I  wish to point out the session that my husband Jerome Paradis gave to PodCamp Toronto. Jerome talked about his vision of the future of ecommerce. He has an innovative concept of what is next for ecommerce. Jonathan Kennedy wrote a recap on the blog of NVI.

Jerome Paradis named his concept Semantic Commerce. It offers advantages for both the consumers and good merchants. Consumers will regain control of their data. It will simplify the way we purchase online.

Jerome founded with Tara Hunt and Cassandra Girard a startup called Shwowp that will put the wow into shopping. They are not ready yet to reveal what Shwowp will do.

+ PodCamp Toronto: Jérome Paradis on Ecommerce 3.0

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I thought about writing a recap of my session but after reading the coverage on the blog of NVI, I will simply invite you to go read theirs. Thanks Wes Walls, you captured the main message and highlighted the key points I made during my presentation.

I worked hard over the last months at exploring how I could expand my brand. I decided to add a community site to my At Home in order to grow my traffic. I see the limitations of the blog and wish to provide more useful tools for my readers. Every blogger faces a more vivid competition not only from other bloggers but mostly from social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. For all of us, it is getting harder to grow our traffic.

I showed best practices and must-have features from a series of niche community sites. I think that you should look at the heart of what you do, your strength, and the culture of your brand to determine what features and tools to implement.

If this interested you can download the slides.

+ PodCamp Toronto: Kim Vallee Talks Community

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You can start planning your agenda for PodCamp Toronto now that the schedule is out. The 2010 edition is huge. They have over 1,000 persons who registered to attend. In the tradition of the unconference, the presenters selected their time spot. I will be presenting this Saturday, February 20th, 2010.

+ First, at 11:15 a.m. at room RCC 361: At Work with Kim Vallee: The Why, What and How of Community Building

+ Then, at 2 p.m. at room RCC 204, I sit on the panel with the well-known Erica Ehm of Yummy Mummy Club where we will discuss The Business of Online Communities for Women. The panel will be moderated by Eden Spodek of Bargainista.

I will continue the self-promotion by inviting you to attend at 10:30 a.m. at room RCC 359, a session presented by my husband, Jerome Paradis. Jerome will share his vision of Semantic Commerce: Understanding what’s in store for the future of e-commerce.

+ PodCamp Toronto 2010 Schedule

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I hope you plan to come to PodCamp Toronto 2010. I already told you about my individual session. To pursuit further the discussion on niche communities, I will sit on a panel with the popular Erica Ehm of Yummy Mummy Club.  We will exchange on the business of online communities for women. A savvy girl on social media will moderate the talk. It is Eden Spodek who is the editor of Barganista.ca and the Digital Strategist at High Road Communications.

I hope to see you there. Discover the other sessions at PodCamp Toronto 2010. And do not forget to register if you wish to attend this free unconference.

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A quick note to tell you that I will be giving a session at the next PodCamp Toronto that will happen on the weekend of February 20 and 21st, 2010.

I started working on adding a community site to the KimVallee.com brand. I analyzed many angles to make sure I get the right ingredients. My session will explore what you need to consider before building your own community site. I will tell you why, what, and how I will expand my blog with my upcoming community site.  I will deliver food for thought, practical tips and a toolkit. I would be honored if you put it on the agenda. The exact time and date will be revealed later.

+ Register to attend PodCamp Toronto 2010

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I will be a speaker at PodCamp Montreal that will happen this weekend. In fact, I will be in two sessions.

Top Tips for Better Blogging

First, I will share my Top Tips for Better Blogging at 10 am Saturday, September 19th in room DE-3230. The blog universe has evolved and we have to adapt to the new reality. Based on my experience running At Home with Kim Vallee, my talk will focus on what it takes to create great content. I will tell you what works today to grow your traffic and free ways to monitor the social conversations.

I designed this session for all levels of bloggers. I made it so that recent bloggers can learn and seasoned bloggers can brush up their knowledge. I guarantee that you will learn a few new tricks or that attending will put things in perspective to address to current trends and challenges of the blogosphere.

If you cannot make it, my presentation will be live streamed. See you at 10 am this Saturday.

