Barnard College – Ananda Leeke

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!

“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/

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!

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.

Asian Women Leadership Network
ASPIRE (organization dedicated to developing career and leadership skills for Asian American girls and women)
Barnard College’s Athena Center for Leadership Studies
Digital Sisterhood Leadership Project Pinterest Board (contains photos and links to profiles of various social media women leaders)
ELLA Leadership Institute (mission-driven professional development center and web site that provides leadership coaching, information, and resources to Latina women)
ELLA Leadership Network (online leadership community for Latina women)
Harvard Business School’s Women’s Leadership Forum
InPowerCoaching.com (leadership and career coaching web site with tons of great articles and information)
Leadership Resources Pinterest Board
LeagueofBlackWomen.org
LeanIn.org (global community that promotes women’s leadership and career development)
National African-American Women’s Leadership Institute, Inc.
National Hispana Leadership Institute
Simmons College’s Leadership Conference
Spelman College’s Leadership and Women of Color Conference
TaketheLeadWomen.com (leadership organization, web site, and training service)
The Hot Mommas Project (the world’s largest women’s case study library, providing free online access to stories of diverse female leaders, role models and mentors)
UCLA Women’s Leadership Institute
WomenatLiberty.com’s Leadership Tuesdays (great leadership-related blog posts and articles)
Women Leaders Pinterest Board

Hope to see you at #BlogHer13 in Chicago!

Happy Summer!

It’s 100 degrees in Washington, D.C. today. It’s HOT like burning fire! Here’s the good news. The weather matches how I feel inside. I am fired up about President Obama’s successful re-election campaign. I am totally in!!! Are you?

obamaatbarnard-51412 — Photo Credit: WhiteHouse.gov

Here’s what happened to me this week. I had a chance to read President Obama’s commencement speech given on May 14 at Barnard College. The advice he gave to the graduates was exactly what I needed to read … inspiring and encouraging! See below.

“My first piece of advice is this: Don’t just get involved. Fight for your seat at the table. Better yet, fight for a seat at the head of the table… So don’t accept somebody else’s construction of the way things ought to be. It’s up to you to right wrongs. It’s up to you to point out injustice. It’s up to you to hold the system accountable and sometimes upend it entirely. It’s up to you to stand up and to be heard, to write and to lobby, to march, to organize, to vote. Don’t be content to just sit back and watch… Which brings me to my second piece of advice: Never underestimate the power of your example… My last piece of advice — this is simple, but perhaps most important: Persevere. Persevere. Nothing worthwhile is easy. No one of achievement has avoided failure — sometimes catastrophic failures. But they keep at it. They learn from mistakes. They don’t quit.”

Click here to read his entire speech. If you have 30 minutes, click here to watch a video of his speech on the White House YouTube Channel.

meobamavolunteer — Photo Credit: Ananda Leeke’s HTC Smartphone (love my phone!)

President Obama’s advice reminded me of the reasons I decided to volunteer my time to actively support the his 2012 campaign. Last weekend I participated in voter outreach by engaging my neighbors in conversations about how to register to vote and support President Obama’s re-election campaign as I walked up and down the streets of my U Street neighborhood with a bright smile and an Obama/Biden button, sticker, and sign.

This weekend I am wearing that same smile with my pink Women for Obama t-shirt as I teach a kind and gentle yoga class in Malcolm X – Meridian Hill Park in Washington, D.C. on Sunday morning. If you are in the area, come out and join me. Click here for more details. At the end of the class, I will invite folks to show their gratitude by making a donation of their choice to the Obama 2012 campaign (online or by giving me a donation that I can submit online). If you are not able to attend the class, please visit BarackObama.com and make a donation. Thanks in advance!

How are you supporting President Obama’s successful re-election campaign? Share your comments below.

Tag: Barnard College

Ananda’s Obama 2012 Campaign Volunteer Update #1