​Hi, I’m Alyson

I'm a writer and award-winning business owner, and I’ve been publishing content online since 2001.

By day, I’m the President of Starling Social, an award-winning digital marketing agency nestled in the heart of the prairies.

By night, I blog here.

I’ve been writing as long as I can remember, and it’s always been a useful exercise in exploring my creativity, documenting my life, and flexing my rhetorical skills.

Blogging, as you may have guessed, is a big part of who I am. My blog is where I record my life. Where I make sense of my thoughts.

It's how I share myself with the world.

So, welcome! I hope you enjoy your time here.

Some things I'm proud of 

2023

  • I was a finalist for the Women in Business Manitoba "Woman Entrepreneur of The Year" Award 
  • I joined the board of The Manitoba Chamber Orchestra
  • I taught a class on "AI and The Future of Copywriting" for The University of Winnipeg's Business Administration program
  • I participated in the University of Winnipeg Business Administration Student Association's "Company Crawl Day"
  • I delivered workshops for Volunteer Manitoba on email marketing, social media basics, and content strategy
  • I volunteered as part of the CancerMaps project.

2022

  • I developed the "Marketing" session for and presented at Volunteer Manitoba's "Community Youth Innovators Program"
  • I presented on developing a personal brand as a massage therapist to the Massage Therapy Association of Manitoba
  • I continued my series of webinars for rural entrepreneurs through The HUBs Manitoba
  • I presented about digital marketing for theatre to Theatre By the River
  • I joined the board of The University of Winnipeg Alumni Association

2021

  • I won the Volunteer Manitoba "SPARK Pro Bono Volunteer Award" 
  • I spoke about developing your personal brand for the Manitoba Women in Tech Meetup Group
  • I spoke at the Club Innovation Conference about digital marketing strategies for gold courses and private clubs
  • I presented a webinar to Agriculture in the Classroom Canada on how to amplify their digital presence
  • I presented to the Canadian Association of Gift Planners and developed their digital marketing strategy
  • I presented to the Professional Property Managers Association (PPMA) about digital marketing for real estate
  • I continued my series of webinars for rural entrepreneurs through The HUBs Manitoba
  • I continued my pro bono work with SPARK and helped 

2020

2019

  • I was a guest storyteller in he Winnipeg Fringe Festival play "One Great Winnipeg!"
  • I ran a Social Media Strategies workshop with the Canadian Senior Artist Resource Network (CSARN)
  • I ran a workshop about SEO strategies with Creative Manitoba and Manitoba Music
  • I spoke about a book that changed my life at PechaKucha Vol. 38
  • I spoke at the Ad Association of Winnipeg's "Digital Day 2019"

2018

  • I was a spokesperson for The Coalition for Portage and Main (VoteOpen)
  • I hosted two sold-out workshops with The Kinship Studio
  • I spoke at The Social School 2018
  • I presented on content marketing at the Engage! 2018 Digital Summit

2017

  • I was a keynote speaker at TEDxWinnipeg 2017
  • I hosted a sold-out lunch and learn about using personal branding to land your dream job
  • I presented on using content marketing to increase sales at the Chill Out! Digital Workplace Summit

Older + ongoing

  • I'm a Board Member of The Manitoba Chamber Orchestra
  • I'm the Communications Director for TEDxWinnipeg
  • I'm an annual speaker at Red River College's Creative Communications program
  • I was awarded a 2015 TechFutures Grant from the Province of Manitoba for my tech-driven business idea
  • My blog articles were regularly republished on Mytoba.ca, a grassroots news organization for local news, sports and entertainment
  • My article about my experience at the CEO Sleepout was republished on the Corydon Times website
  • I was a panelist at the MBlog 2014 conference
  • I write album reviews and conduct interviews for The Spill Magazine
  • I was featured on Shaw TV as one of Winnipeg's Hottest Bloggers
  • My post about my love of Winnipeg was featured as the Blog of the Week and published in the Winnipeg Free Press

Testimonials

"Portage & Main Press/HighWater Press has had the pleasure of working with the passionate and talented women of Starling Social for almost two years, quickly expanding a relationship that grew from a short-term arrangement into an ongoing retainer. During this time, engagement and following rose exponentially across all of the company’s platforms thanks to the relevant, timely, and interesting content created by this stellar social media firm."

Kirsten Philips, Director of Marketing, Portage & Main Press / HighWater Press

"Restaurants are hard to work with. We are at our busiest when most are ready to relax with friends and family, the smallest glitch can mess with best of plans. Most of all they are very personal. Working someone who can not only hear our unique voice, but is able to project it confidently, we have been able to reach a much larger and more diverse audience than I ever believed possible.

Working with Alyson has been an amazing experience, she has handled all the craziness will style and grace."

- Jennifer Strom, Owner, Trails North Grill

"Having been a fan of Alyson's online presence for some time, I recently engaged her services to support a new client project; directing the online copy and social media feeds for the new venture. So far the engagement has gone well and I would not hesitate to recommend Alyson to peers and other clients. She's an efficient practitioner who really understands these important marketing elements."

-Drew Gourdie, Founder, The Rivoli Group

"Alyson is a reliable, creative and resourceful writer. I know I can always count on her to hit the mark and consistently provide polished, well-researched written work. It's been a joy working with her over the past four years, and I know that she will always shine!"

- Mark Glucki, Wonderlab Media

"Alyson's work never fails to exceed expectations. I know I can always count on her to hit the mark and consistently provide polished, well-researched written work. It's been a joy working with her over the past four years, and I know that she will always shine!"

Stephen Lussier, Editor, The Spill Magazine

"Alyson delivers excellent copywriting and editing services for us and for our clients. She is always professional and a pleasure to work with.

Chris Karasewich, Managing Partner, ASAP Marketing

Alyson Shane is the internet. I want to be her when I grow up.

- Kieran Moolchan, Content Strategist & Blogger

Any other questions? You can always contact me, or tweet at me on Twitter. I can't wait to hear from you!