Digital Sisterhood Network

Join Digital Sisterhood Unplugged (#DSUnplugged) Weekend on May 25 and 26

Wed, 22 May 2013 12:06:00 -0400

You are cordially invited to participate in the Digital Sisterhood Unplugged Weekends Initiative (#DSUnplugged) on May 25 and 26.

#DSUnplugged Weekends encourage women to slow down and take a break from their digital lives and electronic devices once a month. The break could be 30 minutes, an hour, a half-day, a full day, or an entire weekend. It’s up to each woman to choose and commit to a timeframe that works best for her.

If you’d like to join us on our 2013 #DSUnplugged Weekends, check out the schedule below and use the #DSUnplugged hashtag to share your plans, comments, and questions on our Facebook and Twitter pages.

#DSUnplugged Weekend Schedule

May 25-26
June 22-23
July 27-28
August 24-25
September 28-29
October 26-27
November 23-24
December 28-29

Special Invitation for Washington, D.C. Area Residents:

If you are in the D.C. area on Sunday, May 26 at 9:00 a.m., join Digital Sisterhood Network founder Ananda Leeke, a registered yoga teacher, for a free kind and gentle yoga class (30 minutes) in Malcolm X-Meridian Hill Park. Click here for details. Also, sign up for Ananda’s free 30 minute yoga classes in the park (May – November).

What Kind of Digital Sister Are You in 2013?

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 15:26:55 -0500

During Digital Sisterhood Month 2012, the Digital Sisterhood Network (DSN) used seven categories to identify and to honor 100 Digital Sisters of the Year. The categories were based on digital sisterhood archetypes DSN founder Ananda Leeke discovered while writing her book, Digital Sisterhood: A Memoir of Fierce Living Online (2013). They include:

A Creativista is a woman who gives birth to creativity (art, books, films, products, services, and webisodes).
An Empirista is a woman who thinks of herself as CEO of her own corporation, ME, Inc.; maintains an entrepreneurial mindset; and gives birth to ideas and transforms them into businesses, economies, institutions, networks, and organizations that add value to people’s lives.
An Empowerista is a woman who creates and curates content, shares information and experiences, connects with others and establishes positive relationships, and builds and participates in communities that empower her and others.
An Enchantista is a woman who taps into the magic of her spirit as she focuses her energy, opens her heart, trusts her intuition, embraces her fears, and shares her gifts in service to others.
An Evangelista is a woman who supports and advocates a philosophy, a values system, a lifestyle, a cause, or a campaign that improves her life and others’ lives.
A Flowista is a woman who unplugs from her digital life and tech devices for periods of time so she can recharge and take care of herself; and encourages women to unplug from their digital lives by incorporating mindfulness and self-care practices.
A Lifestylista is a woman who lives her life as a work of art; expresses it through her passion for beauty, entertaining, fashion, food, home décor, personal style, and travel; and inspires others to live their lives as works of art.

Each archetype helped Ananda value, own, and express her voice through reflections and stories. They also inspired her to stay positive and passionate when she realized her book would not be published at the end of 2012 (as she had promised). They are currently reminding her to practice loving kindness as she follows her publisher’s guidance in making changes to the book manuscript (the archetypes are included in the book manuscript).

Do any of these digital sisterhood archetypes represent who you are?

Which digital sisterhood archetypes do you want to incorporate into your life this year?

Digital Sisterhood Month 2012 Favorite Moments

Wed, 02 Jan 2013 14:15:35 -0500

Happy New Year!

Today Digital Sisterhood Network is reflecting on our favorite Digital Sisterhood Month 2012 moments. See our list and photos below.

What were your favorite moments?

Digital Sisterhood Month 2012 Moments

1) Naming the 2012 Digital Sisters of the Year a/k/a “Digital Sisterhood 100″ and receiving their emails, Facebook posts, and tweets.

Digital Sisters of the Year on #DSmonth Pinterest Board

2) Traveling to New York City to host the #DSMonth Meet Up at Argo Tea and Field Trip to the Brooklyn Museum.

12/14 #DSMonth NYC Meet Up Members: Halana, Amy, and Ananda – Photo by Christina Soriano

Digital Sisters at NYC Field Trip Meet Up at Brooklyn Museum

NYC Field Trip

Art work by Mickalene Thomas

3) Working with Brea Ellis, founder of What I Wore: tip to toe blog, to organize two Digital Sisterhood Month events: Fierce Living in Fashion 15 Minute Flash Mob on U Street (#DSFlashMob) and Salon Series on DC Style (#DSStyleSalon).

Brea Ellis & Ananda Leeke

4) Shopping with digital sisters on U Street and eating a snack at Ben’s Chili Bowl during the #DSFlashMob event in Washington, DC.

#DSFlashMob meet and greet at the Mediterranean Spot on U Street

#DSFlashMob shopping moments at Zawadi on U Street

#DSFlashMob shoppers at ben’s Chili Bowl

5) Learning from the #DSStyleSalon speakers and audience at the Tenley-Friendship Public Library in Washington, DC.

