2011 Year in review

Posted on January 2, 2012 by Yukari

I see many friends uploading their “Year in Review” posts and I’m finally sitting down to write it myself.

Looking back, 2011 was a busy year for me. I am not sure if it’s neccesarily a bad thing though. I’m just re-reading my posts from this year and reflecting.

Here are some of the big moments of 2011.

- Dove Singing in the Rain campaign.

In February, I flew in to Toronto with 13 other fabulous women to film a web commercial. The shoot was a lot of fun, but what I got out of this project was handful of really amazing friends. We live all over Canada, but we constantly connect and share through social media. The experience and the friendship is definiately something money cannot buy, and I am so grateful for them.

-Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

As I read my past posts, I could see March was a rough month. I wrote about running into my friend, and re-reading this post got me all tear up. They are still in Japan and she is getting treatments.

Then the 311 earthquake happened. I didn’t write anything about it on this blog, mainly because I didn’t know what to write. What can I write when your home country is hit by the biggest disaster since World War ll? I still remember the hopeless, devastated feeling I felt while watching all the TV footage. I was asked to talk on a national TV show and I barely got to speak as I was crying. It’s been 9 months and still 300,000 people are without homes.

Then amazing Victoria community all came together to put on Hope Love Japan fundraising event. The event was a huge success and we have raised over $14,000 CDN and have been donated to Canadian Red Cross.

-Trip to Japan in May

Because of the earthquake and Tsunami, my plan to visit Japan with my kids have been changed, and I ended up going by myself. I was there about two weeks, and thought this might be my first and last time to visit Japan without kids. (Turns out I am doing it again in February 2012)

I visited my family in Sasebo, Nagasaki, and then I also stayed in Tokyo for a week. Believe it or not, this was the first time I spent so much time in Tokyo, and I had an absolute blast. I met many online friends there – many from Tasukeai Japan team where I volunteer. I even got to meet Chief Cabinet Secretary, that was cool.

I met up with many online friends and we got to discuss social media. There is a huge gap between how social media is perceived and used in Japan and North America, and it was fascinating to learn that. This made me realize one day I would like to the work to connect them together.

-It’s all about social media

Last half of 2011 were filled with many social media events. I was a part of Social Media Camp again this year. Great to see Jayagain and meet Amber for the first time. See how much fun we had?

Also, Russel and I had a one year anniversary of Getting Engaged show. We are thankful for all your support and hoping to kick it up a notch in 2012.

In October, I was back in Toronto for Blissdom Canada. It was so wonderful to see all the online friends.

Then I also did BlogWorld LA in November. This is the year I finally started to see that I am part of this industry. I stopped to feel insecure about exactly what I’m contributing to the industry, just that I am part of it. I met so many amazing people like Chris and Jacq, and they continue to inspire me on daily basis. For that I am very grateful.

-I fell in love

As you know I have been single since I separated from my ex-husband. I have dated here and there but I was almost just as happy to be by myself.

This all changed when I was in LA.

Did you hear about this guy’s ghostwriter story? I do remember catching it on Twitter(pretty sure it was Scott Stratten‘s RT). At that moment I had no idea who he was, but I read the story, thought it was funny, and went about my day.

In early October, my friend Dan hosted his usual High Noon Hump Day Lunch Tweetup. (He does this on Wednesdays.) I do remember I was on the fence about attending. Maybe I was feeling lazy. But I went anyway. Little did I know he was the guest for the tweetup and Dan had interviewed him over Skype. I tweeted about it and later he thanked me for it -and that’s how we met. I already had the plan to go to LA, so we met up- in fact, he picked me up at the airport when I landed in LA, and we have been together ever since.

The funny thing I learned about myself over this experience is, when you meet someone you have been waiting for your whole life as your dream man, you freak out. I came up with all kinds of excuses for not being with him. It’s the fear…fear of failure, fear of getting hurt again, fear of judgement, etc etc, that prevents me from being courageous and just go with the flow. Luckily, I came to senses and now I have never been this happy.

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Finally, this is not a popularily contest, but I wanted to thank few people who has influenced me this year.

Jason Kolt

I met Jason over Twitter and we met up for coffee earlier in the year. I remember we closed down the coffee shop. He is sensitive, creative, funny and although we are both so busy and don’t get to see each other too much, I feel he gets me. I hope to spend more fabulous time with him in 2012.

