Keidra Chaney
I had the great honor to be a part of a panel for Social Media Week Chicago this week, “YWCA Powered: A Panel on Social Media Messaging and Women.” Facilitated by Dorri McWhorter, CEO of YWCA Chicago, I joined Lindsey Lewis of Leo Burnett and Candi Carter of New Chapter Entertainment to talk about everything from Wendy Davis to harassment of women online to (sigh) Miley Cyrus. We even kicked off the panel talking about the season premiere of Nashville, so I knew it was going to be a panel after my own heart. Anyway, at the end of the panel each of us was asked to share our picks of top women to follow on social media and I remember pretty much rattling off a few names while blanking about the dozens more I wanted to name. I promised to write a blog post with more recs, so here it is. Frankly, my list of women I <3 on Twitter is so big, I’ll likely do another. I didn’t want to only list the usual suspects of Twitter superstars, as I mentioned at the panel yesterday equating online “influence” with the size of their audience. These women always are always a part of smart and meaningful dialogue and make the Twitterverse a better place to be.
@chescaleigh
She’s big on youtube (best known for the “Shit White Girls Say To Black Girls” video, but she also shares smart and funny tweets on race, pop culture, natural hair and more.
@katchow
She’s a writer for the NPR blog Code Switch (which is also a must-follow) – always on point with her insights.
@_JUCIFER_
She’s Gazelle Amber Valentine, one-half of the brutal two-person metal band Jucifer, but she’s also outspoken and wicked smart on topics like feminism, politics and more.
@karnythia
She’s Mikki Kendall, and she was making a mark on Twitter even before getting international attention with the #solidarityisforwhitewomen hashtag on feminism and intersectionality. She’s a perfect example of how online influence isn’t about having millions of followers.
@polerin
Techie, derby warrior, trans woman, creative and strikes this lovely balance of person and political in every tweet.
@niche
She runs the blog Cupcakes Take the Cake which has its own Twitter feed at @cupcakeblog but her Twitter feed covers social media, pop culture and a lot more.
@afrolicious
Digital storyteller and extraordinaire, Ann Daramola always has interesting things to say about tech and underrepresented communities. Check out her website, Afrolicious.com.