Tag: windsor
Entrepreneur Profile: A Pair Of Blabbing Entrepreneurs
The Windsor Star
By: Yvonne Pilon
March 30th 2012
Social media is what this entrepreneurial duo does best. If I had to sum them up in a 140 characters, it would read “Social media lovers, inventive thinkers, collaborators, young professionals, and community enthusiasts”.
Even as a startup, these entrepreneurs are making time to engage with their community through various events, including Startup Drinks Windsor, volunteering and of course, social media.
They’re also very ingenious in the ways they’re building buzz and awareness about their business. It was only a few months ago that they showered the downtown core with wallets filled with ‘Blab’ dollars and business cards. Why? Well, if you can imagine, as soon as a wallet was discovered, the contents were searched. If you were one of the dozens of people who found a wallet, you’d know that the owner was none other than Blab Media. The team also hand delivered branded homemade candy apples to customers and supporters in celebration of their 1 year anniversary. What a sweet gesture! (pun intended)
Entrepreneur Profile: Blab Media
Name: Katie Stokes/Jessica Apolloni
Age: 23/26
Business Name: Blab Media
Location: 131 Elliott Street West Windsor ON
Type of Business: Digital Marketing Agency
How long in Business: 1.5 years
Website: www.getyourblabon.com
Twitter/Facebook: @blabmedia www.facebook.com/blabmedia
Idea Origination: We worked together in a corporate marketing environment and realized there was a serious lack of education in regards to social media and digital marketing efforts. We wanted to simplify the process so businesses could start taking advantage of digital platforms to increase awareness and sales.
Prediction for the Future of Your Business (5 Year): Growing into a full digital marketing agency offering a range of digital services and expanding into other Canadian and US markets.
Toughest Part About Being an Entrepreneur: The “behind the scenes” work like taxes and payroll.
Best Thing About Being an Entrepreneur: The freedom to coordinate your own schedule.
First Job: Katie – Retail Jessica – Theatre Technician
3 Tips/Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs: Don’t be afraid to take risks, invest your time in networking within the community, and always play an active and accountable part of your own business
Best Career Success: Getting an office!
Favourite Quote: “The people who think they are crazy enough to change the world, are the ones who do” – Apple, Think Different Campaign
Favourite thing about Windsor-Essex: The people and their contagious positive attitude for change.
Why do you support Entrepreneurship: We support entrepreneurship because we admire the qualities that entrepreneurs like us exhibit and how people with these qualities help make the community a better place. We’re always striving to be the best and to find success in everything we do. It’s about having a serious passion, ambition and the guts to take risks.
To see the original article click here
Local Companies Weave Web Bond
The Windsor Star
By: Dave Hall
February 16th 2012
Two young Windsor companies growing together have found common ground on the Internet and on social media sites.
Michael Lapico, a game developer and publisher who owns Touch Village, has been working with Katie Stokes and Jessica Apolloni of Blab!Media, a social media company that helps businesses create a complete web presence, for the past year.
“It’s a good example of two new businesses working together, and our relationship just clicked from the start,” said Lapico, a marketing and web development specialist before getting into the exploding game app sector.
Lapico sold Web Heads, his web development business a year ago, and decided to shift his focus to the mobile gaming applications sector as both a developer and, more recently, as a publisher of developer’s ideas.
He developed KitchenPad Timer, which has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, an app for cooks and chefs that enables them to manage multiple cooking times on both range top and oven.
It emits warning sounds – a rooster for chicken dishes and a cow for beef recipes – warning multi-tasking chefs that dishes are close to being ready.
Now, he’s moved into the game publishing business with Dragon’s Rage, which was developed in Ukraine, and ChinUp, a product of Digital Harmony Games, a small gaming app studio in Austin, Texas.
“After attending gaming conventions, I realized that a lot of the developers just aren’t marketing people, and I saw an opportunity to become a publisher of these games and help developers get them to market,” said Lapico.
And it’s that same niche approach that has allowed Blab! to make an impact locally by guiding startups and established companies into the world of social media.
Stokes and Apolloni both said their expertise lies in helping companies with no local presence get their products and services in front of new customers and also developing that same local presence for clients such as Lapico, who is known internationally through his gaming app development.
“As our client’s needs change, we adapt to those changing needs,” said Stokes.
In the meantime, Lapico is looking to partner with local game developers who need help getting their apps into the marketplace. He’s also seeking investors to help his company expand. For more information, visit touchvillage.com or getyourblabon.com.
To see the original article click here
Social Booking Site Pinterest Gains Momentum
Jessica was immediately addicted. She spent hours pouring over recipes and ogling adorable pet photos. It took some convincing, but she finally encouraged me to check out the social bookmarking site for myself and since joining I haven’t looked back.
Pinterest prides itself on connecting people all over the world through things they find interesting. It’s a social bookmarking site focused entirely on visuals. Users create a profile with as many custom “boards” as they want. These boards help them organize their interests (pins). To simplify things, your profile is essentially like a bunch of bulletin boards and whenever you come across something of interest online, you can “pin it” to the board of your choice and keep all your favourite things organized. After using the service I can honestly say that bookmarking based on visuals is a lot more appealing and fun than simply dropping a link on your toolbar or in your online folders and finding it months later buried in the clutter.
