Tag / equality and human rights commission

by Alexandra Roumbas Goldstein

It’s a small world, after all

I suspect I might not even be the 14,000th blogger to use that as a post title, but it was appropriate, so I ain’t going to sweat it.

I’m not sure whether last night proves that charity is a small world, that online meedja is a teeny cluster or that both together make it completely certain that you’ll know someone who knows someone. Then again, maybe it’s just coincidence, but it felt quite weird.

After Helen Aspell of the Equalities & Human Rights Commission (which has said some very sensible things about reducing maternity leave for women and increasing paternity leave this week) told me she knew my sister – off the back of both being in that Female Social Media Guru thang – that provoked a small giggle.

Turns out she is in fact involved in all aspects of my life.*

When I was at Shiny Media, I made lots of video reviews, including their most viewed ever. I made them mostly with a cameraman and editor called Ray O’Neill, who’s a very sweet bloke. Last night he pootled along to join a group of my friends and me (no, it’s not and I; comment if you’d like to know why) at La Perla in Charlotte Street where it transpires that he too knows Helen. And he’d been doing work for eConsultancy one of the bloggers for whom, as you know because you’ve been glued to the My Online Life page, has interviewed me about Dogs Trust on Twitter.

Teeny planet indeed.

On another note, I made blueberry muffins and Snaffle destroyed most of them. He did try to eat them which made me worry they tasted of cat food, but eating the remainder that he didn’t maul put paid to that concern.

What? Blueberries are good for you.

  • Yes, I exaggerate. Of course; have you not come to expect it?
by Alexandra Roumbas Goldstein

Female Social Media Guru – second round!

Thanks to some Obama-standard campaigning from J, and a lovely, loyal community I have come to know well, I seem to be through to the next round of the Female Social Media Guru Award.

This is, in a word, fab. I have a hilariously English attitude towards self-promotion sometimes, feeling like I just shouldn’t say when good things like this happen. Off course this is at odds with good social communication, which is all about telling people things and listening in return. So online (and on paper) I am quite a different personality from offline, where I tend to downplay my achievements. Perhaps the reason I feel so comfortable in the online world is because it allows the confident side of my personality to show through.

Anyway, I’m through and I’m happy about it. I have a presentation to do next, which I have yet to hear many more details about, but I will update when I do. It will be filmed and used as the basis for a second vote. Jamie, who’s running the hastily-put-together competition is already, in the true spirit of such things, thinking ahead of ways to improve the situation next year. I just say well done for highlighting the area. As I’ve said before, it’ll be nice when we can stop dividing things by gender, but where one sex is under-represented, it’s great to be recognised.

On a personal note, it turns out that Helen Aspell, who is also in the top five, has an excellent Twitter handle and represents the only other non-profit (the Equality and Human Rights Commission) knew my sister at university and is still friends with her. Small world, much?