“After Bedtime Blog” is where this Mom can empty out the day’s thoughts from her head. You seem to focus on helping all moms with issues related to technology, both how to adapt or start, using certain tech tools and social networks. You also cover
Vanita Cyril
how technology is affecting our culture specifically the issues of today’s challenges that moms are faced with. You weave your personal life experiences with motherhood, an ex-husband, your kids involvement with everyday technology, and the impact has on them and you, so that others are more easily able to adapt.
Me: Vanita what motivates you to write your blog? Tell us how you balance to creating a beautiful blog and be such a good and caring Mom, where do you find the time to balance your life? You certainly show us such a depth of understanding of your topics. How do you manage to do all of this?
VANITA: What motivates me to blog? I love having a place where I can just empty my head of everything and anything. Sure I could just write what I feel in a journal, but that’s just getting things off my chest. With my blog I’m able to put my thoughts and feelings out there, and I get great feedback, suggestions, and support from people who can relate and sometimes have the experience to guide me down the right path. I also derive great enjoyment in helping others. If my voice, my experience and my technical know-how, can give someone the small nudge they need to get where they want to go, I’m happy.
Where do I find the time … Ha! After the kids have been put to bed. I’m not an insomniac. Really, I’m not. Maybe this time next year I’ll schedule a bit more time to blog during the day. But right now, with the size of our family and the ages of our children, after bedtime is my only chance.
Me: Share some things about yourself. What inspires you to do such great work? From reading stories on your blog it truly is a reflection of how much care you put into everything you do.
VANITA: I’m no pro at blogging and social media. I was blessed with this “techy-brain” making it easy for me to grasp certain things. It think sharing my knowledge is a sort of blessing I like to pass along to others, by breaking down information so it is understood, which means sharing it at a not-so-technical level.
I’m no pro at life and parenting. I haven’t lived an easy, ideal life. I’ve had major ups and downs as many of us do. I found more than once, where my life seemed bleak, with heavy burdens to bear. But life did better, and I’d like to share those experiences in order to give other hopes.
Me: Your most recent posts have focused on how to use social media effectively so that it has real impact. Would you explain what you mean when you say that, “The Power of Social Media is a Beautiful Thing”?
VANITA: My days are super-busy. Between parenting, being a partner in our household, conducting an employment search and trying to build my own business, I have zero time for socializing, networking, attending conferences or classes. I’m expecting this to change as the toddlers get older, but for now, being on the Internet is my link to the world.
Social Media is this amazing “tool” that has given me the ability to learn, share, relate, collaborate, inspire and help others. The fact that I build relationships online first, may seem odd to some but frankly, I’ve been able to connect with like-minded, wonderful people across the country by visiting each their blogs. So when we do meet face-to-face, we already “know” each other on an intellectual and emotional level. We’ve already “clicked”. And isn’t that what really matters in any kind of relationship with friends and colleagues?
Me: Yes it surely is. Looking to the future. You are really bright, excellent at what you do, continue to adapt to new situations … and give a great deal of thought to everything you do. How do you feel blogging fits into social media Do you believe every business should be writing a blog as part of their social media public relations strategy and marketing efforts?
VANITA: I feel that for any business, a blog, a vlog, a wiki, or a community, should be created and maintained. It’s where you:
- Raise awareness of your brand.
- Test out ideas and gain valuable feedback from consumers on those ideas.
- Build relationships with consumers and colleagues. Also, because search engines love fresh material, keeping an active blog increases your indexed pages in search engine databases, increasing your chances of consumers finding your site whenever they search for something that relates to your business.
Now I know that Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin, are technically Social Networking platforms, but I still refer to them as Social Media. At each of these platforms you can achieve the same goals I mentioned for blogging. The differences I see is that your blog, is essentially your home. It’s where you’re able to be unique and impress visually. These platforms are places where you’re able to connect with a wider audience, than the one that finds your blog through links from other blogs and search engine results.
I don’t believe Social Media and Social Networking can stand on their own. They go hand-in-hand.
Me: Lately I have seen so many Twitter users and LinkedIn users with bios that claim they are experts and consultants of Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Blogging, to improve your business, or whatever the line is they use. Isn’t this like trying to catch the gold rush wave, after the train has left the station? Or, You jump onto a pile of ants when you are an ant yourself and won’t be seen? Who is going to notice someone else that claims to be a social media expert? That’s my question.
I understand those of us using these tools have knowledge. As a consultant to a business, what do you see as your primary role, because ultimately, unless you have a massive staff, or large network of people that you work with, it seems an exhaustive challenge to be everything to everyone?
VANITA: In my experience, when it comes to small business owners, though they may be experts in their fields, unless that field is marketing/pr/social media, they really know nothing at all about building an online presence. A Majority of the business owners I know personally believe all they have to do is build a website, an online version of their brochure/price list, and that’s it.
A consultant’s primary role should be informing/training/coaching, a business on the realities of making your website work for you. Basically you have to work for your website. Time needs to be dedicated to raising awareness of your site and services. At the minimum, blog a few times a week and choose 1 platform to build relationships to widen your reach. For those small business owners who don’t have the time to do it himself or herself, or the staff person to dedicate to it, I suggest they outsource it while still being involved enough to insure the integrity of their brand.
Me: This is my favorite question. It’s one that I’m going to ask you because I believe in magic. If you had a magic-wand where would you like to see your career in tech in a years time … and why?
VANITA: I’m expecting to have built up a steady stream of clientele so I can work virtually. Although I worked in the corporate world for fifteen years, in my heart I am an entrepreneur Each instance wherever I worked, I always created a path of my own, and I developed my own departments, thankfully with the support of encouraging employers. I am a self-starter, I am a leader, and I believe it’s time for me to ditch the training wheels.
VANITA: There are two people who have been a major inspiration to me, and I really can not mention one without mentioning the other. Wendy Mirabal was my employer for a few years over a decade ago. She is a strong, confident, ambitious woman. She excelled in a male dominated industry and commanded respect from everyone who came in contact with her. This woman inspired me to push harder for what I want and not allow gender barriers to intimidate me. She taught me to have confidence in myself and my skills and encouraged me to continue to expand my knowledge on what interest me and to never fear taking risks.
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Awesome questions and Vanita answers.
V's gifted with the ability to see solutions without all the blinders many of us have in our own lives and businesses.When you read her solutions and watch her tutorials the scared, definitely UNtechy person in you says "I can do that..." As far as motherhood, and all things female...faggedabowdid...she's all over it and cracks me up when I relate to one of her incidents.
I'm so happy to see how many others acknowledge her eclectic mix of brain Leviathan, strategist, nurturing friend-mother-wife, power houser who is kind enough to be honest so we can continue to grow as companies and people.
vanitacyril This has moved me deeply. You are someone I respect, who has taught me, and so many others, much. To see these words from you is incredible validation for me and not an interaction with you ever goes by without me walking away wanting to be bigger, better, stronger, more real.
AntonyBerkman fantastic interview
~C.L.
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