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 Keynote Speaker

Rachel MacKay

Student, Film Buff, Rubix Cube Solver Extraordinaire
Articles
1
Views
30,000
Location
Toronto, Ontario
Member Since
Aug 2011
My name is Rachel! I'm 21 and live in Toronto. Finishing my 5th and final year of communications and journalism at U of T. The most important things to know about me are:

My favourite colour is green.
I hate spiders. (But I'm not picky, I hate on all insects)
I love nutella.
I think Louis CK is the funniest stand up comic around.

And I love trend hunting, and am looking for people other than myself and my mom to pat me on the back for ESP-type prediction success.
What is unique that's not in your bio?
I can tie a cherry stem in a knot in my mouth, I am fluent in spell-sign language, I can list all of the books of the Bible in order and I can recite nearly every line from seasons 1 - 12 of The Simpsons [those were the days before the show went downhill].
What's your favorite accomplishment?
My favourite accomplishment is self-publishing a book of short stories I wrote about each of the members of my family when I first started writing. It's not the greatest work ever put to paper, but it definitely reminds me of when I figured out what I want to do with my life and why I love it.
How do you define cool?
Cool is something that's trendy, hip, stylish and therefore socially acceptable and coveted. Fortunately (Or perhaps unfortunately for some), what's cool changes all the time, usually quick, and requires some degree of talent or "with it'ness" to keep up with.
What is your secret to uncovering trends?
StumbleUpon is always a good place to start. It gets the mental engine going and creativity flowing. The random sequence of websites that can involve anything open the doors of the imagination. The trick to uncovering trends is found in exploring niche sections of society, because they're just waiting to be discovered and explode.
What do you enjoy most about Trend Hunter?
I enjoy the wide variety of trends available to read about. You don't have to be a business student or a professional artist or even tech savvy to appreciate the topics talked about. I also love the pictures that accompany each article. They stimulate my A.D.D type interest. Finally, I love the general length of the published trends. I don't want to read an entire article about some cupcakes shaped like cartoon heads. A couple hundred words does the trick perfectly, and again, nurtures my lack of attention span.
What is your favorite trend?
Advertising is my favourite trend. Having a foundation in business, I love reading about new ways people develop to market their products, and seeing the often outrageous pictures, videos and placements of each.
What are your tips for writing a juicy post?
Verbs! Lots of strong, visually-stimulating words that draw people in without giving away too much information.
How do you reset to be creative?
Embarrassingly, whenever I have writers block or my mind goes on creative strike, I drink an entire glass of water while listening to an annoying, catchy tune -- the kind that gets stuck in everyone's head for hours and they want you dead for it. Recent hits include Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up, Billy Joel's Uptown Girl and Peanut Butter Jelly Time by ... well, who cares. I guess I blast the laziness out of my brain and we make a deal that I'll stop the torture if it gets back to work. It seems to work?
What inspires or excites you?
Fun, success and challenges are all main components in inspiration. They all drive me to be happier and self-fulfilled. I find inspiration in people, and strive to be like the qualities I see that I like. I get excited by things I'm passionate about. Music, video games, technology, advertising, film and literature are all things I really love being a part of in any fashion and keep me going.
Predict something awesome for 2020?
Future man will attempt to no avail to domesticate wild animals and have them as pets. Future PETA will not be impressed. Future man will not succeed. I'm not sure if that's awesome, but it'll be awesomely hilarious. And tragic. But dominantly hilarious.