Brea Ellis & Rosemary Reed Miller

Blogger Town Hall Speakers Krystin Hargrove, Monica Byrd, and Deb Vaughan

Brea Ellis and DC designers Philissa Williams and Katherine Martinez

#DSStyleSalon audience

Philissa Williams and her mom & Ananda Leeke at #DSStyleSalon

6) Interviewing Elizabeth Schaeffer Brown, Dariela Cruz, Stacey Ferguson, Kelly Heisler, Elyane Fluker, Nadia Jones, Claire-Dee Lim, Allissa Richardson, Jessica Solomon, and Elena Sonnino on Digital Sisterhood Radio.

7) Hosting #DigitalSisterhood Wednesday Twitter chats with:

Sian Morson, Entrepreneur, Founder of Kollective Mobile, Mobile Evangelist, Writer, and Video Artist;
Julia Coney of All About The Pretty, Liz Fassbender of The Capital Area Fashion & Beauty Bloggers and So Much to Smile About, Alison Gary of Wardrobe Oxygen, Mattie James of Mattieologie and Style Bloggers of Color, Marie Denee Leggette of The Curvy Fashionista, and Trina Small of The Baby Shopaholic;
Sariane Leigh, founder of Anacostia Yogi; Kerrie Martin, founder of Live In Rhythm; Danielle Ricks, an avid cyclist and social media specialist; and Takeya Young, founder of Core Connection Lifestyle; and
Boni Candelario, Career Strategy and Empowerment Coach; Tara Joyce of Elastic Mind and Rise of the Innerpreneur blog; and Anotinette Sykes, Success Coach.

8) Taking Kimberly Wilson’s Yoga and Meditation class at Tranquil Space in Washington, DC.

Yoga teachers Kimberly Wilson and Ananda Leeke

9) Chatting with Valerie Trammel at the She Writers Meet Up held at Teaism in Washington, DC.

She Writers Meet Up – Valerie Trammel and Ananda Leeke

10) Replying to the Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Twitter positive comments from the Digital Sisterhood community.

11) Reading Janel Martinez’s Black Enterprise article about Digital Sisterhood Month.

12) Going to the National Museum of Women in the Arts to see the Women Who Rock exhibition.

13) Seeing the #DSMonth badge on digital sisters’ blogs and web sites.

14) Attending the TEDxAdamsMorganWomen event and hearing the fantastic speakers.

15) Meeting digital sister Kesha Bruce, an artist and writer, at her opening night reception at Morton Fine Art Gallery in Washington, DC.

On December 21, the Digital Sisterhood Network announced the...

Wed, 26 Dec 2012 14:05:00 -0500

On December 21, the Digital Sisterhood Network announced the 2012 Digital Sisters of the Year. They represent the “Digital Sisterhood 100,” fierce living women who rock the web and world!. To learn more about them, check out the “Digital Sisterhood 100″ list below. It is organized into seven categories: Creativista, Empirista, Empowerista, Enchantista, Evangelista, Flowista, and Lifestylista.

A Creativista is a woman who gives birth to creativity (art, books, films, products, services, and webisodes).
An Empirista is a woman who thinks of herself as CEO of her own corporation, ME, Inc.; maintains an entrepreneurial mindset; and gives birth to ideas and transforms them into businesses, economies, institutions, networks, and organizations that add value to people’s lives.
An Empowerista is a woman who creates and curates content, shares information and experiences, connects with others and establishes positive relationships, and builds and participates in communities that empower her and others.
An Enchantista is a woman who taps into the magic of her spirit as she focuses her energy, opens her heart, trusts her intuition, embraces her fears, and shares her gifts in service to others.
An Evangelista is a woman who supports and advocates a philosophy, a values system, a lifestyle, a cause, or a campaign that improves her life and others’ lives.
A Flowista is a woman who unplugs from her digital life and tech devices for periods of time so she can recharge and take care of herself; and encourages women to unplug from their digital lives by incorporating mindfulness and self-care practices.
A Lifestylista is a woman who lives her life as a work of art; expresses it through her passion for beauty, entertaining, fashion, food, home décor, personal style, and travel; and inspires others to live their lives as works of art.

2012 Digital Sisterhood 100 List

1) Creativistas

Ayoka Chenzira, digital media artist, filmmaker, founder of OrdinaryDayActs.com and Spelman College’s Digital Moving Image Salon, and professor
Joy Cho, author, designer, and founder of Oh Joy! blog
Dariela Cruz, co-founder of Dari Design Studio and founder of MamiTalks.com
Leah Piken Kolidas, artist and founder of Art Every Day Month and CreativeEveryDay.com
Claire Dee Lim, founder of “The Power Object” webisode series
Arielle Loren, founder of Corset Magazine
Kathy Cano-Murillo, author and founder of CraftyChica.com
Stephanie Piche, founder of Mingle Media TV
Felicia Pride, author and founder of The Create Daily and Pride Collective
Issa Rae, founder of “The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl” webisode series
Kelly Rae Roberts, artist, author, and founder of KellyRaeRoberts.com
Jessica Solomon, founder of Art In Praxis: Theory+Practice/Art=New Worlds blog and The Saartjie Project
Daryn Strauss, founder of Digital Chick TV and “Downsized” webisode series
Mindy Tsonas, artist and founder of WishStudio.com

