The development of the social web--the set of digital tools that allow people to connect with one another and share their stories—offers extraordinary potential to change what voices get heard in the global conversation. This is unlike anything the world has seen in a thousand years. Change agents working to make the world a better place need not just to be on board with social media--we also need to drive and shape the conversation. Because whoever’s story gets heard is in the driver’s seat.
Share This! explains the importance of social media as a part of an overall ecosystem of tools for change, and examines how broader participation by marginalized voices can foster opportunity on both the individual and collective levels. Tech-savant Zandt devotes special attention to the challenges that women face, including concerns about privacy, security and reputation, and includes interviews with Shireen Mitchell, Danah Boyd, Cheryl Contee, Beka Economopoulos, and other social media experts who work within specific communities addressing race, class, and gender disparities. In a voice both authoritative and irreverent Zandt provides an accessible guide to what the social networking tools are, how woman and minorities can use them strategically, where on the web readers can directly experience their power, and why these technologies are so critical to transforming our daily lives.
Deanna Zandt is a media technologist and the author of Share This! How You Will Change the World with Social Networking (forthcoming: Berrett-Koehler, June 2010). She is a consultant to key progressive media organizations including AlterNet and Jim Hightower's Hightower Lowdown, and hosts TechGrrl Tips on GRITtv with Laura Flanders. Zandt specializes in social media, and is a leading expert in women and technology. She works with groups to create and implement effective web strategies toward organizational goals of civic engagement and empowerment, and uses her background in linguistics, advertising, telecommunications and finance to complement her technical expertise. She has spoken at a number of conferences, including the National Conference on Media Reform, Bioneers, America's Future Now (formerly "Take Back America,") Women Action & The Media, and provides beginner and advanced workshops both online and in person.
In January 2009, Deanna was chosen as a fellow for the Progressive Women's Voices program at the Women's Media Center. She also serves as a technology advisor to a number of organizations, including Feministing, The Girls & Boys Projects and Women Action & The Media.
In addition to her technology work, Deanna writes and illustrates graphic stories and comics, and volunteers with dog rescue organization Rat Terrier ResQ.