As a marketing tool Pinterest offers value for a variety of reasons. When users join and create a profile, they are given the option to add a “Pin-It” bookmarklet to their toolbar which allows them to add pins to their boards without even browsing the Pinterest site. This bookmark allows users to grab any photo from any site and attach it to a board on their profile. Anytime someone “pins” something from your site, you can gain thousands of potential new site visitors depending on the size of the users Pinterest network. It all comes back to positive word of mouth!
Local Windsor business Intimate Weddings has found some serious value in Pinterest. The husband and wife duo maintain an abundant source of all things wedding related on their website and are extremely impressed with Pinterest as a marketing tool. The platform allows them to share photos and wedding inspiration with hundreds of women online. It’s a place for them, as a business, to interact with brides-to-be and it promotes transparency. People like knowing that a business is made up of real people with real opinions and Pinterest helps Intimate Weddings connect with women on that personal level.
Just as Facebook offers “like it” buttons and Google+ offers “+1” buttons, Pinterest offers a “Pin-It” button that can be placed on any website so visitors can pin the content and share it with their network on Pinterest. Naturally the site can’t come close to Facebook or Google in terms of the number of users, but it’s a growing trend that will take the web by storm sometime soon. The site has already garnered interest from industry professionals and is sure to make a big splash in 2012. Check out the site for yourself and see what all the hype is about but don’t forget you’ll need an invite from a current user in order to join!
Blab Media Welcomes Interns!
We love doing what we do, there’s no doubt about that, but now we get to share the experience with two interns who are diving head first into our world of social media. We’re excited to share our passion with other young people in the city and to give them an opportunity that most didn’t think was attainable in Windsor. As entrepreneurs who grew up in this city and went to school here, we understand the pressure to pursue a future in other cities like Toronto where opportunities seem to be bountiful. We know first hand what it’s like to crave a successful future working in the field we studied and we know what boundaries and obstacles lie in the way for Windsor graduates. It’s because of this that we strive to retain local talent by showing these young people what opportunities Windsor-Essex offers and how they can be leveraged for success.
Thinking about your future can be a scary concept, and unfortunately in Windsor-Essex, often times those thoughts involve leaving the city. One of our interns, Cristina Matteis, knows all too well the pressure associated with graduating. She is currently a third year Advertising student at St. Clair College Centre For The Arts and wants to explore her options before deciding on an internship location and venturing out into the workplace. She knows social media is an important aspect of any marketing strategy so when presented with the opportunity, she came to Blab Media to learn more about Windsor businesses and their social habits. Cristina brings to our team a broad range of knowledge, a strong work ethic and a bright personality that shines through in any situation.
Gaining experience in the industry can be a key element when it comes to getting a job in any field. Natalie Lahoud, our second intern, doesn’t take this lightly and values the experience and the opportunities that are often presented when the initiative is taken to further your knowledge. A graduate from the Odette School of Business, Natalie knows the ins and outs of the corporate world but her love for social media was never something she could explore in the classroom. She found Blab Media online and knew that her chance to explore the corporate world of social media was within reach. Natalie brings to our team a strong business background and a a go-getter attitude that is sure to be contagious!
We look forward to working alongside both of these talented young girls and helping them realize their own potential and the potential this city has to offer them in the future. Welcome to Blab Media Cristina and Natalie!
Blab Media Turns One!
It’s hard to think back one year ago to the day we first launched our website and started this whole adventure. In the past 365 days our lives have completely changed for the better. We have met so many new people and become so much more involved in the community. We have worked alongside some amazing businesses and we’ve gone from working in our own homes to working out of an office downtown. Being tenants at The House has been a great experience so far. It’s the perfect atmosphere for our business and it’s refreshing to be around other entrepreneurs with the same passion and ambitions. We now officially have a door sign and our outdoor signage is on its way so needless to say we’ve settled right in!
We have some great clients and we’re even taking on interns this spring from St. Clair College! It’s crazy to think how far we’ve come in so little time and we have so many businesses and people to thank for helping us get to where we are today. So far it’s been a journey but we’re so excited for the future of Blab Media! Heres to the next year and many more successes to celebrate in the future!
Blab Client Touch Village Releases Dragons Rage App!
Our client, Touch Village, is a local company that develops and publishes mobile applications. We’re really excited to announce that they have just released a new app called Dragon’s Rage; an action arcade style game! We’ve been playing it for over a week now and it’s seriously difficult to put down! You’re the dragon and you have to fight off swarms of medieval enemies as they come at you from all sides. You tilt your device to spin around and hit as many as you can with a wall of fire. There are bonuses you can tap on the screen and at one point you can even shoot laser beams! The graphics are really great and the game play is definitely addictive!
To download the app for iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch on iTunes, click here.
