Social Lights

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and https://my.captivate.fm/www.socialmediology.com.au (Social Mediology) founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Tania Cheng (She/They), Director of Process Innovation at http://www.sheeo.world (SheEO) and part of the team that creates and curates of all aspects of community at SheEO. SheEO has more than 7000 activators globally and combined online communities of over 50,000 women and non-binary people. About Tania Tania leads initiatives related to community experience design, online community engagement, feedback and evaluation, team learning and development, process mapping, and storytelling through design. Early on, Tania has been involved in intentional communities and their own personal journey of finding the places where they belong has led to find the value of community and value a sense of belonging. Tania naturally gravitates to work and people who care about the community and who care about relationships. BIG IDEA 1 “We are working to shift mindsets and paradigms” (08:32) As an organization and a community, Tania shared the impact they are trying to make; that they are showing the world different ways of doing things; different ways of funding ventures, different ways of doing business, different ways of being in community and different ways of being human. We are working to create more opportunities to have these conversations about equity inclusion, about power and privilege about decolonization around justice, all of these things that are essential to transforming systems. These mindsets that are deeply embedded in the way they co-exist as a community and how they build a community. Tania added that it's all part of this broader theory of change of transforming ourselves in order to transform systems and creating the systems that we need that will work for everyone. BIG IDEA 2 “The magic and the secret sauce of community is having the mentality and mindset of giving and generosity and trust and knowing that you can come and show up as you are” (13:11) Having a “How can I help?” mindset and knowing that you can offer your support and it will be received and you can ask for support and it will be given is one of the magic of communities. Tania says that community should be a space where you can let go of all the things such as being and looking a certain way. She said that we should strive to create a collective place where you can show up as yourself with no judgment.  We recognize that people are at different stages in their lives and have different things going on and how we can create a space that whenever you're here or whenever you participate, you're in the right place. BIG IDEA 3 “Feedback is critical to our processes. ” (37:32) Tania shared the process on how they handle feedback.  She said that their role as enablers in creating the systems and platforms and tools for the community to self-organize, is to get to action and transform systems. After every engagement event, there is always some feedback form and so they are able to immediately look at the feedback, react and respond as needed. Their theory of change at the core is their values radical generosity and abundance transformation. She says it's about how they embody the values in day-to-day practices and knowing that when they do that, they create the relationships that then leads to the transformation that we want to see in the world. At the end of the day, it's all about relationships. Social Media Links: You can find Tania Cheng at: SheEO: http://www.sheeo.world (www.sheeo.world) Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/SheEOWorld (https://facebook.com/SheEOWorld) Twitter: https://twitter.com/sheeo_world (https://twitter.com/sheeo_world) http://www.twitter.com/taniacheng (www.twitter.com/taniacheng) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sheeo_world/ (https://www.instagram.com/sheeo_world/) LinkedIn:...

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and https://my.captivate.fm/www.socialmediology.com.au (Social Mediology) founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Nicole Millard, co-founder and community manager of Australia's biggest privately owned parenting and women's blog, Stay At Home Mum. About Nicole Nicole has worked tirelessly over the last 10 years alongside her business partners, Jody and Brendan Allen, to build a huge online community for not only Stay At Home Mums, but all parents (including dads!). Their online communities have more than half a million members. As a natural progression from creating this community, Nicole created Tenacious Digital, which is a small digital marketing agency offering services such as website design and social media coaching to small businesses and start-ups. BIG IDEA 1 “The community grew because we were them, we were our audience” (07:22) Nicole shared that they started their group to share some budgeting tips and how to save money but then people started talking about their kids and family and it became a parenting website. She said that it grew into a massive community and portal of information where so many women (98% of the group) and dads as well, came to them for help. She believes that part of the appeal was that they were mums just like them, and so, the community had that affinity with them. BIG IDEA 2 “It's just more for people to put their confessions anonymously on there.” (10:45) On starting an anonymous community, Nicole talked about the long process it took for them to decide on it. She said that want to have a community on the website as well as on social media so they gave an anonymous forum a go and just see if it works. Nicole shared that they had to build a lot of security measures to get rid of the spam posts and trolls, etc. They had it set up so that they can block people even though they don't know who they are. In addition, they managed to get a bit of a culture going there and a report mechanism where the users can report spam or inappropriate posts. However, she admitted that most of the time they let things go and run their course. BIG IDEA 3 “People appreciate authenticity and honesty” (20:51) Nicole recalled when they were building the community, they just straight out ask them how they could help people with their problems. She added that in order to keep your community engaged, you need to keep asking questions and finding out what they want to know.  On handling her community, Nicole shares that she has been depending it very much on instincts compared to statistics. She says that in order for you to grow your community, it takes a lot of dedication, work and time but you have got to be on your authentic self and show your face because people want that connection. Social Media Links: You can find Nicole Millard at: Stay At Home Mum: www.stayathomemum.com.au Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StayHomeMum (https://www.facebook.com/StayHomeMum) Instagram: http://instagram.com/stayathomemum (http://instagram.com/stayathomemum) Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com.au/SAHMum/ (https://www.pinterest.com.au/SAHMum/) We'd love you to join us for future episodes of the Social Lights podcast, produced by Social Mediology. You can connect with us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SocialLightsPodcast (@SocialLightsPodcast) and find future episodes at https://my.captivate.fm/www.socialmediology.com.au/sociallights (socialmediology.com.au/sociallights). Thanks for your time and stay inspired, Kate vanderVoort

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and https://my.captivate.fm/www.socialmediology.com.au (Social Mediology) founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Paul Bradley, who is head of global community at Agorapulse.  About Paul Paul started his journey in blogging and growing social media accounts as a social media expert. He eventually started his career as a community manager at Intel and has continued to be a part of the community manager profession. BIG IDEA 1 “We want to create a hub for people who are interested in this industry to better themselves.” (19:52) Paul shared his take on community going beyond the basics. He talked about launching a community and doing enough discovery to get to know what actually motivates people. He added that it goes beyond the product or platform that you are selling because you have brought in this other element which is around education. BIG IDEA 2 “People need to use you to get through their day” (31:06) Paul described what community management is all about. He says that you can do all kinds of fun things within your community but ultimately, your goal is to solve people's problems from day to day. He added that everybody's point of view is valuable. BIG IDEA 3 “You need to know what your goal is” (35:14) Paul advised that the first thing you need to know when starting a community, is knowing what your goal is for the community. Is your community trying to create a revenue stream or is it going to provide support to your customers? He said that when starting their new learning community he started conducting interviews and the consistent answer they heard was that a lot of people want help. They want help learning how to get better, they want help learning how to up-skill providing social media services and they want help with their career. Paul's boss told him; just keep doing them until you start hearing all the same stuff over and over again. This is a great strategy for all businesses who want to start a community! Social Media Links: You can find Paul Bradley at: Agorapulse: https://www.agorapulse.com/ (https://www.agorapulse.com/) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-m-bradley/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-m-bradley/) Twitter: https://twitter.com/PaulBradleyCMGR (https://twitter.com/PaulBradleyCMGR) We'd love you to join us for future episodes of the Social Lights podcast, produced by Social Mediology. You can connect with us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SocialLightsPodcast (@SocialLightsPodcast) and find future episodes at https://my.captivate.fm/www.socialmediology.com.au/sociallights (socialmediology.com.au/sociallights). Thanks for your time and stay inspired, Kate vanderVoort

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and https://my.captivate.fm/www.socialmediology.com.au (Social Mediology) founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Lou Duggan, founder of https://www.cake2therescue.com.au/ (Cake 2 The Rescue), an award-winning DIY cake kit company which has helped more than 40,000 Australian families pour their love into a homemade cake. With a background in engineering and design, Lou has spent the last ten years building Cake 2 The Rescue into a thriving e-commerce business, with more than 250 cake kit designs, and a loyal online audience of 60,000+ cake fans. About Lou As a talented creative entrepreneur, Lou is a big believer in the power of vulnerability in business, and loves empowering other women to ditch perfectionism and embrace entrepreneurship. Originally from Scotland, Lou is mum to three gorgeous teenage girls, and lives on the Gold Coast with her hubby Craig. She confesses an addiction to human connection, homewares and her dog George.   BIG IDEA 1 “Community is the essence of everything that we are and everything that we do.” (07:25) Lou talks about how the Cake 2 The Rescue community has given her a purpose in life--something that validates and reminds her on a daily basis that she has a place to stand in the world. She teaches the women (and some men) in her community to love themselves and in the process, she learned to love herself too. She said that in a way, the community saved her and she saved them. Overall, her community is where Cake 2 The Rescue starts and finishes and everything in between is just cake. BIG IDEA 2 “They get a safe space in which to dare to be themselves in which to show up and only have to be exactly who they are.” (13:02) Lou talked about how important it is to have the community as a safe space. She said that it has a carry-on effect into everything else they do in their life. That when they come into the community, they might not bake a cake for six months, but it reminds them every day because they sit within that space of people who only raise each other up. She added that the comfort and a safe space is essential to building a community. You can't arrive at a space and immediately feel like everything's okay, but if you wander through the timeline of Cake 2 The Rescue, it'll happen pretty quickly. BIG IDEA 3 “You must be who you say you are. If your brand voice is not you, it can't be you that does it.” (47:25) Lou shared two things on starting a community. She said that first, you have to know what it is you actually stand for; because you're going to be doing it for a long time. Second, be fearless in what you believe and be fearless in your policing of what you believe. She emphasized how it is a lot easier to show up as yourself than pretend to be something you're not every single day for the rest of your life. The face of your brand is your brand.   You can find Lou Duggan at: Cake 2 The Rescue:  https://www.cake2therescue.com.au (https://www.cake2therescue.com.au) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1020725931335983 (https://www.facebook.com/groups/1020725931335983) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cake2therescue/ (https://www.instagram.com/cake2therescue/) We'd love you to join us for future episodes of the Social Lights podcast, produced by Social Mediology. You can connect with us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SocialLightsPodcast (@SocialLightsPodcast) and find future episodes at https://my.captivate.fm/www.socialmediology.com.au/sociallights (socialmediology.com.au/sociallights). Thanks for your time and stay inspired, Kate vanderVoort

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and https://my.captivate.fm/www.socialmediology.com.au (Social Mediology) founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Chris Field, CEO and founder of Mercy Project, an innovative nonprofit working to end child labor trafficking in Ghana, Africa. Outside of his role at Mercy Project, he is an award-winning author, speaker, business consultant, college lecturer, four time Guinness world record holder, viral sensation, 27-time marathoner, and ice cream lover. About Chris Chris' passion around community is centered on all of us getting more comfortable with what it is that we have to offer. He believes that when we choose to give what we have and not what we have left, the impact of that kind of gift can be so great. His greatest superpower is inspiring people to believe they can actually change the world and then showing them how to join him in doing it. He is married to his high school sweetheart, Stacey, and is father to Micah, Beckett, Lincoln, and Theodore. He is the author of "A Billion Hours of Good" and "Disrupting for Good." BIG IDEA 1 “Community is us believing that we're better together.” (12:09) Chris talked about how everyone of us have something good to give the world today. He said that we all have these little moments for us to give what we have, and just to say, “Look, it's not much but this is what I have”. And the beauty of that is when a whole bunch of people do that, collectively, it's transformational, and it creates a tidal wave of good that simply cannot be contained. He also discussed about how a community is a bunch of ordinary people choosing to receive the gifts we have with open hands, and how we are also giving the gifts back with the same open hands. He encourages us to give what we have a little bit every day, and trust that over time, the impact of that is going to be greater than we could ever imagine. BIG IDEA 2 “What we lack is courageous leaders.  I really believe there's this beautiful opportunity to find courageous leaders as the world is desperate of them. ” (17:26) Chris shared that based on his experience, if you've got a well thought out, sincere, life changing, life altering sort of idea and you're willing to sacrifice for it, people are going to line up behind you because we're all hungry to be part of something bigger than ourselves. We have this deep yearning of our lives to matter. We want to do stuff that matters. And that cuts across all socio-economic status and education level and age. He advised to do the right thing and find that things that you know and chase it like a dog chases a tennis ball, and look behind you, you'll see a bunch of people following behind you. He added that people are so gracious, especially when you're vulnerable, transparent, and honest about what you're learning and how you're growing and how you're improving. BIG IDEA 3 “At some point, you have to ask if the things you're sharing and the ways you're communicating and the choices you're making and the messages you are creating about, is really resonating with people.” (26:55) Chris said that on social media, vanity metrics are fine. But at the end of the day, as an author, speaker, and as somebody who really wants to make a difference in the world, it's when people start coming to him and saying, that something he wrote mattered enough that it was changing behaviors in their life, for him, that's the greatest gift anybody can give. He thinks that if we listen carefully, people will tell us if the things we're doing are making an impact. We'll be able to tell in the ways people look at us. If they're waiting for us, if they're listening to us, if they're wanting us to weigh in on hard topics, because they value our voice, those are...

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and https://my.captivate.fm/www.socialmediology.com.au (Social Mediology) founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Jenn Donovan, marketing thought leader, change-maker coach and mentor for small businesses, a keynote speaker and a podcaster. She is the founder of an extremely successful community Facebook group Buy from a Bush Business, which currently has about 330,000 members. She's also co-founder of social enterprise Spend With Us -- Australia's answer to Amazon, for rural and regional small businesses. About Jenn Jenn started her career in law, for 18 years, but later found her passion in social media and marketing. She is teaching small business owners how to make marketing a priority (and why they should) and how to grow more people to know about how amazing your products or services are. Jenn has ten chooks, three children, two peacocks, two Guinea fowl, one husband, one dog, one cat, and several pet lambs. BIG IDEA 1 “Empathy is essential to any community. The community has to be a safe space” (19:21) Jenn created the community out of the need to help people in rural Australia affected by drought. She knew that people no longer just wanted to donate because they didn't know where their money was going, so she created a space where people could actually buy something from the person so the money goes directly into their bank account, to directly put food on the table or help feed the animals -- and help actual people who live in rural Australia who were really struggling. We talked about creating rules within the community as it has to be a safe space because these people are going through a lot (drought, bush fires, COVID, floods, mouse plague). These people are very vulnerable and they've got to have a safe place to be able to post and tell their stories and get some income. BIG IDEA 2 “I've got to stick to my business model because that's how it started -- being very focused on what I wanted the group to look like and not swaying from that.” (26:43) Jenn talked about the challenges that come in creating a community and the strategies she has used in maintaining the community. It's important to know what your goal is for the community and to start making decisions toward that goal. The main question always boils down to, “Will it help the community?” She advised to be laser focused on what you wanted the group to achieve, but also making it a very safe space so that people felt safe and encouraged.  Jenn realized that if she starts swaying from the business model, she is going to lose the people who are relying on the community because they're going to lose trust in her because she has changed what it looks like. BIG IDEA 3 “Community is the golden nugget of business” (34:08) Jenn opened up about the gifts of running a community and watching it grow. She said that community has taught her so much about business, about life, about trust and about collaborations. Having a community who trusts you, who are willing to sit with you, buy from you over and over again and refer to you, that's the golden nugget of business. Whether you have 10 customers or 100 customers making them feel like they belong to a community as humans is key.   Episode Links Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenndonovan_/ (https://www.instagram.com/jenndonovan_/) https://www.instagram.com/spendwithusaustralia/ (https://www.instagram.com/spendwithusaustralia/) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spendwithusaustralia/ (https://www.facebook.com/spendwithusaustralia/) https://www.facebook.com/socialmediaandmarketing.au/ (https://www.facebook.com/socialmediaandmarketing.au/) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenn-donovan/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenn-donovan/) We'd love you to join us for future episodes of the Social Lights podcast, produced by Social Mediology. You can connect with us on Facebook at...

