This past summer, I made it an effort to travel and enjoy life. A lot of times…we just work, work and work. I’m no different myself, having worked an average of 64 hours a week for the past year and a half. I wanted to recap and share some of my travels this past summer, which I haven’t done in a while. Let’s take a look.
Monday Night RAW
July 16 – WWE Monday Night RAW in Buffalo, New York
For those who know me, I am a long time wrestling fan. I don’t get out that much to watch the product in person, instead I follow online and catch up with the recaps through news boards. An old friend of mine from my early dairy industry days, invited me for a one day mini road trip to Buffalo, New York. I agreed and told Eddie that we were due for a reunion,so we caught a Monday Night RAW show.
So I went on Stub Hub, bought some tickets for us (he has no idea I paid above market value for them lol) and got us ninth row ringside. I figured if we were going to travel for an hour and a half across the border, we better have some decent seats!
Overall it was fun night, watching the current roster of wrestling superstars do their thing on RAW. We both agreed that Buffalo was our least favourite town for multiple reasons. But at the end of the day it was about reconnecting, sharing some old stories and catching up on life.
Probably the biggest disappointment for me was the WiFi inside the arena, it was terrible! It kept kicking you out after you logged in. How am I supposed to share social media content with my audience? I’m not using my own data in this town! Lol. Check out some pictures and videos below.
Outside the arena, standing next to production trucks waiting for the show to startWith my good friend Eddie, 21 years of friendship and counting
Trying to find our way into backstage catering lol
Seth Rollins has one of the most energetic ring entrances in pro wrestling today
Social media is a powerful tool. We know that it can help raise awareness, promote an idea and highlight a moment. But while everyone is watching, reading and listening…it can back fire on you with disastrous results. Let’s take a look at three celebrities who took to their social accounts and rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.
Roseanne Barr
Don’t blame it on the drugs, blame it on your fingers
Comedian actress Roseanne Barr enjoyed great press as her TV sitcom Roseanne returned to the small screen earlier this year with rave reviews and strong television ratings. The current trend of reviving old programming in the modern era worked for the 65-year old. However, what got her in trouble was her racist comments made on Twitter about Valerie Jarrett, the senior advisor to former U.S. President Barack Obama.
Her May 29th dismissal by broadcaster ABC also resulted in the termination of the Roseanne show. When you have a network that is backed by Disney and an employee with no filter like Roseanne Barr, it is a recipe for disaster. Roseanne tried to back pedal and say she was tweeting, while medicated, but the damage was done. Her TV show was cancelled, her cast mates were angry and temporarily jobless, while being vilified by the press.
Bryan Colangelo
Burner accounts are for everyone…including executives?
Former NBA executive Bryan Colangelo can be described as a genius who knows basketball operations and also a slimy, two faced, dishonest man all in the same sentence. The former president of basketball operations for the Philadelphia 76ers can be credited for laying the seeds in scouting young talent and building them into contenders. He did that previously for the Toronto Raptors, earning 2007 executive of the year honours leading the franchise to the Atlantic division title.
But fast forward to 2018, it was reported that he was using five Twitter ghost accounts known in the digital space as burner accounts, to talk negatively about players on his own team. The accounts also shared private team information leaked for public view. His own wife was implicated in the whole ordeal, which led the team to firing him on June 7th. Moral of the story here: No one is safe on social media. You can create “x” amount of accounts all you want…but one way or another, your secret will be revealed and you will be outed like Colangelo was.
Katherine Heigl
Jokes from the dead don’t sit well with everyone
Amercian actress Katherine Heigl recently joined the cast of Suits, which films in downtown Toronto. While not shooting on the weekend, she made a 1.5 hour drive to Buffalo to visit some family. While touring through a cemetery where her own relatives were buried, she made some insensitive comedic gestures roasting the dead. Heigl tried to enlighten the mood at the grave site, but it did not sit well with her Instagram story followers.
Once the former Grey’s Anatomy star caught wind of the offensive responses, she quickly deleted the stories and issued a video apology. Sometimes we feel like we can share any piece of content on social media and not think twice about how it might affect others. In this case, the 39-year-old actress is no different and she was savvy enough to take quick action which could have turned into a disaster PR move for her career.
Social media can reward you and burn you if you let it
These three cases of public figures misusing social media are just a few examples of the backlash you can face if you don’t use any of the digital platforms wisely. It can happen to anyone, from a regular civilian to a high profiled celebrity. The larger your audience is, the larger your reach grows as well. But it can also mean that your every social media movement is traced, studied and critiqued. Always make sure to be self aware of what you post on social media. We live in an ultra sensitive climate these days and while your original intentions are not hurtful, others can interpret it in the wrong way.
Recently Tourism Toronto released their 2017 campaign to promote tourism in the city of Toronto. Needless to say, the reaction was extremely positive and receptive by many, including local Torontonians. In the 71-second clip, the viewer is introduced to many quick shots showcasing various parts of the city, focusing on popular destinations in the city as well as hidden gems. J. Walter Thompson Canada directed the visual, which features vocals performed by Toronto poet and singer Bethany Lee.
While the focus of this video is to promote Toronto tourism, it also doubles up as a civic pride exercise. For many years, Toronto has constantly been labeled as a micro town comparable to the bright lights of its counterpart in New York city. However, in recent years the city affectionately known as “The 6” has established their own identity, their own culture and uniqueness. Dubbed as “Canada’s Downtown”, a lot of locals took to social media praising the clip for demonstrating what they already knew about their city.
Diversity and Equality.
As Toronto is the most visited destination in Canada, the city does not discriminate. It has one of the largest LGBTQ communities in the world and is home to a large array of diverse and unique cultures. The town openly welcomes new visitors who are looking to find a place both in their professional and personal lives.
With that mindset comes opportunities for multiculturalism and immigration to the city. There are various pockets in Toronto that cater to different communities like Chinatown in Spadina, Little Italy on College street and Polish town in Roncesvalles to name a few. Toronto truly embraces and shows love in its vast diversity.
The world in one city.
Toronto no longer wants to blend anymore with other cities in the world. It wants people to know that they clearly have their own established identity and are not afraid to break barriers down. No longer does the city want to be known as the best kept secret, but to let the international audience know that culture wise there is a little bit of everything all in one city. Last month I made a presentation highlighting this campaign, which you can check out below.