Blab! Media Hosts Windsor-Essex Social Media Week
September 19th to 23rd is national social media week and this year there will be plenty to do in Windsor-Essex for businesses and social media addicts alike. At Blab! Media we really wanted to get the community involved and provide a variety of fun events. We’ll be hosting a social media themed networking event, educational workshops, and a casual community discussion to help spread the word in Windsor-Essex that social media is here to stay! For us, this week is about creating awareness and bringing the community together so clear your schedule and get ready to embrace social media! All events are free to attend and anyone is welcome. Come out and celebrate, meet new people, share your passion, learn something new and just have fun!
WED SEPTEMBER 21ST
Every month WEtech Alliance hosts a special networking event called Startup Drinks Windsor. The event brings out a mix of local entrepreneurs, business professionals and students who are all looking to meet new people. For social media week we’ll be co-hosting the event and injecting some serious social fun! Come out to Mick’s Irish Pub from 6pm-8pm to play games, eat food, network, and enter for your chance to win some awesome prizes! Bring your smartphone for your chance to win a free social media makeover (up to an $800 value)! Space is limited so click here to register.
THURS SEPTEMBER 22ND & FRI SEPTEMBER 23RD
We really wanted to focus on educating the community so we’re offering free, hands-on workshops for Twitter and Linkedin. The workshops will be taking place on Thursday September 22nd and Friday September 23rd. Reserve your seat to get a better idea of how these platforms work and how to use them to your benefit. To register, please e-mail us at hello@getyourblabon.com. Participants must have basic computer skills and have a Twitter and/or Linkedin account created in advance.
FRI SEPTEMBER 23RD
To end the perfect week, join Blab! Media at Snooty Rooster downtown to participate in a social media community discussion. Bring your smartphone and your appetite as delicious food, snacks and drinks will be available for purchase. What do you want to see Windsor-Essex businesses getting more involved in? What do you think would make Windsor more social? We want to hear from you! To register click here.
Windsor-Essex, what else do you want to see take place for social media week?
Be sure to follow us on Twitter and like our page on Facebook for more updates and news!
Blab Media Invites Windsor To Celebrate Social Media Week
In the past few months social media has grown leaps and bounds in Windsor-Essex. On the week of September 19th, Blab Media is planning a variety of events to get the city involved in a social media week celebration. For the social media duo, Katie Stokes and Jessica Apolloni, this week is a chance for Windsor-Essex to explore the world of social media and focus on what a positive impact it has on our city.
“This week is about generating some excitement, sharing our knowledge and just having fun!” says Apolloni. The activities begin with a Social Media Startup Drinks event, which will take place at Mick’s Irish Pub from 6pm-8pm on Wednesday September 21st. There will be social media games, prizes, discussions and networking. Blab Media will even be giving away a free social media makeover to one lucky winner (valued at $800)!
The following day Blab Media will be offering two free workshops to the general public: Twitter; Making Sense of Micro-blogging and Linkedin; Networking For Professionals. These workshops will take place at the New Canadian Center of Excellence at 660 Ouellette Ave (Next to The Bull & Barrel Urban Saloon). Seats are limited so anyone that is interested must pre-register. It is required that all participants have basic computer skills and have created a Twitter and/or Linkedin account prior to attending.
On the evening of Friday September 23rd feel free to join Blab Media and other members of the community for an open discussion about social media in Windsor-Essex. Share your thoughts on the city’s progress, make suggestions and voice your opinions downtown at The Snooty Rooster on Ouellette.
“We wanted to offer a variety of events that would appeal to everyone,” says Stokes “Whether you’re looking to make new connections, learn how to use social media platforms or just share your thoughts on Windsor’s social media scene, there’s something for everyone and we’re encouraging people to get involved.”
For more information on the Windsor-Essex Social Media Day celebrations and to register for workshops please visit www.getyourblabon.com
Using Social Media Tools In Emergency Situations
This weekend Hurricane Irene managed to cause some serious damage along the east coast. After having it’s own Twitter account and seeing millions of American’s updating on social networks about the storm’s damage, it got us thinking about how social media has changed the way the world reacts to emergency situations. When there’s a storm in our home town, Windsor Ontario, discussions begin on Twitter, residents update each other on conditions and damage, and the community comes together online. We’ve found an infographic that illustrates how American’s use social media tools in emergencies.
Do you fall into any of these categories?
Blab! Brings Social Media To Downtown Windsor
For a month now we’ve been planning out the details, putting together Ikea furniture, organizing our belongings and counting down the days until we officially became a tenant at The House. After much anticipation, the day has finally arrived! Today is our first day in the new office and even though the last month has been a whirlwind, all our hard work has finally come together. We’re excited to bring social media to downtown Windsor and we’re hoping to contribute to the revitalization of the area!
The House itself has a lot of character and charm so it wasn’t difficult for us to settle in. With a little paint and some new furniture and accessories, we were able to transform the space into a new home well suited to our eclectic and colourful personalities. Take a look at the before, during and after photos to get a better idea of our transformation and let us know what you think! If you’re interested in discussing social media or you just want to say hi, feel free to stop by.