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Peace Mitchell, investor, international keynote speaker, co-founder of the Women's Business School and Ausmumpreneur, author and host of Best And Brightest podcast, Australian ambassador for women in tech and a Forbes.com business expert. Peace has a community of over 50,000 women and believes that investing in women in purpose led business is the number one way to change the world. About Peace Peace is inspired every day by the incredible women that are running businesses, starting businesses, scaling businesses and women who are really passionate about making a difference through the work that they do in their business.  She started as a primary school teacher but later realized that online business was going to be the answer to find a way that she could work at home and still be at home with her children, while still be able to pursue her professional career ambitions and bring to life all of her ideas and dreams and following her calling. Her love for the community began as an idea to bring women together, to support, to uplift and to provide them with the connections they need to succeed. Peace is a co-founder of the Women's Business School and Ausmumpreneur, author and host of Best And Brightest podcast. She is an Australian ambassador for women in tech with over 50,000 women in her community and a Forbes.com business expert. Her new book, The Women Changing The World will be out in December 2021. BIG IDEA 1 “Women are the world's greatest untapped resource; if we could encourage and support women to be everything that they want to be and know that they can be, it could be incredible.” (7:15) Peace believes that women see the world through a completely different lens by the natural instinct of women nurturing and caring for others, this means that women approach things in a different way than typically a man would. She thinks that it flows through to business; the way that women look after their customers, the way that they look after this staff and the way that they solve problems. She said that women hold the key to an unlocking and solving the problems that the world's facing everything from leadership. Peace believes that investing in women is the number one way to change the world and if we could invest in women and give them the support to really get their ideas off the ground, we would see big changes happening in the world. And from an investor perspective, she thinks that women are more likely to be successful and bring in more money. BIG IDEA 2 “Community is at the heart of everything we do and our vision has always been to create a circular community” (7:15) Peace talked about the communities being at the heart of everything. She believes that creating a circular community where the women who were starting out can get support and encouragement from the women who have more experience has always been at the core of why they started building a community. She said that it's all about working together and collaborating and connection. And being that women are just naturally good at communication and supporting each other, the generosity that we see within their community is incredible. It's about women going out of their way to help each other and really caring about each other. She strongly believes in the philosophy; “We rise by lifting others”, and that it's a huge key to building community. BIG IDEA 3 “Connections is everything. Success isn't just about how much money you make or whether you're famous, or whether you drive a great car. It's about the relationships you build as well.” (13:14) Peace pointed out on the connections that have opened the door

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and https://my.captivate.fm/www.socialmediology.com.au (Social Mediology) founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Venessa Paech, Australia's leading expert in online communities and community management. She has led community for Lonely Planet, REA Group, Envato and Australia Post, and her private clients include: ABC, AASW, Teach for Australia, QUT, University of Sydney, SANE and Woolworths. About Venessa Venessa is Co-Founder and Director of https://www.australiancommunitymanagers.com.au/ (Australian Community Managers) (ACM), the national centre of excellence for online community management training and resources. She started building intentional communities, with a mission of helping people connect, generate new value together and making better lives together. She teaches online community management for post-graduates at the University of Sydney and she is the resident Community expert for the Future Work Skills Academy. Venessa is a published academic, and a PhD Candidate researching AI and online communities. BIG IDEA 1 “We want to make sure that all voices are represented.” (13:20) Venessa talked about the importance of diversity and inclusivity in communities. Community management is female dominated by a landslide of 75% and every year that goes up, partly because of the industries that community falls in Australia. She said that finding great women is not so challenging but increasingly she wants to make sure that all voices are represented. She talked about how she had really phenomenal indigenous scholars and practitioners sharing first nations community building techniques and knowledge, and in ways that is permissible and suitable for non-first nations and indigenous communities to use and apply because there's so much incredible ancient knowledge. BIG IDEA 2 “The distinction between social media and community marketing is complicated because it is layered and there's a lot of natural overlap. Both practices can compliment one another.” (16:30) Venessa defined and distinguished the difference between social media and community marketing. She said it's important to understand that what each is trying to accomplish is quite different and how you measure success is quite different. There are clear distinctions and both practices can compliment one another. If you're an incredible marketer who creates great content, that's a really useful skill if you're a community builder as well. And likewise, if you're going to go and work as a social media marketer, knowing how to handle a crowd, how to moderate knowing how to really kick off and spot great conversations is a great way to generate engagement. BIG IDEA 3 “The insights being generated from your community can be applied to every single aspect of the organization or business to enrich everything” (30:10) Venessa emphasized that this is actually a very sculpting and enveloping concept. Managers describe community management as a central nervous system or air traffic control. There's a shift in thinking on community building from some sort of a title to being a little bit more wholistic and thinking about how do our relationships with these people, how their insights can be generated to create new products, new ideas, innovation capability. The insights being generated from your community can be applied to every single aspect of the organisation or business to enrich everything. Community building maybe a lot to take on for an organisation or business at the early stages but that kind of potential awaits. Episode Links You can find Venessa Paech at: Australian Community Managers: http://www.australiancommunitymanagers.com.au/ (www.australiancommunitymanagers.com.au) PeerSense: http://www.venessapaech.com/ (www.venessapaech.com) Swarm Conference 2021:  http://www.swarmconference.com.au/ (www.swarmconference.com.au) Twitter https://twitter.com/venessapaech (@venessapaech)...

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Allie Fernando, Director of Brand Experience at https://kajabi.com/ (Kajabi). She has been with Kajabi for four years – exceling in the many different roles since she started including social media marketing and partnerships. Allie has also been responsible for the massive growth of the Kajabi community with 27,000 highly engaged loyal customers in their Facebook Group alone. She is passionate in bringing the Kajabi brand to life through culturally relevant offline events and experiential programs that connect people in meaningful ways with the brand. About Allie After engaging in several internships to build her skill set in social media marketing during her college days, Allie started working at Kajabi, four weeks after graduating college. She became a social media marketer where she did everything concerning marketing, including designing. Along the line, she had been interacting with different influencers on Kajabi's social platform where she first had an idea on influencer marketing. She later joined an Influencer marketing team at Kajabi that deals with relationship building internally and externally, figuring out what the brand wants and how best to serve them. Allie is passionate about building relationships with her customers by creating experiences where the things they are passionate about intersects with what they are talented at. Big Idea 1 “It's about giving people a space where they feel truly seen, truly heard and truly known so that they can then take that community and that culture back into their business.” (19:14)   Allie shares her insights on the value of relationship-building through your online group or online community. Real growth does not only mean having thousands of members but creating a culture. This is built through authentic engagements, active listening, exchanges, and inclusion. This positive culture creates ripple effects - members embrace and implement the best community and cultural values and practices back in their own businesses and relationships. Big Idea 2 “If you're starting a community and you're starting to see it get really, robust and really engaged, think about tapping on those key community engagers to help you grow and cultivate the community.” (24:23)  When aiming to scale your online community such as your Facebook group, make your most engaged members as your partners. Honour their efforts and their active participation and tap them in growing the community together. They are not just ambassadors for your brand but real powerhouses that can support you in expanding the mission and vision of your community. Big Idea 3 “Your customer is your hero. You're a guide in their journey and how can you unlock this amazing journey for them so that they can get to a place that's better than where they started.” (43:46) Allie reflects on humility as an integral part of creating sustainable and impactful communities and business. It is essential to let your customers be at the heart of what you do. Remain grounded in your why or in your purpose of creating a product or a service at the first place. Offer your best guidance that can propel them to greater heights instead of getting stuck in the idea that you should be the one at the pedestal. Let their success be the reflection of your success. Episode links You can find Allie Fernando at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allie-fernando-129885b3/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/allie-fernando-129885b3/) You can find the Kajabi Facebook Group at: https://web.facebook.com/groups/newkajabi/ (https://web.facebook.com/groups/newkajabi/) Keep listening to the upcoming episodes of the Social Lights Podcast produced by Social Mediology. You can connect with us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SocialLightsPodcast (@SocialLightsPodcast) and find future episodes at...

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Kara Cronin, community manager, relationship builder and renowned public speaker. Kara is the Community Manager of Community Partnerships at Facebook and is leading the community experience for the Facebook Certified Community Manager program. About Kara Kara has been building community since the age of 6. She fell in love with community building while working as a Sorority Leadership Consultant, and continued pursuing her passion while leading communities at theSkimm and Shine. Kara is now a Community Manger at Facebook where she's using her experience in community building, content creation, grassroots marketing, and event strategy to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together. She has coached collegiate women to lead award-winning sorority chapters; cultivated a brand ambassador army responsible for 20% of audience growth; led campaigns to educate and motivate over 200,000 people to cast an informed vote in the 2018 midterm election; and connected millions of people across the globe with support, strategies, and resources to prioritize their mental health as members the world's largest self-care community. Kara has been a keynote speaker at the CMX Summit and SocialFresh conferences, a panellist at Be Social Change and Dreamers / Doers, a facilitator for Alpha Delta Pi and LeaderShape, as well as a mentor for FindSpark and Get Sh!t Done Accelerator programs. BIG IDEA 1 “We're in an age of authenticity where people are really supporting the brands and organisations, that customers not only believe in, but are really aligned with, whether it's based on their values or the organisations that they support.” (12:33) Kara says there are so many opportunities for brands and organizations right now to create communities that it's hard to pick just a couple to talk about. She says we're in an age of authenticity where people are really supporting the brands and organisations, that customers not only believe in, but are really aligned with whether it's based on their values or the organizations that they support. It feels different than it did even five - ten years ago in terms of people aren't just buying the big brand anymore, they're buying from the people that really feel authentic and that they feel connected to. She says community, especially a digital community, can just be such an amazing tool to showcase that authenticity, to connect with your consumer and community on a regular basis in a way that's real.  BIG IDEA 2 “Connecting the community members with each other is the most important thing.” (21:13) On the topic of learning how to become a community manager, Kara says connecting community members with each other is the most important thing, especially in a learning group. Because social learning is so important, that peer support, is essential for community managers. To be able to give them a community and provide them with people who get it and can help them along the way, to help them feel supported and help them learn. She says that's why the Facebook Community Manager Certification Learning Group has learning mentors who support the learners in this group. They're there to share personal experiences, host study sessions and answer questions to make sure that people feel like they have someone behind them cheering them on. She says that because not anyone can get certified, to know that not only are you putting in the work, but you have this group of people behind you that really want to see you succeed is important. So, the Facebook Community Manager Certification Learning Group has the learning mentor program set up to help with that. Everything is organised. So if people want to go in and learn at their own pace, they can go through the guides and get directed to all the learning materials very easily.  BIG IDEA 3 “Know why you're starting

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and https://www.socialmediology.com.au/ (Social Mediology) founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Beth McIntyre, Head of Community at https://www.bevy.com/ (Bevy), a leading provider of community software, powering live community events both in-person and virtual. Bevy's community, which is called https://cmxhub.com/ (CMX), is the world's largest and most passionate network of community professionals. About Beth Beth is the Head of Community at CMX. She manages the ever-growing Facebook group, the bustling CMX Slack Workspace, and the incredible CMX Pro Community, CMX's premium space. CMX is the world's largest and most passionate network for community professionals. Thousands of community professionals come to CMX for support and education in community strategy. Beth oversees the engagement, strategy, and structure of all CMX's community spaces. She also built and runs CMX Connect, an in-person distributed events program (turned virtual in 2020), with more than 50 volunteer-run chapters, that host live events regularly around the world. She is also the host of The Community Corner with Beth McIntyre podcast. Beth lives in the incomparable Rocky Mountains in Jasper, Canada and spends most of her free time in total awe of their majesty. BIG IDEA 1 “That excitement, that enthusiasm, that engagement can take place the entire year.” (7:50) Beth discusses a growing trend on how communities are starting to leverage off the momentum of holding annual conferences or large one-off company events that bring all their customers or users together in one place. She talks about the experience of going to a trade show or conference how you walk in, you can feel the buzz, people are talking and it's so exciting! And when you get home afterwards you are still feeling that buzz and excitement, you have all these big ideas about things you are going to implement. Beth then talks about how little touch points there are after a big event, an email, a survey, another email to say the recordings are uploaded, that's it. Then you have to wait another 11 months to feel that excitement again. She says more and more companies are starting to take the momentum from that conference, and using it to build a community for the other 11 months of the year. They feed into each other, the conference will help build your community, it will help engage. It will help drive that momentum and your community will help drive the momentum back into your conference. So it doesn't have to just be this one big event. That excitement, that enthusiasm, that engagement can take place the entire year.  BIG IDEA 2 “Social media is an entry point and the community is an end point” (23:20) Beth talks about the customer journey loop and the difference between communicating on social media and communities. Social media is the top of the funnel and how customers find you, but it's not a community because it's not necessarily a 2-way street. She says the community space is a lot more intentional, it's like a bubble at the bottom of the funnel. There's an identity. So instead of someone just choosing to follow you on Twitter or on social media, there's kind of an agreement that you have these expectations for your members, and they have expectations of you. The beauty of the community is that you're both meeting those expectations and holding each other accountable to how you want to be treated and what the purpose of the community is, and what we're there for in the first place. When we talk about the social identity cycle, it starts with identification. Beth feels like that's where social media comes in. They see your tweets, they see your social media posts. They say, I identify as that thing when they join, that's participation. Now they're in the community, they're commenting, they're liking, they're connecting with other people. And then the third step is validation. That's when you say we love...

