January 26, 2010 - Pixo Web Design & Strategy Vice President of Amber Borowski Johnson and Dylan Derryberry are the winners of a Microsoft-sponsored, online contest to select two bloggers to write from the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, B.C. Johnson and Derryberry will go to the Games and blog daily using Microsoft Office 2010. They will be the only two accredited blogger journalist at the Winter Games.
Johnson and Derryberry were two of 10 contest semifinalists chosen by a panel of judges, including five-time Olympic gold medalist Bonnie Blair and online video stars Jake Hurwitz and Amir Blumenfeld from CollegeHumor.com. The public then voted for their favorite semifinalists online, and Johnson and Derryberry were selected based on the number of votes they received.
Each will take a 10-day trip to Vancouver and work alongside Team USA to blog about the team using top-of-the-line technology including Microsoft Office 2010 Professional and an Acer Aspire 4810 laptop.
Growing Up With the Olympics
Johnson, mother of two and an avid blogger, has a background in travel writing and journalism and is no stranger to the Winter Games, having been raised in Calgary, Alberta.
“The Winter Olympics are king in Calgary and are my favorite,” she says. “When the Olympics came to Calgary in 1988 I was 16, and our entire community and school got involved. Even my high school’s curriculum adapted to the Olympics — I took luge lessons in gym class.”
The anticipation of the Olympics made an impression on Johnson, and she recounts she wanted to cover the Games as a journalist, especially as her career as a writer progressed. When she later moved to Utah, she found herself once again living in an Olympic community, when Salt Lake City hosted the 2002 Winter Games.
“I even freelanced for a radio network during the Utah Winter Games, hoping to report on some of the sporting events, but was disappointed when I was assigned to cover traffic for the Olympics,” she says.
Is this contest win vindication?
“Not only is it exciting for me to go back to see the Games in my homeland, but now I have a chance to share the inspiring ‘behind-the-scenes’ athlete stories that I’ve always wanted to tell, in a fun and entertaining way — stories that the general media probably won’t write about,” says Johnson.
She’s looking forward to all of the events and has a special interest in the drama behind figure skating. She also enjoys men’s hockey and skiing. In fact, her 3-year-old son, Bode, is named after two-time Olympic alpine skier, Bode Miller.
“Also, I always joke on my own blog that I owe my life to the sport of curling,” she says. “My parents met because they were on the same local curling team in Canada."
Amber heads up Social Media Strategy for Pixo Web Design & Strategy and works with clients such as Colorado Ski Country USA and is a Brand Enthusiast for companies such as Sara Lee, Nintendo, Ford, Playtex and Disney on Ice.
Amber has been blogging at Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck since 2005. She has been the recipient of numerous blogging awards, including Mother’s Day Central’s Top 100 Mom Blogs, Best of MSN, Blogtrepreneur’s Top 50 Mommy Blogs and startup powerhouse Sampa’s Top 10 Mommy Blogs You Should Read. She is a family travel writer and a regular contributor for various publications and travel sites. Prior to launching Mile High Mamas with Pixo, she was also a regular contributor at DotMoms, cited by Time magazine as one of the 50 Coolest Websites 2005.
To learn more about how Amber and Pixo Web Design and Strategy can help you with you social media strategy visit our Marketing web page. |