2) Empiristas

Julie Diaz Asper, co-founder of GigCoin and Social Lens Research
Melody Biringer, author and founder of The Crave Company
Kimberly Bryant, engineer and founder of BlackGirlsCode.com
Majora Carter, founder of Startup Box: South Bronx
Ana Roca Castro, founder of Latinos in Social Media and Premier Social Media
Angie Chang, co-founder of Women 2.0
Shaherose Charania, co-founder of Women 2.0
Ella Gorgla, founder of I-ELLA
LaShanda Henry, author and founder of Black Business Women Online and Multiple Shades of You Online
Kelly Hoey, co-founder of Women Innovate Mobile
Deborah Jackson, founder of PlumAlley.co and JumpThru, and co-founder of Women Innovate Mobile
Jory Des Jardins, co-founder of BlogHer
Danica Kombol, co-founder and managing partner of Everywhere
Wen Wen Lam, co-founder of Women 2.0
Sian Morson, founder of Kollective Mobile
Elisa Camahort Page, co-founder of BlogHer
Veronika Sonsev, co-founder of Women Innovate Mobile and founder of inSparq.com and Women in Wireless
Shivani Sopory, co-founder of Women 2.0
Lisa Stone, co-founder of BlogHer
Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum, author and President of Spelman College

3) Empoweristas

Joanne Bamberger, author and founder of PunditMom.com
Sara Chipps, co-founder of Girl Develop It
Stacey Ferguson, co-founder and chief curator of BeBlogalicious.com and founder of Justice Fergie Lifestyle Media
Ana Flores, author, co-founder of SpanglishBaby.com, and founder of LatinaBloggersConnect.com
Kathy Korman Frey, founder of HotMommasProject.com and professor
Alexis Pauline Gumbs, author, founder of Broken Beautiful Press blog, professor, and writer
Kristal High, founder of Politic365
Vanessa Hurst, co-founder of Girl Develop It and founder of Developers for Good
Lauren Brown Jarvis, founder of DigitalDoyennes.com, National Communications Director for the New Leaders Council, and writer for Examiner.com and The Huffington Post
Christine Johnson, founder of IamDTech
Tara Joyce, author and founder of The Rise of the Innerpreneur blog
Allyson Kapin, founder of WomenWhoTech.com
Christine Koh, founder of BostonMamas.com and PoshPeacock.com
Yalanda Lattimore, founder of DryerBuzz.com
Sarah Massey, founder of Fabulous Women Biz Owners DC and Massey Media
Anissa Mayhew, founder of AimingLow.com and co-founder of InsertEyeRoll.com
Morra Aarons Mele, founder of Women Online
Shireen Mitchell, founder of Digital Sisters, Inc. and Tech Media Swirl
Tinu Abayomi-Paul, editor of WomenGrowBusiness.com
Elianne Ramos, host of Latinos in Social Media Twitter party and founder of Speak Hispanic
Allissa Richardson, founder of MojoMediaWorks.com, journalist, and professor
Liz Scherer, founder of Flashfree: Not Your Mama’s Menopause blog, health journalist, and marketing and social media strategist
Aliza Sherman, author, digital strategist, web and social mobile pioneer, and founder of Mediaegg
Marcia Wade Talbert, Tech Editor and Multimedia Content Producer at Black Enterprise
Ericka Tinsley, founder of The Swarthy Suite, Fro-Fi Collective, and Chocolate Chat Atlanta
Ronnie Tyler, co-founder of BlackandMarriedwithKids.com and Tyler New Media
Ebony Utley, author, founder of TheUtleyExperience.com, Ms. Magazine blogger, and professor
Amy Vernon, digital strategist, founder of Women Tech Unite! Facebook Group, freelance writer, and General Manager for Social Marketing for Internet Media Labs
Gloria Ware, founder of Black and Into Green blog
Veronica Woods, founder of BookYourChairSolid.com and MySalonScoop.com

4) Enchantistas

Monica Coleman, author, founder of Beautiful Mind blog, minister, and professor
Kety Esquivel, digital executive at Fenton Communications and TEDxAdamsMorganWomen convener
Faith Hunter, founder of Faith Hunter Yoga and Embrace Yoga, podcaster, and writer
Jeannette Kaplun, author and founder of Hispana Global and Todobebe.com
Jennifer Lee, author, coach, and founder of Artizen Coaching and Life Unfolds blog
Zawadi Nyong’o, founder of ZerobyZawadi.com
Akilah Richards, author and founder of Execumama.com, The Lightcaster’s Project and The Life Design Agency
Jamie Ridler, coach and founder of Jamie Ridler Studios
Willa Shalit, artist, author, founder of Fairwinds Trading, Inc., and co-founder of MaidenNation.com
Kimberly Wilson, author, eco-designer, founder of Tranquil Space and Tranquility du Jour blog and podcast, and yoga teacher