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and https://www.socialmediology.com.au/ (Social Mediology) founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Lucy Good, founder of https://beanstalkmums.com.au/ (Beanstalk Single Mums) and the popular Facebook group, The Single Mum Vine. Lucy has been named as a finalist for the 2018 AusMumpreneur Awards in two categories: Making A Difference (business) and Women Changing the World. About Lucy Lucy Good is the founder of Beanstalk Single Mums, an online space which empowers single mothers to re-find their potential and re-build their confidence through a website that delivers targeted information and support. Lucy works with hundreds of single mothers through the offering of her online course and her Facebook group, the Single Mum Vine. She sits at the centre of the think-tank of modern-day single motherhood and is a sought-after social commentator on single parent issues. As well as having her own blog and podcast series, she has appeared several times on national television, speaks regularly on national and local radio and writes articles for online and print parenting, news, lifestyle, and business communities. Lucy's blog and podcast series are designed to support and empower single mums from all walks of life and on every stage of their single mother journey. Her podcast covers all areas of single motherhood including separation, family law, children of divorce, co-parenting, solo-parenting, education, careers, dating, sex, health, household, and a range of money matters. BIG IDEA 1 “The guidelines that you have for your group are imperative” (12:40) Lucy discusses the importance of having a set of guidelines. The guidelines are imperative and need to be stuck to. The guidelines in Lucy's group include things like: -         We, we don't allow rants. You can't just come on and have a whinge. Now you can come on and say, look, I've had a really crap day because this has happened. Wonder if anyone else has been through the same or anyone's got any solutions or suggestions as I can as how I can get over it. But you can't just come on and say, I've just had a crap day because that helps one person, that one person who's put the post on and it brings down everybody else that reads it. -         We don't allow man-hating or ex bashing in the group. So we're about trying to foster positive relationships with your ex partners, if at all possible. So we'd love it if someone comes on and says, Hey, you know my ex and I went into this with the kids today, we had a great day. -         We have a lot of rules around what you can post, like no medical posts. You can't put a post on there because then you get all these people who have no idea what they're talking about, providing medical information. And we have had it in the past where we've had a kid in hospital because someone's given the wrong advice. The guidelines are set up for a reason. BIG IDEA 2 “You often get a topic which just keeps coming onto the thread over and over again. Sometimes it's a topic that doesn't really work with what the group is about” (22:53) In discussing repetitive posts or posts that go off topic Lucy says; One other thing as well, that's really important is you'll notice that in groups, you often get a topic which just keeps coming onto the thread over and over again. Sometimes it's a topic that doesn't really work with what the group is about, but it has to be there. So for my group that's Centrelink, everyone's got questions about Centrelink and they just flood the feed. Now the feed is meant to be upbeat, inspirational, funny, and Centrelink none of those. So if that happens, then just create a weekly thread, say or a weekly posts and say, please keep all your child support and Centrelink questions within this weekly thread. And that just helps to...

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and https://www.socialmediology.com.au/ (Social Mediology) founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Ian Moyse, Chief Revenue Officer at https://www.oneupsales.co.uk/ (OneUp Sales), and a long-time sales leader. He was awarded the accolade of UK Sales Director of the year by BESMA (British Excellence in Sales Management Awards) and in 2019 and 2020 was listed in the top 50 Sales Keynote speakers by Top Sales World. Ian has built many large communities on social media and is a social influencer for SAP, Oracle, Huawei, Commvault and more. About Ian With a passion for computing since the age of 14, Ian found himself falling into sales at the age of 20 where he embraced sales as a skilled profession and continued to learn. He developed a reputation for being competitive by nature and enjoyed exceeding customer expectations. Ian quickly moved from a sales role to a management role at age 23, where he honed his skills and built committed teams for over 10 years to become a sales leader. Ian is proud of the value he delivers, and of the individuals he has mentored over the years to achieve success. He is an energetic, conscientious, and ambitious sales leader in the Cloud industry. Having advised many firms on improving performance through the aggregation of marginal gains. Now with over 30 years of successful sales leadership, Ian has built a solid reputation as a powerhouse influencer in the cloud and software sales/marketing industry. With a track record of rapidly scaling sales, creating and managing high performing sales teams, including identifying, evaluating, and establishing new markets. Widely published and often interviewed, Ian is a highly sought-after keynote speaker and blogger for major cloud computing companies including Oracle, SAP, SAGE, HP, IBM, Huawei, Commvault, Equinix, CloudTech. Maximiser, Miller Heiman and more. Ian is often requested by 3rd party vendors and resellers to keynote speak on Cloud, GDPR, Transformational Change, Sales Leadership, Social Selling and Personal Branding as a keynote to their customer and staff events. Ian's deep knowledge of indirect channel sales having created strong tier 1, tier 2, OEM and Alliances revenue generating eco-systems. Ian has experience of wide range of sales disciplines - building direct, indirect and inside sales teams across UK, EMEA and USA. BIG IDEA 1 “The brand of the organisation rides off the opportunity that comes with your personal brand.” (5:34) Ian discusses how leveraging his own personal brand and reach Increases both the intrinsic value for the individual, and helps grow the business through representation. Techniques such as social selling and appearing on forums such as blogs, podcasts, panels, and events become mutually beneficial. Through doing so, the brand of the organisation benefits from the opportunities that arise from building his own personal brand, and rides off the credibility he has earned through things he has done prior to joining the organisation. Your personal brand is yours, it goes with you from organisation to organisation. BIG IDEA 2 “It's gotta be something you're passionate about, interested about and bring value to” (14:40) Ian provides insights on starting a group. You have to be knowledgeable and passionate about the subject. People will follow someone who is an expert in the field that is relevant to the subject. You don't start a group where there is no context as being a thought leader in that space, but you can become a thought leader by creating a group on a subject that you are passionate about, and creating the content that goes with it. People will join for the content, and the community will grow from the learning and insights from others that join the group. BIG IDEA 3 “You've gotta be authentic, if you're posting about stuff that I genuinely comment on and speak about, I can not only like your content, I can add an authentic comment.” (26:28)...

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and https://www.socialmediology.com.au/ (Social Mediology) founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Petrea King who is CEO of the Quest for Life Foundation which she established in 1989. She is a well-known author, inspirational keynote speaker, teacher and facilitator. She is also qualified as a naturopath, herbalist, clinical hypnotherapist, yoga and meditation teacher. About Petrea More than 125,000 people have attended residential programs or counselling with Petrea and her team since 1985.  Petrea has been a regular guest on ABC Radio Sydney for almost 20 years – on Richard Glover's Mid-Week Conference and Nightlife. In 2003 she was celebrated on Channel 9's This Is Your Life and has been featured on Australian Story, Compass and many other television productions. An acclaimed documentary was jointly commissioned by Channel 4 (UK) and the ABC called Quest for Life – A Year in the Life of Petrea King in 1990. She has received the Advance Australia Award, Citizen of the Year and the Centenary Medal for her contribution to the community and has been nominated for Australian of the year each year since 2003 as well as being a NSW finalist for Senior Australian of the Year in 2011. Petrea sees crisis as a catalyst for personal growth and understanding and as an opportunity for healing and peace. BIG IDEA 1 “Shared experiences create deep and everlasting bonds” (19:26) Whilst many deep and everlasting friendships are created at the residential programs, the Quest for Life Foundation also uses Facebook to interact and connect with members of their community. This involves regular posts and live events that allow people to be involved and grow within the community. The use of Facebook allows for members to tune in to live mini workshops with the facilitators or the weekly meditation group with Petrea.  BIG IDEA 2 “Technology impacts human connection in a positive way” (24:10) Quest are always looking for new ways to interact with their community, even if it is to have a little chat every now and again or to be there a critical moment in someone's life. Through the use of technology, past participants and those who can't attend programs, can keep engaged, build and maintain a strong relationship with each other and the origanisation. BIG IDEA 3 “What matters is your intention, be very clear about what your intention is and then show up” (33:47) Petrea says when building a community on social media, it is essential to be clear your intentions and if you make a commitment, follow through. You need to have good vibration. If you pour yourself into that, you're pouring yourself into that energy field and it will begin to resonate for those that need it. Another key piece of advice Petrea gives is to establish good time management. Make sure you divide your time well, turn up 100% and give it your focus and attention rather than being half-hearted about anything. Episode Links You can find Petrea King at: ·         https://questforlife.org.au/ (https://questforlife.org.au/) ·         https://www.facebook.com/QuestforLifeAus (https://www.facebook.com/QuestforLifeAus) ·         instagram.com/questforlifefoundation/ Keep listening to the upcoming episodes of podcasts by joining in Social Lights Podcast produced by Social Mediology. You can connect with us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SocialLightsPodcast (@SocialLightsPodcast) and find future episodes at https://www.socialmediology.com.au/sociallights (socialmediology.com.au/sociallights). Thanks for your time and stay inspired, Kate vanderVoort

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and https://www.socialmediology.com.au/ (Social Mediology) founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Tom Dawkins, Co-Founder and CEO of social impact crowdfunding platform and innovation agency https://www.startsomegood.com/ (StartSomeGood). In addition to running the platform with the best project success rate in cause crowdfunding they partner with companies, funders and governments to inspire, unearth, skill-up and launch innovative social impact projects. About Tom Tom has worked for leading companies and organisations like Ashoka, HopeLab and The Australian Centre for Social Innovation. He founded the award-winning youth organisation Vibewire, opened the first co-working space in Australia and was Director of the Australian Changemakers Festival. Tom is deeply passionate about helping create a world where everyone has the opportunity to build the future they desire. BIG IDEA 1 “Your voice matters, and people are willing to listen” (12:12) Tom shares that during his time in the United States, how empowering the trip was. The primary lesson he took from it was learning that his voice mattered because there were people willing to listen. It was this core value that motivates him still to this day and something he strives to share with everyone. His hope is to develop and pass on skills, opportunities, platforms and forums where people can listen and be willing to engage with each other. BIG IDEA 2 “The five Cs formula” (32:51) Tom explains that clarity, credibility, communities, channels, and courage are the five Cs formula that leads to success. Clarity and credibility are the core attributes, having a clear message or vison and making sure people know that you are capable for delivering your plans. Communities and channels; surrounding yourself with the right partners and people, this will allow you to identify and grow a community around your business. Finally, courage to get out there and do the work required. The use of all 5 of these elements are needed for success. BIG IDEA 3 “Start sharing your ideas!” (58:51) Tom thinks the act of sharing what you are working on really helps you get better at how you explain and express it.  It is by doing this you will begin to find people that will also care deeply about the same ideas, and you will slowly begin to build a community. It is also important to identify where you target audience gathers, what communities are they apart of and what podcasts do they listen to. By joining and participating in these communities, when the time comes to launch your product or service, you will have a group of people who at least be willing to listen or be ready to listen. Episode Links You can find Tom Dawkins, and more on StartSomeGood at: ·         http://www.startsomegood.com/ (www.startsomegood.com) ·         twitter.com/startsomegood ·         facebook.com/startsomegood ·         instagram.com/startsomegood Keep listening to the upcoming episodes of podcasts by joining in Social Lights Podcast produced by Social Mediology. You can connect with us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SocialLightsPodcast (@SocialLightsPodcast) and find future episodes at https://www.socialmediology.com.au/sociallights (socialmediology.com.au/sociallights). Thanks for your time and stay inspired, Kate vanderVoort

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Edwina Sharrock, Founder of Birth Beat, a digital health tech platform revolutionising the way we prepare for birth. About Edwina Edwina Sharrock, is a passionate health advocate who has embraced technology and innovation to build an online childbirth education platform. She has over 14 years' experience as a midwife, neonatal intensive care nurse and emergency nurse. She's delivered 100's of babies and helped 1000's of parents prepare for birth. It is Edwina's passion for all expecting parents, regardless of their pathway to parenthood to have access to quality, evidence-based childbirth education. She has been recognised as the National winner of the Commonwealth Bank 21 day Challenge Innovation Award, a Google Regional Online Hero, Nominated for Hesta Nurse/Midwife of the Year (2018) and she's currently completing the highly competitive HCF Catalyst Program powered by Slingshot Accelerators. She is also a proud mum of two and turns into complete mush in the presence of a baby. BIG IDEA 1 “Be interactive with your community to support and build engagement” (13:20) Edwina explains that the Birth Beat courses are fun, engaging and entertaining so people want to sit down and watch. Edwina's goal is to make sure that it is as interactive as possible. She does regular Facebook and Instagram lives so the community gets to meet and engage with each other. Those who are a part of the online program also receive support within a closed Facebook group. BIG IDEA 2 “Access to quality education eases fears” (16:01) The closed Facebook group is where members have a close interaction with Edwina, and other women's health experts such as health physios, lactation consultants and obstetricians. BIG IDEA 3 “It's social media, you need to be social” (24:38) To be able to succeed you have to be social, speaking to your community and asking them questions, replying with direct messages, running polls, and asking “what do you want to see more of?”. When you are interacting with your community in this way you set an example for others to do the same, which will grow and expand your group to others. Episode Links You can find Edwina Sharrock, and more on Birth Beat at: ·         facebook.com/birthbeat ·         Instagram.com/birthbeat ·         https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwina-sharrock/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwina-sharrock/) ·         https://www.linkedin.com/company/67076404 (https://www.linkedin.com/company/67076404) Keep listening to the upcoming episodes of podcasts by joining in Social Lights Podcast produced by Social Mediology. You can connect with us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SocialLightsPodcast (@SocialLightsPodcast) and find future episodes at https://www.socialmediology.com.au/sociallights (socialmediology.com.au/sociallights). Thanks for your time and stay inspired, Kate vanderVoort

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Brandon C White who is an entrepreneur and author and is the Founder and CEO of the number-one social networking and e-commerce site for sport fisherman on the internet. About Brandon Brandon C. White is an entrepreneur with two exists (so far), angel investor, former venture capitalist, and worked in Marketing at a $200b internet company (AOL). Brandon started his professional career in technology as a pioneer on the Internet in 1996 as the Founder/CEO of Worldwide Angler, Inc. Worldwide Angler was recognized the number-one social networking and e-commerce site for sport fisherman on the internet. Brandon bought the company back from the investors and led it to a successful exit to a large media company. He's the editor of Build a Business Success Secrets print newsletter and host of accompanying podcast. Both are inner playbooks on how to master your mind, care for your body and build a successful business. The formula to make you smarter, happier and richer. Brandon lives in Half Moon Bay, CA and enjoys road biking, surfing, fly fishing and going fast. BIG IDEA 1 “People, product, market, and financing.” (11:36) Brandon describes his chance meeting with the first investor for his newly created business. He tells us how stressed he was and how daunting the idea of showing off his, at the time, very small company. The key components of their business plan were discussed, people, product, market, and financing. After this discussion and a bit of fishing, Brandon received a cheque for $50,000 which was how he started the online fishing and community site which would later go on to raise millions of dollars. BIG IDEA 2 “You can't outsource human connections” (24:37) Brandon believes there are some things that you just cannot delegate. Nothing has changed from the early days, it is just that we have better technology, that is easier and faster. However, if you want to build a community, you really must have those personal connections. BIG IDEA 3 “Don't own the people, own the topic” (42:22) He explained that if you do not genuinely like your business and you are simply doing it to monetize it, that is not a very good recipe for success. It is better to own a small market than it is to be just one in a huge market. Build upon the community in a smaller market rather than trying to stretch yourself too thin and lose the core elements of your community. Episode Links You can find Brandon C White at: ·         https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandonwhite/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandonwhite/) ·         https://www.instagram.com/brandoncwhite/ (https://www.instagram.com/brandoncwhite/) ·         https://twitter.com/BrandonCWhite (https://twitter.com/BrandonCWhite) ·         https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCabV9Rcw4MohWvTGr3OTzFw (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCabV9Rcw4MohWvTGr3OTzFw) ·         BrandonCWhite.com ·         BSuccessSecrets.com Keep listening to the upcoming episodes of podcasts by joining in Social Lights Podcast produced by Social Mediology. You can connect with us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SocialLightsPodcast (@SocialLightsPodcast) and find future episodes at https://www.socialmediology.com.au/sociallights (socialmediology.com.au/sociallights). Thanks for your time and stay inspired, Kate vanderVoort

