Editor's Note
Connect me
As an editor, one of the key elements to producing a successful
magazine is to ensure you remain connected to your reader.
If I produce a magazine that does not 'connect' with our key
audience, then I needn't have bothered. So what better way
to ensure my connectivity than to dedicate an issue to being
connected - and so you have it - our connected issue.
If there is one huge privilege I have earned after 21 years of
growing my business, it would be my connectivity. Often I am
faced with a moment where I simply need that special someone
who has the exact expertise required to help me continue to grow
my business. With only a quick scan of my contact list, I can call or
soon be linked to the exact human resource I require.
It is however with some irony that I realize that with the exponential
growth of the World Wide Web, nearly everyone in business can
also now develop their own immense network of interconnectivity.
In fact, questions can be answered almost before we have finished
typing them into that wee dialogue box on top of our computer
screens.
I reflected with some curiosity as I reviewed the recently released
list of the world's most powerful women. The annual line up
produced by Forbes provides further evidence that connectivity
has become the collateral of today's society.
While the top five women come as no surprise to many of us,
Angela Merkel - Chancellor of Germany since 2005, Dilma
Rousseff – Brazil's President, Melinda Gates – Co-Chair of the
Gate Foundation, Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton, I do have
to pause and reflect on how our frames of reference have shifted
dramatically when Beyonce' sits at #17.
In producing the list, Forbes considered income, traditional and
social media hits, and impact "across industries, cultures and
countries".
Traditional attitudes would consider the inclusion of celebrities such
as Shakira, Ellen DeGeneres and Angelina Jolie as folly, yet the
more I work with and explore the influences of social media, I do
begin to recognise just how connected these celebs really are.
Let's face it, Angelina Jolie's (who this year jumped 29 slots to
number 37) recent health 'sacrifice' changed the conversation on
cancer for the entire globe.
Michelle Obama's focus on her country's health may seem
ridiculously shallow when compared to the huge responsibility
Angela Merkel has born over the last five years but should her
connectivity with the people of America work to change the eating
habits of its nation, she will have saved tens of thousands of lives.
As women, we all must work to extend our networks and immerse
ourselves in the communities we engage with. As mothers, friends
and business leaders, our connections are pivotal to our own
growth and the growth of others.
So, as I have always advocated; if you have a voice, then speak
up! If you need help, ask for it! If you have achieved success, then
share it!
Enjoy this month's magazine,
I love getting feedback from our readers, and Letters to the Editor
is a great way for me to get your comments and your input to Her
Magazine. Email me at: hermag@strettonpublishing.co.nz
6 | www.h e rmagaz i n e . c o. n z