5) Evangelistas

Luvvie Ajayi, co-founder of The Red Pump Project, founder of Awesomely Luvvie blog, and social media strategist and trainer
Veronica Arreola, founder of Viva La Feminista blog
Sloane Berrent Davidson, founder of TheCausemopolitan.com
Tracey Friley, founder of OneBrownGirl.com and The Passport Party Project
Regina Holliday, artist and founder of Medical Advocacy blog
Ileana Jimenez, educator and founder of FeministTeacher.com
Nicole McLean, breast cancer activist and founder of My Fabulous Boobies blog
Laurita Tellado, blogger, founder of HoldinOurForAHero.org, and journalist
Suzanne Turner, founder of Feminism 2.0 and Turner Strategies
Karyn Watkins, co-founder of The Red Pump Project and founder of TheFabulousGiver.com
Chrysula Winegar, communications consultant and founder of WhenYouWakeUpAMother.com

6) Flowistas

Gwen Bell, author, global entrepreneur, and yoga teacher
Zeenat Merchant-Syal, author, founder of PositiveProvocations.com, and psychologist

7) Lifestylistas

Monica Byrd, founder of BabyBlashandBling.com and TheCharmChat.com
Lilian Chang, founder of ChineseGrandma.com
Julia Coney, founder of AllAboutThePretty.net and yoga teacher
Jewel Figueras, founder of JewelsFabLife.com
Kiratiana Freelon, author and founder of KiratianaTravels.com
Latoicha Givens, founder of LuxeTips.com
Maura Hernandez, founder of TheOtherSideofTheTortilla.com
Mattie James, founder of Atlanta Style Bloggers, Mattieologie.com, and Style Bloggers of Color
Marie Denee Leggette, author and founder of The Curvy Fashionista blog
Katherine Martinez, founder of La Petite Marmoset
Mercedes Sanchez, founder of BeChicMag.com
Jacqueline Shaw, author and founder of AfricaFashionGuide.com
Deb Vaughan, founder of Real Girl Runway blog

#DSMonth Day 22 Recap: Digital Sisterhood Radio Interview with Maiden Nation Co-Founder Elizabeth Schaeffer Brown

Wed, 26 Dec 2012 13:36:06 -0500

Day 22 of Digital Sisterhood Month featured a Digital Sisterhood Radio interview with Maiden Nation co-founder Elizabeth Schaeffer Brown about ethical fashion and conscious consumerism. Click here to listen to her interview.

Day 15 of Digital Sisterhood Month featured a field trip to see...

Wed, 26 Dec 2012 13:19:00 -0500

Day 15 of Digital Sisterhood Month featured a field trip to see the Mickalene Thomas exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum. Digital Sisterhood Network (DSN) founder Ananda Leeke toured the exhibition with six amazing digital sisters: Xenobia Bailey, fiber artist; Liz Calvin, advocate and justice seeker workers; Xina Eiland, President of The Eiland Group and PR professional; Sylvia Wong Lewis, founder of Narrative Network and PR consultant; Patricia Patton, founder of BoomerWizdom.com; and Sanura Weathers, founder of My Life Runs on Food blog. During the field trip, Bailey gave the group a mini lecture on the importance of Thomas’ work. Group members also shared how Thomas’ work impacted their lives, discussed their online and offline activities, networked, shared resources, and purchased hats created by Bailey.

Click here to read Lewis’ blog post about the Thomas exhibition. She also wrote an article about the NYC Field Trip for her Examiner.com column.
Click here to see the event photos.

After the museum field trip, Eiland, Leeke, and Weathers enjoyed an afternoon of self-care and shopping. They went to get Seven Nails on the corner of Union and Seventh Avenue for manicures and pedicures. They also did some window shopping at several vintage shops including Almost New Vintage Clothing on Saint Marks Avenue.

Eiland and Leeke also visited Eponymy, a boutique in Park Slope, to meet a very special digital sister, Lady Bianca Miller, a French bulldog. As a socialite, model, and arbiter of style, Lady Bianca Miller shares her views on her blog,That’s what B said. She also has a Pinterest page too!

Day 14 of Digital Sisterhood Month featured a meet up at Argo...

Wed, 26 Dec 2012 12:26:00 -0500

Day 14 of Digital Sisterhood Month featured a meet up at Argo Tea (Chelsea location) in New York City. The meet up was organized to conduct outreach to women in social media and technology. During the meet up, Digital Sisterhood Network (DSN) founder met with Halana Black, founder of Garlic and Lemons, Christina Soriano, founder of Soriano Designs, and Amy Vernon, a freelance writer, digital strategist, and General Manager of Social Marketing for Internet Media Labs. The group discussed how women can present themselves as a business and brand with multiple businesses and passions. They also shared resources, brainstormed ideas for collaborative partnerships, and identified ways DSN can provide support in their 2013 efforts.

