Daryn and Me

Forbes.com image of a woman singing at a mike

Have you heard of Daryn Kagan?  In 2008, Daryn, an American broadcast journalist and former CNN anchor, authored a book entitled, “What’s Possible! 50 True Stories of People Who Dared to Dream They Could Make a Difference.”  If you’re interested in reading some uplifting stories, check out Daryn’s book.

Daryn’s own personal story is also uplifting.  After spending more than 12 years in a traditional news job at CNN, in 2006, she walked away from CNN to launch an award-winning website, DarynKagan.com.

The unique aspect of her website at the time was the fact that the site exclusively featured inspirational news content.  Also, the website design included a “Tell Me Your Story!” section to solicit feedback from site visitors who had their own unique stories of inspiration to share.  In fact, in her book, Daryn reported: “70 percent of the stories on the website now come from folks writing in.”  Talk about having an idea that was ahead of its time!  Back in 2006, Daryn was already succeeding in gathering and sharing user generated content, long before the social media marketers of today turned their collective focus toward that goal.

Since I started this MySheCave blog, I’ve enjoyed sharing a variety of content.  However, international news stories of late have narrowed my focus and reminded me of one of my original goals in establishing this blog.  Here are some examples of such news reports:

• In December 2012, a young Indian woman in a New Delhi suburb was brutally gang raped on a public bus and died from the injuries she sustained.
• During 2012, violence against women in Pakistan increased 7 percent over the prior year.
• In 2011, Italian women were reported as saying, “We Are Treated Like Prosciutto.” 
• In February 2012, millions of U.S. women were shocked and dismayed as an all-male U.S. House committee met to discuss a federal birth control mandate and women’s health issues.
• In January 2013, national news outlets began reporting the alleged rape of an unconscious teenage girl by high school football players in Steubenville, Ohio, with associated social media-shared images and an unpublicized video that appears to show the football players ridiculing the alleged rape victim.

When I started this blog, I made a statement that “every woman deserves a SheCave.”  What I really meant to say was that every woman deserves the time, space and opportunity to be all of herself and to experience equality in our modern world.

Like Daryn, moving forward in 2013, I plan to use this blog to voice and share inspirational stories about people, with the caveat that many of those inspirational stories will be related to women and girls.

So, get ready.  Like Helen did in 1975, this woman is about to roar about the historical accomplishments and future potential of women around the globe.