Category: Uncategorized
2014 in review
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 5,600 times in 2014. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 5 trips to carry that many people.
Apply to attend President Obama’s 2015 State of the Union Address by January 14. #sotusocial# sotu15 #sotu
Celebrating the Holiday Season at Macy’s Metro Center in DC on November 22
Happy November!
The Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday seasons are fast approaching. They are two of my favorite holidays. What are your favorite holidays? How do you celebrate them?
I celebrate Thanksgiving with a family dinner hosted by my parents. My brothers, sisters, cousins, and family friends attend the dinner. Some folks bring dishes. Others help set up and clean dishes. It’s a team effort!
During the Christmas season, I invite friends and family to visit the National Christmas Tree and go on walking tours to see festive decorations on apartment buildings, businesses, and houses in my favorite neighborhoods: U Street, 16th Street, Adams Morgan, Dupont Circle, Logan Circle, and Columbia Heights.
This year, I am starting a new tradition by going to see the holiday window displays at Macy’s Metro Center on Saturday, November 22 (outside on G Street, NW) at 2:00 p.m. American Ballet Theatre’s Misty Copeland and Fox 5 news anchor Allison Seymour will co-host the event with a count down to the grand reveal of the window displays with the Ballou High School Marching Band and Santa Claus himself. The event will include performances featuring Bystorm/RCA recording artist Mali Music and The Voice contestant Ddendyl, The Washington Performing Arts Society’s Children of the Gospel Choir and excerpts from The Nutcracker by The Washington Ballet on the Main Stage. Afterwards, you can head inside of Macy’s for an afternoon of excitement and holiday joy – there’s something for everyone!
Disclaimer: I am a member of the Everywhere Society and Everywhere has provided me with compensation for this post. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed herein are my own.
Back from Social Media Break: Celebrate Digital Citizenship Month in July
Today I’m coming back from my summer social media break to share some great news. On July 1, I’ll be launching my next digital storytelling effort called Digital Citizenship Month. It’s fun and interactive. You’ll be able to participate in the My #DigCitizen Campaign. Click here for more information. on the link to learn more.
Taking A Break from Blogging & Social Media
Hi All,
I have decided to take a break from blogging and social media for several months.
Enjoy your summer!
Best,
Ananda
Happy Internet Geek Tuesday: OWN & Tyler Perry Use YouTube to Promote HIV/AIDS Awareness
Happy Internet Geek Tuesday!
I recently watched the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) YouTube channel which featured a short video from Tyler Perry’s television program, For Better or Worse. The video features an African American female therapist who has lived with HIV for 18 years sharing her story in an effort to convince another African American woman who has recently had unprotected sex to get tested. It represents a powerful example of how OWN and Tyler Perry are using YouTube and their television programming to promote HIV/AIDS awareness.
To learn more about HIV/AIDS awareness, visit AIDS.gov for resources including HIV testing locations.
Happy #CreativityThursday: The Power of Creativity Conversations
Happy #CreativityThursday!
This week has been filled with mega moments of creativity conversations.
Listen to today’s podcast to learn more about the creativity conversations I had on Sunday with two patients at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Wednesday afternoon with creative professional Delvona Rabione (www.delvonarabione.com), and Wednesday evening with digital sisters, Inez, Star, and Tea. Clicked on link below to listen.
http://soundcloud.com/ananda-leeke/listen-to-ananda-leekes-8
Are you having creativity conversations?
Headed to the U.S. Department of State’s 3/4 #IWOC #StateMeetup
Greetings All,
I am celebrating National Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day today by attending the #StateMeetup for the International Women of Courage (#IWOC) Award Ceremony which will be hosted by Deputy Secretary Higginbottom and First Lady Michelle Obama. Ten amazing women from around the globe will be honored for their exceptional courage and leadership in advocating for human rights, women’s equality, and social progress, often at great personal risk.
- Dr. Nasrin Oryakhil, Director, Malalai Maternity Hospital Kabul
(Afghanistan) - Ms. Roshika Deo, Feminist and Political Activist, Be the Change Campaign (Fiji)
- Bishop Rusudan Gotsiridze, Bishop, Evangelical Baptist
Church of Georgia (Georgia) - Dr. Iris Yassmin Barrios Aguilar, Tribunal President, High Risk Court, (Guatemala)
- Laxmi, Campaigner, Stop Acid Attacks (India)
- Ms. Fatimata Touré, Etude, de Formation Femme-Action (Mali)
- Dr. Maha Al Muneef, Founder and Executive Director, National Family Safety Program (Saudi Arabia) *To be awarded in absentia
- Ms. Oinikhol Bobonazarova, Director, NGO Perspektiva Plus (Tajikistan)
- Ms. Ruslana Lyzhychko, activist and pop artist, (Ukraine)
- Ms. Beatrice Mtetwa, human rights lawyer (Zimbabwe)
Click here to read their full biographies. To learn more about #IWOC, check out my Pinterest board of resources.
After the Ceremony, I will attend a private policy briefing with a State Department official about U.S. engagement on international women’s issues.
I’ll be live tweeting about the event and sharing photos, podcasts, and videos from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Be sure to follow me on Facebook, Google+, Instagram, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Twitter, Vine, and VoiceBo (podcast). I’ll post a blog recap of my adventures and lessons learned later this week.
Click here to watch the State Department’s live coverage of the #IWOC Award Ceremony at 11:30 AM EST. Follow @StateDept on Twitter and use the hashtags #IWOC to participate in the conversation.
Happy Internet Geek Tuesday: #SOTUSocial Recap#2 – Building Community & Social Engagement
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 