Seminar success!

Whew! Our Social Media Success Seminar was a success! Thanks to our great presenters and active and alert participants, everyone had a great time and learned a lot! Check out more photos on our Facebook page.

Unfortunately, Douglas Ames fell ill the day before our seminar and couldn't be with us. But he's doing his session via webinar next week; the session is FREE to all those who were there. But anyone else who would like to take in Douglas' presentation on The Dos and Don'ts of Managing Online PR Crises can, for just TT$150. Just email us at thekimonocompany@gmail.com to register and for payment details.

For those who weren't able to make it :( we will have DVDs available, which include full versions of the presentations done on the day itself and Douglas' webinar. We'll be launching them at a Business Networking Event held by ELE Training & Consultancy Services Limited on September 24 at the Marriott Hotel in Invaders Bay for the low introductory price of $100.

Almost forgot! During seminar facilitator Desiree Seebaran's welcome remarks, she made reference to two of her favourite bloggers: Heather B. Armstrong and Penelope Trunk. Check them out!

Karel McIntosh

The last speaker on our list may be young, but she's more than qualified in marketing and social media. Check out her slamming bio below:

Marketer, communications coach, writer, editor, and social media lover – Karel Mc Intosh – is known for her flair for the creative, her ability to vision exactly what her clients need, and her detail-oriented, strategic approach.

With approximately ten years’ experience (in-house and consultancy), she has worked with companies and organisations in diverse sectors, including tourism, finance, and social development. Prior to becoming an independent consultant, in 2009, she held the post of Manager, Marketing and Public Relations at the Trinidad & Tobago Mortgage Finance Company Limited.

Karel is also the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Outlish Magazine – www.outlish.com – a weekly, online, lifestyle magazine that features innovative, entrepreneurial Trinis, and fresh, feisty perspectives on life in Trinidad and Tobago. Outlish was a finalist for “Magazine Launch of the Year” in the 2010 Global Digital Magazine Awards, which highlights titles that are innovators in online and digital publishing in their respective markets.

She also provides exciting training programmes in communications-related areas. Additionally, she has served as an Adjunct Lecturer at the College of Science, Technology & Applied Arts of Trinidad & Tobago (COSTAATT), where she taught the courses Presentation Skills, Written Communication and Advanced Public Relations Planning. Karel has been a lead facilitator for seminars hosted by the International Association of Business Communicators (Trinidad and Tobago) and the Public Relations Association of Trinidad and Tobago.

Karel holds an MSc in Corporate Communications (Distinction) from Thames Valley University (UK), and a BSc in Government with a minor in International Relations (Upper Second Class Honours) from The University of the West Indies (Trinidad).

She is a Member of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), and serves on its International Advisory Board for its flagship magazine, Communications World.

Douglas and Caroline

So we've been super busy over here, as you can imagine, prepping for the seminar. But we haven't forgotten you. We really dig Caroline Taylor, because she's a multi-disciplined person. Not only is she an Editor & Marketing Associate at Media & Editorial Projects (MEP), she also sings, acts and holds a masters degree in Drama! Her official bio is below.

We went a bit of a different route with Douglas. We will post his 'official' bio soon, but in lieu of that, we've posted a video that should give you some insight into his personality and what he thinks about social media. Enjoy!

Douglas Ames from Toucan on Vimeo.

"Caroline works in media and the performing arts. Her interest in online marketing and social media began in the late 90s, building low-cost websites for public awareness campaigns. After completing her undergraduate degree at Williams College, she began working in marketing and in the non-profit arts industry in both New York and Trinidad, where limited budgets made the utilisation of viral and guerrilla marketing essential. A hobby became a career path. Since then, her primary interest has been online marketing – including social media, online advertising, website development and SEO.

She is a writer and editor at Media & Editorial Projects Ltd (MEP), and also manages the company’s social media portals and websites (including Discover Trinidad & Tobago and Caribbean Beat, all under redevelopment). She also manages the website and social media presence for the Marionettes Chorale, and consults on website and social media strategies for various small businesses and nonprofits.

Outside the print and online media, Caroline works in the arts as an actor, singer, writer and director, on projects that span classical texts and operas to local musicals, comedies and her inter-disciplinary one-woman show, Pack Light. Recent work includes The Prime Minister’s Speech, Girls on the Side and both co-directing and appearing in Bizet’s Carmen. Winner of a Commonwealth Scholarship; Hutchinson Fellowship for Theatre; and Trinidad & Tobago National Scholarship for Languages, Caroline has a Master of Arts degree in Drama from the University of London (Goldsmiths)."

Kayode James

Educators in any field are usually on the cutting edge of any new technology in their field. And media lecturer and Government-employed communications officer Kayode James has not only thrown himself head first into the world of social media, he continually emphasises the importance of the internet as an education and public relations tool to his students and peers. Here's a great blog post to his students at SBCS that illuminates why modern media professionals need to be well connected online to get good news. An experienced journalist, technology enthusiast and digital native, he holds an MA in Communications, Media and Public Relations (Dist) from the University of Leicester.

Introducing ...

... the first of our Social Media Success speakers, Simone Sant-Ghuran. :)


Simone is the Founder and Managing Director of www.trinidadweddings.com, a wedding website which was established in mid-2004 to provide free resources, advice and information to engaged couples and marketing support to wedding vendors. She was the first female internet entrepreneur in Trinidad and Tobago; and the website was the first of its kind in the country. She is currently the Editor-in-Chief of the Trinidad Weddings’ Wed-Zine, an annual wedding magazine, published by her company.

Her articles have also been published in national and Caribbean magazines as well as on other websites around the world. She is a regular columnist for the national newspaper, the Trinidad Guardian, where she has been writing her bridal column, “Wedding Tips” since 2006.

Simone holds a Post-Graduate Diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), United Kingdom and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Sociology and Business Management from the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad campus. Before starting her own business, Simone’s corporate experience spanned seven years in the fields of human resources, marketing and event co-ordination

Simone was also an active member of the Association of Female Executives of Trinidad and Tobago (AFETT), serving on the Board as Secretary of the organisation in 2005. In 2005 as well, Simone was a finalist in the Business category for the national Young Woman of the Year Award.

We've gone live!

... with our new event, a Social Media Success seminar scheduled for Saturday August 20. If you've ever been confused by how to use social media for your small/medium sized business, NGO or as an individual who wants to build a stronger, larger network, this seminar is for you. We have a strong list of speakers who will share their experiences, tips and tricks with you. Then at our working lunch, you'll get to practise some of what they've preached in some group exercises.

Check out our events page on Facebook and stay tuned to this blog. You'll be hearing more about our speakers and getting some FREE tips from them on social media!

A snapshot

Sometimes a good profile or profile photo is literally a snapshot of life: the briefer, the better. I like this piece because it says a lot about the infamous Anthony Bourdain in very few words ... His own words, carefully crafted and arranged. The photo is also great because it does the same thing the story does, without frills or a studio or makeup. This is the type of journalism I dig.