A Day In The Life Of A Social Media Speaker

As a social media professional speaker, the reality is that on trips, you don’t get to see much. You see the airport, the highway, the hotel and the place where the event is being held. But on rare occasions, you get to taste the flavor of the place. This is a glimpse of my trip to Toronto.

I arrived at the airport and was picked up by one of Toronto’s Finest: Constable Scott Mills. Scott is a real credit to the Toronto Police Service. Scott took me around so I could understand what many people never get to see on the Toronto tour. We did the corner of Jane and Finch as well as the corner of Jane and Dundas. These corners are famous for sons being killed in drive by shootings.

The above picture is Lambton Park bus stop. One young son was gunned down in a random drive by gang shooting. What got me when we put this into Foursquare, is that the area looks nice. How could crime happen here? Scott told me the story of what happened at this location. This caused my emotions to be moved.

The above picture is Shane William’s Dad. Shane was shot is a drive by shooting. Shane was a good kid; in the wrong place at the wrong time. As Shane’s Dad shared the story of what happened, I was moved to tears. I thought of my kids and imagined how it would be if I lost one. It was a moving Press Release as victims of crime asked the community to help.

Scott and I also toured a school where I had a chance to go into three classrooms with the school Principal. I asked them several questions and the answers I got gripped my heart. I asked them how many were bullied on Facebook. About 30% of them raised their hands. I also asked them what they wanted the Police to do for them. One young kid simply asked them to help them be safer on Facebook.

What’s sad is that the safest place for these kids is at school, and only there. As they walk home they can be gunned down because they live in an area with many gangs. And talk about home life, let’s not go there.

One bright light for me at the school is when a kid stuck his head out from a door when he heard Scott’s voice. Scott was their safe person and they knew he was genuinely concerned about them. Scott is a great police officer making a difference in the community.

As the day went past 1:00 PM, we left the Press Conference and headed to see the great people of the Child Abuse Monument.

That’s Scott in front of the Monument. We had lunch with the people of that organization along with Rob Cairns. Rob and I shared more social media advice with them to help them in their social media efforts. It was good to meet people face to face for the first time. Seeing Rob Cairns for the first time was awesome.

Most speakers never get to see these type of things or connect so deeply with the people of the city. And thanks to Scott Mills, I am very grateful. I now have a greater appreciation for Toronto and the people living there. How did this all happen? It happened because social media opened the door. How else could you end up in front of Toronto Rap Artist Vital?

And the next day speak on the same workshop as Deputy Police Chief Peter Sloly of the Toronto Police Service, Wendy Cukier, Ward Claphan and many other great speakers. Social media has its rewards. You get to meet so many fine people. This is why I am so passionate about social media. It’s the people.

So I hope you enjoyed a few snap shots of a day in the life of a social media speaker.