What is a HocoLocal Lady?
In a nutshell, HocoLocal Ladies are interesting people.
They are not interesting because of what they have achieved as much as we are impressed by who they are and how they live. They are normal people who catch our eye, often for some of these reasons:
- They are embedded in Howard County culture.
- They are actively involved in one or more principles of Living Locally:
- Expanding local relationships through social technology.
- Choosing civility.
- Making a living locally.
- Transferring knowledge.
- Being resilient.
- They piqued our curiosity. We wanted to know them better.
- They are hubs of connections: weak and strong ties.
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Why do we have these parties?
Oh! How much time to do you have? We’d love if you stop by a party and ask us. In the meantime, here are a few of the reasons:
- As advocates of social media, as well as champions of aligning with patterns of change, these parties are expressions of what is important to us. We have a fairly large investment in an Internet footprint, so we invite you to poke around, and surf, if you will, the various sites and pages that will give more insight into who the American City Girls are and what we’re up to.
- By participating in these events, you can experience directly the ideas about social networking.
- One of the facets of these parties we enjoy the most is it’s the way we have chosen to showcase all of The Ladies. Bringing this art into the public sphere is a labor of love for us. As such, it also affords us the opportunity to sell cards which fund our incurred party expenses, as well as to highlight a super special partner, Corridor Printing, whose enthusiasm and customer care make our showcase a delight to produce.
- We have a story about how these parties got started. It’s sweet. You can read it here.
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How does a HocoLocal Lady benefit?
Social network technology opportunities are expanding and becoming an increasingly important aspect of our lives. These parties, specifically intended to emphasize social networking applications, provide four major functions to each lady. She has the opportunity to –
Take stock of her network.
This is her only responsibility: To identify the meaningful local connections in her life, those nascent, eternal and neighborly; it is an intentional exercise. It takes time and thought. The invitation list comes from each individual lady, not from the American City Girls.
Invigorate her relationships.
Each person on the list receives a hand-written elegant card (courtesy of The Ladies ) as an invitation to attend her “celebration” party. We are celebrating the connections we have to each other because we know the same person. In this case, it a HocoLocal Lady. Secondly, each member of ourHocoLocal Lady’s social network receives a Socializr invitation (that’s electronic through email) as the venue through which we accept RSVPs. Socializr, as a social technology, provides an opportunity for everyone to view her entire social network, create a profile and connect online with friends. The party adds the face to face connection. These three activities invigorate a HocoLocal Lady’s network and perhaps, jump starts yours!
Create a support structure.
Adding social media and technology to your local connections creates a visible support structure for nurturing a very important element of Living Locally. Now each lady has a other HocoLocal Ladies to help them understand the art of social networking, they also get a built in community of practice in using the technology platforms.
Lastly, these parties are a gift.
The American City Girls host, fund and coordinate each event; allowing the HocoLocal Lady just to “show up” in a space to be surrounded by people who love, respect and support her. The face-to-face interaction is important and when integrated with social technology platforms we optimize their intended benefits. What a wonderful way to spend a couple hours.
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How can you get the most from these parties?
Celebrate!
If you received an invitation, you have been acknowledged. You are part of a social network that you may not have recognized before. By the way, these parties are not just for women. A healthy network has both genders in prime supply and, yes, the men come out in large numbers to attend these parties.
Be open to receiving the “juice.”
The juice is the energy, the information, the warmth that has come your way by being included and
connected. Feel it, and enjoy, then make an effort send some back. If you can’t attend the party, add a comment to your RSVP. If you can attend, reconnect with others you already know and meet a few new people! It’s the weak connections that make a network strong.
Create a Socializr profile.
Seriously consider it. It’s easy. If you are unfamiliar with social technology, it’s a safe entree into this exciting and emerging world. It’s a fast an easy way for other’s in the same network as you to get to know about you. For those more daring, there are lots of us on Facebook. Use this link to help you use Facebook as a way to invigorate your local connections.
Attend the party.
Really, it’s easy and fun. We don’t make you listen to any speeches, give a sales pitch or make you do silly things. (Cute, perhaps, but not silly.) Come by and socialize.
Pay it Forward.
Acknowledge and celebrate your connections. We would be thrilled if you chose to use The Ladies to acknowledge the meaningful connections in your life. We encourage you to take a minute, in this digital age, write and send a card to someone you know so that you, too, can invigorate your own network connections.
