It has been a while since my last blog post, but there have been quite a few things going on here chez Real Food Made Easy, including our regular roster of cooking and gluten-free baking, BUT, in the midst of all that, I was invited to attend a conference in Toronto called She’s Connected.

The conference was a glimmer of an idea a few months back in the mind of Donna Marie Antoniadis (Co-Founder and CEO of ShesConnected.com, and pulled together by the team over at She’s Connected in short order.  The goal of the day (and an intensive day it was!!!), was to bring together women who are digitally connected — whether through blogging or social media — with a number of brands who are active in Canada, and interesting in connecting with women through social media.

When I initially received my invitation, I hemmed and hawed a bit, as timing was going to be very tight through the week, BUT, I found a flight that worked, and hub said go for it, so off I went!

The day started bright and early in the heart of downtown Toronto at the public library meeting space.  The space had been opened up to its largest capacity, and even before walking in, I could hear the buzz of people raring to go!  The participating brands were anxious to distribute product for us to see and feel, and first thing in the morning, we received a Kobo e-reader to take away.  We got a quick walk through of the workings of the reader itself, as well as Kobo’s e-bookstore, and then we launched straight away into presentations and panels by the speakers.  I’m putting links to these on my twitter feed (@toots11), but you can also pull them up by following the #sccto hashtag on twitter.

Lunch was provided by Maple Leaf foods, made with a few of their new products including the new Dempster’s rye bread, and their preservative-free Natural Selections cold cuts.  All round, reaction to the food was good, and people opportunities to talk about their activities and interests online.  At one point in the day, it struck me how many younger, well-educated women were sitting around me!  Definitely a younger demographic than your typical Chamber of Commerce meeting!

During the afternoon we got to hear from all the brands (Coca-Cola, Kobo, Maple Leaf Foods, Calvin Klein Fragrances, Bourjois cosmetics, Smashbox cosmetics, Look Good Feel Better campaign, Ontario Egg Farmers, Booty Camp Fitness, Seagrams Coolers and Kraft Foods).

Throughout the day, I had a few impressions that have stayed with me:

• I had thought that Social Media would perhaps homogenize the way people in different parts of Canada operate, but in fact, there are very distinct approaches to social media.  I found that business-oriented/corporate structured approaches to online activity to be the norm among many of the folks from Central Canada.  I think on the West Coast here, there is much more individual presence.
• The brands that came for the day were all at different stages of their own Social Media strategy development, but all conveyed their thoughts that it was relatively easy for bloggers or those active in Social Media to approach them.   From the hallway conversations throughout the day, I think its fair to say the women in the room didn’t perceive the process to be that straightforward.
• Some brands that talked with us though the day were definitely more interested in finding out what women were doing online and in Social Media, to take back and incorporate into their marketing strategies, whereas others were clearly less comfortable with that approach, preferring to inform us of their current marketing approach and then determine whether women active in Social Media were a good fit.
• There was some discussion through the day about the ethics of blogging for product or compensation, and there were some brands that asked specifically what people’s stance was on the topic.  It is still an emerging area, and with such a diversity of business products, services and business structures among the women in the room, it is no surprise that opinions and stances on the topic were varied.  For myself, offering a service such as I do, I personally feel that I am able to review product samples, but if I were to be paid to do a product review, I feel my objectivity might be compromised, AND might limit my ability to seek out and incorporate new products for my customers.   That being said, there are women who raised valid points about the time bloggers put into writing and reviewing having value and needing to be respected.
• Finally, I met more folks who I had only interacted with on Twitter, BUT this experience reinforced for me that connections made through Social Media can be just as impactful as those made In Real Life.

I have a few more thoughts mulling around in my noggin’ and will get them down as they crystallize a little more coherently.  I did come away with a bucket-load of swag, and so we come to the exciting part of the post!!!

I decided to share some of the swag love …  Given my up-close and personal interaction with the brands and products through the day, I figured I can try it out again … or could part with some of it,   I’m going to share amongst the #yyj twitterverse (ok FB folks too!).

I’m listing the products I’ve got below, and all you need to do is leave a comment for me or tweet me!  First come-first serve, and if there’s more tweeps than product, I’ll do a random number draw to select.    I’ll bring the first round to Victoria Social Media Camp on Tuesday evening.

The only disclaimers I have to make are:

• sorry folks, I am hanging onto the Kobo
• and the Coca-Cola coupons (Jeff drinks it like its going out of style)
• and the Maple Leaf Natural Selections (Jeff has reactions to most deli-meats so we’re trying them out)
• the shiba inu on the left hand side of the picture is NOT part of the swag!

So here we go, in no particular order:

• 1 Booty Camp Fitness video
• 1 pink Seagram’s T-shirt (womens M)
• 1 bottle Matrix Biollage Detangling Solution
• 1 Bottle Schwarzkopf BC Volume Boost Conditioner
• 1 large jar of Kraft Whipped Peanut Butter
• 1 Bourjois eyeliner + 1 tube Smashbox primer
• 1 small bottle Calvin Klein Euphoria eau de parfum spray
• 2 bottles Calvin Klein Beauty eau de parfum spray
• 1 clutch purse with Calvin Klein Euphoria selection (Joanie McCorry)
  
• 2 white leather Look Good Feel Better wallets
• 1 small wooden cutting board and knife
• 1 Coca-Cola lined journal
• 1 package Kraft Sizzling Salads (spicy fajita sauce and Barbecue Ranch dressing)
• 1 package Mr. Christie’s Soft-Baked  Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies  (snack packs)
• 1 2-pack Dempster’s “Oven Fresh” Rosemary and Olive Oil Baguettes (no preservatives, but shelf-stable for 60 days)
• 1 purple Calvin Klein shoulder bag/tote.

So please read through, leave your comments, and we’ll share the swag.  My only request is that if you try something, and you feel strongly one way or another about the product, you let me know.  If there is something you are itching to try, just shout out and I’ll see if we can hook up that item for you.

P.S.  The only piece of swag that appears to have gone astray were the groovy microwave egg cookers from the Ontario Egg Farmers, which I was really looking forward to using  — they were REALLY cute! C’est la vie…