From the first time Sepy Bazzazi heard the screech of a 56k modem attempting to connect to the net, he has been “getting social”, as he calls it. Sepy launched his first website in eighth grade, which brought the grad class of 2004 together using social functions such as forums, polls and photo galleries. As the internet evolved from Homestead and ICQ to Facebook and Twitter, so did Sepy’s love for online engagement and communication. Upon graduating from BCIT with a Marketing Management Diploma in 2009, Sepy immediately began working at the Earls Restaurants Headquarters, located in North Vancouver, which oversees marketing operations for nearly 60 Earls locations. Sepy took his passion and expertise for the internet, social networking and marketing and applied it to the Earls brand. In just over two years, Sepy created and oversees management of a social media presence for Earls which includes Facebook Pages, Foursquare Places and Twitter Feeds for every location; a corporate YouTube Channel and blog, and hundreds of thousands of engaged current and potential customers. Sepy believes that social media has been a catalyst for the shift in marketing from what it was a few years back, to what it is now – and what it is truly defined as -; building meaningful, long-lasting relationships with your customers.