I just landed a new job, and I'm happy as pie. I've been named the Director of Social Media - a newly created position - for a public relations firm. What, you may ask, does a Director of Social Media do? Well, I'll be using tools like blogs, social networking platforms, Twitter, Facebook, listservs, message boards,You Tube, etc, etc, etc to help clients market and position their brands and messages. Basically, it's a job tailor made for me. And as a working mother, I can tell you that when mama's happy with her job, everyone in the family is happier.
I've been playing around in online communities since 1995, when I first logged onto AOL in search of some information about a pregnancy complication I was experiencing. I found a group of women online who were dealing with the same medical problem, and bam - instant community. I was hooked. For years, close friends and family members teased me about my geeky immersion in online communities and conversations. This was long before Facebook or Friendster or Twitter lured in the masses, and so most people had no idea what I was doing in all that "chatting" online. But it was my ongoing dialogue with the women in an amazing, international attachment parenting listserv that inspired me to pitch, sell and write my book. And the first essay I ever sold - in 1996 - came via an online connection with the editor of a regional parenting magazine who happened to be a member of that same listserv. The personal blog I launched in 2002 has led to all kinds of writing assignments and professional connections, and I even met my husband online; we were both members of a local discussion board. Online community and networking has allowed me to create a relatively successful freelance writing career even though I don't live in NYC or L.A. - something that would have been nearly impossible even 20 years ago.
Nowadays, my social media geekiness doesn't sound so "out there." My family and friends (who are all on Facebook these days) no longer make fun of me for having online friends whom I've never met in person. And wonder of wonders, I've managed to weave my personal interest in online community building into my professional work as a writer and editor, and voila! I now, for the first time, will have a job that brings all of this stuff together. I'm really, really excited. Can you tell?
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