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#SOTUSocial Recap #1: Being A Digital Citizen at the State of the Union Social

Posted by Ananda Leekeon January 30, 2014February 5, 2014in UncategorizedLeave a comment

Photo Credit: www.bet.com/news/politics/2014/01/28/obama-s-2014-state-of-the-union-address.html — Photo Credit: http://www.bet.com/news/politics/2014/01/28/obama-s-2014-state-of-the-union-address.html

Greetings All,

Did you watch President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address on January 28?

Did you participate in any State of the Union online activities such as the #SOTUSocial and #SOTUChat?

How did it feel to participate?

Ananda at the #SOTUSocial held at the White House

Click here to listen to my podcast (5 minutes) that highlights my participation in the State of the Union Social and how it reminded me of the importance of being a digital citizen, a concept I discussed during my talk on digital citizenship, digital sisterhood, and social media leadership at Spelman College’s Women Interactive Conference held in November 2013.

My Definition of Digital Citizen

A digital citizen is a person who uses her or his digital presence to mindfully share information and inspiration. Mindful sharing is thinking before you share your thoughts online and asking yourself if what you are planning to share will be helpful to others.

What is your definition of a digital citizen?

How are you planning to demonstrate your digital citizenship in 2014?

Ananda at the #SOTUSocial White House Tour

My Journey to the White House

I applied to participate in the State of the Union Social (#SOTUSocial) a few weeks ago. On January 20, I received an email from the White House indicating that I had been selected to develop and curate content, utilize the content to engage online communities, and live tweet at the #SOTUSocial (including the #SOTUChat panel discussion with White House officials and U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez after President Obama’s address).

Guess what? Over 6,000 applicants applied to participate in the #SOTUSocial. Only 60 social media leaders were chosen to visit the White House and attend the #SOTUSocial. What an honor to demonstrate my digital citizenship!

Click here to read my blog about my #SOTUSocial Group Tour to the White House (includes photos).

I developed three digital resources (one Pinterest board and two Twitter lists) to prepare for President Obama’s State of the Union address. Click here to read more about them.

Photo Credit: Michelle Obama Watch Blog Photo - http://pbckt.com/pi.dsciXj — Photo Credit: Michelle Obama Watch Blog Photo – http://pbckt.com/pi.dsciXj

PS: I visited the White House as a part of the Blogging While Brown Conference Delegation of bloggers of color in 2010. I’m the lady in red in the front row!

Happy Creativity Thursday: Breathing Life Into Your Creative Dreams

Posted by Ananda Leekeon January 9, 2014January 10, 2014in Creativity, Creativity Thursday, That Which Awakens Me - A Creative Woman's Poetic Memoir, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Photo Credit: "Kreative Grooviness: That Which Awakens Me " by Ananda Leeke — Photo Credit: “Kreative Grooviness: That Which Awakens Me ” by Ananda Leeke

Happy Creativity Thursday!

Have you ever dreamed of making something with your hands and then allowed your fears or lack of training to stop you?

It happened to me several years ago when I started dreaming of painting. I was afraid to try it because I had never attended art school. My perspective changed after I started working with a master artist during my tenure as an artist-in-residence for Smith Center for Healing and the Arts at Howard University Hospital. The master artist happened to be a patient I was assigned to work with on creative projects that would help him express his feelings. He transformed our sessions into art workshops where he taught me to trust my intuition and natural creative gifts. He pushed me to paint and gave me numerous painting assignments. This experience helped me create a series of paintings that I used to illustrate two book covers (see paintings above and below). The master artist breathed life into my creative dreams.

Photo Credit: "Be Love. Love Light. Live As the Spirit of Life." by Ananda Leeke — Photo Credit: “Be Love. Love Light. Live As the Spirit of Life.” by Ananda Leeke

Has anyone breathed life into your creative dreams?

How did the person breathe life into your creative dreams?

What creative actions were you inspired to take?

Visit Amazon.com to learn more about my creative journey and book, That Which Awakens Me: A Creative Woman’s Poetical Memoir of Self-Discovery (2009). My book is available as a Kindle download and a paperback book.

Happy Internet Geek Tuesday: My 2013 Blog in review

Posted by Ananda Leekeon December 31, 2013December 31, 2013in UncategorizedLeave a comment

Happy Internet Geek Tuesday!

Check out my blog’s 2013 in review.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 11,000 times in 2013. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 4 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Happy Internet Geek Tuesday: Using My Digital Influence to Fundraise for ZuriWorks

Posted by Ananda Leekeon December 17, 2013December 18, 2013in UncategorizedLeave a comment

Happy Internet Geek Tuesday!

Tomorrow marks my 49th birthday. This year, I am using my digital influence to raise money for ZuriWorks for Women’s Health, a nonprofit organization that offers beauty, arts and health programs to enhance the quality of life for women of color impacted by cancer. ZuriWorks also works to educate women of color about their health and to improve their survivorship rates.

