"TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF."
Describe yourself in 140 characters or fewer.
30-something social & search savvy gal who enjoys satire & is ailed by the inability to resist the shoe aisle. Alliteration? Check.
Tell us a story from your childhood.
My passion for all things digital actually stems from my love of writing and can be pinpointed back to my childhood. To say I was a bizarre child would be a vast understatement. My mother fondly recalls my first day of kindergarten: I shyly tottered in with my horrendously mix-matched plaid and yellow socks that my mother had let me select. I took one look around at the screaming children and marched back to where my poor mother and teacher were discussing my lack of interactions with children my own age.
"These children are quite noisy!" I declared with hands planted on my hips.
Holy, only child syndrome! Luckily, I wasn't the only weirdo in those parts. I went to one of those grade schools for gifted children (weirdos). You know the type where they make you take a fancy IQ test that consists of mazes and puzzles to be deemed "gifted" enough to participate in their exclusive club for future geniuses (weirdos). Please let it be known that I am highly certain that I peaked at age 11 during my 5th grade unit on Egyptians. My friends that met me later in life are always surprised when my father leaks the fact that I defeated the 12th ranked chess player in the state of Michigan at the age of eight. "So, you used to be, like, smart?"
In the 4th grade, I decided I wasn't content with my rigorous academic schedule and after-school smorgasbord of soccer, poetry, and piano. In a fit of excitement about my new revelation (I was going to be a writer!), I proudly announced to my family that I was starting a magazine. I sought out subscribers on the kickball field and monkey bars. I blackmailed the boys with their 1st grade mishaps (People don't forget!) and offered the girls precious time with my Tamagotchi Angel (Uhm, those things were rare.).
My mother, the saint that she was, encouraged my endeavors by showing me how to operate the scanner and offering me leftover rainbow sky printer paper. Soon after I had typed up the content (I wish I could get my hands on those articles now!) and started to assemble my magazines, I became frustrated with the tedious nature of magazine-making. I was dissatisfied with the unattractive outcome that my days of slaving away at stapling, copying, and printing had produced.
Ten-year-old Mallory sat devastated in the middle of the living room, sobbing over an array of scattered rainbow loose leafs, scissors, and disfigured staples. Not only was this inefficient, I decided, but my 23 loyal subscribers would be pained to hear that they’d have to wait an eternity for the debut of my magazine. Cheese and rice, what the h-e-double hockey sticks was I going to do? I looked around at my disheveled living room and down at my multiple paper cuts and decided it was time to go back to the drawing board—or back to our family HP.
Ever since I could muster the strength to crawl into the office swivel chair and locate the computer’s power button, the World Wide Web had intrigued me. To 8-year-old me, the Internet served as the gateway to the world, a means by which to access the corners of the earth that were located above the counter-tops (I was freakishly small) and beyond the confines of the gated school playground.
With a few keystrokes, I was able to achieve far more than I ever could when I was toiling over our printer and inadvertently stabbing myself with staple guns. A few AOL Homepages, message boards, and chat-rooms later, I had stumbled upon the term “Zine” and soon became immersed in the online magazine world, a network of kids and teens that sent out "Zines" via e-mail (I'm sure my Mother will read this and thank her lucky stars I wasn't pursuing adult themed chat-rooms.).
By the time I was in my prime, my dear mother was forced to phone America Online on my behalf. I needed to be White Listed, I told her. AOL Customer Service chuckled as my mother explained why her 10-year-old daughter needed the ability to send e-mails to over 5,000 people without being booted offline for spam. The web had enabled me to connect and interact with other kids who shared my interests; it had provided me with the means by which to express myself, communicate ideas, and had laid the foundation for the direction my future would take.
My fascination with the World Wide Web and my love for all things digital have been lifelong trends, but my career path was a series of sheer accidents. My story isn't the only one of its kind. In fact, stories of the internet impacting members of my generation's lives are fairly prevalent. Whatever the case may be, my enthusiasm for the digital world has evolved since my youth and my experiences leveraging social media as a marketing tool, as well as my background in SEO have provided me with a few tricks and quite a bit of insight - but more than that, they've provided me with a career that I actually enjoy.
Although we have come a long way from AOL Chatrooms and despite the fact a small growth spurt has allowed for me to peer over counter-tops comfortably, the internet still holds the same wonder and possibility. Yes, perhaps it is corny, but nevertheless true. I am ever thankful for the amazing individuals who have provided me with opportunities and contributed to my successes and sincerely grateful to have a career that allows me to combine my love of writing with the allure of the digital world.
