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Wondering why our blog isn't filled to the rim with our bloggy musings? Just why exactly have we been silent for so long?
Because we are looking to highlight our Momz Share women, that is why! (Don't we talk ENOUGH on this site? Blah, blah, blah....)
We are now taking guest post submissions from all of our participants, past, present and... future! To sign up to submit a blog post, simply email Jennifer at jennifer.momzshare@gmail.com.
At twelve I wore braces, weighted about 70 pounds soaking wet*, had more freckles than Pippy Longstocking and was built like a two-by-four save for my budding B cups. My parents went and added insult to injury by moving us from our small town to what I considered “The Big City”, after all they had a movie theater and a drive-in. Sweaty palms, dry mouth and more self doubt than a sober Lindsay Lohan, I started my first day of school. It took a few months of eavesdropping behind the gossip squad on the bus and facing the real life “mean girls” but I made it through.
Those early days in Junior High have reemerged in scenario after scenario stretching all the way to the cusp of my forties. When Jennifer and I met and began to talk about starting Momz Share the very first thing we agreed upon was that we wanted NOTHING to do with ever making anyone feel excluded, pressured or judged** at our events. So when I hear someone say they’re nervous about coming to a Momz Share event I just want to holler at Scottie to beam my butt right into their boudoir*** so I can shake them to their senses!
To that effect here are the “Rules For How We Roll” at Momz Share events
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Dress in YOU chic {whatever makes you feel good, flaunt it sister!}
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Mingle... make new friends and keep the old, you know how it goes right?
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If you’re camera shy, let us know. We understand that for some this is both a personal and professional issue.
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Leave the drama with Yo Mama cuz it ain’t welcome here *two snaps up in a circle*
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All forms of gadgets are welcome but none are required.
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We don’t require that you tweet, blog, comment on Facebook or even rent a billboard to spread the word about the event or our sponsors.. BUT if the spirit moves ya please do! One of the reasons sponsors want to work with Momz Share and all of you is because you are leaders in social media. Whether you know it or not your voice and opinions count, maybe not at home, but to the wider world they sure do.
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If you think we’ve done a great job let us know, if we sucked toenails let us know that too. Just be prepared for neurotic emails, tears and clingy requests for a second date.
Seriously though folks, we work really hard to put these events on and we want them to be something you look forward to, a place where everyone feels welcome and that you all want to come back to again and again. The networking benefits us all, the sharing is tons of fun and let’s face it we ALL need that cocktailing.
I look forward to seeing ya!
~Lara
a.k.a DiPaola Momma and Co-Founder of Momz Share
P.S. No more ER visits for me after the first event so no need to bring that up again okay? (ahem, Jennifer)
* those were the days... sigh
** I reserve the right to judge shoes, since they are the only high fashion I can still fit into...thankyouverymuch
*** okay so I don’t really want to visit your bedrooms via molecular re-composition but “boudoir” sounds much more witty that TV room, n’est pas?
5 Ways Social Media Saved My Life - Sunday Stilwell of Extreme Parenthood
I began my journey as a blogger in the winter of 2008. I had a number of friends who had blogs to keep their extended family in the loop with current events and photos of their family and they urged me to start blogging as a way of recording my roller coaster ride as a single mom of two boys with autism. I had always enjoyed journaling when I was a teenager and so I figured I'd give it a go and see if my family and personal friends might get a kick out of some of my adventures.
Little did I know that blogging was only the doorway into what would soon become salvation for this lonely stay-at-home mom.
Here are 5 ways social media saved my life, and in the process, my sanity!
1) You're not alone.
No matter what kind of day you are having there is always someone else on Twitter, Facebook, or a blog who not only feels your pain but shares it.
Maybe you are a brand new mother with a screaming infant with colic, perhaps you just received a diagnosis of breast cancer, or your husband just announced he wants a divorce. You can bet your bottom dollar someone else in the Blogosphere or Twitterverse is out there not only wanting to talk about it but is willing to do so at 3 a.m.!
2) Conferences, social networking events, and brand-sponsored soirees is the new Girls Night Out!
You buy your tickets, catch a plane or a train, and before you know it you're back in the hay days of letting loose with the gals, eating good food, drinking fine wine, and laughing it up while 6 of you cram into one hotel room for a weekend. You haven't had this much fun since your bachelorette party 10 years and 3 kids ago!
And most of these gals you just met for the first time that morning!
Blogging and Twitter has opened up a whole new society of friendships that closely rival the traditional "I've known her all my life" variety. Some of the best friends I have made in the past two years I have only seen once or twice in real life but I talk to them everyday on Twitter, Facebook, and my blog. They are my tribe and with them I feel whole.