Chris Guillebeau

I’ve read Chris‘ “The Art of Non-Conformity” few months ago, but this is the year I realized he’s the man I really want to learn from. I want to do what he does- work location independently and travel. I am hoping to attend World Domination Summit(WDS) in 2012 and learn and grow.

Mike Vardy

Mike is the productivity expert and writer based right here in Victoria, and I got to have some interesting chat with him later this year. I value his opinion and perspective greatly, as I know he and I share a very similar view of the industry. He is the one who recommended I attend WDS. I feel as though he is my senior coalleague.

Steve Hof

Steve owns Sauce Restaurant and Lounge in Victoria. He and I became friends around June and we always have the best conversations. He is passionate about his restaurant, social media and giving back to the community. I also want to thank him for pointing me into Crossfit. I started training in the fall, and as hard as hell it is, I am still doing it. It is a completely new workout program for me, but I think I actually enjoy it. So, thanks Steve.

Overall, 2011 was a busy, exciting, and also a tough year. But I don’t believe too much in looking back. I believe in looking forward. So, here’s my farewell to 2011 and I am excited to welcome the new year.

Who’s going to do this for you?

Posted on November 22, 2011 by Yukari

One of the awesome people I met, Jacquline Carly

Already, I’ve been back from LA for well over a week. I attended BlogWorld and New Media Expo LA (BWELA) 2011 from Nov 3-5.

I had attended Blog World last year in Las Vegas, and although I made many new friends, I personally felt like I’ve “been there, done that.” It was fun, but not necessary to attend again, especially when I am not exactly in “the industry”.

However, my perception slowly changed over the last few months. I believe it’s thanks to Google Plus that I started to feel like I’m part of the industry, part of a community. (Interestingly enough, that is the topic Russel and I talked about in our last Getting Engaged episode, but seriously, I didn’t link them together until I started writing this post.)

I made many new virtual friends on G+. And many people I like and look up to were supposed to be at BWELA, I started to really wanting to attend the conference. Coincidentally, I had an event to attend in LA few days after BWELA, so I had to be in LA anyway. But being a single mom, it’s not easy coming up with the means. After looking into several options, I had quietly given up.

Couple of weeks have passed, and I was surprised to catch myself still being upset about not going. I had even entered contests to win a pass for BWELA. I didn’t win. I was like a little kid pouting.

One afternoon, I was reading in the bath. It was a nice sunny day, and for me, having a relaxing bath in the middle of the day is one of my favourite things to do. (I love it, it’s my thing, let it go.) I was reading Jonathan Field’s Uncertainty(Affiliate link).
And suddenly something hit me. “Why CAN’T I go? What is stopping me?”

Nobody had told me I couldn’t go. The person who said no to me was myself. I was blaming everything but myself for not being able to go.

I got out of the bath, and after a few emails and phone calls later, I was pretty much set up to go by the evening.

Yes, I had no guarantee I’d come back with something tangible like a new prospect or contract. Yes, it was financially risky for me to make a 8-day trip. All I knew was that I really wanted to go. Others might laugh at my desire to attend a mere conference, but it was obiously a big deal for me.

So I went. And what happened?

I got to see many of my favourite people. People who inspire me. To be inspired – is probably the most important thing for me. I’m always looking for an inspiration. (Especially, meeting this guy was the highlight of my trip.) I’ve learned a lot from all the sessions I’ve attended. And I made a whole a lot of new friends. It was absolutely amazing.

On a personal note, I also found somebody very special. But you need to buy me a drink to hear that story.

Lesson I learned from this entire experience is, that you need to make things happen for yourself. That nobody is going to do it for you.

I’ve decided to lean into uncertainty and let the world take me wherever it leads…and I am so glad I did.

Social Media Camp 2011

Posted on June 15, 2011 by Yukari

Yelp's interactive scrabble board. One of the many cool booths at SMCV11

I was again involved with Social Media Camp(SMCV) 2011 as Speaker Coordinator. Last year was the first annual SMCV.

Last year, I organized “Lunch with the Social Media Rock Stars” component etc, but my role this year was focused solely on communicating with the speakers and our accommodation and transportation sponsors. I’d like to thank all the sponsors who were patient with my many last minute changes and requests.

I loved the job because I love connecting and getting to know all the people who were coming to SMCV. I have been on the receiving end of this kind of service since I have participated in several projects in the past, (and they have been extremely positive. Thanks Disney and Ogivly) and I have tried my best to provide SMCV speakers the same experience. Guess we’ll find out how we did very soon from the survey.

