Happy Internet Geek Tuesday!
It’s been a week since my State of the Union Social (#SOTUSocial) experience at the White House. I’ve been focused on:
- Publishing my #SOTUSocial blog recaps.
- Building community with my fellow #SOTUSocial leaders by reading their blogs and social media posts, and sharing them with my network.
- Identifying ways to deepen my social engagement with the White House.
- Promoting the importance of digital citizenship.
January 29: The day after the event, I reached out to my fellow social media leaders on LinkedIn. As a result, I received an invitation to meet up with Jason Nellis, OverAchiever Media founder and a DC social media leader I missed meeting at the White House. We agreed to meet in person the following week to discuss our #SOTUSocial experiences.
I also gave my #SOTUSocial digital sisters a special #DigitalSisterhood Wednesday shout out on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter that featured a collage of several women I met during the event.
January 30: The next day I wrote my first blog recap post about being a digital citizen and my journey to the White House, and recorded a podcast that discussed my definition of a digital citizen. I shared the blog post with my social media network and retweeted, shared, and commented on blogs, photos, and tweets by my fellow social media leaders.
I updated my #SOTUSocial Pinterest board with links to the social media leaders’ articles, blogs, and photos. I also visited WhiteHouse.gov and found blog posts and videos to add to the Pinterest board.
January 31: After visiting WhiteHouse.gov, I decided to deepen my social engagement with the White House by participating in President Obama’s Virtual Road Trip via Google Hangout. Click here to listen to my podcast about the event.
February 3: I met Jason at Tynan Coffee & Tea and we recorded a podcast about our #SOTUSocial experience. Click here to listen (3 minutes).
I explored the WhiteHouse.gov blog to see if there were any ways I could deepen my social engagement this week. Guess what I found? A notice inviting social media leaders to apply to attend the White House French Arrival Ceremony Social (#WHSocial) on February 11. Since I am a Francophile (have been since my first French class in high school) and a digital diplomacy fan, I applied. You can too. The deadline is February 5 at 6:00 p.m. EST. Click here for details.
I also wrote a Tumblr blog post about my passion for France and desire to participate in the February 11th #WHSocial where President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will welcome French President François Hollande to the White House.
What’s Next: This week, I’ll be writing blog posts celebrating the dynamic women I met (for Digital Sisterhood Network’s blog), featuring the #SOTUChat highlights, and lessons I learned from the #SOTUSocial.
In the coming weeks, I’ll be using my Internet Geek Tuesday blog series to share more about the White House’s social engagement activities.
How are you building community with your digital network?
How are you deepening your social engagement?
Ananda Leeke 
It was so nice meeting you at the #SOTUSocial. I, too, want to deepen my social engagement with the White House. Here’s to Digital Sisterhood!
It was great meeting you too Janet. Thanks for stopping by!