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Paul Zelizer, one of the first business coaches to focus on the needs of social entrepreneurs and social impact businesses. Paul is the founder of Awarepreneurs, a top social entrepreneur podcast and online community. About Paul Paul has helped hundreds achieve their impact and financial goals whilst learning to create an enjoyable life. He's the former Director of Social Media for Wisdom 2.0, one of the premier conscious business brands in the world. In that role, he helped create and implement strategies that grew the conference from 650 attendees to over 1800 in one year. Paul is passionate about the intersection of conscious business, social impact, and aware practices. BIG IDEA 1 “The most powerful technology on the planet is an optimized human nervous system!” (17:13) Paul explains the intersection of conscious business, social impact, and awareness practices. He believes these are the three most important or most powerful technologies or forces for good on the planet right now. Conscious business and people who are paying attention to positive impact by promoting a helpful community, will be the most powerful technology in the industry. BIG IDEA 2 “A way to build community is by looking where people are gathering” (33:26) He describes how to build a community and how there are so many strategies to do so. He goes in depth on how you can use hashtags to research where your target audience is already gathering. Other options like exploring podcasts, find the right guest strategy, go pitch them an interesting topic to an established community. Try position yourself to be a part of the conversation by providing value to leaders within the community. BIG IDEA 3 “What are we doing this for?” (46:24) Paul mentions how he would like business leaders to improve by being more intentional about values and the purpose of their business. If it is about entrepreneurship and using social media to grow your business, really establish your core values, your mission statement and think “what are you doing this for?”. Follow your established values and respect the boundaries that are in place, straying from these may end up doing more harm than good.  Episode Links You can find Paul Zelizer, and more on Awarepreneurs at: ·         https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulzelizer/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulzelizer/) ·         https://twitter.com/PaulZelizer ·         https://www.facebook.com/awarepreneurs/ (https://www.facebook.com/awarepreneurs/) ·         https://www.instagram.com/paulzelizer/ Keep listening to the upcoming episodes of podcasts by joining in Social Lights Podcast produced by Social Mediology. You can connect with us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SocialLightsPodcast (@SocialLightsPodcast) and find future episodes at https://www.socialmediology.com.au/sociallights (socialmediology.com.au/sociallights). Thanks for your time and stay inspired, Kate vanderVoort

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Warren Carlyle, founder and CEO of OctoNation, the world’s largest octopus fan club, and not for profit organization that inspires conservation of the ocean by teaching the world about octopuses. He is also the co-founder of the Community Leaders Association and is a community building strategist who works with purpose driven brands and influencers to build highly engaged online communities. About Warren Warren and his communities have been featured and gotten the attention of celebrities and global organizations such as Michael B. Jordan, Ellen DeGeneres, Joe Rogan, Facebook HQ, and more. Warren believes online communities are the lifeblood of brand, a brand relevancy in today's crowded digital marketplace. He likes seeing people able to live their dreams, live their passion, create communities around the things that they love. When he sees people winning at the thing that they are truly passionate about, it makes him think that the world becomes a better place as they are talking and acting on something that lights them up. After the terrible news of his mother passing away, Warren decided to find an internship in New York, to start a new life and career. It was this move that taught him the advantages of social media and the power of communities. After working for a several months with a celebrity fashion photographer, he decided to create the largest octopus fan club, because it was an interest of his that he was truly passionate about. BIG IDEA 1 “Inspires kids and adults to look towards the ocean as something that deserves to be protected.” (11:59) Since Warren was a kid, he been obsessed with octopuses and wanted to learn more about them. After some research he found that octopuses were highly misrepresented, mischaracterized and demonized within the literature. He thought nobody has thought to story tell about how magnificent these ancient creatures are. So, he decided to create OctoNation, a community of people who can follow their love for octopuses. One of their campaigns is called “Interview with an Octopus”, where they go to aquariums all over the world and interview the octopus keeper, asking them questions on Facebook Live or Instagram live. Warren expresses how it is a great way to connect with somebody with a vast amount of knowledge on the topic.  BIG IDEA 2 “Not everybody belongs in your community.” (30:45) The seven C’s of building a fanatical community are: clarify, core value, content, collaboration, connection, conversation and consistency. When you are clear on those core values, it contributes to the moderation job and people will self-select and opt out if the community is not the right place for them. Warren strives to have a zero-tolerance policy for those that misuse or abuse social media. For community creators and managers there's so much more education now around trolling and abuse on social media. We also need to understand and accept that not everybody is a fit for your community. The content you create is how you are deserving of your community's attention on a daily basis. Your content needs to show evidence of your core values. BIG IDEA 3 “When I reach out to a brand, I really want to foster a relationship at the highest level!” (38:58) Warren explains that the biggest issue that most community leaders face, or aspiring community leaders is confidence. The more confidence and belief in yourself as a community leader, the more you can express the core values of your mission or vision. By connecting with the highest levels within the industry you begin to provide the highest value to your community, making it bigger than yourself and motivating those within it. Episode Links You can find Warren Carlyle, and more on OctoNation at: ·         Facebook.Com/groups/octonation...

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort chats with David Trotter. David is a business growth consultant, and creator of Rise Up Creatives, who's dedicated to helping new business owners rise above their biggest barriers to reach their greatest goals. About David David is the host of the Inspiration Rising podcast with over 190 episodes, featuring female entrepreneurs and leaders sharing their experience and wisdom. His latest book is entitled Empower to Rise: The Secret to Embracing Your True Identity Uncovering Your Superpowers and Bringing Your Inspiration to the World. Previously, David was a pastor starting fast-growing churches for over 10 years, owned a six-figure marketing boutique for 12 years, produced and directed four award-winning feature films on social justice issues and has written a dozen books. David and his wife, Laura have been married for over 26 years and they live in Southern California with their two almost grown kids who are both in college. He mentions that in this moment of his life he wants to be working with people, especially female entrepreneurs, helping them start and grow their businesses. He loves helping people that have their own vision or dream, either a product or service they want to offer. His role is often to help these business owners clarify their vision with a step-by-step approach, allowing them to achieve their goals and develop their community. BIG IDEA 1 “Help people save time and stand out!” (15:28) David’s goal is to help people save time and stand out. Business owners want to bring their message to the world, whether it's a product or a service or something that they are wanting to offer. As a business coach, he helps his clients find clarity in their idea, their offer and their ideal customer and then translating that into content that can be shared and will capture people’s attention (visual & text). He notices that many of his clients are women who didn’t know how to build a social media presence because it felt unusual or awkward. With the goal to save time and stand out, his company created a monthly membership that allowed entrepreneurs to have social media tools in place that they can either use or be inspired by. BIG IDEA 2 “Peace, play, serve and flow” (30:45) David explains that every day he tells himself four words, Peace, Play, Serve and Flow. When you repeat those four words every day you will see the difference in your life. He describes to us that he wants to be in peace, where he doesn’t want to take on a client, a contract or work in an environment that does not cultivate peace. He needs to learn to play, be more playful and enjoy the little things in life, he wants to serve people and in kind, it will be returned to you. Finally, if you achieve peace, play, and serve you will be in the flow of life and by investing others around you, you will achieve a flow of financial resources as well. BIG IDEA 3 “You can do it!” (38:58) He wants to share his life message that is, you can do it! If you have a dream, a desire, or there is something inside of you that wants to start a business or something, we have all the tools we need right in front of us. It is important to take it to step by step, it will be a long process and difficult sometimes, but you need to keep that mentality that you can do things, and you will start seeing the results. Episode Links You can find David Trotter, and more on Rise Up Creatives at: ·         http://www.riseupcreatives.com/ (www.riseupcreatives.com) ·         http://www.insporising.com/ (www.insporising.com) ·         http://www.instagram.com/riseupcreatives (www.instagram.com/riseupcreatives) ·         http://www.facebook.com/riseupcreatives...

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and https://www.socialmediology.com.au/ (Social Mediology) founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Briony Schadegg, co-founder and director of HCI Insights, which is better known as https://www.frankapp.ai/ (Frank App). About Briony Briony wants to make a positive impact on the world and it was this motivation that inspired her to become a police officer. In her role within the police, Briony undertook several advanced training programs in crime reduction which expanded on areas of criminology and victimology. Over her years of service, she was witness to many instances of the ever-growing mental health issues within the community. To her these people were not just a statistic, she was seeing their faces daily. Due to restriction within the law, she felt limited in her ability to intervene and provide help to those struggling with mental health. Briony noticed that the mental health services that are available to help people prior to the police getting involved were often failing people and needed rebuilding. This was her primary inspiration behind creating Frank App, building on the design philosophy of fitness trackers and using those concepts to help people improve their well-being. Empowering people to have tangible goals in front of them and give people guidance to resources that could help them make better choices. BIG IDEA 1 “If you know which days you are in a better mood you can start scheduling things in those days to be more productive.” (07:59)  Discussing with Briony how Frank App began, she shared with us it was through her own struggles with PTSD and how using a prototype of Frank helped her manage the onset of a PTSD episode. Frank works by collecting the natural language of the user to determine their mood and sentiment from the data retrieved. The visual feedback that the app provides nudges users towards constructive behaviours or highlights negatives ones. This nudge allows individual to make more positive choices, the app even provides resources that could be helpful to the user given their real time situation. Briony goes on to describe that the tool is not just for when you are having a bad day but also for when you are having a great day. Providing users with insight on when they should schedule stressful events or when they are the most productive too when they need to relax and take a break. Awareness of these high and low periods allow users to be more productive with their time and make smarter choices.  BIG IDEA 2 “Empowering business to make sure their employees are working in a safe environment.” (18:46) At the height of COVID everyone was working from home and now even as the world slowly returns to normal, working from home has almost become the norm. Briony explains to us there was a misconception when it came to working from home, the idea that employees were less productive and worked less. New evidence suggests that not only are they working longer hours they are also taking less breaks and no longer getting that social engagement that they would have in a normal workplace. She goes on to explain, how when using a tool like Frank, employers may be able to properly measure the impact of social isolation on their team members. It could be potentially used to assist people in ensuring a positive mindset for working at home as well as ensure that the work/home space is a safe environment. BIG IDEA 3 “Connect users to the community” (30:11) Briony tells us how her company did not want to reinvent the wheel and compete with other business within the mental health space. Instead they are reaching out and working in collaboration with already established leaders of the mental health community. At the end of the day, they want to be able to connect users of Frank to the mental health community. That might be done through providing the right resources or link, or by nudging individuals in the right direction of making

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Dustin Miller who is an omni content creator, host of the Polymath Polycast, and creator of the Modular Degree Framework. About Dustin As an aspiring polymath, Dustin created PolyInnovator as a foundational means to build out the various careers he wanted out of life (A Polymath of Innovation if you will). He’s on a mission to create a Modular Education Platform to revolutionize how we approach education as whole and is currently building the Modular Degree System: a do it yourself, with help, framework for a modern approach to education. He is the Host of The Polymath PolyCast, where he interviews multidisciplinary people. From a young age Dustin always wanted to make a difference, always thinking what can I do to change something, to make it better, more efficient, which led him to where he is today. Dustin explains the meaning of the name of his business, poly means much or many and it just implies many different actions you can take and innovation being making a change in a certain area. The idea of a polyinnovator is someone with much or many learnings. BIG IDEA 1 “When you have multiple skills, they are all applicable to different areas in your life” (08:59) Dustin explains to us what it means to be a polymath and how a polymath has expert knowledge in many different areas. Unlike a “jack of all trades” that is an individual with maybe an average level of familiarity across a wide range of pursuits, when you have multiple skills there is an integration between these different knowledge areas, it can be used to expedite your learning in different skillsets. BIG IDEA 2 “Create an education for people in a modern way.” (12:13) He wanted to be able to learn a broad range of topics and he realised that he was not able to do this the traditional way. It would require doing several different university degrees and a massive time investment. He wanted to find his own way, a DIY education where he was able to create a foundation to explore any topic of interest. As the modern business world is moving in a direction where it requires people to be multidisciplinary, the traditional education pathways designed for specialisation is no longer effective. Dustin’s vision is a system of education that allows individuals to have the access to courses of programs to keep current in the ever-evolving industry. BIG IDEA 3 “The idea of strategy plus automation multiplied by execution equals success.” (33:03) Dustin’s goes into his personal formulae for social media success. There are so many different platforms that individuals and communities use to communicate and express themselves on, eg Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Slack, Discord and Clubhouse. It can sometimes be difficult, and time consuming to keep track and have a presence on all these apps, especially without a team behind you. He goes on to explain having a defined strategy and taking advantage of automation is the pathway forward. Episode Links You can find Dustin Miller, and more on Polyinnovator: https://polyinnovator.space/ (https://polyinnovator.space/) https://www.facebook.com/polyinnovator (https://www.facebook.com/polyinnovator) https://www.instagram.com/polyinnovator/ (https://www.instagram.com/polyinnovator/) https://www.linkedin.com/in/polyinnovator/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/polyinnovator/) Keep listening to the upcoming episodes of podcasts by joining in Social Lights Podcast produced by Social Mediology. You can connect with us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SocialLightsPodcast (@SocialLightsPodcast) and find future episodes at https://www.socialmediology.com.au/sociallights (socialmediology.com.au/sociallights). Thanks for your time and stay inspired, Kate vanderVoort

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Sarah Britz, who’s an e-commerce specialist and founder of Spend With Us, an online initiative to support rural and regional small businesses impacted by fires, floods and COVID. About Sarah Sarah loves meeting new people, connecting and helping them to grow their businesses, especially using her skills and knowledge to help them get online, get through difficult times and make a difference. She is a web designer and developer and has been building websites for about 20 years. Sarah decided during the 2020 bush fires to use her skills and knowledge for small businesses that were impacted at that time. She realised that rather than creating individual platforms for each business to get online, that a centralized market place would make the most impact. This is how the idea of Spend With Us started. BIG IDEA 1 “How could we help rural and regional small businesses around Australia suffering from bushfires to COVID?” (06:21)  At the start Sarah was posting to Facebook groups that she created a way to help small business that had been affected by the bush fires. It was this first step that allowed her to get in contact with many business owners that needed help.  The organisation really expanded with the help of Lauren Hateley and Jenn Donovan, each bringing their own unique skillsets to Spend With Us. They built a platform for rural and regional small business that people can access across Australia and across the world. Something that would raise awareness of these businesses and people, along with all their incredible products. This could only happen through collaboration, and talking to people within these communities. In Spend With Us there’s a private Facebook sellers group, where they do webinars to help them to get better product listings, take better product photos, learn to market their products and give them tips and advice to help them survive and grow. BIG IDEA 2 “Community is the heart our platform.” (13:32) Sarah’s goal for her company is to create a massive community of sellers and buyers and everyone supporting each other. The businesses share their stories with each other and gain hope and inspiration. Through social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook, they aim to highlight the products through a program called ¨Meet the Maker¨. A newsletter helps promote what the sellers are advertising to any potential customer. On the website they also promote every week a different business, showing what they are selling and different campaigns, trying to raise awareness and to get as much exposure for the small businesses as possible. BIG IDEA 3 “Be mindful where you spend your money” (15:18) One thing Sarah would like people to do differently is to think about where you are spending your money and when you are buying something be mindful of the choice and choose to support a business where it makes a huge difference. When you buy from a small business seller that is in their Facebook group, then you're already supporting that person, you're making such a big difference in their life. Sarah has been inspired by the corporates who have also come on board. They’ve sold many gift cards on their platform and several of big corporate companies purchased sitewide gift cards for their Christmas gifts, it was big businesses giving back to small businesses. Episode Links You can find Sarah Bitz, and more on Spend with us at: ·         https://www.facebook.com/spendwithusaustralia (https://www.facebook.com/spendwithusaustralia) ·         https://www.instagram.com/spendwithusaustralia/ (https://www.instagram.com/spendwithusaustralia/) ·         https://www.facebook.com/groups/buyfromthebush (https://www.facebook.com/groups/buyfromthebush)...

