Social Media “SHEconomics”: How our WWRG Network is helping fuel the Global SHEconomy

When I began a blog focused on Women’s Wealth issues back in early 2009, little did I know that one voice using a single new media platform would empower a network of social media connected, highly influential, and well-respected females which has grown to 5 continents, and over 31 countries!

By leveraging “real-time web” technologies like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIN, and now Pinterest, it has been possible to create connections between individuals, groups, and organizations that might not have ever been made without the weaving together of like-minded individuals with one single-minded mission: to advance the cause and concerns of women through the use of their time, talent, and treasure.

I recently read the Premier Issue of a new magazine called Woman To Woman (W2W). After concluding, as I have, that there is often a lack of a forum for the “very well-educated, opinionated woman that is determined to make a difference in their world”, Editor Shelley E. McCormick and husband Matt decided their magazine would “bridge the gap between the professional woman and the stay-at-home mom”.

Elizabeth Galt, a W2W advisory board member, recently stated during an interview on Fox News “America Live with Megyn Kelly”: “I think the main thing is that we need to stick together. Women are starting to say “Look, no matter what decision you make, we honor those choices for our fellow women and we need to stick together and rally for our friends that are working and rally for our friends who are at home”.

And that is precisely what our WWRG Network does.

Recently, one of our group, Allison Ermogenis, a female entrepreneur and artist based on the island of Santorini in Greece, appealed to other Facebook friends to support her efforts to raise capital to grow her business and help the struggling Greek economy. Her sincerity in wanting to make a difference touched us all. One of the influential women she connected with is Ann Nyberg, herself a female entrepreneur who recently opened a boutique gallery and gift shoppe called Annie Mame’s in an upscale enclave of women-owned businesses in Toney Westbrook, Connecticut created by Tony Venetucci.

By day, Ann is news anchor at WTNH-TV, a position she has held for almost 30 years. During a visit to Santorini, Ann met Allison and fell in love with her unique fabric paintings, featuring hand-painted designs with vibrant color. Four pillows now grace the shelves of Annie Mame’s – or should I say, two. A few months ago, both Ann and Allison reached out to me via Facebook to ask if I could spread the word through our WWRG Global Network and help Allison raise awareness around her products, and her cause.

And yes, this gave me an opportunity to play MY part in fueling the SHEconomy by recently purchasing two of these beautiful works of art as gifts.

So let’s look now how my simple transaction benefits the women and men on two continents –individually and as a national, regional, and local economy:

My purchase generated revenue for Annie Mame’s (Ann Nyberg) who has her “brick & mortar” presence in Venetucci Home (Tony Venetucci, landlord) in Westbrook (local economy), Connecticut (state economy, sales tax). Ann imported these items from Santorini (local), Greece (Country) with is part of the EU (Continent). Aegean Designs (Allison Ermogenis) gets revenue from the transaction and compensates her for the work she produced and the materials she bought that went into the making of these pillows. I don’t know where the raw materials were purchased from, but the chain of benefits continues in this direction, as well.

So there you have it. Women’s Social Media Networks DO make an economic difference. They ARE enabling the new SHEconomy. But most importantly, they allow women to fulfill their dreams, and support their families. And this alone is worth every minute I have spent since 2009 developing our network, cultivating new connections, and constantly searching for new and relevant content.