by Tad Hargrave
We’re so excited to announce that, after being shocked with 14 amazing people replying to our shout out for a social media coordinator (when we really weren’t sure we’d get anyone at all), we’ve finally found Breanna (pictured right) for the job.
Being new to Edmonton but having fallen in love with it quickly, she’s the kind of perspective we want to be bringing to our team – someone who understands what it’s like to be disconnected from what’s happening and then to find it – someone who can help make it easy (if not inevitable) for Edmontonians who want to find out what’s happening and how to get involved.
We met at Credo downtown last Thursday and I was instantly charmed and impressed – knowing we’d found the perfect person. For her social media street cred, she has full bragging rights at having taken the @whereedmonton twitter account from roughly 400 followers to 2140 in the past four months. And she did it just by posting good content and engaging a lot of conversations and being helpful.
To help you all get to know her, I sent her a few questions. Enjoy the interview.
So, Breanna, you’re the new (and first!) official social media coordinator for The Local Good! We’d love for people to get to know the one behind the tweets of the future.
I’m so pleased to be taking on this role and begin to work with The Local Good, and to start tweeting with some amazing locals (that’s you, reading this!)
So, where are you from originally and what brought you to Edmonton?
I’m actually from Calgary and I moved to Edmonton in the fall of 2011 to do a graduate degree at the University of Alberta. When I finished my degree, I knew Edmonton was a city I would like to continue to live in as I pursued new endeavours.
What made you decide to stay?
The vibrant cultural and social community and the amazing options for quality, unique, local shopping, dining, and entertainment. Edmonton has such a great scene for all of these things, because the local options offer incomparable atmosphere, personality, and quality. I also felt a strong sense of engagement with the people I met; so many people here have a very dedicated, inspiring attitude. There are lots of opportunities to meet new people, learn more about projects and issues I’m interested in, and get involved with various projects and networks. I just really enjoyed myself here and felt that it was a place where I could be a part of something and contribute to this engaged, cultural community.
What are your favourite things you’ve discovered in Edmonton that you’ve loved most?
Dining at The Next Act is pretty much a weekly occurrence for me, and the Sugar Bowl is a favourite place to grab a drink. I also love the great options for theatre – Rapid Fire Theatre’s improv shows are absolutely hilarious and fantastic and are a fun weekend activity, and I love just going to Tix on the Square and seeing what shows are playing at each of the theatre venues. Metro Cinema at the Garneau is also fabulous; I try never to miss a Turkey Shoot.
Can you tell us three quirky or nerdy things about you?
All too easily! I can read Latin; I love the Harry Potter novels; and I frequently quote The Office in normal conversation (only Seasons 1-4 though; I like to pretend the other seasons never happened).
What’s your past experience with social media?
I found Twitter was a great way to meet and keep in touch with others in Edmonton. Edmonton has such a vibrant, active social media community! I also tweet from the Where Edmonton account and am very pleased with the following I’ve built there and the great interactions I get to have about timely events and activities happening in the city.
What’s your vision for The Local Good’s social media presence?
I want to be able to promote all of the awesome projects, venues, people, and events associated with this organization in a way that is accessible to a very diverse audience. I hope to be able to engage people in Edmonton in a way that they can benefit from what The Local Good has to offer them. I hope to be a friendly, informative resource for anyone curious about what it means to live local in our city!
Anything else?
I’m just really excited about this project, and look forward to interacting and tweeting with the local community!