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Jackie Bloom, the founder of the Helping Hub. About Jackie The Helping Hub is an online gift platform and registry service that allows people to support friends and family in need with thoughtful gifts and practical support such as laundry services, cleaning services, meal, delivery, pet care, personal care services, and anything else that might be useful, purposeful or meaningful when people are going through a hard time (or just because!). Jackie studied business management and marketing with sales and started out running the family business for 15 years in the fashion industry. She then transitioned into palliative care, in collaboration with Cure Cancer Australia. Her varied life experiences have led her to launching The Helping Hub. BIG IDEA 1 “Wouldn't it have been amazing if there was one place that everyone could go in times of need that has a list of everything you need” (07:31)  In 2005 Jacqui’s family endured the tragic loss of her young brother-in-law Rob, at the age of 37. Leaving her sister to manage the care and support of their four grieving children, while also dealing with her own personal stress of losing her husband. Less than 12 months after Rob’s passing, the unthinkable struck again and her mother, Evelyn was diagnosed with Cancer. With a passion for helping others and through her own personal experiences of grief, loss, motherhood, illness, injury, and divorce Jacqui recognised that help is often the most difficult to ask for, but also the most appreciated. She thought it would have been amazing if there was one place that everyone could go that would have a list of useful, purposeful or meaningful things  that you need to help you, when things go wrong. When Jacqui lived through her own grief and loss, she experienced first-hand the way capable people still need extra support to get them through the ongoing challenge of dealing with the everyday. She was inspired to find an easier way to help people help themselves and others in need – as well as making ways to celebrate life’s happiest occasions more meaningful and memorable. In late 2020 she launched The Helping Hub. BIG IDEA 2 “Making a difference in someone's life” (13:32) Jackie explains how her website works. You can hop on the Helping Hub and you can gift someone or yourself some extra time, things like house cleaning, meal delivery, babysitting, someone doing your washing, anything you need. You are gifting a product or service that will make a difference in someone's life. The recipient receives the help they need, something that they may be too afraid to ask for. It also gives the giftee the gratification of knowing that you have gifted them something that is useful and purposeful. BIG IDEA 3 “Some people react by hearing other people's stories and they take inspiration and courage from that.” (22:14) Jackie is growing her community, that isn’t just from the buyers but also the sellers, creating a community where the business values align. It is that sense of helping someone, that's what your community do when they rally around you. The Helping Hub want to facilitate the sharing of recipient and giver stories/narratives in different ways, allowing people to relate to it in their own way. These stories allows people to draw inspiration and courage from others. Episode Links You can find Jackie bloom, and more on the helping hub at: thehelpinghub.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacqui-bloom/ https://www.facebook.com/The-Helping-Hub-510006919505544 https://www.instagram.com/thehelpinghub/ Keep listening to the upcoming episodes of podcasts by joining in Social Lights Podcast produced by Social Mediology. You can connect with us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SocialLightsPodcast (@SocialLightsPodcast) and find future episodes...

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Trudy Rankin, who is the director of West Island Digital and the founder of the Online Business Lift Off program. About Trudy Rankin Trudy Rankin is a digital strategist, an online business coach and a consultant. After more than 15 years working with big organisations, helping them use digital technology to achieve their goals, she wanted to continue her practice of giving to the next generation through work experience. After starting https://westislanddigital.com/ (West Island Digital) in 2015, she was on the hunt for an intern. Thanks to Jan Hauser, from Vision Australia’s employment service, Shahan Cheong joined the West Island Digital team for 3 months. During these months, Trudy discovered that Shahan had been writing a blog for years and had a significant number of people coming to his website every month. What Shahan didn’t realise was that his blog could be used to generate an income for himself. Over the rest of the internship, and some coaching beyond that, Trudy helped Shahan figure out how to use his blog to start earning money. Now, Shahan has built himself a business, buying and selling antiques online! He has his own https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbmFf1X419iEUan4hlAoOYg/videos (YouTube channel) – where he makes videos about restoring antiques – and he’s still blogging about antiques and history on his website, http://www.throughouthistory.com/ (Throughout History). The Online Business Liftoff Program was born, available to all who struggle with finding traditional “9 to 5” work – students, stay-at-home parents, carers with limited availabilities or even older job seekers struggling to find work. BIG IDEA 1 “I believe in supporting people get experience so that they can just get their foot in the door.” (06:53) When it came to building her own business, Trudy had the chance to make the choice to either do it now, or never do it at all. So, she decided to make the leap and start a business. She thought she knew what she would do, but quickly discovered that it is one thing to work for a corporation and have a massive team around you, supporting you, and another to becoming just one person in a small business doing everything. She said that one of the things she has always done, is to have and support an internship program. These programs are a great opportunity to provide people with experience and give them the chance to get their foot in the door. She mentions that she had an intern that had sight difficulties and for that reason, it was difficult for him to find a job. It wasn’t until she found that as a hobby, he was always writing blogs about thing he was passionate about, so she coached and taught him how to monetize that blog. Through helping him develop his writing skills he was able continue doing what he loves and maintain a living from it. Trudy realized that there are many more people that could have similar problems, so she ended up creating a pilot program with Vision Australia. Through the growth that program they were able to turn that into a government funded project to enable those with disabilities to gain work experience. BIG IDEA 2 “What is it that our customers need?” (17:11) Trudy tells us where her community members are. She is currently using a private Facebook group as a medium. This Facebook group is a place for people who aren't quite ready to take the leap, to just be asked questions, talk about where they are and for her and her team to give them tips and hints etc. Facebook is great for creating awareness and letting people know that the business exists, to showcase what we are all about and all the good we are doing. They use LinkedIn more to build one-on-one relationships, developing collaboration partnerships. On the other hand, the community, on Circle, is all about nurture and support at a much deeper level, where...

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Paul Dunn, the co-founder of accountants for good and B1G1 business for good. About Paul Paul is a four-time TEDx speaker. He is a senior fellow in one of the world's leading think tanks and consults with the mentors of cutting-edge businesses around the world. He was honoured as a social innovation fellow in his new home of Singapore, something he shares with film star and philanthropist Jet Li and Walmart chairman, Rob Walton. He was one of the first 10 people in Hewlett Packard in Australia. He then created one of Australia's first computer companies, and then the Results Corporation, where he helped develop and grow 23,000 small and medium scale business enterprises. His programs are used by an estimated 226,000 companies around the world, and he continues to push the boundaries. He is featured in Forbes Magazine alongside Sir Richard Branson in a global piece on disrupters in business. He is the co-founder of accountants for good and B1G1 business for good, the global giving in initiative. B1G1 has already enabled businesses to create over 220 million good giving impacts globally. BIG IDEA 1 “Entrepreneurs, in particular, do things that allow them to make more impact, so it becomes this lovely flywheel that is based on impact” (03:34)  Paul says that there are three key ideals that can impact your sense of direction. The first one is having some sort of North Star, something that drives you, that is bigger than yourself and that is the key. The second thing is to understand something that we have always known and is that we are all connected, we've always been connected, but we realize it now.  Finally, the third one is asking yourself the right question. Was that the right track? to be able to know what the best for you and your business is. He explains that in B1G1 they are playing a significant part in that, in terms of making it easier than ever before for entrepreneurs to do it and to add meaning and purpose to what they do. As a business leader, once you get that big North Star, which involves meaning and purpose, it is not about you anymore, it's about something bigger than you and that will be your guide. BIG IDEA 2 “Imagine every time you buy a cup a coffee, a child gets access to life-saving clean water” (12:32) Paul explains how B1G1 was created and that when he was mentoring his now co-founder Masami Sato, she approached him one day with a brilliant business idea. She told him: “I want you to imagine a world where every time business is done, something great happens in our world”.  This idea excited him, and he wanted to know more about it, “you want to buy a TV because you want a better or bigger picture, imagine how would it be if, when you did that, someone who could not see got the gift of sight”. At that moment he realised that this was the best idea he ever heard in his life, so he asked her if he could keep mentoring her for the rest of her life! He clarifies that sometimes people start saying that they are lost, what he recommends to people is to look outside, look at some of the issues that you, as an entrepreneur could have an impact on. It is finding a way to hook your business onto those ideals. This also translates to potential customers, investors or team members who hear what you are doing, and then they start saying I want to be part of that as well.  The larger the purpose the more people are likely to come on board, the more likely your business is to be a magnet for talented individuals. The existing members or stakeholders within your business are more likely to be engaged and involved. It becomes this beautiful sort of virtual cycle, where the people you are influencing getter better and as result so does the world we live in. BIG IDEA 3 “Three words that are central.” (35:57) Paul explains that the way they create a community...

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Ben Teoh & Emma Carbone, founders of Bricks N Bytes. Bricks N Bytes was created in response to COVID restrictions to continue providing kids and parents a way to discover more about Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM), how to be creative with Lego and, find fun educational apps. About Ben Teoh and Emma Carbone Ben and Emma are from the City of Marion Libraries in South Australia. After being forced to close all the libraries because of COVID, they started thinking “what can we offer to families” as many kids will be at home and parents will need a little bit of support. After some research exploring what parents needed, what are the challenges they were facing with home schooling, they found the best approach was to create Bricks & Bytes. Established to build community groups where the kids can learn to create things with Legos and offering resources to parents on STEM related educational programs for their children. They also provide opportunity for hosts and business previously associated with the libraries to engage and support their audience. Both Ben and Emma love to work in a place where they can give back to people and provide something that often encourages and supports them. BIG IDEA 1 “We are all about the community, about supporting them and providing them with all the services that we have.” (6:40)  Ben and Emma notice that in many homes, families will have and use iPads and many other electronic smart devices, they came the conclusion that they needed to create something fresh that allowed them to engage with both kids and parents. Their STEM show has had positive feedback from the audience and only continues to grow. At the beginning they started just on Facebook, but within couple of months they have expanded onto YouTube and now also Instagram. The focal point of Bricks & Bytes is their live shows, where they build Legos and explore educational topics to connect with their audience. Their emphasis has always been to support and provide for community by any medium possible. Ben and Emma talk about how they try to bring a special guest on to the show from time to time, this is often someone from the science community. In the past they have had guests that have explored topics such as insects, rocket science, marine biology, and drones. All with the purpose of providing kids with an avenue to be creative and learn about the many different topics that can be explored within the STEM community. One of their key programs is the App of the week. This initiative was created specifically with parents in mind. It was to give parents a resource to discover new fun educational games that can be played with their kids.  BIG IDEA 2 “It’s fun to get that engagement with people.” (12:32) They mention that it has been a very interesting journey, where they have learnt a lot about technology and social media, and how they can use these platforms to engage with people. What really surprised them and gave them encouragement and motivation was all the support and the positive impact that they are having with their audience. They made a point mentioning that they don’t like to pre-record what they are going to say, as they believe this is the best way for them to be completely genuine and the kids love when they make mistakes building Lego. In this whole process they have made many good relationships with external people and parents are very happy to see that their kids are having fun and learning. Ben and Emma so far have used Facebook as their preferred social media platform. They have created groups where people of all ages can chat and post videos of the Legos they have created. This community has really helped the program grow and expanded, as it promotes inclusiveness and the ability share and contribute information for all to use. BIG IDEA 3

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Luke Faccini, founder of The Sponge that specialises in helping the next generation of business owners rebrand with purpose. About Luke Faccini In 1999 he started his professional brand design journey since then he has helped thousands of people put their brands on the map. While beginning as a trained graphic designer, the entrepreneurial drive took him on a path of transformation. He has experienced first-hand the impact that purpose and values have in business and the connection to brand story. Having had a “purpose moment” that transformed his outlook on business, The Sponge obtained B Corp certification in 2017. Luke is a firm believer that business can and should be a force for good. His purpose is to help good businesses become a better brand by all means necessary, this includes a book, an online program, and helping to grow the GoodNorth good business community. BIG IDEA 1 “Until that point in my life, I hadn’t actually thought about the true cost.” (6:14) Luke felt that his life was like a hamster wheel, just making money and spending money. One day he watched a documentary “The True Cost of Things”, an exposé, showing how everything works within the fast fashion industry, how that affected people, and in that moment he said “I’m going to start doing things differently”. He decided there and then that he will no longer work for brands that were involved with that type of abuse. Since then he has made a concerted effort to work only for brands that have a positive impact in the world. This decision forced him into firing clients and imploding his business, to practically starting everything again from scratch. He built an app that was designed for people that were conscientious to tell the community which brands are actually having a positive impact. From his research, Luke found an organization that certifies good ethical business practices. Following his own beliefs, he began the process of getting The Sponge B Corp certification. His vision is to help businesses on a large scale to have more positive influences in the community. He mentions that he has very good clients that trust him to help and guide them on that journey. The opportunity to collaborate with others, to solve the wicked problems in the world, and being involved in a community over and above business. BIG IDEA 2 “It's not what you do. It's what your intent is.” (13:37)  Luke explains how B Corp certification works. The company cannot be good in just one attribute, it needs to be decent as a sum across all things. It helps business leaders to think about aspects of their business, that they may not have considered before. What he is passionate about, is helping embrace and encourage people to get involved, but also providing a benchmark to improve as a team. Luke’s ley advice is when you find yourself at an event, you shouldn’t ask people, “what do you do?” As this will put you in a ladder of you comparing yourself to someone else. Instead of asking that, say what are you passionate about? You will immediately see the difference in how people will respond. This line of conversation can lead to sharing something, which can bring on collaborations, eventuating in creating solutions to problems quicker. BIG IDEA 3 “Simplicity is the key because it's not the story that you tell. It's the story that they tell.” (27:24)  Luke commented that a common mistake that companies do is making themselves the hero. By doing this you push people away because subconsciously there is only one hero in a story. People think that there is one audience for their message, this isn't the case. As a company, you have different levels of buyers and that will differ, expand, and extrapolate based on how many different products you have. You might have multiple buyers for different products and therefore multiple audiences....

