Category: Digital Sisterhood Leadership Project

Happy Internet Geek Tuesday!

Posted by on in Ananda's Speaking Events, BlogHer13, Digital Sisterhood Leadership Archetypes, Digital Sisterhood Leadership Project, LeadershipLeave a comment
BlogHer.com
BlogHer.com

Happy Internet Geek Tuesday!

I am getting ready for my social media leadership talk on July 26 and July 27 at the 9th Annual BlogHer Conference in Chicago. Here’s a sneak peek!

bloghersocmedpage

“What Kind of Social Media Leader Are You?” is the official title of my talk. It’s based on a section of my upcoming book, Digital Sisterhood: A Memoir of Fierce Living Online.

Photo Credit: http://www.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk/p/keep-calm-and-yes-yes-yes/
Photo Credit: http://www.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk/p/keep-calm-and-yes-yes-yes/

If you answer yes to one or more of the six questions listed below, my talk will be of interest to you.

  • Do you have a blog with more than one blog reader?
  • Do you use social media and have more than one follower or friend?
  • Do you use social media to build community and connect with others?
  • Do you use social media to share information and resources?
  • Do you use social media to advocate for causes or social good campaigns?
  • Do you use social media to promote your business, personal brand, products, or services?

A “yes” answer to these questions opens the door to what my talk is all about: showing BlogHer attendees that they are social media leaders because they possess Digital Power and a Digital Platform of Influence.

Digital Power consists of your digital footprint (blog, online business, web site, and social media), communities, and efforts.

A Digital Platform of Influence is derived from the impact you have on your blog readers and social media followers and friends when you:

  • Advocate causes.
  • Build communities.
  • Create mobile applications, art, books, businesses, products, publications, services, tools, and webisodes.
  • Curate content.
  • Educate and inform.
  • Give voice to your thoughts as subject matter experts, thought leaders, and brand ambassadors.
  • Share information and experiences.
  • Explore and experiment with new technologies as early adopters and trendsetters.
  • Participate in social good campaigns.
  • Inspire and motivate.
  • Mentor.
  • Network.
  • Tell your personal stories.
  • Promote and celebrate the expertise, gifts, and talents of others.

As you engage in these activities, your blog readers and social media followers and friends are watching what you say and do online. They are learning from your example. Whether you know it or not, you are leading them. That makes you a social media leader. Yes, I said it. You are a social media leader!

bloghersocmediatalk

My BlogHer talk will help conference attendees define the type of leadership they want to bring to their readers and social media followers and friends. During the talk, I will introduce the 12 key leadership roles I have witnessed social media leaders play in my work with the Digital Sisterhood Leadership Project. They include the roles of advocate, community builder, creator, curator, educator, influencer, mentor, motivator, promoter, social do gooder, storyteller, and thought leader. I will also share how I have used these roles to create the profiles of seven Digital Sisterhood Leadership Archetypes that can be used to develop leadership styles in blogging and social media: Creativista, Empirista, Empowerista, Enchantista, Evangelista, Flowista, and Lifestylista. To learn more about these archetypes, click here to visit my #BlogHer13 Social Media Leadership Talk Pinterest Board. I have pinned photos and a short blog post for each archetype. Happy reading!

If you are seeking additional leadership resources, check out the links below.

Hope to see you at #BlogHer13 in Chicago!

Ananda’s Talk on Social Media Leadership Coming to BlogHer 2013 in July!

Posted by on in Blogher Conference, BlogHer13, Digital Sisterhood Leadership Project, Leadership, Social Media LeadershipLeave a comment
Photo Credit: BlogHer.com
Photo Credit: BlogHer.com

Happy Digital Sisterhood Wednesday!

I am really excited to share that I will be giving a talk on social media leadership at the BlogHer conference on July 26. What Type of Social Media Leader Are You? is the title  of my presentation. The presentation will give me an opportunity to share my thoughts on social media women’s leadership and to introduce the Digital Sisterhood Leadership Project to a larger audience. I am so grateful to the BlogHer team for giving me a platform to share my leadership thoughts and work.

The BlogHer 13′ conference will mark my fifth year of participation. BLOGHER-WOW! It’s gonna rock! So get ready Chicago!

My new calling — Digital Sisterhood Leadership Project

Posted by on in Digital Sisterhood Leadership ProjectLeave a comment

In her 2011 Digital Women: from geeks to mainstream presentation that was given at the WIFT International Women Conference for Digital Women, Dr. Taly Weiss, a social psychologist and CEO/Founder of Trendspotting, concluded that “women are dominant digital users – they breathe and live digital.” Dr. Weiss’ conclusion echoes BlogHer’s 2011 Social Media Matters Study findings:

  • Eight-seven million women (18 to 76 years old) are now online.
  • Sixty-nine million women use social media weekly.
  • Eighty million women use social media monthly.
  • Fifty-five million women read blogs monthly.

These facts illustrate the power and presence women have in the digital space. When women marry their power and presence, they give birth to digital sisterhood, the feminine currency they use to create relationship wealth through the connections they make, conversations they have, communities they build, causes they support, collaborative partnerships they establish, and commerce they engage in with women they meet online and offline.