#DSMonth Day 13 Recap: Digital Sisterhood Radio Interview with Stacey Ferguson

Wed, 26 Dec 2012 11:57:00 -0500

Day 13 of Digital Sisterhood Month featured a Digital Sisterhood Radio interview with Stacey Ferguson, Justice Fergie Lifestyle Media, Personal Brand Strategist, Digital Content & Events Producer, Tech Lawyer, and BeBlogalicious.com Chief Curator. Click here to listen to her interview.

#DSMonth Day 10 Recap: Digital Sisterhood Radio Interview with Jessica Solomon

Tue, 11 Dec 2012 11:42:06 -0500

Day ten of Digital Sisterhood Month featured a Digital Sisterhood Radio interview with Jessica Solomon, cultural worker, founder and artistic director of The Saartjie Project, organizational development practitioner, and Reiki Master practitioner. Click here to listen to her interview.

Watch video from Digital Sisterhood Month’s #DSStyle Salon...

Mon, 10 Dec 2012 17:51:00 -0500

Watch video from Digital Sisterhood Month’s #DSStyle Salon Conversation with Personal Style Blogger Brea Ellis and Author/Entrepreneur Rosemary Reed Miller held at the Tenley-Friendship Library in DC on December 12, 2012. The video also features Ananda Leeke, Digital Sisterhood Network. giving an event introduction. Many thanks to Sharon Malachi for recording the video.

NOTE: Please turn the volume up on your computer, laptop, tablet, or mobile device to hear the video (recording is a little low).

#DSMonth Day #1 Recap: Field Trip to TEDxAdamsMorganWomen Day 1...

Mon, 10 Dec 2012 16:51:00 -0500

#DSMonth Day #1 Recap: Field Trip to TEDxAdamsMorganWomen

Day 1 of Digital Sisterhood Month 2012 featured a field trip to the TEDxAdamsMorganWomen event that featured women and men speakers who addressed the topic of “The Space Between.” Their talks focused on how to move past dichotomous thinking and see the gray area in between. The speakers included Nicole C. Lee, the first female President of TransAfrica; Karen Dolan, Fellow at Institute for Policy Studies; Kethia Clairvoyant, Founder at Fit for Life by KC; Shonali Burke, Vice President, Digital Media & Marketing at MSL Group; David Deal, CEO at Community IT Innovators; Nicolette Pizzitola, CEO at Compass Point Associates LLC; and George Koch, Founder and Chair Emeritus Artomatic, Inc. Kety Esquivel, a Digital Executive at Fenton, and Suzanne Turner, founder of Feminism 2.0 and Turner Strategies organized the event. Click here to learn more about the TEDxWomen national events.

#DSMonth Day #9 - Field Trip to National Museum of Women in the...

Mon, 10 Dec 2012 16:28:00 -0500

#DSMonth Day #9 - Field Trip to National Museum of Women in the Arts

Day 9 of Digital Sisterhood Month featured a field trip to the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C. Digital sisters Ananda Leeke and Valerie Trammel saw the Women Who Rock: Vision, Passion, and Power”exhibition which illustrated the importance of women in the world of popular music from the 1920s to present day. They also had fun with the holiday tree and decorations in the foyer of the Museum.

To learn more about the Museum and the exhibition, visit www.nmwa.org/exhibitions/women-who-rock.

#DSMonth Day #2 Recap: Fierce Living in Fashion 15 Minute Flash...

Mon, 10 Dec 2012 14:59:00 -0500

#DSMonth Day #2 Recap: Fierce Living in Fashion 15 Minute Flash Mob on U Street

The second day of Digital Sisterhood Month 2012 began with a “Fierce Living in Fashion” event that took DC area women on a “15 Minute Flash Mob” tour of U Street’s amazing boutiques and vintage shops located between 15th and 16th Streets, NW, Washington, D.C. The tour was led by Brea Ellis, a fourth generation Washingtonian and the founder of What I Wore: tip to toe, a personal style blog. Digital Sisterhood Network founder Ananda Leeke, a U Street resident, also served as a tour guide. The “15 Minute Flash Mob” tour started with a meet and greet at The Mediterranean Spot on U Street. Group members talked about their love of vintage fashion, trips to Paris, and the style of French women. After the meet and greet, the group shopped at Junction, Legendary Beast, Zawadi, Rock It Again, Ginger Root, Dr. K’s Vintage, and Lettie Gooch. The tour ended with a wrap up get-together at Ben’s Chili Bowl.

To learn more about the event, click here to read Brea Ellis’ Digital Sisterhood Fashion Flash Mob blog post.