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Evan Shellshear, the Head of Analytics at Biarri, a world-leading mathematical and predictive modelling company. About Evan Shellshear Evan is an expert in artificial intelligence with a Ph.D. in Game Theory from the Nobel Prize winning University of Bielefeld (in Germany). He has many years of international experience in the development and design of AI tools for a variety of industries having worked with Australia's top companies on all aspects of advanced analytical solutions. He is also the author of a number of books including the best-selling book on Amazon, Innovation Tools. He is passionate about making an impact and seeing the work he does change something for the positive. Within industry he is involved with the analysis and reporting of key information to give companies a competitive edge. He gets excited when people are consistently improving their business models which leads to greater efficiencies and a more effective / productive way of working. BIG IDEA 1 “We need to do things better” (2:21) In 2009 the founders of Biarri created a company that had a primary goal of making the world operate more efficiently. They noticed that if we as business leaders keep doing the same procedures, at some point it will not be enough. Biarri wanted to be the catalyst that could help find a better way to use the resources available to be more efficient.  He told us that at the beginning a large organization in Melbourne Australia was having problems managing their transports needs. It was all being managed on excel sheets with major inefficiencies. It got to the point that they had thousands of deliveries in specific time windows and locations, that it was just becoming too difficult for them to try to follow, and employees were starting feeling like their time was pointless. Biarri built the company a web-based tool in the cloud which gave them everything they needed. Their employees could access it from an internet browser automatically, and they could see what the best routes were and if there was any traffic. This tool could work with real life problems like road accidents and then in real-time update and optimise travel routes for drivers. BIG IDEA 2 “If we see a startup or a company that we think will have a significant impact, we will assist them” (07:36) Evan explains that they don’t just work with big brands like Google or Australia Post, they seek out startups that could have a significant impact or to disrupt their industry in a positive way. The only piece of the puzzle that they are missing is the mathematical capability, to know how to frame a problem. Biarri steps in and assists them to make good decisions with amazing tools. One example includes a company who put a computer chip in cricked balls, to improve sport analytics and science. Biarri assisted by developing machine learning algorithms to help the company understand the speed and the spin of the ball from the data that was coming from the chip. They consolidated a partnership with them and with many small startup companies around the globe to pass on a key piece of technology that they needed to better serve their target market.  BIG IDEA 3 “Technology will not make a bad business model be good, technology will not make a bad business idea be good” (16:24)  Evan describes artificial intelligence (AI) as just a computer program that can mimic the pattern recognition and detection skills that all humans possess. AI has been a part of several important improvements to society, for instance the improvement on how cars and vehicles are made. He goes on to mention it is about being proactive in the addressing the changes that are occurring, being part of the future not the past. He emphasized that companies in the future need to use technology to enhance their business model or product but...

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort chats with https://www.mj-ryan.com/ (M.J. Ryan), change expert, thought leader and one of the creators of the New York Times bestselling Random Acts of Kindness series and the author of The Happiness Makeover (nominated for the 2005 Books for Better Living award in the Motivational category), Attitudes of Gratitude, The Power of Patience, Trusting Yourself, The Giving Heart, and 365 Health and Happiness Boosters, among other titles. Altogether, there are 1.75 million copies of her titles in print. About M.J. Ryan M.J. is a coach, mentor and adviser to founders of startups around the world, as well as executives in organisations large and small. She also serves as the lead Development Guide for https://www.socialmediology.com.au/amplifying-womens-voices-s3-episode-1 (SheEO), a global community of women radically transforming how we finance, support, and celebrate female innovators.  She has appeared on The Today Show and CNN, and is a contributing editor to Good Housekeeping and Health. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and daughter. M.J. shares with us that what inspires her is the possibility of helping others, using her ability to understand what other people are going through. When we asked her how she created the publishing company, she said ‘’it was an accident completely and totally’’. The idea started, when a friend who wanted to be a book publisher, decided to create a company without any money, but luckily for them, the first book published was very successful. They started publishing books for women in the area of personal growth, self-help, inspiration and more. When the idea of Random Acts of Kindness came up, it was a collection of stories of many different people, talking about small positive experiences that had been happened within their lives. She realized and started understanding the real power of those small encounters, then the book became a worldwide sensation. BIG IDEA 1 “I had no idea how to be happy.” (3:36)  M.J. studied Psychology because she had a deep interest in how the human mind works and associated feelings. Looking to understand more, and going through therapy herself, she noticed that she wasn’t happy, but not just that, she didn’t know how to be happy. It was coming to this realization that she needed to start practicing what she wrote, these acts of kindness were the key to her happiness.  Building upon her first book, she wrote several more about gratitude and generosity. Every time she put what she wrote into practice her happiness improved. She wanted to explore this more and how it this could beneficially impact people. So, she started doing researching and working with other people, to understand as much as she could. It wasn’t until later on that the “Positive Psychology Movement” began to publish the research results that back up what M.J. had found anecdotally.  She goes on to tell us that all the positive emotions exist to help us recover from the negative ones. If we experience fear, anger, sadness, etc we send our bodies into a negative state, physiologically and emotionally and when we practice the positive ones we bring ourselves back into balance.  BIG IDEA 2 “I decided what I wanted to do is work more directly with people rather than writing books only.” (12:22) M.J. recognized that she didn’t want to be in her business anymore, she decided to sell her publishing company, so she could work more one on one with people. It was helping people that she was so passionate about. She started helping local businesses and their employees to achieve their goals, but this wasn’t enough. She told us that a focus on something that has major impact in the community, like tackling poverty, racism, and environmental change was the path she wished to take. Simultaneously, M.J. also started working...

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and http://www.socialmediology.com.au/ (Social Mediology) founder Kate vanderVoort chats with https://tonyloyd.com (Tony Loyd), former Fortune 500 executive with companies such as John Deere, Medtronic, and Buffalo Wild Wings. Tony is a best-selling author, keynote speaker, business coach, and podcast host. About TonyTony Loyd is a leadership development expert. He helps purpose-driven business leaders to thrive in life so that they can connect with others and contribute to society. He is a former Fortune 500 executive from companies such as John Deere, Medtronic, and Buffalo Wild Wings. Having walked away from his corporate career to start a podcast, personal business, and write a book, Tony’s passion is to provide advice to people to not only be successful but leave a positive and sustainable mark within the community and the environment.  BIG IDEA 1“In every story, somebody is either moving away from something or they are moving towards something.” (1:49) Tony shares that he was doing a little bit of both. In his experience working within Fortune 500 companies he noticed that these very successful businesses had strengths and weaknesses. One strength being that they heavily focused on their shareholders. Unfortunately, due to this narrow vision these companies tend to forget about the other stakeholders around them, such as the community and the planet we live on. He thought there must be a better way to approach business. He moved away from the corporate life to seek out those people he calls “social entrepreneurs”. Social entrepreneurs are individuals that want to make a dollar but also a difference, providing a product that sells and does social/environmental good. BIG IDEA 2“I was in no way differentiated from everyone else who was out there doing exactly the same thing that I was.” (6:53) Tony thought at first that he had all these skills, doing executive development, success planning and organizational design. He had this comprehensive portfolio of skills from years of experience that he planned to be his first base. However, once he put himself out there as a consultant, he came to the realization that he was the same as everyone in the market, and this had to change. Tony has been focusing on one on one coaching, this new path has really carried him through to where he is today. He found himself in new experiences, such as web development and management. It is from the one on one sessions that he found a new passion for teaching and presenting in a classroom. He made a profound statement that he follows what is called a portfolio life, when you gain knowledge of many different things and you put them in practice. At the end of the day you don’t have one major thing, you have a portfolio of many little things and it is the combination of everything that defines you. BIG IDEA 3“The truth was that I was depressed.” (11:05) Tony gave us a small glimpse into the struggles that can come from being your own boss and business owner. He goes on to mention that any strength can be a weakness when taken to the extreme. After a conversation with a close friend about the amount of time and responsibilities of being self-employed he opens up about being anxious and depressed. From a book by Johann Hari “Lost Connections: Why You're Depressed and How to Find Hope” Tony mentions that there are nine causes of anxiety and depression, and only one of them has something to do with the brain chemistry and genes. So, he realizes that he was disconnected from several meaningful circumstances within his life and it was only after coming to this understanding that he was able to take significant steps to improve his quality of life. Tony gives an insightful view on what he calls an authentic self, when you are vulnerable, and real and tell people what you're going through, they can identify with that you're not a super person, you're somebody that they...

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and http://www.socialmediology.com.au/ (Social Mediology )founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Eddie Blass, CEO and Founder of https://inventorium.com.au/ (Inventorium). About Eddie and Inventorium Having grown up in Central London and in a comprehensive school where white was the minority, she still came out on top, even with minimal interest in schooling. This experience taught Eddie much about white privilege. Inventorium began as a passion project because Eddie truly felt that the education system was favoring some people over the others, which has driven all her life. Designed by a group of academics, teachers, and corporate professionals, this learning space is slowly able to create a major shift in the way people think about and deliver education. The former full-time academic and teacher is the brains behind the concept design and the curriculum writing in the Inventorium.  BIG IDEA 1 “It’s not about everyone being the same. It’s about everyone having the same opportunities—because then people can make what they want with the opportunities.” (1:44) Eddie has been focusing her life on how to address the inequalities that stem from diversity. Inventorium partners with schools and providers to provide education to children who cannot operate within a traditional school environment. These children include those with severe anxiety, those who have been bullied, those with autism, and children who hate school and are rebellious. While she admits that Inventorium is not perfect, they do have a blueprint of how the education system could be fit for the 21st century. The curriculum that they have written supports the students to understand their identity. The children learn to understand their identity, learn how to be a great citizen, and learn about necessary employability skills. They also learn about cyberbullying, and other matters that children should be aware of. BIG IDEA 2 “The system is so broken. Something needs to be done.” (2:23) According to one report, the rate of high school dropouts is at least one in four. Eddie shares that if you watch TED talks on education, everybody is saying the same thing—but no one is actually doing anything about it. No one is creating a system that works. With Inventorium, Eddie took on this challenge and passion project, thinking, “Could I create it, and would it work?” With a 100% retention rate over two years, Eddie shares the three key points that allow them to be so successful with their students: First, the students have one teacher who sees them through everything. While they do have access to other experts should they need to get advice on certain topics, that one teacher is always there for them. Second, the learning happens at the pace of the student, and so they can slow things down when the students need a break or get stressed out over things. Third, because the students are given freedom to choose what they are learning about, the subject matter becomes highly relevant to them. With such method of learning, the children become in charge of how to use their time, and when they use their time. “They learn how to manage themselves, their time, their ambitions, their aspirations, and how to learn.” BIG IDEA 3 “There needs to be more control and choice for parents and for individuals as to what they want to see.” (28:20) When it comes to social media, Eddie generally feels that there is generally a negative impact on young people. While these platforms enable people to keep connected, she feels that the negative self-view they develop on themselves can be quite strong, What Eddie would like to see, among other things, are options for individuals such as block/delete functions on social medial platforms. If someone sees something that makes them feel bad, they should be able to block individuals so as not to get any more negative feedback. When watching advertisements on YouTube, there should be...

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Vicki Saunders, Founder of SheEO—a network of women focused on radical generosity. About Vicki and SheEO Having grown up on a farm with her parents and three brothers, Vicki learned to work hard very early in life. She grew up in an environment where they would dream at the dinner table and build these dreams the next day. There wasn’t a lot of discussion on failure. If her family had a vision, they would try to execute it. Vicki’s businesses have always been focused on both doing good and making money. She has done a lot of work with innovation, youth, and women. She spent decades looking at how to create the right conditions for people to thrive and innovate, and how to bring out the best in people in a business context. On Vicki’s journey as an entrepreneur, she noticed many things about the world that was not designed for women. She felt that there existed a very narrow definition of leadership and success, and that there was only one way to do things—and she was constantly being told that she was not doing things right. A shocking 2.2% of venture capital goes to women—and Vicki shares that it is statistically impossible for this to happen if not for massive biases existing in our current structures and systems. She thought to herself, “What would scaled-up businesses run by women on their own terms look like?” In 2015, SheEO was born. This new operating system began with the concept of being radically generous with each other, and thus bringing out the best in people. This ecosystem-based approach brings people together, and enables people to share their gifts to support those with dreams who need help. Today, SheEO is in five countries, and has funded 68 women-led ventures. All these ventures are working on the world’s to do list: The United Nations’ sustainable development goals.  BIG IDEA 1 “What if you just did the generous thing instead of judging, criticizing, pushing back?” (13:44) Entrepreneurs who have never experienced an environment like that of SheEO’s are blown away. It is a space and place for women innovators to apply and come into an environment on their own terms. These innovators can not only get funding and 0% interest loans payable in five years, but also have access to thousands of women who want to support them and grow their businesses. At SheEO, they don’t dictate the milestones, tell entrepreneurs how fast to grow, or ask for pitch decks. According to Vicki, “It is a shift from scarcity to abundance, from isolation into community.” “In many ways,” Vicki shares, “it is a healing for all of us to create a different experience for those coming after us—and all of us who are journeying together—to do this in a more human way that really resonates with what it means to be alive on this planet. It’s hard to be human. There’s so much going on—you have no idea what’s going on in people’s lives.” BIG IDEA 2 “Giving and receiving are the in breath and the out breath.” (25:41) One steps into the SheEO community by giving first—a $1100 contribution for the year or $92 a month. By doing this, people invest in themselves. One contributes to the whole, and also with a mindset of “I am here to help others.” The first thing an entrepreneur is likely to hear upon joining SheEO is “How can I help you?” The small amount that one gives is a door into abundance. According to Vicki, “You can’t contribute unless someone asks. All of us are sitting here wanting to help and wanting to contribute.” There are people out there who have things that others don't have. Some have things in overflow. “Imagine if these people gave them freely—and you gave freely what’s easy for you,” she continues. “There’s so much more ease, there’s so much more abundance, and there’s so much more that’s possible—and that’s really what we see every day.” BIG IDEA 3 “We create the economy. We are...

