marks

I know I haven’t blogged in awhile – trust me when I say the absence isn’t on purpose but I just haven’t had the ability to click “Publish”.

My draft box is full

You see my draft box is full of posts…posts that for whatever reason I didn’t have the balls to publish. Whether it’s because I was being a perfectionist that day and trying to edit the post just so or I had a great idea I just couldn’t verbalize right, I just couldn’t make it happen.

So to remedy this issue, I’m writing this in one shot and pressing publish as soon as it’s done. It’s probably going to be a really rough draft and not as eloquent as I may normally try to make it but this will help me get over one big hurdle I have – publishing.

I’ve been reading a lot about tips to blog that I was going to write a post about later (yup…it’s in draft!). Everyone has their own hurdles to overcome and this one is mine.

So why am I so wary of publishing?

1. It’s publishing, d’uh. Yup I’m putting my name to something and that’s a big deal. Sure it’s just a blog. Sure I don’t have 1,000′s of readers but regardless I take very seriously what I put out into the world with my name on it.
2. It’s a new age. Putting your name to something means being searchable. It means verbalizing your thoughts/values to the world. What is said on the Internet cannot be unsaid.
3. I need to have something awesome to say. Yup, I don’t just post filler posts because I feel I need to post. I know that goes against that “regular post schedule” mentality but what I remember from a Scott Stratten (better known as @unmarketing on Twitter) presentation was “people spread awesome”. On Twitter it’s really important to me to spread content I think is awesome. Why wouldn’t I also try to write awesome content?
4. I’m a perfectionist. This is no surprise if you know me well. When I really get into something I turn into a bit of a perfectionist. It’s a problem. I’m working on it. Admitting it is the first step to healing.
5. I’m scared. Who isn’t? I want my blog to be successful. I’d love it if my readers were engaged. It warms my heart when people comment and tell me they love reading my posts because they’re funny or because I made a great point on a subject. It means a lot to me but also puts a lot of pressure on me.
6. Writing is cathardic. Sometimes just the act of writing can be cathartic. You don’t always need to post for you to feel the feeling of relief/relaxation/peace after writing something that was on your mind.
7. Because I can. Again, just because I can publish something, doesn’t mean I should. Period.

So tell me – am I the only one that’s been scared to hit the button? What’s your blogging hurdle?

G’luck boys!!!

Updated: Fair warning I did have a convo this am about my ideal Stanley Cup win which would be game seven in Vancouver so maybe the first part of game six is just trying to make that happen. I just didn’t picture it as 4-0 in the first five minutes of the first period!

So I feel like I need to post this: Hotmail is down.

I can’t imagine the day one of the largest, free email engines with more than 50 million subscribers goes down….and yet here it is! Microsoft apparently took its Hotmail service offline so company technicians could fix a security hole exposing users’ email.

Gmail user? Bet you’re feeling pretty awesome right now, eh?

I too am a Gmail user. Even though my Hotmail address was created when I was 12 or so (and I’m actually embarrassed by it), I still don’t have the balls to shut her down. Why? Because it was my first email addy – even if it’s laughable. It’s also kind of my repository for things that remind me of being young while the Interweb was young.

Remember this?

1. Free dial up using Altavista – Sure it showed ads at the bottom of your screen all day and kicked you offline every now and again, it was free!
2. ICQ (aka I Seek You) – This great chat site was the original MSN Messenger. I still remember how short my ID was: 7 digits. What was yours?
3. The dancing baby – a marvel of computer animation we sent around in emails over and over again. If you have to ask you ain’t hip.
4. How about quizzes – Way before Facebook we had email quizzes that people actually filled out! I still have a fee from uni and they make me laugh every time I bust em out.
5. Dial up sounds – Need I say more? I still curl up in fetal position when I hear them. Just awful.
6. Netscape Navigator – This bad boy was THE browser of the time. I hated it…always. (Sorry dudes – it was infuriatingly annoying).

What are your favorite memories of a young Interwebs?

Double dog dare – post your Hotmail email addy/ICQ number. Show me your way back email addy…and maybe I’ll show you mine.

So you’re probably thinking – as a wine n00b, why’d I go to such an event? That’s easy! I’m all about trying new things. Plus, wine has always been hit or miss with me.  Since going to the event, I know why! I have a better understanding for different wines and the flavour, texture and experience I want from my wine.

Notable.ca

Here’s what I learned:

1. I’m a white wine lover. I went and tasted all the whites on the first round but kept coming back to the Montes Classic Series Sauvignon Blanc. Crisp, light, smooth – a wine for n00bs and veterans alike. It tastes divine chilled and is the kind of light white that I’d pair with just about anything.
2. I don’t hate red wine. I used to think I hated red wine. Don’t worry reds, it’s not you…it’s me! After a stint at a friend’s party with a rose, I’ve been stubborn trying to find a red that I enjoy. If I can stand a rose, then they can’t all be bad, right? Enter the Gato Negro Merlot (seen being held in the above pic). Smooth, complex flavors but not in the least bit overpowering. Would be a great addition to a juicy steak dinner. Delicious!
3. Intimate parties allow for more valuable face time. I love, love, LOVE the big events I go to but sometimes these smaller events allow for more conversation of the meaningful variety. Think less drive by hello’s and more delving into details. This was the Goldilocks of events: Not too big. Not too small. Just right!
4. Know your audience – literally. Julian (founder of Notable) is pretty chill and one thing I admire about him is that he knew the name of everyone he talked to that night. That’s an old school touch that’s important – especially in a world of Twitter handles, avatars and internet memes.

So what’s your take? Did anyone go to the wine tasting have a different experience? Are all wine tastings typically this fabulous? Is there hope for me and wine?