3) Its not a hobby...its a business!
Every time I hear someone from outside the blogging community call what we do a "hobby" I want to rap them upside the head and hand them this post by Queen of Spain:
Now what was that you were saying about our little "hobby"?!
4) I have a voice and I'm not afraid to use it!
All of us have a passion. Perhaps yours is promoting green living or supporting a woman's right to breastfeed in public. Maybe you have a child like mine who has autism and you'll strive to make their voice heard all the way to the steps of the U.S. Capital if needed.
Social media has given each of us the power to support our causes with more than just a written check and to do so from the comfort of our own homes or the local Starbucks.
It has empowered our opinions, our voices, and taught us that when they are combined they move fast and carry great weight!
5) Lord knows some days I just need a good laugh.
If I'm having a craptastic day complete with a sick kid, a grumpy husband, and menstrual cramps that remind me of childbirth I am NOT in the mood to put on pants, wash my hair, and make myself presentable for human company. What I am in the mood for is a good laugh. STAT!
At moments like this I know my salvation is only a twitter feed or a facebook picture away and my friends are all too happy to go to any means necessary to give me the laugh I so richly deserve.
What about you? What has social media done to make your life easier to handle? Has it made is more difficult in any ways?
The definition of networking is ‘to cultivate people who can be helpful to one professionally’. The core of this is lost on most business owners and salespeople. To cultivate means to really work at something. In order to network well, we must plan to befriend those around us. We work with people we like, not just people we know.
How many times have you been to an event where people asked you what you did then stared over your shoulder to find someone else who might give them business? Notice how I didn’t ask if you have been, because everyone has.
Networking is a subtle art form that has been so badly misused that people cringe when they hear of a networking event. But it’s typically not the event that’s scary, it’s the people. Some people still haven’t learned how to network without selling. Selling is the base of all scariness in networking.
Here are some tools to help you stop selling & start building relationships:
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Be engaged. If you’re in a conversation, don’t look for other people to talk to. Enjoy what you’re in at that moment.
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Network with everyone. Just because someone isn’t a good client of yours doesn’t mean they can’t be a great referral source.
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Be a resource. If people know that you give out great information they’re more likely to want to work with you.
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Be a connector. If you see people who aren’t engaging in conversation, invite them into your group. If someone says they’re looking for a certain type of person & you know someone who can help them, introduce them to that person.
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Stop talking about what you do. Start talking about what you like to do and connect with people on a higher level than just work.
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Don’t force a conversation. Some people just aren’t meant to connect. If you feel stuck in a conversation, excuse yourself to use the bathroom or to say hi to someone else.
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Don’t judge. Just because someone has a job you’re not interested in, it might not define them. The person might be really interesting in other parts of their life. Ask them about those things instead.
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Listen. Stop blathering on and start listening. You’ll probably be remembered as a great conversationalist.
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Networking happens everywhere. Networking events aren’t the only place to network. Find unassuming places to meet people & practice friend-making. Those types of events typically result in business relationships.
10. Be yourself. Stop trying to be a salesperson and just have a friendly conversation. People know when you’re trying too hard.
Next time you head to an event don’t have a goal of how many business cards you’ll get. Instead, plan to make at least one friend. You’ll be pleasantly surprised how much business you’ll get out of that.
Happy networking!
Melanie Spring, Principal & Project Director of Sisarina Inc, helps her clients with their marketing, branding and websites. Her focus is on entrepreneurs and non-profits. You’ll find her organizing #DCTweetup and other fun workshops to help connect DC area neighbors.
- by Jennifer Gerlock of Hip As I Wanna Be
When I first started blogging four years ago, I was a bit of an anomaly in my community. I knew of no one else “in real life” who blogged or participated in social media.
As much as I loved it, I really craved someone to relate to. I am a relationship person. I thrive on friendships and collaboration.
Then as chance would have it, I happened across a loose network of bloggers in the Maryland area. Just a handful of ladies searching for something similar to I. What started out as a lucky meeting on Twitter with a handful of women, blossomed into network of bloggers in six states and a new initiative affectionately dubbed Momz Share.
The principal of forming relationships is nothing new in the blogosphere. We do it all the time over the wonderful world wide web. That being said, there is no denying that personal relationships are strengthened tenfold when maintained by consistent face-to-face interactions.
The benefits of developing your own hyper-local network:
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Deep personal connections
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A tribe to lean on, outreach to and identify with
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Real-life friendships
Not convinced you need a hyper-local concentration yet?
Then let me enlighten you on how I have been blessed by my relationships with some of the fantastic folks I have met locally... READ ON
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