#DSMonth Day 9 Recap: Digital Sisterhood Radio Interview with Heart of Haiti Bloggers

Mon, 10 Dec 2012 14:10:00 -0500

Day nine of Digital Sisterhood Month featured a Digital Sisterhood Radio interview with the Heart of Haiti bloggers and Everywhere team who traveled to Haiti in January 2012. They included Kelly Heisler of Everywhere, Nadia Jones of The Niche Mommy Network and Conference, and Elena Sonnino of CiaoMom.com and LiveDoGrow.com. Click here to listen to their interview.

#DSMonth Day 5 Recap: Digital Sisterhood Twitter Chat with Sian Morson, Founder of Kollective Mobile

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 12:14:44 -0500

Day five of Digital Sisterhood Month featured a Twitter chat with Kollective Mobile founder Sian Morson. The topic was “Tech Women’s Creativity.” During the chat, Sian shared five wisdom thoughts she gained from her creative experiences in the digital space. See below.

1) Everyone brings something to the table. Never discount someone’s idea or opinion.

2) Everything has a place. I learned to adapt to my engineers’ orderly, linear way of thinking.

3) Collaboration is beautiful. It’s easier to work with people than against them.

4) Anonymity is almost impossible. So when I have a moment of privacy I cherish it.

5) Always remember to have fun. It doesn’t have to be serious all of the time.

#DSMonth Day 6 Recap: Digital Sisterhood Radio Interview with Claire-Dee Lim

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 11:44:22 -0500

Day six of Digital Sisterhood Month featured a Digital Sisterhood Radio interview with Claire-Dee Lim, creator and founder of The Power Object comedy webisode series. Click here to listen to her interview.

Happy Day #7 of Digital Sisterhood Month (#DSMonth)! Today,...

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 10:35:00 -0500

Happy Day #7 of Digital Sisterhood Month (#DSMonth)!

Today, Digital Sisterhood Network (DSN) is celebrating how women express the #DSMonth theme of “Creativity + Great Health = Fierce Living Women.” Many women use the practice of self-love to embrace their creativity, maintain great health, and live fiercely. One of our favorite advocates and teachers of self-love is Christine Arylo, author of Madly in Love with Me. Read the question and answer (Q&A) session below to learn more about Arylo’s self-love principles.

Q & A with Author Christine Arylo

DSN: Isn’t loving yourself selfish or narcissistic?

CA: Self-love is so misunderstood. If you looked self-love up in the dictionary, yes, it is defined as conceit, vanity and narcissism but whoever came up that definition has it all wrong. People who do suffer from narcissism or excess vanity actually lack love for themselves. Their extreme self-centeredness and unawareness of their impact on others is really a cover for a deep sense of inferiority, a fear of connection and a low self-worth. Thankfully, narcissism isn’t contagious and most people don’t need to worry about being too selfish. If anything, they need to give to themselves more.

Loving yourself is the same as loving another person, the energy of love is just pointed in a different direction. Think of it this way, you’d never say loving your parents or friends was selfish, and neither is giving love to yourself. Imagine giving love to someone in your life that you deeply care about. Notice how good it feels to give love to that person – in all kinds of ways including affection, caring, acknowledgement, honor, compassion, etc. Now imagine taking that same energy and directing the love at yourself – giving yourself affection, care, acknowledgement, honor, compassion, etc. Same energy. Love is never selfish.

DSN: What is self-love? What does it really mean to love yourself?

CA:Some day I will petition the dictionary people to change the definition for self-love, but for now to set the record straight, here’s a truthful definition for self-love: Self-love is the unconditional love and respect you have for yourself that is so deep, so solid, so unwavering that you choose only situations and relationships – including the one you have with yourself – that reflect that same unconditional love and respect.

In our culture, there are a lot of words other than self-love that people are much more comfortable using – self-esteem, self-awareness, self-care, self-worth, self-compassion – words that many people mistakenly believe are the same as self-love. While all the ideas expressed by these words are components of self-love, none alone is a synonym for self-love. Love is a specific, un-paralleled, and all-powerful vibration, and none of these aspects of self-love has that power on their own – but put them together and WOW! You’ve got a tree of self-love!

DSN: Okay, so say I do believe that loving myself is a good idea, how do I actually do it?

CA: Once a person gets that loving themselves is a good idea, and they get past all that fear around it being selfish or vain, they always ask, “How do I love myself?” Self-love can feel so vast and esoteric and it can get thrown around casually, “Oh, sure I love myself,” when if you were to look at that person’s life you would see the areas where they do choose love and where they don’t act lovingly towards themselves. Loving yourself isn’t black and white, as in either you are a person who does or doesn’t. It isn’t some nirvana state you master and achieve and then can just forget about. Loving yourself is a choice you make, or don’t, in every moment of every day for the rest of your life.

The first step is to become aware of the ways in which you are a rock star at being a best friend to yourself and the ways that you have a hard time making choices and taking actions that align with love. To make this accessible and tangible for people, I teach the 10 Branches of Self-Love and guide people how to identify where they are weak so they can GROW their self-love in this place, and also how to identify where they are strong, so they can make KEEP the love flowing, and also make sure they don’t over-rely on any one branch, which will throw you out of balance.

