WOMEN ARE CHANGING SOCIAL MEDIA
In case you’ve been living under a rock, today is International Women’s Day! In honor of all of the incredible women in the workplace, raising children, supporting each other and family, we wanted to take a pause in thanks and then take a look at how women are changing social media.
From founders of multibillion-dollar self-made companies – we’re talking to you Sara Blakely – to lean start-ups turned major success, like that of Angie’s List, there is no question that we live in an incredible time for women to thrive in the workplace, as entrepreneurs and leaders in their field.
But how have women shaped our social media conversation? We live in an amazing time marked by increased access, increased visibility and connection points that did not exist even 10 years ago. It’s the world made available by social media.
Not to diverge, but I will…I was catching up on some light ‘social media blog trolling’ recently and ran across an article about a teenage girl, Essena O’Neill who started an Instagram account, began posting photos in a variety of cool places and clothes, and within a year had over 600,000 followers (let that sink in for a minute), a variety of sponsorships and a real, respected voice. We gave her the mic.
The awesome part of the story is that she discovered that the pressure was too much. In a blink of an eye she alerted all of her fans to the ‘fake’ nature of her posts, deleted her profile and moved on…Mic drop. Boom. And that was totally her right.
Back to the social conversation, and how women are changing the world through social media, let’s take a look.
WE ARE PRESENT ON SOCIAL.
In 2013, Pew Research Institute published results of a poll showing that women dominate men in social media usage, and that number has only grown. Why is this important? Because it shows where we are engaging with each other and giving other women a voice! In a country where women still make 70 cents on the dollar for similar roles to men. This voice and access is crucial to closing the gap!
SOCIAL CLOSES THE GENDER GAP.
Johanna Blakely says it best, “social media will end gender…” why is this? Well, social media will outgrow traditional media in the next 10 years, and women users outnumber men…as noted in reason number one. Check out her recent Ted Talk on the topic. It’s rad.
SOCIAL MEDIA GIVE US A VOICE.
To the detriment of many a corporation, social media forces transparency, and this platform for a voice allows women (and men) the outlet to share their story, keep their employers and brands in check, and force the hand of those who would exploit us. Remember the Lululemon fiasco? If not, check out this article on Feminist Digital Campaigns.
We now live in a time where anyone can be an investigative reporter, and report on what they see. This helps women. This helps men. It is the great equalizer.
Social media has many faces – I know, It’s my business. But I am continually more grateful and pleasantly surprised by the ways in which I see women utilizing social platforms to get out their message, and connect.
So, in closing, and in celebration of International Women’s Day, I want to say thank you. Thank you to all my women friends and colleague who show up, help out, birth and raise children who will help us change the future, stand up to discrimination, and voice your opinion when it matters.
We celebrate you today. A special shout out to my ‘Woman Tribe’, Lauren Fleshman, Alison Sorenson, Dinah Green, Denise Smith, Dannielle Ramos, Abilene Fawn, Angelita Essey, Denise Foshay, Kaitlin Dahlquist, Michelle Roats, Kali Hinricks, Tashia Davis, Hannah Mickunas, Susan Strible, Brenda Speirs, April O’Meara, Sophie Clark, Kayla Morgan. And the rest of you lovelies…you know who you are.
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