One of the things that brings me joy is my work with children and teens who have Autism or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). When I tell people that I tutor and coach people with ASD I often get quizzical looks or outright questions of why I would want to do something like that.
She’s Connected and my BlackBerry
You know what I absolutely love hearing when showing off my Bold 9900? “Wow, I didn’t know a BlackBerry could do THAT“. I heard that a lot this weekend at the She’s Connected Conference in Toronto. Mostly it was the simple things like the fact that managing multiple accounts in the Native Twitter Application is so easy. Or that I could remote control my PlayBook from my Bold 9900 (to be honest, that was me showing off because I had the bluetooth keyboard for the PlayBook and was perfectly capable of typing on that but I like the wow factor of the remote control). I loved meeting so many fellow BlackBerry devotees and being able to help them use their devices more easily. It’s not rocket science but there are tips and tricks that will enhance your experience as a member of Team BlackBerry.
The one question everyone seemed to ask me was if I was excited about the upcoming release of the BlackBerry 10 devices and operating system. The answer to that was an unequivocal YES! I am very excited about BlackBerry 10 and can’t wait until it is released! I still don’t know how I’m going to get a BlackBerry 10 device into my hot little hands but rest assured, it will be done. I have friends who are developers for BlackBerry and their excitement at what the BB10 OS can do has rubbed off on me. I truly believe that there is a core market of BlackBerry users who may have switched to another platform who are waiting for an excuse to come back to the BlackBerry fold. I believe that the BlackBerry 10 Operating System will be the thing to bring them back. I spoke to quite a few people who either had been BlackBerry users in the past or who were simply curious about the new product launch. A number of them were at the end of their cell phone contracts and were eligible for a new device, either now or at the beginning of the year. After chatting with me, many of them are waiting to see what BlackBerry 10 has to offer before deciding what phone to get. I wasn’t out to strong arm people into becoming members of Team BlackBerry but I wanted people to give it a chance.
BlackBerry isn’t for everyone. If you want a smartphone to game on, then this isn’t the right solution for you. However, if you want your phone to work FOR you, and WITH you then you need to consider BlackBerry. I primarily use my BlackBerry for social media, emails, as a gps, as a camera, and *gasp* to make and receive phone calls Yes I have a number of very entertaining apps and games, but they’re not the reason I chose my BlackBerry. I have far more games on my 64 gb PlayBook.
Not once all conference did i wish I had a different phone. My Bold 9900 had no issues connecting to the wifi, releasing the cached wifi info page so I could log in again on the second day, or with maintaining a battery charge throughout the conference. I don’t want to have to carry around a charger for my phone because it won’t last 10 hours. I was having too much fun trying to meet up with twitter friends to be hunting for somewhere to plug in my phone.
Let Me Introduce Myself.
So I’m super-inspired by all my blogging friends – I want to have a blog that people read and that makes them think twice about their preconceived notions – both about women in sports and maybe about women in general. I am not, however, sure where to start.
I guess I should introduce myself. I’m 31, between jobs at the moment as I have just left my Ph.D program (unfinished) to actually *do* something with my life, and a sports fanatic. My first passion is the CFL. I co-host a weekly on-line radio show about the CFL. I have loved football in all of its incarnations for as long as I can remember. I also love Open-Wheel racing. I was 6 when the (then) Molson Indy roared through the streets of Toronto for the first time – I went with my parents and fell in love with the sound of the engines and even the smell of the hot rubber. Formula One came a bit later but I am no less passionate about it. I watch baseball, hockey, lacrosse, and basketball when there is no football or racing to watch.
I am also passionate about social media. I believe that connecting with other people is one of the greatest gifts of the technological age and that social media is an easy way to meet all sorts of fabulous people I wouldn’t otherwise meet. I am trying to figure out how to merge these two interests of mine – sports and social media.
I’m also intrigued by brand blogging. I have always been the type of person who, when they find something neat, is more than willing to tell everyone within earshot how fabulous it is. I also am not afraid to tell people when something fails to meet my expectations. It seems to follow that brand blogging would be a natural extension of my nature – the question is how do I start. Actually there are more questions – how do I ensure that I can remain true to my moral code while still doing the job expected of a brand blogger? I don’t think I could endorse something I didn’t truly love. How could I, in good conscience send my friends off to buy something I think is crap? I don’t lie well. Never have – even as a kid my guilty conscience would get the best of me within minutes. I want to be sure that I won’t be selling myself to the devil in order to get some free stuff.
I guess that’s enough of an introduction. I have another post I want to share today so I should get going on that one.
Jenn