Top Bloggeur Panel

Right after lunch Saturday, I will be a panelist with the talented Éric Bolduc, Gabrielle Chalifoux and Cindy Laverdière. The talk will be in the language of Moliere (French). Michelle Sullivan will be the host of our Montreal-based design panel.

I am thrilled that lifestyle, fashion and art bloggers are represented at PodCamp Montreal. I said many times that design bloggers should mingle more often with geeks. We will exchange on our approach to blogging, the importance of networking, our strategy to build trust and awareness, plus our views on monetarizing our blog.

Panel ‘Top blogueur’ will start at 13:30 in room DE-3240 Saturday, September 19th. If you live out of town or are unable to go, our panel presentation will be live streamed.

It costs nothing to attend PodCamp Montreal.  You simply need to register online first. Check out the schedule to discover the other awesome presenters; it’s should be great! If you wish to tweet about PodCamp Montreal, the official hashtag is #pcmtl.

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Roberto Rocca wrote for the Gazette that the tech-savvy crowd now exchanges Twitter accounts instead of paper cards. Roberto is wondering if Twitter is becoming the new business card. This was certainly the case at PodCamp Toronto last February when many wrote their Twitter account name with the @ sign on their name tag.

I always ask people that I meet for the first time if they are on Twitter. As a Twitter devotee, I try to convert as many people as possible on being active on Twitter. If you are new to Twitter, familiarize yourself with the basic Twitter commands. I wrote this post to help you understand the culture behind Twitter.

Broadcasting to the World

You protect your privacy in Twitter by knowing that what you say can be seen and read by anyone in the World. Your tweets will end up on Google. I will go as far as saying that if you cannot overcome the urge of protecting your tweets, Twitter is not necessary for you. Look at Twitter as your public forum. Therefore, you do not post family photos and other personal life items on Twitter. You leave that for Facebook.

Chose Who To Follow

You do not select who decide to follow you and there is no obligation to follow back. A stranger can like what you are saying but you may not be interested by what they are saying. It is OK. I select my followers based on the goal of my brand and my interests.

Update: Having said that, I follow back lots of people. I follow everyone manually. It may happen that I forgot someone interesting once in a while. But I do not want to automatize the process. I do so because  I wish to have a true conversation with the people I follow.

What To Say in Your Tweets

I believe that your tweets should mix 5 things. It holds true for anyone, even if the Twitter account is a business. Twitter is a place where you can:

1. get informed about what is a happening very fast. It is great to receive local and international news. By  following the right crowd, you will get news about your industry or your hobbies
2. listen; learn what people care about, what are their opinions.
3. share your and other ideas, facts and knowledge. Share things that adds value. Always make sure to give the credits to the source. Retweet a tweet; don’t simply copy
4. engage in small talks. TV shows, music, sports and food often get good responses.
5. promote events, a cause, yourself, your blog and even your products. Plus participate in #followfriday and other online Twitter activities

BONUS items:

• access the knowledge of the crowd: you can ask for help or ask a question on Twitter
• plan meet ups or other informal get-together meeting with your friends or the Tweeple in your area.

It is important that you create a balance on your tweets. At the end of the day, the secret is to have interesting stories, add value with your insights and participate in other conversations.

+ Follow me on Twitter
+ Add me as a Facebook friend

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Podcamp Toronto is a FREE unconference for those interested in all things regarding podcasting, blogging and new media. Amateurs, pros, newbies and veterans are all welcome! The unconference is happening February 21 and 22, 2009.

I will also present a session. This is a follow-up to the PodCamp session I gave last autumn in Montreal. A lot has happened since then. We will have a chat on the current state of the women and mom blogging and marketing universe. Here is my session brief:

Updated Look at Women and Social Media by Kim Vallee — A look at the latest metrics and what is happening in the world of women and mom marketing and blogging. See how blogging and social media enhance the life and the daily activities of modern women. I will share great initiatives but I also want to hear about yours.

The session schedule is not done yet. I will keep you posted. There are plenty of topics covered by amazing podcasters and bloggers. It is a great networking and learning experience. Register online to assist at PodCamp Toronto 2009.

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