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Sandy Blackburn, Founder of Holding Up the Sky (https://www.amazon.com/Holding-Up-Sky-African-Lives/dp/1921208236) . About Sandy and Social Outcomes Sandy works in the social impact space—and what lights her up day after day is thinking of better ways to do things in that space. Her superpower, according to her friends, is being able to see through walls. Give her information, and she’ll be able to sort through that information into a pattern that makes sense and turn it into a new strategy for an organization or a new way of thinking and measuring impact. One principle that Sandy likes to live by is saying “yes” to things—especially when the opportunities to do interesting things arise. In 1988, she was given the opportunity to go straight out of university to live and work in South Africa—and she loved it so much that she spent the next 15 years of her life there. In this timeframe, Sandy learned how to do brave, large-scale, whole system social change work. She eventually moved back to Australia to spend time with her parents, and ended up working in the corporate world, spending almost a decade at Westpac. According to Sandy, her time in South Africa was like earning a Master’s Degree in social change, and her time in Westpac was like doing an MBA. Her experience allowed her to bring together the social financial skillsets needed to set up Social Outcomes—an organization all about helping organizations to maximize impact. They do this through many means, from finding evidence-based designs that could work for how a program is run or how an organization is built and raising capital from impact investors to designing a contract with the government that makes the most of the outcomes and the impact that the organizations create. BIG IDEA 1 “We’re seeing this shift where not for profits are starting to talk in that language of impact and outcomes.” (8:33) There’s been a global shift of outcomes in the last ten years. Previously, when corporations and not for profit organizations alike talked about what they did, they would mostly talk about activity—and that’s not enough. This shift is massive. Instead of organizations talking about activities, now they have to talk about outcomes. When it comes to activities, funders and stakeholders ask questions such as “What happens as a result?” and “How are people helped by what you are doing?” Nowadays, the government has contracts that pay when they see desired outcomes—and not activities. BIG IDEA 2 “Any program that’s worth its salt should research what works.” (24:57) When it comes to putting money into an organization, the first thing you have to see is what happens to the money. For instance, how much money is being spent on admin? Good organizations should be spending on paying for their people, for their development, better processes, and their measuring outcomes. For good, evidence-based design, the questions that need to be asked is “What works?” and “What’s changing as a result?” If the organization can’t articulate it, put your money somewhere else. Also, when you look at the evidence based around managing disasters, what you’ll see is that if an organization spends all the money in the first six months—then it’s another disaster, because people will need support for at least two years. Organizations need to drip feed it in for at least two years and not all at once, essentially using a chunk of money upfront but holding some back for supporting these communities later on. BIG IDEA 3 “Look to see who else is doing something similar and go and have a conversation.” (36:30) According to Sandy, whether the disaster is a bushfire or the loss of a loved one, the response of the people is wanting to do something—which is fantastic. Instead of starting an organization, however, Sandy wants to see more...

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Jill Ford, Founder of Refill New Zealand. About Jill and Refill Jill originally worked in the Social Marketing industry. On one visit to the UK, she was involved with a plastic pollution campaign—which was run by the same people who set up Refill in the UK. She admits that though she was aware of the plastic problem, she was not that aware of how bad the problem was. Upon returning home, Jill decided to set up Refill New Zealand—an organization basically focused on promoting the refilling of water instead of using single-use plastic bottles. Thanks to Jill’s efforts, Refill went from initially relying entirely on fundraising from film nights to later receiving support from the Auckland Health Board and other House organizations. BIG IDEA 1 “Single-use water bottles are a big issue.” (2:50) Potable water isn’t really a main issue in New Zealand, as tap water is deemed safe to drink. In fact, it is common for New Zealand cafes to have water outside, and bars are required to have water out as well. The issue lies with the 828 million single-use water bottles thrown away in New Zealand every year. “If you want to visualize that, that’s equivalent to about 164 Olympic-sized swimming pools,” Jill shares. That’s a lot of plastic—plastic that gets into the waterways, gets broken down, and eaten by marine life. Reports show that sales of bottled water have increased by 25% in the last two years—and that’s not necessarily a good thing. According to Iceland research, over 60% of international visitors said that they bought more bottled water when they were traveling compared to when they were home. Over 70% also said that they didn’t trust tap water when they were traveling. “There was nothing really that was about actually stopping it at source and also getting people to change their behavior.” With Refill, Jill hopes to see all—or at least 50% of all—sports fields and children’s playground with water fountains. She also hopes for water to be accessible on the street for when people are on the go, and she hopes for there to be a big reduction in bottled water and soft drinks purchased. BIG IDEA 2 “What started out as an environmental campaign is now an environmental and health campaign.” (5:39)  “Like Australia, we have a big obesity problem,” Jill shares, “and a lot of that is due to the high sugar intake of which soft drinks are a big component.” Most soft drinks, of course, are sold in single-use plastic bottles. There are not too many water fountains around in New Zealand, not to mention the fact that soft drinks are cheaper compared to bottle water. Health organizations could see that being involved with Refill could not increase the accessibility of water for individuals on the go, but ultimately encourage individuals to drink more water as well. With Refill, both locals and tourists can enter any café, bar, or establishment with a Refill NZ sticker on their window—which easily signifies that people can enter and refill their water bottles without feeling compelled to purchase anything. “We’re just trying to make it easy for people to get involved, and most of these tourist places will already be providing water anyway. It’s not that they’re doing anything different—but they’re just promoting. BIG IDEA 3 “It’s an action people can take.” Refill works hand in hand with the tourism industry’s campaign of reducing the carbon footprint, and asking the country’s visitors to take care of their environment and culture. Apart from the tourists, Refill is something easy for tourism operators to be involved with as well. From bungee jumping and kayaking organizations to hotels, water is slowly but surely being made available to the public. “The big thing for us is just trying to get across to international visitors that you can drink tap

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Juliette Wright, Founder and Director of GIVIT.org.au (GIVIT.org.au) —an online donation and giving platform. ABOUT JULIETTE and GIVIT A former nutritionist who specialised in autoimmune diseases, cancer, and infertility—Juliette Wright has always wanted to help people. However, she realised one day that she wanted to help out in a different manner. What started out as a person’s simple quest to donate baby clothes to a charity that really needed it has snowballed into Juliette starting a national charity. Through GIVIT, charities can request for specific items that they truly need—such as a microwave or mattress—and individuals can donate items they no longer need and give it to someone who does. Juliette and her team ensure that it’s always perfectly matched, down to the item’s size, quantity, and quality. BIG IDEA 1 “It’s incredibly addictive to watch giving flow and helping it happen.” (8:47) Juliette quickly realized that charities in her area needed very specific, sometimes even unusual, things. One charity asked for work boots, so that the father of a homeless family could get a job. “The simple school shoes that your kids no longer require, the lovely pencil case that they got given as a present that they never use—we do guarantee through GIVIT that they will go directly to someone who actually needs it,” Juliette shares. They even allow the recipient to choose which donation to accept, giving them a sense of ownership. Juliette shares that these recipients tend to hold on to their items longer when they’re have a choice as to what they’re given. As such, her team sort through the donations, and have the right to refuse donations when they feel that it’s no longer in useable condition, or is essentially deemed not fit for gifting. Apart from helping out those in need, GIVIT also sees to it that they help out the local economy when possible. When the quantity needed is large, for instance, then the charity asks its donors for money instead of physical items. The charity then uses then use this money to purchase the items from the local retailers.  BIG IDEA 2 “We are never not activated now.” (20:34) Regardless of the time of year, GIVIT is working on either small or large activations. While they’re not always activated on the level of fires where all hands are on deck, they have other appeals that keep them busy. From January to April, for instance, they work on their Back to School campaign for kids that don't have essentials such as shoes, a pencil case, or a hat. After the holidays, they also get numerous requests stemming from domestic violence cases and families getting displaced who are in need of support. BIG IDEA 3 “Don’t ever just give up, even if it just takes a little longer.” (43:37)  Juliette built her website numerous times—and failed—before getting it to work the way she wanted it to. She had lost about 800-900 AUD. She felt like an absolute failure, and shares that even if nobody else knew that she had failed—she did. But she dug really deep and told herself, “I’m going to do this anyway.” No matter what other people thought, she knew that it was important to her, and that’s what mattered. It's been 11 years since GIVIT was first launched, and to date, over 1.5 million items have been donated to people in need. Juliette has been recognized has as 2015’s Australian Local Hero, and GIVIT has been promoted by celebrities such as the Duchess of Cornwall and even Barack Obama. The charity has recently been given funding from the federal government’s Department of Emergencies to enable the website to manage multiple catastrophic disasters at the same time. Juliette continues to work tirelessly to ensure that GIVIT becomes a “giving portal that can be resilient enough to manage the quantity of people who want

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Ryan Elson, who tells us about how his multiple endeavors—Tribe, EmployMeet, and the Guardian App—and how these came about. ABOUT RYAN, TRIBE, EMPLOYMEET, and GUARDIAN APP Sometimes, we as a society create systems that obviously don’t work, yet we continue to do them anyway because that’s how it’s always been done. Ryan has always had an eye for broken systems, and so he does his best to go in and improve them. Improving the way things are done is exactly what he is doing with his multiple undertakings: Tribe—a social inclusion program, EmployMeet—an alternative to traditional employment services, and Guardian app—a simple messaging app that prevents abusive exchanges of texts. He is even running for council! BIG IDEA 1 “One of the first questions I always ask is, ‘Who can you control?’—and everyone goes, ‘Me.’ And that’s the truth. There’s nothing else. There’s no one else. No one’s responsible for your behavior. No one’s responsible for the way you’re feeling.” (5:30) Ryan has dealt with his fair share of challenges as both a child and an adult. From losing his parents at an early age to separating with his wife and later losing his child to cancer, he truly resonates with the saying, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” While bad things happen to everybody, not everyone chooses to do something with that. Ryan has learned to look at the situations he’s been through and found multiple ways to make positive change. Tribe is all about social inclusion, providing connections to individuals who feel lonely and isolated. They have regular events—from monthly Tribe gatherings over food and drinks, family gatherings at the beach, coffee dates, Tribe trivia, and even regular visits to the home for the elderly. There are very few rules in this social inclusion program, and one of these rules is that you must talk to people you don’t know. With EmployMeet, Ryan provides opportunities for jobseekers and employers to meet in a more comfortable setting. There are no interviews and no resumes here—It’s all about you. Ryan is currently working on EmployMeet.com—a website that differs from other employment websites. “Think of it like a dating app for employment,” Ryan explains. Instead of job advertisements, employers can basically act as headhunters, searching through a database of jobseekers that fit the parameters they have set. Employers are also able to see videos of the jobseekers, giving them an opportunity to hear them speak and see how they present themselves. The Guardian app was inspired by bad breakups and how quickly things can get out of control when emotions are high. Texting can be particularly difficult and easily misconstrued, and Ryan believes that no one should have to be on the receiving end of an abusive exchange of texts. Guardian app is a good option for two people who are going through a difficult time, but who still need to contact each other. This messaging app that blocks roughly 500 abusive words and phrases. If one party tries to send a message of that nature, the sender will receive a message stating “This message has not been delivered and has been deemed inappropriate.” The receiver, on the other hand, will never have to read such message. This simple messaging service forces people to have a civilized, drama-free exchange of messages. BIG IDEA 2 “Employment is not just people earning money—because that’s what everybody thinks it is. Employment is purpose.” (12:50) For Ryan, running for council is another way to make positive change. To him, having purpose in your life is the most fantastic thing. He feels for young people, who are struggling to find their purpose. Employment for the young ones means going through the job network, and being judged by their resume—which doesn’t tell you who these people really are. All of this, however,

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Melissa Spilsted, Founder and Director of Hypnobubs (https://www.hypnobubs.com/) . ABOUT MELISSA, HYPNOBIRTHING AUSTRALIA, AND HYPNOBUBS Melissa started out in the travel industry, and would travel to new places for days, weeks, and even months at a time, trying to find out her reason for being. Upon arriving in Australia, Melissa began to teach travel and tourism to others. She had finally found her passion—teaching. She completed an education degree and a drama degree, but realized that she wasn’t suited to teaching at schools. Melissa then met her husband, and over the years, had three children. Hypnobirthing classes weren’t readily available back then, so she read books and created her own form of hypnobirthing for her children. She realized that all of her previous experiences and training pointed her towards the same direction. She used the knowledge acquired from her degrees to teach hypnobirthing. It was kind of by accident and it wasn’t at all what she planned to do, but here she is. Today, Hypnobirthing Australia and Hypnobubs are the fastest growing childbirth education courses in Australia. Through them, Melissa is also able to teach hypnobirthing techniques to parents and practitioners from all over. BIG IDEA 1 Hypnobirthing, is a fancy word for a positive birth. (7:20) While the term hypnobirthing sounds a bit weird, it refers to the use of self-hypnosis—a state of deep relaxation tapping into your own subconscious. These skills are used to stay calm during birth. The time of giving birth, after all, is an intense collision of the physical, emotional, and spiritual. Hypnobirthing helps one to create and maintain a really positive mindset, remove fear leading up to birth, and also to be able to chill and to release and let go during birth. Self-hypnosis is just a small part of hypnobirthing. Hypnobirthing is a comprehensive, evidence-based antenatal course that covers everything from tools and knowledge to support and preparation. Women don’t have the same care during their actual labor as they have had through their pregnancy. (9:38) Hypnobirthing provides a certain continuity of care. Women in Australia and all over the world end up birthing with strangers—but the one thing that is constant is having one’s partner there. BIG IDEA 2 They’re skills for life. (21:35) Melissa knows how beneficial hypnobirthing is for babies, mothers, and families—and has always wanted to make hypnobirthing accessible to everyone. However, she realized that she has been limiting her big plan. Their online course is very popular, and is actually the leading antenatal course in Australia. Hypnobirthing Australia gets so much interest internationally for their programs, and she receives weekly requests from countries who want to translate their online courses or teach their face-to-face courses. All Melissa needs to expand internationally is the right people in her realm to help and support her, and so she’s ready to expand this year. BIG IDEA 3 Trust your instincts. (31:00) Melissa was a trained teacher and had a fantastic job. Though she was happy and loved what she did, she knew that her instinct told her that she could make more of an impact by creating her new business. She took a leap of faith in many ways. Her advice? Take the chance. Because if you really want to experience joy and joy beyond where you are now, sometimes you need to make some changes and take some risks (31:59). Episode Links You can find Melissa Spilsted and more about Hypnobirthing Australia and Hypnobubs at: ·         https://hypnobirthingaustralia.com.au/ (https://hypnobirthingaustralia.com.au/) ·         https://www.hypnobubs.com/ (https://www.hypnobubs.com/)...

** Please note - there is a slight echo during the asking of questions. We apologise for this issue in this episode. In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort shares a conversation with Darren Lomman, founder of Greenbatch. ABOUT DARREN and GREENBATCH As a child, Darren was a tinkerer. He liked to pull toys apart, and wanted to see what was inside and how things worked. Naturally, he took up Engineering at the University of Western Australia. Darren’s ultimate goal was to do good in the world. After dedicating 15 years of his life to building a company that focused on building gear for individuals with disabilities, Darren searched for a new problem to solve. In December 2016, Darren saw an advertisement for reusable shopping bags, which stated that in 2050, there would be more plastic in the ocean than fish. After researching on plastics and plastics and the ocean, he knew he wanted to a make a positive impact. In his research, Darren found photos of rivers in China and all throughout Southeast Asia full of plastic. Darren then wanted to look into Australia’s own recycling system, initially planning to study how their recycling system worked to teach those in Southeast Asia. However, he was surprised to find out that there weren’t too many reprocessing facilities in Australia. “We can be doing better than this,” Darren thought to himself. He then put his hand up to see what he could to do tackle this problem in Australia. He established Greenbatch, the first plastics reprocessing plant in Western Australia. BIG IDEA 1 “That bin which we call a recycling bin should really be called a recyclables bin.” (6:52) Not everything that goes into the recycling bin at home gets recycled. A truck comes along to take your recyclables to a material recovery facility—and these companies call themselves recyclers. They will comb through your stuff and sort them out—paper, cardboard, glass, metal, different kinds of plastics. That’s where their job finishes. They move the materials somewhere else. Reprocessing is the next step after sorting, but locally, no one has invested the time, effort, and money to do the next step. As a result, these recyclable materials get put on a ship and sent to China, where about 50-75% of the world’s recycled plastics was being shipped to. However, China has since banned the import of waste plastic into their country, and recycling industries have had to look for somewhere else to send these materials. For every 100 pieces of plastic, only nine will get recovered, sorted in a facility, and end up reprocessed into a new product—91 will not. Unfortunately, there are only three places that plastics not recycled will end up—land, water, and air. Land refers to legal dumping or landfilling, or illegal dumping through littering. It will end up in our water—In rivers and oceans. In the air, it’s through wasted incinerations. BIG IDEA 2 “A Container Deposit Scheme is not actually a recycling program. It’s an anti-litter program.” (13: 57) With the Buy Back Scheme, 10 cents is paid per bottle—and these bottles are sent offshore. South Australia, for instance, has had a Container Deposit Scheme for 40 years, yet no one bothered to build a reprocessing plant in South Australia. They were putting on ships and sending them overseas as well. Container Deposit Schemes are designed so that people will pick up the litter and get it off the street. If you look closely, certain bottles are eligible, and certain are not. Milk bottles and wine bottles, which can be recycled, are not eligible. That’s because you won’t usually see a milk or wine bottle on the street. According to Darren, “The eligibility was derived from a litter order back in the 1970s, and we have maintained the same eligibility. If it was a true recycling program, why would we stop at just certain beverage bottles? Why not make all...

