It’s Friday confession time. One of my favorite past times is writing and sharing six-word memoirs on the Smith Magazine six-word memoir web site. Today, I posted one that I wrote during a six-word memoir networking icebreaker held on Day #2 of the Blogalicious 2010 conference. After posting it, I rediscovered 30 (yes 30) six-word memoirs I posted. See below. Some of them are gonna show up in my next book Digital Sisterhood: A Gen X-er Memoir on Life & the Internet.
Do you have a six-word memoir? Share it.
Go ahead and join the six-word memoir movement on Smith Magazine’s site: http://www.smithmag.net. It’s a lot of fun!
October has been a powerful month for #digitalsisterhood on Twitter! Check out some of my favorite #digitalsisterhood Twitter definitions below. Do you have any? Please share. Thanks in advance.
Digital Sisterhood is the kinship between women who share a common interest in how to use technology wisely to advance our world #stb10 10:36 PM Oct 6th
#digitalsisterhood warms my heart, emboldens my spirit, and strengthens my mind. I appreciate the brilliance and the audacity! 11:26 AM Oct 21st via web Retweeted by 1 person
@askdebra: Talking about “digital sisterhood” on #stb10 blog talk radio – @rositacortez says it is a diverse group of people coming together worldwide.
So many wonderful things have happened since I started my Kickstarter.com fundraising campaign in September. The first wonderful thing that happened was online and offline support for my fundraising effort. So many people used Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Tumblr, blogs, email, web sites, other social media tools, the telephone, and word of mouth to spread the news about my efforts. I am so grateful for everyone’s support! Many thanks!
The second wonderful thing that happened was receiving $547 in pledges from 17 generous people in less than a month. Gratitude and deep humility are the best words to express my thanks to these special people.
When I started my Kickstarter.com campaign, I had a goal to raise $500 by December 23. It was a conservative goal that I thought would help me taste the Kickstarter.com fundraising process. Well, as you can see, I have been blessed abundantly. So I decided to relaunch my fundraising campaign today with an additional goal of $1,053 to meet my overall goal of $1,600 by December 23. This money will be used to cover the cost of my self-publishing and mailing fees.
After I returned home from Blogalicious, I began hosting a weekly event called #STB10 #DigitalSisterhood Wednesday where women in social media are encouraged to celebrate, promote, and tweet about their favorite digital sisters on Twitter. The Twitterstream from the October 13th and October 20th events produced an “aha” moment for me about moving forward on changing the title of my book project. So today, I am proud to announce the new name of my next book: Digital Sisterhood: A Gen X-er Memoir of Life & the Internet. Let me know what you think about the title. I am open to your feedback!
As a side note, I have reserved “digital sisterhood” as a web site, Twitter account, and WordPress blog:
Look for more news about these digital properties going live in 2011.
One last thing … Join me in getting the word out about my fundraising efforts online and offline. Please make a donation too! Click on the link to donate $1-$25: http://kck.st/avHVlu. Thank you in advance for your support!
Gratitude and Joy,
Ananda Leeke
Author of Digital Sisterhood: A Gen X-er Memoir of Life & the Internet (December 2011) www.anandaleeke.com
Side Note: I met Julie and Kety Esquivel at She’s Geeky DC held at the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) in November 2009. They convinced me to attend and teach yoga for social media users at the LATISM DC conference in December 2009. While at LATISM DC, I met LATISM’s co-founder Ana Roca Castro, Elianne, and so many other members of the Latino social media community.
Kety Esquivel - Photo Credit: Carol CainLatinas and Web 2.0 session panel - Photo Credit: Carol Cain
Kety moderated the Latinas and Web 2.0 – The Sweet Spot session on October 8 at Blogalicious. The session featured four of the key Latina Web 2.0 influencers: Veronica Arreola, DeAnne Cuellar, Aurelia Flores, and Maura Wall Hernandez. Each of the panelists shared some great points. See my takeaways below.
Aurelia Flores: “Doing what I have done has actually not only underscored, but made very clear to me that every woman has a story… and an amazing story. And it is really really important that we listen to each other and tell those stories. And so for me online is a medium to do that.”
