Say it Better

Last year I had the pleasure of sitting next ..

... to a gracious and visionary woman at a lively luncheon of business, government and civic leaders in Edmonton, Canada. I was there to speak on place branding. The power of place to fracture a community or bring it together was clearly something she has thought about.

Linda Cook has a vision of how librarians in communities, schools and businesses can be the glue that brings diverse people together. As a shy child my mother's weekly jaunts to the library with me were the highlight of my week - and where I first started talking to people - about books. Linda’s not only Edmonton’s head librarian, she’s this year’s president of the Canadian Library Association – a lively, passionate group.

One thing led to another.

Now, I am so excited to be giving the closing keynote at the Canadian Library Association this May in a town I’ve always wanted to visit. St. John’s in Newfoundland and Labrador – the oldest city in Canada. Like Sausalito where I live, St. John’s has kept its historic buildings and is on a bay. St. John’s harbor is made of granite. Ever since we made relief maps in grade school of the Canadian Provinces I’ve wanted to see it. As in Sausalito, even one of the homeless people is well-remembered, notes columnist Pam Frampton.

Opening the conference is the prominent work/life balance expert, Dr. Linda Duxbury. She’s researched, “everything from the reasons each demographic group is the way it is, from those born during WWII to those who grew up during the freedom of the '60's and even the affects of growing up in the shadow of recession, downsizing and the threat of terrorism and violence.”

This topic is especially interesting to me as the co-founder of SavvyHer a brand new online network for boomer women. Each month people can win over $1,000 in gifts when one of their tips is voted among the ten most popular by SavvyHer members.

You may want to offer your tip.

Where Women 45+ Win Gifts for Best Tips ...

We’re riding a wave at SavvyHer – opening in January - and I hope you'll join us.

And I do mean “we” and "us".

In June, 2005, Business Week dedicated a whole issue to The Power of Us, the fresh ways that individuals can influence the way products are designed, services are provided and causes gain clout. Also, now more than ever, individuals can create companies or start causes, gathering support and money virtually, via the net, from around the world. Such an approach plays to the collaborative strengths of many women.

Before that my Marin neighbor, Howard Rheingold, in his book, Smart Mobs, described how young person around the world were using their mobile phone to IM strangers and friends to appear out of nowhere. They instantly gather at a location.

This month, Time magazine sparked a barrage of coverage in the traditional media (read TV, print and radio) and new media conversation (read blogs, podcasts, RSS feeds, mashable social networks, Flickr, YouTube and FaceBook, MySpace) when it picked “you" (user-generated everything) as its "Person of the Year." (Notice how many of these are tilted towards the young?)

Then Jackie Huba and Ben McConnell, released their book, celebrating the rise of Citizen Marketers, or, as the Wall Street Journal’s Frank Rose wrote, “how the internet has armed the consumer.”

Notes Cool News’ Tim Manners, “Frank says that the ‘real story’ of Citizen Marketers' is the rise of the activist amateur -- 'amateur meaning not only a nonprofessional, but also, in the original sense, one who loves ... Even more remarkable,’ says Frank, ‘is the realization that consumers are now able to blow a raspberry 'round the world.'’" And Rose credits the growing power of “you” (and me) to web 2.0 – out of which sprung online social networks.

Yet, in the midst of this flourishing growth of online commenting, community-building – and celebration of best ideas, we’ve not yet found a gathering place expressly for women in their prime, those who are 45+.

An online community that actually recognizes and rewards (with gifts) women 45+ (and those who care about them) who share their favorite tips for making the next chapters of women’s lives easier and more joyful.

That’s why my longtime friend and now business partner, Jean Schore and I began designing an online social network to do exactly that.

In short, at SavvyHer, women 45+ are not forgotten. Just the opposite. We flourish better together.

We wanted a place where women could jump online, then quickly find and share best tips quickly – and go back out to live their lives – off the computer.

We think many women 45+ are like us. They want an easy and fun way to exchange advice with other women. Don’t you want the “high touch” of enjoying life with the people you hold dear? You don’t want to live life in front of a computer or via a cell phone, right?

