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A Tweet, Oprah, and Teenage Dreams

by - Wednesday, May 08, 2013

Back in the early 1990's, I used to watch a daytime talk show called CityLine. My older sister and I always vowed that we'd go watch a live taping of the show. We wanted to be sitting in that audience on Fashion Friday and maybe be one of the lucky ones who gets a makeover. Fast forward 20+ years and CityLine is still on the air and I actually ended up appearing on the show - but I still had yet to experience what it would be like to be in the audience.

Then a few weeks ago, I saw a tweet about the chance to win tickets to Chatelaine magazine's 85th Anniversary Extraordinary Moments Show on CityLine. I'm a big fan of the editor-in-chief, Jane Francisco, and think she's done a great job in revitalizing the magazine into an appealing mix of health, food, fashion, and decor. And the fact that they were smart to bring my friend Emma on board as the new Home Editor makes me love them even more. So I tweeted back, and through the power of social media, that is how my teenage dreams came true and my sister and I ended up sitting front row at CityLine yesterday morning.


I got to quickly catch up with Tracey Moore, the fittest host on television. She is just as energetic and enthusiastic as she appears on TV. 


We witnessed the behind the scenes magic, seeing the set changes, the cameramen moving cumbersome equipment about with ease, segment after segment going off without a hitch...

 

And we listened to the experts like Claire Tansey, Tyler Franch and Samantha Pynn share how what's old is new again in food, home, and fashion. But to be an "extraordinary" show, Chatelaine had to bring along some extraordinary surprises and that they did...


Channeling Oprah, they gave each of us in the audience that "You get a prize! You get a prize! And you get a prize!" moment. They gifted us with champagne flutes and a sweet ring embedded with a tiny diamond, a leather handbag and intimate fashions, treats and more treats. And two plane tickets anywhere Porter Airlines flies. It was awesome.

But I didn't write this post to tell you about the fabulous swag. I think what struck me most is how powerful social media is. Twenty years ago, my best hope for getting a ticket to the show was calling in months ahead to book a reservation. It was a distant dream. Today, connecting is a click away. A tweet, post, pin or instagram can bind you to friends, strangers, brands, celebrities - in an instant. I think that is pretty darn cool. Heavy thoughts for a Tuesday!

Have you ever felt the power of social media in your life? 

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Chatelaine is kicking off 85 days of celebrating with more giveaways. I wasn't compensated to mention this, though I think it would great if some of you readers won some awesome prizes too.

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