The morning of SMCV11, I could not get over how big it has been since the last year. It’s over 2 days, and we had 650 people attend this year. It was bit of an organized chaos, but I loved the excitement and seeing all the familiar faces. Of course, there is ALWAYS that last minute crisis and drama, but having involved in enough events like that, it’s almost expected. Not a big deal.

I could not attend many of the sessions but met some fabulous people for the first time – I really do appreciate meeting new people and making the connections in real life. It’s the encounter like that that turns into something real and meaningful in the future. I was SO excited to see my friend Marty McPadden, who I met at BlogWorld last October. Marty and I met in Vegas, when we were both trying to go to a “secret” party at Luxor. It was so secret I couldn’t find my way to the party! In comes Marty and his friends to the rescue. We caught the same elevator to the suite, and the rest is history. He has been a great friend online for me since then, and he came to SMCV11 all the way from Connecticut! How cool is that!

Marty, me and Derek

Thank you Derek, Aaron, Russel and Janice who took great care of him here in Victoria.

It was great to see Jay Baer again too. He is such a “What you see is what you get” kind of guy – (it’s a complement in case you are wondering) and it meant a lot to me and Russel that we got to film an episode of Getting Engaged with him. (He is the only recurring guest on our show!)

Wonderful to meet the other keynote, Amber Naslund as well. We kind of hit it off as we are both single moms, and had some awesome time at the after party.

after party 300x225 Social Media Camp 2011

Love this shot of Amber, Russel and me. Photo by Derek Ford

Oh, and did I mention I won “Most Likely to Become A Social Media Celebrity” West Coast Social Media Awards? Despite the fact I do a video show weekly I do not handle public attention very well, so I was mostly embarrassed at the award ceremony. Sorry I couldn’t make any witty speech. But I am very much humbled.

Actually, it meant more for me that late Derek K. Miller won the ‘Most Inspiring Social Media User” award….I did not know him very well, but I was deeply inspired by his his blog and I was so happy Raul was there to receive the award on his behalf. (By the way, Raul, I know you know this, but you are absolutely fabulous. You saved me couple times during the SMCV11 and I thank you dearly for it.)

I know there are a lot of constructive criticism about SMCV11 and I’m sure we will be tackling them soon to plan better SMCV12….Congratulations to founders/organizers Paul Holmes and Chris Burdge for the successful Social Media Camp and thank you so much for making me a part of it!

PS: Special edition of Getting Engaged….we asked SMCV11 Heavy Hitters – “How do you define Engagement?”

Connection is everything

Posted on October 10, 2010 by Yukari

So last few weeks have been a bit crazy.
There was Uvic LipDub- it was an absolutely amazing experience. I was there with my son around 7am, and we lip-synced out hearts out, lots of waiting around (but we knew that), I stayed until 3pm and was absolutely exhausted…but all I did was just waiting and a little bit of singing. Compared to what Shawn and the crew from Aclara promotions had to go through, my exhaustion is nothing.
By the way the video is not yet ready….of course I will post it here once it is!

There was Social Media Camp-ya, so a week after LipDub was Social Media Camp, Victoria’s first social media conference. Again, I was there at 7am and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t stressed out….but honestly, I enjoyed every minute of it. I helped out as a speaker coordinator and I got to meet so many great speakers from Scott Stratten(He probably doesn’t remember this, but a small thing he did for me meant so much, I am a huge fan of him ever since-was great to finally meet him), Julien Smith(Was my first time to meet him but I LOVED this guy), Dave Olson(We had a good talk about his love for Japan), and so many more.
460+ people attended and it was a great success.

What I learned from this event was nothing new, but meeting people in person and getting to know them, engage with them, building a relationship with them… is the true purpose of social media for me. Yes I do have lots of online/virtual friends and they are all fantastic, but meeting them in person really enhances the relationship for sure.

And in between those two events, I moved.
Now I am slowly settling into my new house, I’m still lacking some furniture so the place looks somewhat empty, but I do enjoy having my own place. My kids came over to stay with me this long weekend, and we’re slowly getting used to this new lifestyle.

Then this week, I will be heading to Las Vegas for BlogWorld conference.
I’ll be listening to Scott Stratten’s keynote, and looking forward listening to Jay Baer (He’s coming to Victoria in November and I am organizing a tweetup) and Amber Naslund‘s talk as well…but more than anything I am looking forward to connecting with my online friends and hopefully make lots of new friends there too.

And Russel and I shot another episode yesterday. It’s about customer loyalty. Have a look and let me know what you think.