We also wanted SavvyHer to be completely free to members.

That means we are financing it out of our own pockets until the community has at least 25,000 members. Then we can seek three underwriting sponsors –firms that want to reach and serve women like us. Companies that we can be proud to have as partners. Their informative ads will then appear on this site, yet not influence the tips.

We hope that you find SavvyHer so helpful, that you ask your friends to join. The faster SavvyHer grows the more valuable SavvyHer, as a free service, becomes for all of us.

Relying on the wisdom of the crowd of SavvyHer members, we wanted a way that the community could choose, each month, which tips that were contributed that month were the Ten Most Popular.

And we wanted those ten winners to receive fabulous presents for their efforts. Even at the launch of SavvyHer, the gifts from our generous gift providers are worth over $1,000 – and even more over time (see details below).

Back to the Power of Us, see what this community can provide us? Quickly, you and I can see the kind of tips that are most valued by members.

Best tips (and those who contribute them) are rewarded with more visibility, when winners are announced each month. Also winners and their winning tips will featured in an end of the year e-book available only to members and a published (printed) book.

Over time, you can also find the lists of past winners and tips.

Plus, each month you can see, in real time, what tips are attracting the most votes – right up to the deadline - midnight on the last day of the month.

And, since tips are “tagged” by contributors with up to five categories, you can quickly find the kind of tips that most interest you – and the people who contribute your favorites.

Whatever your expertise, kind of work, new book, passionate personal cause, club, hobby or interest, you can show it off at SavvyHer – and reach more like-minded women.

In your tip, you can provide links to related web sites.

The tip you share can be either your original idea, advice or recommendation – or it can be one you discovered elsewhere. In the later case, you simply cite the source of the tip, with the related web site(s) if any. That way you can shine a light on the people you admire. (And they will know that you did.)

Since we wanted SavvyHer to be free to members, we are financing it out of our own pockets until we reach at least 25,000 members. Then we will seek three sponsors –classy firms – like the gift providers - that serve women like us.

Companies that we can be proud to have as partners. Their informative ads will then appear on this site, yet not influence the tips.

We hope that you find SavvyHer so helpful that you ask your friends to join. The faster SavvyHer grows the more valuable and fun it becomes for us all.

Because, as you can see, as membership in the SavvyHer community grows, our member benefits grow exponentially greater:

• Tips will become ever better and numerous, through the community’s feedback by voting.

• The larger the membership the ever more extravagant the gifts will become.

• Members will gain more visibility for themselves, their work and their favorite topics.

Now, we hope you are convinced to go over to SavvyHer and sign up for an early alert to the launch - so you and your tips can be on the site as soon as possible.

Finally, a way that we can find out what many women 45+ really like and want - at SavvyHer.

Here's to savoring the holidays with those you hold dear. I hope to see you in 2007. Sign up now.
- Kare

P.S. Oh yes, and here’s the gifts you will win with your winning tip, and the tips you’ll find on the site when we launch ...

* Karen Neuberger
(comfy clothing, including Oprah's favorite pajamas)

* Brondell Swash
(upscale, bidet-style toilet seats, backed by billionaire, Mark Cuban.

* SnapJot
(family, friends or other group-created photo scrapbooks, on line and in print)

As the SavvyHer membership grows gifts will grow ever more extravagant.

Membership is no-cost, quick and easy in this sponsor-supported network.

Includes a directory of tips and members (easy to find "tagged" categories), weekly eNewsletter and monthly poll. Winners' tips will also be featured in the annual book, Savvy Tips for Savvy Women: The Best of SavvyHer, 2007.

When the site goes public, SavvyHer will already have tips from celebrities (from Jamie Lee Curtis to Kathleen Turnerr), best-selling authors (from Dr. Miriam Nelson, author of Strong Women Stay Young to Adrianna Huffington, author of Fearless), and other amazing women and men who want to sharetheir expertise and passionate interests.