DSN: You say that it’s possible to have too much self-esteem. What do you mean?

CA: Self-esteem is the strong belief in and regard for yourself. It is a strong confidence in your ability to do and be anything. And while we definitely want to foster self-esteem (it wasn’t that long ago that self-esteem wasn’t a common culturally acceptable ideal), self-esteem on it’s own is not enough – it’s only 1/10^th of the self-love equation.

Without self-compassion, you can have tons of self-esteem, but you will be extremely hard on yourself. We are creating a culture of hardened high achievers failing to use the power of the tools of the heart – equating confidence to strength and compassion to weakness, which just isn’t true. Today, women and children are extremely emotionally hard on themselves, driven by the unrealistic expectations to do, be and have it all. And with little training and understanding of self-compassion, they silently beat themselves up, all the while appearing like they have it all together to the outside world.

You need all 10 branches of self-love – self awareness & honesty, self-acceptance, self-care, self-compassion & forgiveness, self-trust, self-esteem, self-empowerment, self-respect & self-honor, self-pleasure, and self-expression cared for, nurtured and fully blooming.

DSN: How do you cultivate a strong and independent sense of self-worth?

CA: The first stage of cultivating a really strong and independent self-worth is making sure that all 10 of your self-love branches are in a healthy state. They may not all be fully blooming, but they are headed in the right direction, which means that you need to be aware of how your life is supporting these aspects of yourself – or not – each being essential to your happiness and health.

So as not to activate the over-achiever gene or send anyone into overwhelm, I recommend choosing one branch of self-love to focus on for a given time frame, and creating a 40-day self-love practice around it. 40-days is the minimum amount of time – as the yogi’s, brain scientists, and metaphysicians agree that is the amount of time it takes to identify and release a self-sabotaging habit. And then, if you want to replace that with a new self-loving habit, 120 days is even better.

As you heal and grow the branches of your tree, the entire tree as well as the roots will flourish. Increasing your self-compassion will have a positive affect on your self-care and ability to value what is really important to you. Growing your self-empowerment will increase your self-expression, you will feel more seen and as a result more valued or who you truly are.

The second stage is all about Knowing Your Worth. This doesn’t happen overnight – coming back to your true self-worth is a profound spiritual journey but there are some powerful and accessible places to start including:

-Removing the toxins of judgment and unrealistic expectations – they gotta go!

-Giving up Comparison and Embracing your unique divine imprint – and how valuable that is.

-Embracing the truth of who you are, why you are here and how valuable that really is

-Redefining success and happiness on your terms

-Taking bold and courageous acts to get your life into alignment with your heart and soul

-Believing the truth you were born knowing – you are enough, just as you are. There is only one you, and that too is enough.

DSN: With all the information out there about taking care of yourself and being healthy why do women especially have such a hard time giving themselves permission to actually do the things they know they should do to take care of themselves?

CA: Most women know what they need to do to take good care of – replenish, nourish, nurture – themselves, they just literally cannot give themselves permission to do so. It’s not the information they’re missing, it’s the permission to do what a best friend would do in an instant, tell us “Honey, take a break, take care of yourself, the rest will wait. I insist!”

The reason most of have such a hard time following through on what we know we need, is because even though we want it, we don’t value it. We value giving over receiving. Doing over being. Why? Because we’ve been reading from the wrong handbooks — the Self Sacrifice Handbook and the Self Esteem Handbook instead of the Self-Love Handbook. The former ascribes that we must give, and give and give to others, and then give some more, until there is nothing left. Only when we have given all we have, have we given enough. This Self-Sacrifice Handbook works from the mantra “It’s better to give than receive” rather than “It’s better to give and receive.” Hence why we have little problem giving care, nourishment, nurturing to others, but the thought of giving this love to ourselves comes with a big guilt sandwich. Driven by the belief that it’s good and honorable to give to others, and selfish to give to ourselves, it’s no wonder it’s so hard to give ourselves the care we need.

The Self-Esteem Handbook makes matters worse by equating our value with how much we do, the more we do the better and more valuable we are. There is no chapter in this handbook about valuing ourselves based on “being,” no lessons on relaxing or how to have more impact by doing less. So when we find ourselves not doing, we start questioning our value and worth. Our value has become equated to how much we can get done in a day or a week or achieve in a lifetime legacy. So if we aren’t actively pursuing something or being busy, we feel bad, like we should be doing something.

Next time you find yourself having trouble giving yourself permission to take care of yourself, take a b.f.f. daring act of love and ask and answer this question, ‘What do you need to take care of yourself today?” And then make sure that you receive it – no matter what!

DSN: Is it true that you actually got the day before Valentines Day - February 13^th – officially dedicated to be the international day of self-love? What’s this all about?

CA: With so much attention given to February 14^th and Valentines Day, and frankly a day that currently causes more suffering than happiness, I knew we needed the day before to be a day when people could take their love power back – to get that they are loved even without a romantic partner – and a day when people could fill themselves up first with love so they had extra to give.