I learned about the organization from my digital sister Xina Eiland, President of X+PR, when she began working with its founder, Andrene Taylor on several events earlier this year. I became an instant fan after watching Andrene’s moving video about her cancer journey and the amazing support ZuriWorks has been able to provide to women of color living with cancer. These women reminded me of my two grandmothers, Dorothy Johnson Gartin and Frederica Stanley Roberts Leeke, who lived with breast cancer. I wish they had access to ZuriWorks’ programs.

That’s why I am using the next two weeks (from December 17 to December 31) to invite my family, friends, and digital community to make a donation to ZuriWorks in honor of my birthday and the holiday season. Click here to make a donation. Any amount counts ($5, $10, $15, $20, $25 or more). Thank you in advance for your generosity!

Happy Creativity Thursday: My Most Creative Moment in 2013

Posted by Ananda Leekeon December 5, 2013December 5, 2013in UncategorizedLeave a comment

Happy Creativity Thursday!

2013 is winding down quite nicely for me. Today, I started thinking about my favorite creative moments. Hosting the my October book launch party for Digital Sisterhood: A Memoir of Fierce Living Online at the Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery was my most creative moment. See photo collage above.

What was yours?

Happy Creativity Thursday and Happy Thanksgiving: Power of Play in Creativity

Posted by Ananda Leekeon November 28, 2013in UncategorizedLeave a comment

Happy #CreativityThursday! Happy Thanksgiving!

I started my day with the 21 Day Meditation Series sponsored by Oprah Winfrey and Deepak Chopra. Today’s theme is “Creative Me.” The message of the day discussed how play opens the pathways for creativity to flow freely. It reminded me of two children I have been playing with in my work as an artist-in-residence for Smith Center for Healing and the Arts at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for the past two weeks.

Our creative play afternoon sessions have been filled with laughter, water color painting, coloring, clay sculptures, and colored pencil and magic marker drawings (see photos of our artwork above). They have opened my heart wider and inspired me to play more with collages in my life.

How are you adding more play to your creative life?

Happy Internet Geek Tuesday: #DigitalDiplomacy Event

Posted by Ananda Leekeon November 26, 2013in UncategorizedLeave a comment

Happy Internet Geek Tuesday!

Last week, I attended Digital Diplomacy, an open house event that featured the social media efforts of several embassies including Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy. The World Bank and U.S. State Department also participated in the event.

Happy Yoga Monday: Creating Mini Yoga Moments at Home

Posted by Ananda Leekeon November 26, 2013November 26, 2013in UncategorizedLeave a comment

Happy Yoga Monday!

It’s cold in DC this week. The winter weather inspired me to prepare a list of mini yoga moments I could create at home. Today’s mini yoga moment started with a juicy child’s pose that helped me release my to do list. It opened the door to a tall glass of lemon ginger tea, a little reading from the December issue of Yoga Journal, and a yoga-inspired listening session courtesy of Pandora.com. It ended with another child’s pose that allowed me to reach for my mala beads. As I touched the beads, I gave thanks for the day’s blessings.

Are you creating mini yoga moments?

Happy Internet Geek Tuesday: Celebrating MadameYou.com

Posted by Ananda Leekeon November 12, 2013November 13, 2013in UncategorizedLeave a comment

Happy Internet Geek Tuesday!

Recently, I chatted with the dynamic digital diva founders of MadameYou.com at the Women Interactive Creativity Technology Festival held on November 9 at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia. During our chat about how their company uses technology to celebrate African American women’s hair, Candace, Chanel, and Jess told me their Madame You mobile app was now available for iPhones. WOO HOO!!!! Visit http://madameyou.com to learn more about it.

What apps are you using this month?

Happy Creativity Thursday: Celebrating My Creativity with My Atlanta Community

Posted by Ananda Leekeon November 8, 2013November 8, 2013in UncategorizedLeave a comment

Happy Creativity Thursday (on Friday)!

Having a diverse community of support in various cities has been one of my greatest blessings as an artist, author, and creativity coach. Atlanta is home to one of my strongest communities of support. Whenever I visit the “ATL,” I am surrounded by love and positive energy.

Last night, I was surrounded by ATL love and positive energy at a book reading for my new book, Digital Sisterhood : A Memoir of Fierce Living Online. Everywhere, a social media marketing firm led by my digital sister Danica Kombol, hosted the event. Danica and her team rolled out the red carpet for me and my digital sisters and brothers. I got to see old friends and made some new friends. During the book reading, I shared an excerpt about my work with the Heart of Haiti campaign and my connection to Danica and her team. I also answered questions and asked the guests to share the key ingredients of digital citizenship. What a powerful discussion we had! As the evening was winding down, I looked around the room and realized how truly blessed I am for my ATL community. A deep feeling of gratitude washed over me. Many thanks to Danica, the Everywhere team, and my ATL community for showing me big LOVE!!!!