30-something social & search savvy gal who enjoys satire & is ailed by the inability to resist the shoe aisle. Alliteration? Check.
Tell us a story from your childhood.
My passion for all things digital actually stems from my love of writing and can be pinpointed back to my childhood. To say I was a bizarre child would be a vast understatement. My mother fondly recalls my first day of kindergarten: I shyly tottered in with my horrendously mix-matched plaid and yellow socks that my mother had let me select. I took one look around at the screaming children and marched back to where my poor mother and teacher were discussing my lack of interactions with children my own age.
"These children are quite noisy!" I declared with hands planted on my hips.
Holy, only child syndrome! Luckily, I wasn't the only weirdo in those parts. I went to one of those grade schools for gifted children (weirdos). You know the type where they make you take a fancy IQ test that consists of mazes and puzzles to be deemed "gifted" enough to participate in their exclusive club for future geniuses (weirdos). Please let it be known that I am highly certain that I peaked at age 11 during my 5th grade unit on Egyptians. My friends that met me later in life are always surprised when my father leaks the fact that I defeated the 12th ranked chess player in the state of Michigan at the age of eight. "So, you used to be, like, smart?"
In the 4th grade, I decided I wasn't content with my rigorous academic schedule and after-school smorgasbord of soccer, poetry, and piano. In a fit of excitement about my new revelation (I was going to be a writer!), I proudly announced to my family that I was starting a magazine. I sought out subscribers on the kickball field and monkey bars. I blackmailed the boys with their 1st grade mishaps (People don't forget!) and offered the girls precious time with my Tamagotchi Angel (Uhm, those things were rare.).
My mother, the saint that she was, encouraged my endeavors by showing me how to operate the scanner and offering me leftover rainbow sky printer paper. Soon after I had typed up the content (I wish I could get my hands on those articles now!) and started to assemble my magazines, I became frustrated with the tedious nature of magazine-making. I was dissatisfied with the unattractive outcome that my days of slaving away at stapling, copying, and printing had produced.
Ten-year-old Mallory sat devastated in the middle of the living room, sobbing over an array of scattered rainbow loose leafs, scissors, and disfigured staples. Not only was this inefficient, I decided, but my 23 loyal subscribers would be pained to hear that they’d have to wait an eternity for the debut of my magazine. Cheese and rice, what the h-e-double hockey sticks was I going to do? I looked around at my disheveled living room and down at my multiple paper cuts and decided it was time to go back to the drawing board—or back to our family HP.
Ever since I could muster the strength to crawl into the office swivel chair and locate the computer’s power button, the World Wide Web had intrigued me. To 8-year-old me, the Internet served as the gateway to the world, a means by which to access the corners of the earth that were located above the counter-tops (I was freakishly small) and beyond the confines of the gated school playground.
With a few keystrokes, I was able to achieve far more than I ever could when I was toiling over our printer and inadvertently stabbing myself with staple guns. A few AOL Homepages, message boards, and chat-rooms later, I had stumbled upon the term “Zine” and soon became immersed in the online magazine world, a network of kids and teens that sent out "Zines" via e-mail (I'm sure my Mother will read this and thank her lucky stars I wasn't pursuing adult themed chat-rooms.).
By the time I was in my prime, my dear mother was forced to phone America Online on my behalf. I needed to be White Listed, I told her. AOL Customer Service chuckled as my mother explained why her 10-year-old daughter needed the ability to send e-mails to over 5,000 people without being booted offline for spam. The web had enabled me to connect and interact with other kids who shared my interests; it had provided me with the means by which to express myself, communicate ideas, and had laid the foundation for the direction my future would take.
My fascination with the World Wide Web and my love for all things digital have been lifelong trends, but my career path was a series of sheer accidents. My story isn't the only one of its kind. In fact, stories of the internet impacting members of my generation's lives are fairly prevalent. Whatever the case may be, my enthusiasm for the digital world has evolved since my youth and my experiences leveraging social media as a marketing tool, as well as my background in SEO have provided me with a few tricks and quite a bit of insight - but more than that, they've provided me with a career that I actually enjoy.
Although we have come a long way from AOL Chatrooms and despite the fact a small growth spurt has allowed for me to peer over counter-tops comfortably, the internet still holds the same wonder and possibility. Yes, perhaps it is corny, but nevertheless true. I am ever thankful for the amazing individuals who have provided me with opportunities and contributed to my successes and sincerely grateful to have a career that allows me to combine my love of writing with the allure of the digital world.
