Wendy's posterous

I want to be

Below is the best email I ever have and most likely ever will receive. The author, my friend Suzanne, lived through the Tuscaloosa tornado on Wednesday. 

Hi Wendy,

I wanted to share a story with you from one of my colleagues. Meg Lamme has been teaching a master's-level PR class and was telling me about one of her students, a woman from China. The student was talking about how social media is limited/banned in China and how she wanted to go back to her country after graduation to help change policies. She told Meg, "I want to be a Harman." At first Meg didn't know what she was talking about, but then she realized that the student had been reading about your work. That really touched me (gave me a chill, actually), and I wanted to share it with you. 

Cheers,
Suzanne

J. Suzanne Horsley, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Fellow, Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations
University of Alabama
Department of Advertising & Public Relations
Box 870172
Tuscaloosa, AL  35487-0172

Bio

I am a professional listener, online community member, and social web explorer. I create and execute all social media strategy for American Red Cross National Headquarters, which means I figure out how to use new technologies and communities to fulfill the mission. I endeavor to educate and empower 686 Red Cross chapters, 36 blood regions, 700,000 volunteers, millions of donors and the public to work together to become more efficient and raise awareness about preventing, preparing for and responding to emergencies.

 

I feel incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to “play” everyday in fun spaces like Twitter and Facebook with the goal of making our collective lives better and easier. I’m lucky to have been able to meet and collaborate with so many smart people who have the same goal.

 

I started working for the American Red Cross the day after Thanksgiving in 2006. Below is how I came to this opportunity. We all have our own paths- this one’s mine.

 

I graduated from Emory College with a BA in English and Psychology in 1998. I worked for a music management company during college and the year after college where I participated in the traditional music business machine with a major label, booking agency, publicity agency, radio promoters, etc. At the same time, the effects of the 1996 Telecommunications Act and peer-to-peer file-sharing technology were taking off. The game was fundamentally changing. Again. I noticed everyone who was able to affect change or resist change was an attorney. I wanted to be one of those people so I went to Northeastern University School of Law and graduated in 2002. I concentrated on intellectual property, specifically copyright law.

 

From 2002 to 2006 I worked and volunteered for several branches of Lawyers for the Arts, ran my own artist management firm, and worked for Future of Music Coalition here in DC. All of this means I had a front seat when artists bypassed traditional gatekeepers with social media tools. After seeing this fundamental shift in our culture, I caught on to the bigger picture of how intimate and utilitarian these tools could become for every kind of enterprise.

 

I can’t wait to see what’s next.   

Social Media Handbook

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