Veronica Arreola: “Be patient. Don’t jump at every opportunity. You need to be responsible… Our blogs, our social media platforms are very powerful… We are very powerful women using powerful tools. And we need to be responsible with that.”
Maura Hernandez: “Find your own niche and own it. It is so important to focus. If you find your niche, people will begin to know you as an expert.”
DeAnne Cuellar: “If you start using a specific tool or begin an account with a specific network, and it doesn’t work, move on. It’s okay if you don’t want to tweet…Find what works for you.”
Watch the video (1 hour 10 minutes – totally worth watching!) below.
I learned so many facts about my power as a woman of color in America (see below).
Women of color are incredibly entrepreneurial.
Women of color are the quintessential market.
9 out of 10 out the new females in the last decade are Latina, Black or Asian.
Women of color have $1 trillion in purchasing power! That means women of color’s purchasing power is equal to Brazil’s gross domestic product. We got some deep pockets!
Black women are the crown jewel in the women of color purchasing power: $500 billion.
56% of women of color are the prime decision makers in their households.
Women of color are increasingly well-educated: 43% Asian, 17% Black, and 11% Latina.
Businesses owned by women of color are the fasting growing segment of the US economy.
Women of color are pioneers in business.
42% of a majority-owned businesses are owned by women of color.
Women of color businesses generate $230 billion in sales.
Check out the video (1 hour 3 minutes – totally worth watching) below.
Me and Marc Morial at Blogalicious 2010Marc Morial, President/CEO of National Urban League speaking @ Blogalicious
Blogalicious 2010 was filled with many special moments. One of my special moments was meeting Marc Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League on October 10 after his keynote address. I had a chance to thank him for all of the work he is doing. I also told him about how much my father supports his work. That made him smile! My dad got a kick out of hearing that story too!
To learn more about Morial’s keynote address at Blogalicious, watch the video (17 minutes) below. It is powerful!
PS: I had a chance to live blog President Obama’s education reform speech with the Blogalicious B-Link members in the DC area at the National Urban League’s Centennial Conference in July! Now that was another Blogalicious special moment! Check out the blog about the experience: http://blogaliciousweekend.com/2010/08/blogalicious-and-president-obama.
Me and Xina Eiland moderating open-mic luncheon session @Blogalicious 2010 - Photo Credit: NYCityMama Carol CainXina, Justice Ny, Justice Fergie, Justice Jonesie (Justices are co-founders of Blogalicious), and me @Blogalicious 2010 - Photo Credit: NYCityMama Carol Cain
Last year Xina Eiland and I met during the Blogalicious 2009 opening night reception in Atlanta. While sipping cocktails and recording video interviews, we learned we were both born in Michigan and currently reside in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Throughout the conference, we reconnected with each other and other women like“WhimsiGal,” founder of Whimsicard, LLC from the DC area. When we returned home, we used social media tools like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in touch. We also discussed our Blogalicious experiences on my TalkShow.com program called Sisterhood the Blog Radio.
And then it happened. We reached out by telephone and agreed to meet in person. Our first meeting occurred on a Sunday afternoon at the U Street Café in DC. Xina, “WhimsiGal,” and I sat at a table for a few hours discussing our lives, 2010 goals, ways we could support each other, and ideas for a local Blogalicious meet up. That one conversation paved the way for our Blogalicious DC community building efforts.
Together, we were able to help Blogalicious founders Stacey Ferguson, Nadia Jones, and Nyasha Smith organize two meet ups in February and April for DC area women. Xina played a major role in securing space and media coverage, promoting the events on Facebook and Twitter, identifying speakers and sponsors, developing the agenda, and obtaining in-kind donations for both events. I served as panel moderator for the April meet up.