In this sixth episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort has a conversation with All Villani, author of  Ali the Shiny Sparkly Unicorn (https://www.alitheshinysparklyunicorn.com/) . ABOUT ALI VILLANI and ALI THE SHINY SPARKLY UNICORN Ali Villani is on a mission to redefine what it means to be alive. She is an international speaker, sought after assertiveness coach and Founder of the ALIVE Women’s Circle; a thriving network of like-minded women seeking a safe place to grow. She also created ‘Ali the Shiny Sparkly Unicorn’ a children’s book inspired by her own experiences of being bullied at school and aimed at sharing a powerful message of self-awareness. Her desire to empower individuals all over the world also led to her creating the Tree of Life Group, a philanthropic project in Nepal designed to develop leadership and create resources for those in need.  BIG IDEA 1 Ali has a strong desire to connect others for the greater good, first serving herself, and then finding ways she can serve others. The creation of Ali the Unicorn “I see everything in bright colours, I don’t see anything within the box or within the lines.” Ali always knew she was different. Experiencing mental health challenges and illness in her developmental years, these experiences led her to hide her shiny, sparkly ingredients from the world. Through an online community of women that she created on Facebook, Ali found a safe space to share uplifting messages and ideas with others and was soon referred to as ‘Ali the shiny sparkly unicorn’, hence the character was born. What Ali the unicorn teaches us (7:00)  “Your shiny sparkly ingredients are what make you special”. The character was created to show children how to embrace their differences and channel their uniqueness into doing good in the world. Ali talks about how she uses the book and character as a tool to connect with kids and teach them about bullying. BIG IDEA 2 “I love connecting with humans on a very deep level but I don’t like connecting with them on a very superficial level.” (10:55) Imagine what we could do for the consciousness of the planet if we only spread kindness and positivity through social media? Social media can be polarising but Ali believes we all have the opportunity to influence and inspire others through using social media as a tool for spreading kindness. “We need to see moral education being taught in everyday curriculum.” (13:00) Ali believes that learning psychological skills will help address rising mental health problems and suicide rates in young people and she sees a dire need to bring more moral code into our education system. BIG IDEA 3 How to set boundaries on social media (17:30) Facebook has been an amazing tool for spreading Ali’s message around the world and allowing her to post uplifting content that has influenced people’s behaviour, but she has had to set strong boundaries in using it to ensure she maintains her mental health and happiness. We all have that same power to engage or disengage with content and it’s important we recognise the boundaries we can set ourselves. How to connect more authentically with others (23:25) Ali talks about the roles of self awareness and personal responsibility in understanding our own behaviours and teaching others how to treat us. Episode Links You can find Ali Villani and more about Ali The Shiny Sparkly Unicorn here: Instagram or Facebook @AliTheShinySparklyUnicorn You can buy the book and kindness dolls here:   https://www.alitheshinysparklyunicorn.com/local-store/ (https://www.alitheshinysparklyunicorn.com/local-store/) https://www.alitheshinysparklyunicorn.com (https://www.alitheshinysparklyunicorn.com/) Keep listening to the upcoming episodes of podcasts by joining in Social Lights Podcast...

In this fifth episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort has a conversation with Mat Bowtell from  Free 3D Hands (http://www.free3dhands.org/) . ABOUT MAT and FREE 3D HANDS A senior engineer at Toyota, Mat Bowtell has spent more than a decade figuring out ways to improve processes, make things more efficient, and reduce waste. When Mat’s former employer announced their closure, it became a time of real reflection for him. He asked himself a simple question: "If money did not exist—and if we completely eliminated money from the equation—what would I do with my life?" (6:51) When Toyota closed in 2017, he put his passion for bionics to good use. Through his registered charity, Free 3D Hands, Mat and his team now utilize 3D printing technology to make free assistive devices for individuals who need them. BIG IDEA 1 “Is there a way that I can use my engineering skills during this time to do something positive and give back to society?” (8:16) Tapping back into his love for bionics, Mat’s vision was a simple one: To make one hand for one kid. After testing out a million-dollar bionic hand during a scholarship at Japan’s Chiba University, his eyes lit up by what it could do. This technology could read the signals in your hand, as well as open and close. At the same time, he was really saddened as he realized that “this million-dollar arm probably won’t ever filter down to the people who really need it most.” (8:00) In 2014, Mat volunteered for a small group in the US called Enabled. Initially, the hands he made were open source designs. After collaborating with designers from all over the world, he found that some of their designs could be improved significantly. His background in engineering made him ask questions like, “How do we make things stronger? How do we make them more aesthetic? How do we reduce the noise? How do we make them more adaptable?” He started to design things that weren’t yet being made, and began to share those ideas with the group so that the community could accelerate and improve this technology to make them more accessible. BIG IDEA 2 “The ultimate goal for me is for every child, every person in this world, to have access to devices that are going to improve their quality of life.” (14:47) Mat’s vision for Free 3D Hands is not to disrupt and dominate. He’s not after the whole pie, and has no intentions of manufacturing for the whole world. Instead, he wants to encourage other bionic developers and prosthetists around the world to find smarter ways to do things. As he shares, “I want the world to start focusing on those that don’t have access to assisted technology.” (15:32) For Mat, the beautiful thing about 3D printing and making designs open source is that he’s able to encourage others to innovate. He’s able to enable and empower communities—from prosthetic clinics to individual makers with no access to skilled workforce—to make and access this sort of technology. It’s also a very low-waste process. With less waste, there’s a real opportunity to make it at a lower cost and make it more accessible. BIG IDEA 3 “They are not prosthetics—they are tools.”  (22:24). The term ‘disability’ has a negative connotation to it. To Mat, it’s about our mindset. “It’s not about fixing somebody.” (21:14) If a person has a condition, questions that should be asked are 'How can we enhance your ability?' and 'How can we give you new opportunities?' “We’re all beautifully different.” (21:34) Through Free 3D Hands, Mat and his team are able to create assistive devices for able-bodied people to hold and achieve something that they couldn’t do before. The tools they create enable people to try new things, or perform a new task—from holding small objects, using a skipping rope, playing the piano or drums or throwing a ball....

In this fourth episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Angie Abdilla, founder and CEO of Old Ways, New (https://oldwaysnew.com/) . ABOUT ANGIE and OLD WAYS, NEW As a writer, director, and producer in the film industry for 15 years, Angie Abdilla saw a significant shift in the way that storytelling was changing. She became fascinated with how technology could be so powerful—so powerful that various industries and sectors were cropping up because of it.   Pattern thinking, from an indigenous perspective, is a way of understanding the interrelationship and interconnection of things in the world. Angie, together with a roboticist, wrote a research paper that explored the concept of pattern thinking and pattern recognition in the context of robotics and new emerging technologies, particularly AI. This research paper was presented to the UN, and Old Ways, New came from that point—sitting with indigenous elders and leaders taking about how pattern thinking can form technology to be more socially and environmentally sustainable. BIG IDEA 1 It has always been about exploring and implementing ways for us to use our indigenous knowledges and knowledge systems to inform new emerging technologies. (11:40) There’s an inherent belief that the indigenous community has this knowledge that is embedded within them, and that they have the capacity to lead the technology revolution and to have indigenous autonomy. It’s about creating spaces and opportunities for leadership—for their old ways to be respected and regarded, and for these old ways to form better solutions, better strategic designs, and technology solutions and outcomes. BIG IDEA 2 We are not interested in growth like other companies are. We are interested in sustainability. (19:18) The mandate of Old Ways, New is clear. The company is not interested in sustainability in the Western sense, but from a very different perspective. From an indigenous perspective, it is the inherent interconnection of both social and environmental sustainability. This belief extends into how the company runs, in every decision made. If the relationships aren’t there, or aren’t strong in the first place, then nothing moves. Ultimately, it always comes back to relationships. BIG IDEA 3 We can’t fit neatly in a box. (20:25) Angie and the team at Old Ways, New like to communicate that straight up front: “We don't fit in boxes.” (20:25) The company has a very different way of working. What they do is work with you, they bring you along the process to enable a really great outcome. To them, it’s a matter of bringing in different people they often engage in with leadership—otherwise, it doesn’t permeate. Typically, they only engage in a context when there’s multiple people in the room so that they can see where there are opportunities for cross-collaboration. They try to keep things simple, and believe that their ways create a whole range of insights and inputs that one would never get from a typical service provider with a formulaic process. That’s why Old Ways, New has some really strong relationships—because people are starting to get it. There’s nothing altruistic about the company. They do things their way because it is better, and because there’s great benefit for the indigenous community. As Angie says, “It’s not easy, but it’s happening. We are creating those inroads.” (21:56)  Episode Links You can find Angie Abdilla and more about Old Ways, New at: ·         https://oldwaysnew.com/ (https://oldwaysnew.com/) Keep listening to the upcoming episodes of podcasts by joining in Social Lights Podcast produced by Social Mediology. You can connect with us on Facebook at  socialmediology.com.au/sociallights (https://www.socialmediology.com.au/sociallights) . Thanks for your time and stay inspired,

In this third episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort has a conversation with Mandy Richards, Founder and CEO of Global Sisters (https://globalsisters.org/) , who has created an amazing organisation that makes business a genuine alternative for any woman. ABOUT GLOBAL SISTERS Mandy Richards has always been naturally entrepreneurial, and felt that she was ready for another project. She is passionate about human rights, loves anything to do with businesses, and knew that she wanted to work with women. The result? Global Sisters—a long-term program that aims to “support women who are unable to access meaningful, mainstream employment.” BIG IDEA 1 “An avenue to connect women to the markets they didn’t have access to”—and more. (4:32) Initially, Global Sisters aimed to be a platform where women could sell their products, providing support in developing products that people would actually want to buy. Working with several women with refugee backgrounds, however, opened up a can of worms. Though they started out as a business coach, Mandy and her team quickly realized that they needed education, as well. As Mandy shared, “We worked our way backwards and backwards and backwards, then started working our way forwards again.” Today, the program now comprises of a half-day workshop, a business program with a sister school made up of nine modules, access to facilitated group coaching sessions, one-on-one coaching sessions, valuable resources, and a lot more. BIG IDEA 2 “Making business possible for all women.” (5:16) There’s often no consideration of what barriers to employment women might be facing. These barriers could be far and wide—living in an area with really high unemployment, being a single mom to small children and having no access to childcare, suffering from mental illness, living with a disability, or being retrenched at the age of 50. Global Sisters strives to create a genuine alternative means for Australian women to create an income for themselves. BIG IDEA 3 Seeing so many people who are prepared to believe in them and support them—that has a massive impact. (13:07) In Sister Pitch, a recent event held in Melbourne, 11 women presented their businesses to a live audience and pitched for access to networks, business opportunities, and pro-bono services. There was incredible support from different companies. Apart from networks, women are also given also access to expertise, tangible services to accelerate their business to the next level, and to a sister tribe which opens a whole lot of support in itself. As of date, Global Sisters has, in some way, supported 1200 to 1300 women. Keep listening to the upcoming episodes of podcasts by joining in Social Lights Podcast produced by Social Mediology. You can connect with us on Facebook at @SocialLightsPodcast and find future episodes at  socialmediology.com.au/sociallights (www.socialmediology.com.au/sociallights) . Episode Links You can find Mandy Richards and more about Global Sisters at: ·        Online shop: https://globalsisters.org/shop/ (https://globalsisters.org/shop/) ·        Website: https://globalsisters.org/ (https://globalsisters.org/) ·        Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GlobalSisters/ (https://www.facebook.com/GlobalSisters/) ·        Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/GlobalSisters/ (https://www.instagram.com/GlobalSisters/) ·        Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/GlobalSistersAU/ (https://www.twitter.com/GlobalSistersAU/) Thanks for your time and stay inspired, Kate vanderVoort

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Lucas Becker, who tells us why he and his partners started Grilo Protein (https://griloprotein.com.au/) , and why they think crickets are the food of the future. ABOUT GRILO PROTEIN Lucas and his three co-founders wanted a business with a purpose. Though driven towards eating healthy, sustainability has also been a huge player in their lifestyles. They eat organic when possible, source local produce, and make it a habit to avoid plastic bags and drive less. Their vision for Grilo Protein? "A planet and it's people powered by future-conscious food". The best way they can achieve this vision? Sharing their knowledge and educating people on eating bugs. BIG IDEA 1 "Crickets—the next big thing in healthy food" (11:17) Crickets are nutritious—and are a very good option for those with an iron or B12 deficiency who don’t want to eat meat every day. Grilo Protein offers an interesting and nutritious range of cricket products, from whole roasted crickets to energy bars and cricket powder. With their Supergreens and Cricket powder, you get 153% of your Reference Daily Intake (RDI) of iron. With their plain Cricket Powder, you get 155% RDI of B12. Even pregnant mums have good things to say about their cricket powder! BIG IDEA 2 "Producing healthy food with nothing to hide" (13:07) When it comes to what’s inside their products, Grilo Protein has nothing to hide. Everything you read in the labels are real ingredients—you’ll find no numbers in their ingredients list. They do their absolute best to ensure that people know what they are eating. BIG IDEA 3 "Providing people maximum nutrition with minimum resources from the environment" (13:32) For Grilo Protein, sustainability is a big driver. They strive to show that by eating crickets, you are choosing a protein alternative that uses far less resources, takes up far less land, uses minimum water, and is 12x more efficient than many other proteins currently in the market. Episode Links You can find Lucas Becker and more about Grilo Protein at: ·         https://griloprotein.com.au (https://griloprotein.com.au) ·         https://www.facebook.com/griloprotein (https://www.facebook.com/griloprotein) Thanks for your time and stay inspired, Kate vanderVoort

Julie Mason (Founder of Gutsy Business and Linked Sales Formula) interviews Kate vanderVoort (Podcast Host and Founder of Social Mediology) for the first ever Social Lights podcast. Find out about the inspiration for the podcast and what kind of interviews are in the works.