2011 was an intense year for me. So many great things happened. So many lessons were learned. Each person and experience made me who I am today.
As I look back on 2011, some of my greatest experiences were from my work with the Digital Sisterhood Network. Click here to listen to my audio blog that provides my top 40 Digital Sisterhood moments in 2011 (1 hour 11 minutes).
Great News! I am headed to BLISSDOM on February 23-25! I have been wanting to attend this social media conference for years! Why? Because it represents Fierce Living to the MAX!!!!! They have amazing speakers all of the time! They celebrate joie de vivre and call it BLISS (which is the meaning of Ananda in Sanskrit)! I also love the spirit and work of Alli Worthington, Barbara Jones, and the entire BLISSDOM team!
Guess what? I will be speaking about Fierce Living, my new favorite passion and 2012 life theme during BLISSDOM. The topic of my writing session is “Fierce Living from Your Creative Heart.” It will be held on February 24 from 2:30 to 4:00 pm. See the description below.
SESSION DESCRIPTION:
Calling all creative women! You know who you are Ms. Artist, Collage Maker, Crafter, Dancer, Dramatic Performer, Musician, Painter, Photographer, Poet, Sculptor, and Ms. Writer. When’s the last time you allowed yourself the space to dream, imagine, and create something that inspired a deep feeling of peace, play, and fulfillment? Wait no more. During this session, you will have an opportunity to explore your inner women (also known as archetypes or personalities) and the role they play in your creativity through mindful writing exercises and discussion. The takeaways include ways to tap into your inner women’s intuition, imagination, and nurturing energy as “fierce living” growth opportunities for 2012 and beyond.
FYI — Join #DSFierce Living Conversations on #DigitalSisterhood Wednesdays
“the mindful practice of unplugging, understanding, and unifying who I am online and offline from the inside out so I am able to express myself fully in my healthy living journey, Digital Sisterhood book writing, art, and work as a coach, digital media producer, yoga teacher, and innerpreneur.”
My mother Theresa and Oprah Winfrey are two of my Fierce Living sheroes because they remind women we are stronger than we know.
DSN recognizes that fierce living means different things to different people. That’s why we are hosting #DSFierceLiving conversations on Facebook, Pinterest, Survey Monkey, and Twitter on #DigitalSisterhood Wednesdays in 2012.
Here are four ways you can participate.
1) LIKE Digital Sisterhood on Facebook, visit the page on #DigitalSisterhood Wednesdays, and share what you are doing to make fierce living a reality in your daily life.
2) Create a #DSFierceLiving 2012 board on Pinterest and share what fierce living looks like in your life. Cross post your Pinterest link on Digital Sisterhood Facebook page. Also, tweet the link on Twitter with the hashtag #DSFierceLiving. DSN will retweet it. Click here to check out Ananda Leeke’s #DSFierceLiving Board on Pinterest.
3) Follow @Digitalsisterhd on Twitter and participate in #DigitalSisterhood Wednesdays by tweeting your favorite digital sisters. Tweet about your acts of fierce living by using the hashtag #DSFierceLiving.
It’s been a long time since we connected on this blog. I hope your fall season is going well. Mine has been filled with revelations like the one I had during the Blogalicious Weekend Conference on October 21-23, 2011. While I was learning, sharing, laughing, sipping on cocktails at the evening events, chatting and drinking wine in the Wine Sisterhood Sassy Suite, and enjoying digital sisterhood and brotherhood moments at Blogalicious, I realized I needed to be honest with myself about the work I have taken on as the Digital Sisterhood Network founder. I made a list of all of my obligations, goals, and upcoming activities. Looking at the list on Sunday helped me see I needed to give myself more time to finish my next book, Digital Sisterhood, a memoir. More time is several months. That means the book will be published in 2012.
It feels really good to share my revelation and plans with you all!
Thank you for your continued support and positive energy!
Blessings,
Ananda
Check out the links below to see what I have been doing.
1) My Ignite DC #8 Talk on “Digital Sisterhood for DC Women Entrepreneurs” Flickr photos and presentation (see below)
2) Photos of My Blogalicious Weekend Conference Adventures on Flickr
Last weekend during Digital Sisterhood Unplugged Sunday I made a decision to step away from this blog and my @AnandaLeeke Twitter page, Facebook pages, Tumblr page, Flickr phoho-sharing site, Vimeo channel, and Cinchcast audio blog to begin the wonderful, juicy journey of completing my next book, Digital Sisterhood, a memoir. The only thing I needed to do was a pick a date. I have vacillated on the date all week. This morning I realized during my yoga, Reiki healing touch, and meditation practice that my day to step away is in fact today. That means this is the last blog post until late October (will be back in time for Blogalicious on October 21-23 in DC).
Thanks for stopping by and reading my words, sending me positive vibes and energy for my writing journey, and supporting all of my creative efforts! May you have a beautiful rest of April, May, June, July, August, September, and October!
Blessings,
Ananda
PS: Listen to my audio blog about Earth Day and a poem that celebrates green living! Enjoy!
Something special is happening in August. I am going to the BlogHer conference as a speaker. I will join a dynamic panel of women who will discuss peer networking. Check out the BlogHer agenda description below (text from BlogHer web site).
Session Description: Much of our online business is conducted with online friends. And we all know that blogging has provided a source of support and understanding. Are you regularly taking that support offline? Are you using that support to the advantage of your business? Have you put some structure around it? This session will look at the value in creating structured peer networking groups…offline if possible, online if not…in order to accomplish specific professional goals. Whether you want to work on your writing, your business model or your value proposition, being supported by and accountable to a group of trusted peers can be exactly the boost you need. Liz Strauss moderates the conversation with Ananda Leeke, Heather Mann and Vikki Reich, who will help you figure out what kind of group you need, and how to set it up to deliver.
