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I recently had the pleasure of speaking at one of the hottest digital media events held in 8 cities around the world - Social Media Week - about some of my favourite topics - media, broadcasting and the Internet. Marie (my partner-in-crime on NatandMarie.com) and I lead a conversation called “Engaging Entertainment.” Needless to say, this was a pretty exciting milestone (and experience) for our team. I love getting to chat to people about online video and how it’s evolving. But adding livestreaming and true engagingement into the mix was truly inspiring. Here’s the description of the talk:

“What if you took any camera that could stream, free services, inexpensive tools a supportive circle of friends and hedged a major bet on a motley crew of statistics sourced from several online sources? You’d see a batch of new talent and new growth emerge that blur the lines between radio, television and social media engagement. Live streaming entertainment is on the 2011 docket for the team behind NatandMarie.com. From the technical to the marketing, from the production to the delivery, the show’s team will share some behind-the-scenes tips and overcoming challenges on creating engaged entertainment for the 21st century.”

You can watch the LiveStream of the talk here (it doesn’t ACTUALLY start until around 20 minutes into the recording).

Not sure if you’re following me on Twitter or Facebook, but if you are, you’re probably aware by now that my partner-in-crime, Marie, and I have launched a live streaming talk show that explores all the best there is to experience in online and pop culture. We geek out over the latest viral videos, YouTube WTF discoveries (like this video about Japan’s virtual diva, Hatsune Miku, who is now a 3D hologram performing for thousands in a live concert??), Twitter trending topics, fascinating online personalities, buzz-worthy news and mixing a cocktail-of-the week (usually of our own creation), all while engaging with our viewers live on Ustream, Twitter and Facebook.

Oh, and we have a very cool growing team so far including Matt Read doing all our hyping and moderating online, as well as Roberto Sarjoo who is our resident DJ-extraordinaire spinning the latest singles every week exclusively for our crowd. And I can’t forget the amazingly unique (mind-bogglingly unique…have you seen their Harth Night? Or heard their self-produced tunes?) BNotions boyz who are letting us crash their pimpin’ office for our studio set.

Considering all the online video experience I’ve had, live streaming is an area I’ve been curious to explore. And the R&D with Marie has been fruitful and giddy-worthy, indeed.

Be sure to follow us on Facebook!

Check out for more shinanigans on our YouTube

And track us on Twitter with #NatandMarie when we’re airing every Wednesday, around 8 p.m. ET on NatandMarie.com

You know that weekly wine show I produce with Frogwater Media called Naked Wine Show? Well, it has evolved and has been picked up by FoodNetwork.ca! It went through a wee bit of a re-brand as “Grape Notes” (which I suppose is a little more network friendly) but features our awesome host, Susan Sterling, doing her thang daily. And instead of just reviews we’re also doing wine How To’s, Memory Notes (ie. how to determine notes in wine like apple, coffee, dirt etc) and Top 5 lists!

Here’s some coverage you can read more about it from TechVibes, MediaCaster and Food Network itself!

Check out a new wine-y episode every day on FoodNetwork.ca.

And make sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook!

I have had the wonderful fortune of getting to blog for the CBC. I guess all this cross-platform reporting I do is paying off if it’s getting me sweet gigs like this:)I was one of eight people who were hired on CBC’s Street Team to report on the ins and outs of the Toronto International Film Festival 2010. Our only mission was to bring to light the stories of TIFF outside of generic movie reviews and celeb interviews and we could do this through writing, video and tweeting. Fun challenge.

Some of the angles I covered were more along the business side of TIFF, like gifting suites and what TIFF offers for emerging filmmakers. I even pulled out my handy ol’ FlipCam (my fave!) and hit the streets asking people about their fave celeb sighting stories.

I’m glad networks are moving in the direction of cross-platform reporting. It’s so dynamic and ends up offering audiences a feast for the senses:)

Considering I’m a nerd for doing interviews, I rarely am faced with the opportunity to be the interviewee. However, The Questionnaire recently reached out to do a Q&A with me, and I’m pretty pumped with the results. They profile notables within arts and entertainment, so I’m honored to be featured among the likes of Veronica Belmont, Amanda Congdon and The Guild’s Sandip Parikh.

While reading through the questions, it really reminded me of those Proust Questionnaires featured on the last page of every issue of Vanity Fair. They’re painfully fascinating and for such a concise limit of words offer an explosion of insight about an individual.

Here’s a snippet:

What turns you on creatively?
Strangely enough, showers are where I get the most of my ideas. I guess there’s some sort of clarity when you’re “washing away” everything else under a hot jet of water.

What is your favorite sound?
The ocean. Or a huge, booming belly laugh from the people I adore.

Pretty cool, right? Check out the rest of the interview here!

If you’re a Journalist or in Journalism school I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve already seen this.

But if you’re a complete n00b when it comes to news, this video gives a frighteningly accurate breakdown of how to structure a news piece for television.

Seriously, my professors could’ve simply shown us this video and then thrown us out into the world to get our hands on experience immediately after.

I’ve never seen this Charlie Brooker character before, but BBC likes him, and he’s British, which to me is synonymous with HILARIOUS.

Every year the CBC holds an annual televised event called “Test the Nation” where Canadians (in-studio and in their homes) participate in a LIVE two-hour interactive IQ test.

There are half a dozen in-studio teams, and this year I was called upon to join arms with the NERDS heh heh. Quite frankly, it was a team of Nerds AND Geeks, but the difference between the two (whether there really IS one) will be left for another blog post.

