Chicks Who Click Blog

Erica Hargreave

Erica Hargreave is speaking at Chicks who Click Vancouver on a panel “Privacy vs. Transparency”

1) Give us background on who you are, and what you do to work and play!
Depends on the day of the week really.  I am trained professionally as a biologist and a teacher, but at the essence and root of my sole I am a storyteller. Stories are my passion. As a storyteller, I have worked with traditional mediums – television, magazines, books, stage, classrooms – and new and emerging mediums, such as social media platforms.  What I am now discovering is that in my heart of hearts, I am an Interactive Storyteller.  What does that mean?  Well to me that means that I use different mediums, both traditional and new(er), to tell the same story, giving the audience different experiences within the same stories and the ability to interact with the story if they so choose.  Loving this!  It allows me to spend my days playing in my imagination.

What keeps me entertained when I’m not working?  Writing my first novels, reading a good book, going for a walk or a paddle, puttering about in the garden (I love digging in the dirt), cuddling the cat, or making something scrumptious to eat.

2) What are some fun blogs (for work or pleasure!) you read that make you wonder where the time went?
I’m a storyteller, so blogs that involve story are ones that I have a habit of reading the most.  As such, I am a huge fan of The Adventures of Lord Likely, partially as (I’ll admit it) I like bathroom humour, and partially because I am curious to see what Andy Fanton (writer of Lord Likely) has planned next.  Does he intend to create books, a tv series…? Does he plan to monetize Lord Likely online?  If so, how?

My storytelling past began in my teens as a Parks Naturalist and as such I worked in both natural and historical interpretation.  This has given me a keen interest, personally and professionally in Parks and Museums.  As I have started telling my stories interactively with digital technology and social media platforms, I have been watching to see how Parks and Museums adopt these storytelling tools.  The Vancouver Police Museum’s blog, Off the ‘Cuff, has done a very good job of this and as a result I find myself checking out their site quite regularly.

3) Everybody knows about Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, etc. What are some other innovative applications or social media sites you think companies should utilize when engaging their audience?

Despite everybody knowing about twitter, most people don’t know how to use it properly.  They try to use it to blow their own horn, send out corporate info or tweet about things that really no one cares about, like the fact that they are eating their lunch.  I have two main focuses that I suggest when getting people or companies started on twitter:

1. Social Media is about community.  Build the community around you.
2. Social Media is about telling stories interactively.  Identify your story. Personalize it (and yes this applies to companies to). And don’t be afraid to tell your story.  Own it.

Other Social Media Sites, I like:
Flickr – Pictures are worth a thousand words, need I say more.
WordPress Blogs – You can set up a whole corporate site using WordPress these days.  It allows you to easily make changes and additions, incorporates other social media tools and sites well, and keeps your site active, making it rank higher with search engines.
FriendFeed – I like friend feed as it keeps both my facebook page and my personal blog active when I don’t have the time to give either the tlc that they deserve.

4) What sets Vancouver apart from other cities when it comes to tech and social media? What local companies are doing cool projects?
To me, what makes Vancouver Tech standout is community.  We are pretty fortunate in Vancouver where we have a close knit community that shares ideas, helps each other out, and is pretty gosh darn talented and creative.

A company doing cool projects?  I can’t name one over the others.  Part of what makes Vancouver such a standout place to work in tech and social media is that we work together.  When contracts and opportunities come in, we look to the community around us to find the best tech and social media savvy people for that project.  This is part of what makes the Vancouver Tech Scene standout. By working with one another, we are constantly challenging, teaching and learning from one another, and thus improving our knowledge base and skills.

5) Where can other Chicks find you online?
I’m probably most active online on Twtitter @EricaHargreave, but I can also be found on:

Ahimsa Media
Bridging Media
Random Thoughts of an Ecclectic Mind
Flickr
FriendFeed