On February 13^th, I invite people to choose one branch of self-love and make a promise to themselves that will help them grow that branch all year long. These promises give people an anchor point to come back to during their day to day life, to choose love. For example, if your branch is self-pleasure, your promise might be “I choose to have fun and do what brings me joy no matter how much work there is to do.” Or if your branch is self-care your promise could be “I promise to ask myself what I need and then take action to give that care to myself.”

Every February, our team, Team Love goes on the road and holds self-love-a-poolza’s, and our Love Ambassadors around the world throw self-love parties of their own. Last year 500 people threw parties in 31 countries and 41 states. Which makes for a lot of people taking and keeping the promise to love themselves all year long.

DISCLAIMER: This is a sponsored post written by Ananda Leeke, Founder of Digital Sisterhood Network. Leeke is currently reading and enjoying Madly in Love with Me. Her favorite quote from Arylo’s book is:

“The ability to care for yourself requires an intimate knowledge of and concern for what you need at any given time, and an unapologetic determination to give it to yourself.”

This quote became her December wisdom thought and reminded her to take care of herself as she finishes her memoir, Digital Sisterhood: Fierce Living Online.

#DSMonth Day 4 Recap: Digital Sisterhood Radio Interview with Creative Entrepreneur Dariela Cruz

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 11:07:58 -0500

Day four of Digital Sisterhood Month featured a Digital Sisterhood Radio interview with creative entrepreneur Dariela Cruz, co-founder of Dari Design Shop and founder of MamiTalks.com. Click here to listen to her interview.

#DSMonth Day 3 Recap: Digital Sisterhood Radio Interview with Mobile Media Maven Allissa Richardson

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 11:29:00 -0500

Day three of Digital Sisterhood Month featured a Digital Sisterhood Radio interview with mobile media maven Allissa Richardson, a Bowie State University professor. Richardson is also the founder of Mojo Media Works. Click here to listen to her interview.

Digital Sisterhood Month - Salon Series on DC Style on December 8

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 15:07:00 -0500

Rosemary Reed Miller

Calling fashion and style bloggers, designers, enthusiasts, and professionals! Come celebrate Digital Sisterhood Month on December 8, 2012, from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. with a Salon Series on “DC Style: Past, Present, and Future” at the Tenley-Friendship DC Public Library, 4450 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, Large Meeting Room #10, Washington, DC 20016 (library is located across the street from the Tenleytown/American University Metro Station on the Red Line). Click on the link to register for the event. http://www.eventbrite.com/event/4843959413

The Salon Series on “DC Style: Past, Present, and Future” will feature a discussion on DC style during the past 30 years, a fashion and style blogger town hall on the present trends in DC style, and a conversation with DC designers on the future of DC style. See the schedule below.

Salon Series: DC Style: Past, Present, and Future Schedule

11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. - DC Style: The Past - A Conversation with Rosemary Reed Miller

In 1966, Rosemary Reed Miller launched her entrepreneurial career when she opened her boutique, Toast and Strawberries, on Dupont Circle in Washington, DC. Miller built Toast and Strawberries into a Washington institution that offered its clientele unique gifts and fashion apparel. She established a thriving community by hosting book talks, poetry readings, financial presentations, workshops, panel discussions, and networking meetings. Customers have included singer Aretha Franklin, actress Heather Locklear, Angela Bofill, Anita Baker and Mrs. Casper Weinberger. In 2005, Miller closed her boutique. Today, Toast and Strawberries is an online store. She penned The Threads Of Time, The Fabric Of History: Profiles Of African American Dressmakers And Designers From 1850 To The Present (2002), a book that fills the gap that exists in the general public’s mind about what African American designers and dressmakers did before l960. The Threads of Time discusses the forgotten work of Elizabeth Keckley, who designed for Mrs. Lincoln and Ann Lowe who designed the wedding dress for First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. In addition, she has served as an adjunct professor of fashion merchandising at Prince George’s Community College and Howard University. Visit www.toastandstrawberries.com.

12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. - Lunch Break (on your own)

1:15 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. - DC Style: The Present - A Fashion and Style Blogger Town Hall

Speakers:

Monica Byrd, Founder of Baby Bash Bling Expo & Show and Fashionista Flea Market - @babybashbling
Krystin Hargrove, Founder of Be Loud Be You - @only1krystin
Deb Vaughan, Founder of Real Girl Runway - @realgirlrunway

2:45 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. - Break

3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. - DC Style: The Future

Speakers:

Katherine Martinez, Creative Director of La Petite Marmoset - @LPetiteMarmoset
Philissa Williams, Founder and Designer, Thembe Fashions - @thembefashions

Brea Ellis, a fourth generation Washingtonian and the founder of What I Wore: tip to toe, a personal style blog, and Digital Sisterhood Network founder Ananda Leeke will serve as moderators.

Please use the Twitter hashtag #DSStyleSalon to tweet about the event.