There were a total of 180 participants divided into six teams, including Twins, Politicians, Believers, Atheists and Contact Sports Athletes. It was a “star-studded” event with the likes of Justin Trudeau, Marc Garneau, Little Mosque on the Prarie’s Brandon Firla and Dragons’ Den’s Brett Wilson. And the TV special exceeded a million viewers across the nation. Pretty rad.

Naturally Team Nerds won. Could it be any other way?:)

Here are some pics of our hijinx:

Check out the episode and cheer along with the Nerds in all their glory:)

The past few days have been rather interesting, as I’ve been adjusting to life back in bustling and teeth-chatteringly cold Toronto.

Why, you may ask?

Because I just came back from my dream trip to India! (No, I’m not gloating. I’m just grateful for being able to say that:) I just spent 3 1/2 weeks wandering through central, north eastern and southern India and my GOD, all the reading and interviewing and research in the world couldn’t have prepared me for the raw and unapologetically chaotic world that is India.

People have often asked me why I decided to go to this land of spices, mythology and aggressive development. My answer is simple: I’ve always been drawn to it. Ever since I was about 12, I used to sit in my parents’ living room every Sunday morning and watch Bollywood movies on TV. I usually didn’t understand a word of it, but something about the stories and the way they were presented always drew me in. As I grew older, more and more things about the culture and society intrigued me: the spirituality; the vibrant clothing and jewelry; the mouth-watering cuisine; the traditional values and how it clashes with the rapid westernization of their youth today; the music and movies; the dichotomy of rich and poor; the sheer factor that once you’re there you can’t believe that all the little pieces that make up that society somehow manage to grate against each other and function. It’s like a beautiful engima.

So you see, I could never avoid going. And thus begins my love affair with India. Because once you’ve had a taste of her, I sense you’ll always be drawn back for more.

My partner in crime in my day-to-day life, Matt, joined me on this spicy adventure. And I gotta say, when you stick a journalist and a filmmaker together, you get some pretty informative AND entertaining video diaries:)

Our journey starts in Mumbai then goes up to the mountains of Darjeeling, down to Buddha’s home of enlightenment, Bodhgaya, then over to the holiest point of existence for Hindu’s, Varanasi. It then treks over to Agra, home of the Red Fort and Taj Mahal, then to the palaces of Jaipur and a hop, skip and jump down to the southern state of Kerala, infamous for its backwater boat rides and ayurvedic treatments. The final destination? Notorious Goa, known for its white-sand beaches (spotted with cows, of course!) and echoes of the trance party scenes of the 90s and long-haired hippies before then.

First Oprah announced the implausible. The impossible. She’s going off the air. I always knew I would see it happen someday, but I never expected it would happen so soon.

So then, I naturally thought “who’s going to take OVER for talk shows?” I love The View, but clearly not quite the same with the ensemble of women (and let’s be honest, as brilliant of a career as Barbara Walters has had, she’s pretty much the weakest link on that show in terms of entertainment value. She’s BORING to watch.)

There’s the Ellen DeGeneres Show, but as knee-slappingly, can’t-breathe-because-I’m-laughing-so-hard funny as she is, she doesn’t offer the same kind of serious and in-depth journalism Oprah occasionally offered her viewers on her show. Nor does she unveil some of the most provocative and poignant books I’ve read in the last decade. Or offer a slew of incredibly useful info through carefully selected experts. I love Ellen, but let’s be honest - her show’s fluff.

Rachel Ray isn’t even on my radar because, as sweet as she is, I can’t STAND her voice. Not the accent, the tone of it. I find it grating.

Then there’s Tyra Banks with The Tyra Show who clearly strives to be just like Oprah, except interviews people like Tila Tequila and has already proven to the world, quite gleefully might I add, that she’s gone bonkers. I thought “Well I can’t stand her talk show, but she’ll probably try to fill Oprah’s shoes, right?” And then, about a month later SHE decides she’s retiring from talk shows to produce movies.

Not sure where the talk show landscape is going. Being in the industry, I know that talk shows are a wonderfully strippable format (meaning a solid format you can easily “fill in the blanks” with as a daily show) that networks are seeking out. But WHAT kind of talk show is going to resonate with viewers these days?

Similar to the way the Internet has become the domain for niches to flourish and find their audiences, talk shows seem to be moving in that direction. Sort of.

Look at the recent launch of The Dr.Oz show and his focus on health. Or Dr. Phil with his focus on relationships and metal health (please note I can’t stand this man either). Rachel Ray has her cooking niche deeply integrated into her talk show. And even Maury Povich serves to entertain the former Jerry Springer audience (that’s a niche too!).

Should the next talk shows that pop up be more general, topical and offer that journalistic angle Oprah did so well, along with her hefty dollop of compassion?

Perhaps the biggest question is, is there even a need for that kind of talk show anymore?

I was recently called by a gal pal with whom it was inevitable I would become friends with, Amber Mac, to guest star on her new-ish (well, re-booted) show Webnation on CP24.

Obviously I was ecstatic to join her and got to come on to do a review of an app that has recently become very popular on the iPhone due to T-Pain’s shenanigans online -  Auto-Tune.

Although I thoroughly embarrassed myself trying to sing the Canadian anthem into it (though my most intimate friends assure me I was bubbly and adorable AS WELL as informative) I also got to review two of my personal faves on my iPhone, Shazam and Recorder.

I still need to get the video to embed to my site, but for now here are some pics and the URL where you can watch me in action: