This little blog of mine started almost four years ago practically by accident. Never did I think it would take me to the places I’ve been. Because I wanted to find relevant content to share or connect with leaders in the Latino community, I began to attend blogging and social media conferences.
[Tweet “Networking in the blogosphere means you must connect with people offline as much as online.”]
At these conferences and summits, I did build relationships with other bloggers, non-profit organizational leaders, business owners, brand representatives and more. Many of these turned in to friendships and some mentorships. Bloggers and writers would share golden pieces of knowledge with me on how to grow my blog or improve my writing. I listened and applied the new tactics. Brand representatives would share with me how it would be best to connect with them for sponsored campaigns. And the leaders, well, they taught me by example how to be a leader.
Here we are almost four years later and I realize that this little blog of mine is more about relationships and community than it is about me. Earlier this month I was honored to be invited to the Voto Latino Summit in San Antonio, TX to speak on the panel – Making New Friends: Maximizing Your Network with digital strategy leaders Anna Vanderbrock from Dell, Francisco Pelayo from Univision, Matt Reyes from Inspire and Jessica Ramirez from Voto Latino. Voto Latino is a nonpartisan organization that empowers Latino Millennials to claim a better future for themselves and their community. United by the belief that Latino issues are American issues and American issues are Latino issues, Voto Latino is dedicated to bringing new and diverse voices to develop leaders by engaging youth, media, technology and celebrities to promote positive change. (VotoLatino.org) THIS is what growth looks like as a blogger who started by accident and has grown to be a voice for her community.
Last month when I was chosen to be a part of the 2014 American Latino Expedition, I knew this was going to be an experience of a lifetime partly because I had never seen God’s creations like the Grand Teton Mountains and partly because I knew through this expedition, I’d become a part of group who would share a voice on behalf of the Latino community. The expedition was more than just choosing me. It was about growing a community. The Expedition is a public education and awareness campaign designed to connect YOU to America’s national parks and bring the national parks to American Latino and multicultural communities everywhere. (alhf.org) THAT is what growth looks like.
I’m not done, queridos. I humbly share my successes with you. I hope it inspires you to keep moving forward. There were many times I wanted to just stop – but I didn’t. It is not lost on me that without a community of readers (mis queridos), my voice goes unheard. I’m a self-proclaimed advocate for education, familia, Latinos in entertainment & tech. Growth takes more than one. It takes a community – una famila.
How can I support YOU – our community locally and nationally?