In addition to supporting the Blogalicious DC community, we also made a professional commitment to support each other and our 2010 business goals. We launched our commitment with a face-to-face breakfast meeting at Busboys and Poets, a popular DC hangout, on January 2. Seated on comfy chairs with herbal tea and delicious breakfast items to keep us company, we shared our expertise. Xina became my public relations coach and convinced me to follow her instructions on how to better package myself, books, art, yoga practice, and coaching services. I became her creativity coach and helped her develop a social media plan to support her intention to blog and learn more about social media tools. Since then, we have met monthly to assess our progress and seek feedback. We also attended several DC social media meet ups, participated in the Blogging While Brown’s White House Visit and weekend conference, hung out at the Red Pump Project and Blogalicious’ Say RED: Cocktails and Conversations event, and live blogged with the Blogalicious DC B-Link members during President Obama’s education reform speech at the National Urban League’s Centennial Conference.
What a year we are having! And it’s not even over yet! I think the greatest blessing has come from the way we constantly encourage each other to step up our game and pursue new opportunities. We also share information, insights, and introductions to people in our network that can support our efforts. We laugh, learn, and listen to each other when we achieve and struggle. Our Blogalicious bond has created a digital sisterhood that exists in real time!
Digital sisterhood is one of the many gifts you will receive when you attend a Blogalicious conference or event. It’s contagious. Some say it’s magical. And it happens without you even knowing it. That’s the beauty of Blogalicious. Through the celebration of Blogalicious’ diversity, women own who they are through the content, connections, communities, and commerce they create as they share experiences, insights, opinions, humor, creativity, expertise, and information. Our Blogalicious digital sisterhood lays the foundation for building local digital sisterhood communities.
Xina and I were initially scheduled to host a community dinner discussion on digital sisterhood at Blogalicious 2010. There was a change of events that opened the door to an even greater blessing. I love how the universe works. It always gets better. So here’s what happened! The Blogalicious founders Justices Ny, Fergie, and Jonesie offered us an opportunity to moderate the open-mic luncheon sponsored by McDonalds on October 8. What an honor!
Xina and I had an amazing time moderating the soulful discussion. We witnessed the power of digital sisterhood in the stories told by women who were Blogalicious newbies and alumni. They opened their hearts and spoke with such passion, clarity, candor, and humor. It was a beautiful experience filled with wisdom, laughter, lessons learned, and a plethora of blogging experiences that revealed how women discovered their authentic selves online and offline. Check out the photos taken by NYCityMama Carol Cain below. FYI – Carol is the official Blogalicious photographer. She did an amazing job documenting Blogalicious 2009 and 2010! Thanks Carol for your gift of digital sisterhood photography and love!
Xina and Ananda moderating the open-mic luncheon @Blogalicious 2010 - Photo Credit: Carol CainOpen mic luncheon buffet - Photo Credit: Carol CainBlogalicious attendees at open-mic luncheon - Photo Credit: Carol CainMiss Lori sharing her blogging story @ open-mic luncheon - Photo Credit: Carol CainProfessor Diva sharing her blogging story at open-mic luncheon - Photo Credit: Carol Cain
Luvvie sharing her blogging story @open-mic luncheon - Photo Credit: Carol Cain
Takeyah Young sharing her blogging story @ open-mic luncheon – Photo Credit: Carol Cain
My Kickstarter.com fundraiser for my Sisterhood the Blog book project is almost a month old. To date, I have raised $547 with the support of 17 donors and many people who have used Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr, web sites, blogs, and email to share information about my efforts.
Tomorrow, I celebrate a full month of fundraising and a re-launch of my fundraising campaign. On October 23, I will have 62 days to raise $1,053 to meet my overall goal of $1,600. The money will be used for my self-publishing and mailing fees. Click on the link to learn how you can help me reach my $1,053 goal: http://kck.st/avHVlu. Thank you for your support! Keep shining!
Many thanks to my newest donors LaShanda Henry, Mitchell Abdullah, and R. Dudley! Many blessing to all of my donors for their generosity. See the list below.
I launched #STB10 #DigitalSisterhood Wednesdays on Twitter last week. I had no idea my social TV experiment for my next book Sisterhood the Blog would be embraced by so many women in social media. Check out the Twitter feed from the October 13th and 20th parties below. The October 20th party is still going strong today!
My favorite tweets were from the two ladies below.
#digitalsisterhood rocks..I’ve met some awesome sistas thru the digital world who have proven to be better friends than the “real life” ones 5 minutes ago via twidroid
Ananda Leeke 