They also become Digital Sisterhood Leaders, ambassadors of social expression who share what they are passionate about online. In her upcoming book, Digital Sisterhood: Fierce Living Online for 25 Years (Fall 2012), Ananda Leeke, founder of the Digital Sisterhood Network, writes,

“Without even knowing it, women have become Digital Sisterhood Leaders as they use their social media platforms to advocate causes; to build communities; to create apps, art, books, businesses, products, publications, services, tools, and webisodes; to curate content; to educate and inform; to give voice to their thoughts as subject matter experts, thought leaders, and brand ambassadors; to share information and experiences; to explore and experiment with new technologies as early adopters and trendsetters; to engage in social good; to influence others with their lifestyles and personal interests; to inspire and motivate; to mentor; to network; to tell their personal stories; and to promote and celebrate the expertise, gifts, and talents of others. Based on my online and offline interactions, I have identified 12 key leadership roles they play: advocate, community builder, creator, curator, educator, influencer, mentor, motivator, promoter, social do gooder, storyteller, and thought leader.”

The Digital Sisterhood Leadership Project was established to explore, document, and celebrate the creative ways social media women express their leadership abilities and experiences online and offline. The Project will have a soft launch in May. Its official launch will occur in January 2013. The soft launch for the Digital Sisterhood Leadership Project began with a Digital Sisterhood Radio interview with Dana Theus, founder of InPower Women on May 1. The interview focused on the leadership roles social media women play and tips on how to establish a personal leadership brand with social media. Click here to listen the audio recording of the interview.

The launch also includes a series of #DSLead Twitter chats on May 2, 9, 23, and 30 from 9:00 pm to 10:00 pm ET. See the list of Twitter chat topics below. Make sure you follow @digitalsisterhd and use the hashtag #dslead to track the conversations on Hootsuite, Tweetdeck, Tweetchat or Tweetgrid.

  • May 2 @9:00-10:00 pm ET: The Leadership Roles that Social Media Women Play
  • May 9 @9:00-10:00 pm ET: How Social Media Women Develop Their Personal Leadership Brands
  • May 23 @9:00-10:00 pm ET: Social Media Women as Community Builder Leaders
  • May 30 @9:00-10:00 pm ET: Social Media Women as Social Good Leaders

In addition, the Project will feature a series of guest blogger interviews with Digital Sisterhood Leaders in May, June, July, August, September, October, and November. There will be more surprises especially during Digital Sisterhood Month in December. So stay tuned for more news in the coming months!

My Digital Sisterhood book writing journey gave birth to the Digital Sisterhood Leadership Project

Posted by on in Digital Sisterhood Leadership Project2 Comments
Photo Credit: http://blog.christopherbaan.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/leadership-tag-cloud.png

My Digital Sisterhood book writing journey continues to amaze me.  It just gave birth to a new passion and calling called the Digital Sisterhood Leadership Project.  What a magical and messy creative process I have!  Hold tight for more details on the project!  I wanna give you the backstory first.

Photo Credit: BlissDom logo

In an effort to maintain balance and stay on track with my writing, I have decided to pause today since it’s Digital Sisterhood Wednesday and share what’s been happening.  Read on …  For the past four months my writing journey has invited me to witness and take notes about the powerful ways social media women practice leadership.  I had many lightbulb moments about women’s leadership during the BlissDom 2012 Conference in Nashville, Tennessee in February.  My BlissDom experience exposed me to a leadership model called “Community Leaders.”  The BlissDom founders Alli Worthington and Barbara Jones along with their team created the Community Leaders model so that seasoned bloggers could use their extensive experience to facilitate hands-on, small-group discussions during each session.  The Community Leaders also:

  • Helped new bloggers and first-time conference attendees navigate the BlissDom experience.
  • Offered inspiration and encouragement.
  • Shared their blogging wisdom, best practices, and tips.
  • Engaged in one-on-one conversations that offered listening ears and brainstorming moments.
  • Gave hugs (especially during my Fierce Living from Your Creative Heart workshop).

The role they played was PRICELESS.  I call it Digital Sisterhood Leadership, my newfound passion that I will pursue fully in 2013.  I say “pursue fully in 2013” because I am mindful of my need to set boundaries as I take time this year to complete my book.

So what’s next?  Drum roll please!!!!

Digital Sisterhood Network's DC Women in Social Media Focus Group Series on Nonprofit Women Leaders, October 2010 @ MLKing Library

May is going to be an exciting month for the Digital Sisterhood Network (DSN).  Click here to learn why.  The link will direct you to my audio blog update about the new DSN initiative, the Digital Sisterhood Leadership Project.  It will have a soft launch in May that includes #DSLead Twitter chats on May 2, 9, 23, and 30 from 9:00 pm ET to 10:00 pm ET.   For more details, visit the DSN web site later today.

Guess what’s else is happening?

The DSN web site will feature a series of interviews with Digital Sisterhood Leaders in May, June, July, August, September, October, and November. Look for a mini celebration during Digital Sisterhood Month in December. The mega launch will be held in January 2013!

So what do you think about my new passion and calling?

Thanks for stopping by!