If you recall, Smith Magazine is one of my favorite online destinations. Why? It’s simple. Six-word memoirs. Click here to learn more about the six-word memoirs movement.
Six-word memoirs have been creative lifesavers for me, especially when I was writing my book, That Which Awakens Me: A Creative Woman’s Poetic Memoir of Self-Discovery ( 2009). have also used them in my creative coaching practice. Click here to watch a creative coaching session (15 minutes) I hosted on UStream.tv last year about six-word memoirs. I am also using them in my current book project, Digital Sisterhood, a memoir.
My six-word memoir for today is: rainy skies don’t stop rainbow news.
Do you have a six-word memoir you would like to share today? Include it in the comment section of this post below. Thanks.
Great news! I am speaking about digital sisterhood and the women’s movement as a panelist for the “Conversations across the Generations on Women’s Issues and the Women’s Movement” workshop at the YWCA‘s annual convention on April 9 from 1:45 pm to 3:00 pm. The event will be held at the Mayflower in Washington, DC. The YWCA’s conference theme is “Own the Future.” Click here to learn more.
I was honored and excited to receive Spelman College’s invitation to participate in the Digital Doyennes: Wisdom from the Women who Lead in Social Media and Digital Innovation. Why? That’s a no brainer for me because Spelman embodies digital sisterhood, the feminine currency women 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.
Since 2008, I have been researching women in social media (for my next book project Digital Sisterhood, a memoir) and tracking the unique ways Spelman uses social media and technology to promote its mission, academic programs, research, students, professors, alumni, social justice efforts, and community activities. What I learned is Spelman has become a social media and technology trailblazer for women of color! As an institution, it uses a wide an array of social media tools including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, blogs, ezines, and webcasts.
Technology also plays a major role at Spelman. In October 2010, AT&T announced Spelmanites Jonecia Keels and Jazmine Miller won the 2010 AT&T Big Mobile on Campus Challenge with their HBCU Buddy, a mobile application created to educate and inform users about Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the United States. Keels and Miller received $5,000 each, a mobile device of their choice, a lifetime development license for Spelman, and all-expense paid trips to the AT&T Higher Ed Board of Advisors meeting and the EDUCAUSE Annual Conference.
Did you know Spelman is located in Atlanta, the second most socially networked city in the United States according to Men’s Health (DC was ranked first — had to give my city a shout out)? Men’s Health published its socially networked city rankings in March. The Atlanta metropolitan area is also home to a dynamic blogging community of women including:
While I am in Atlanta, I will get to see my attorney, best friend, and Howard University School of Law classmate Lauren Medlock Smith, founder of Catch the Verve, LLC. Lauren is currently serving as the sponsorship chair for Women in Film & Television Atlanta, a co-sponsor of the Digital Doyennes event.
I also hope to spend time with my digital sister and fellow Heart of Haiti tripster Danica Kombol, a managing and founding partner of Everywhere, another co-sponsor of the Digital Doyennes event.
So now you can see why coming to Spelman and Atlanta in April is a digital sisterhood dream come true!
Saturday afternoon was filled with powerful moments at the WOMANIFESTING in ACTION event held at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Library in Washington, DC.
Jasmine
My digital sister Tracy Chiles McGhee, founder of Womanifesting, co-sponsored the event with the DC Public Library. It featured a call to action by Yasmine Arrington, a DC high school student who created ScholarCHIPS, a scholarship fund for aspiring college students with incarcerated parents. Yasmine is a senior at Benjamin Banneker High School. She is fierce, forward thinking, and filled with positive energy. She is also a true leader and fashionista! Watch a video of her call to action below.
I served as a panelist for the event and shared lessons learned from my recent trip to Haiti as a Heart of Haiti blogger ambassador and work with the Digital Sisterhood Network. Check out my video recap below. See the list of program participants below.
Discussion Moderators:
-Marita Golden, Acclaimed Author, Master Literary Teacher and Co-Founder of the Hurston/Wright Foundation
-Nikita Mitchell, Gen Y Writer/Blogger, who was recently named one of the Top 10 Nonprofit Bloggers to Watch in 2011
Program Participants:
-DC Councilwoman Muriel Bowser
-Patricia Nalls, Founder & Executive Director, The Women’s Collective, 2010 Washingtonian of the Year
-Carrie L. Ellis, Director of Project Management, KaBOOM! & Board Chair, Teaching for Change
-Marielle Mariano, East Coast Coordinator, Chalk4Peace
-Jessica T. Solomon, Founder, The Saartjie Project & Chief Visionary Officer, Spark Creativity
Click here to listen my audio blog about the event.
Tomorrow evening I am experimenting with a new social media tool (at least for me) called Vokle during my live chat about my Heart of Haiti trip at 8:00 pm ET. Drop by and participate in the the video chat. You can use the hashtag #HeartofHaiti to follow the conversation. I will be sharing the books that helped me prepare for the trip, highlights from my trip, showing artwork I purchased from the Heart of Haiti artisans, and answering questions about my Haiti adventures. Click here to join the live chat. You can also register for it. Feel free to watch it live tomorrow on my web site’s home page.
PS: The live chat will not be recorded! Vokle does NOT provide this service:(! So I guess that means I will have to host a Digital Sisterhood Radio show about my trip and invite the bloggers who attended to be guests later this month. Stay tuned for the date and time (it will happen!).
2011 was an intense year for me. So many great things happened. So many lessons were learned. Each person and experience made me who I am today.
Heart of Haiti Digital Sisters
Ananda Leeke 