Small Strokes Big Oaks

Bio
Name: Sharna Fulton
Age: 48
Location: Loganville, GA; (originally from Denver, CO but a Bostonian at heart)
Occupation: PR & Marketing, Cartoonist
Education: BA English Literature, University of Colorado, Boulder 1983
Blogs: www.chloepinkcartoon.blogspot.com (main blog!); www.peaceofthepie.com

1. Define the online feminist blogging community.
I first became interested in feminist blogging a few years ago when I began looking for a place for Chloe Pink to go to work. I thought NOW (National Organization for Women) might be interested in her, so I became a NOW member and began visiting their site.

As far as my own consciously “feminist” blogging, it began when I worked on the Obama campaign last fall. I started to express some of my political views–which are pretty radical for where I live in the south–on Huffington Post. I even started my own blog to encourage corporate social responsibility. Once I had a few of these “Sharna Op-eds” under my belt, it led me to more opinionated views in the area of feminism. I am still dipping my toe gently into the social media pool–not trying to create too great a wave–but rather a few ripples to create new thoughts for those that live their lives in what I see as a rote manner.

When I got on Twitter the first of the year, I found a platform to express some of the views I’ve had. I’m sure many other women and feminists discovered this too. Like all bloggers with a wide ranging set of views, interests and values, I believe Facebook and Twitter are helping feminists get their opinions out of the closet and into the mainstream, where they need to be. Although, being the appeasers and caretakers of everyone’s feelings before our own, I am sure women will be slower to follow the Twitter craze and expose their inner feelings.

For instance, yesterday, on my Facebook page, I posted a link to a story about caregiving with the headline, “When work ends for women, play doesn’t start. Caregiving does.” This lead to some discourse from a Facebook friend about how she is happy she is compassionate. This in turn gave me the opportunity to reinforce the message I was trying to present. I said, “It’s great we, as women are compassionate, but we must also value that about ourselves.”

I hope that I can move traditional mindsets in women through Chloe Pink and my social networking writings. Us women/girls need to value ourselves more highly, be curious about life and take risks needed to follow our dreams. My thoughts are a work in progress.

Of course, I hope all this leads to my professional success as a cartoonist. However, I’ve had enough life experience now to know that artistic pursuits must come from an inner drive and focus rather than the need for fame or capital success.

2. Tell me about how you came to be a blogger.
I first began blogging when I had an e-commerce giftware business, www.sportspottery.com (now owned by someone else). I sold handpainted wares to marathoners and other athletes (mainly women.) I wrote about my customers, their athletic accomplishments and also, about owning a business as a woman.

3. Tell me about your blogging experience now.
As a 15 year ad agency copywriter, the new microblogging social networking tools of Facebook “What are you doing” and Twittering in 140 characters are the perfect format for me. They allow me to craft a headline and often direct it to a link with information my followers might find useful. Writing in this way allows me to distance myself a bit from what I’m trying to promote in the sort of way, I guess, conservatives might accuse the New York Times of having a liberal slant. Still, the facts are the facts. I’m merely presenting the facts I see are important so they don’t go overlooked.

Secondly, I use these web 2.0 tools to report on things that may be of interest to my FB and Twitter community. I’m not interested in relaying to them what I had for dinner unless it was a gourmet meal I had in Paris or somehow managed to make myself. That would be real news.

On www.chloepinkcartoon.blogspot.com:

Chloe Pink

Chloe is a labor of love and has been in existence since 2006 when I created her for the National Stationery Show. (Although, she has been with me all my life as I all I ever wanted to do was write and illustrate a cartoon strip.) My hero is Charles Schultz.

As you know, Chloe Pink is the cartoon spokesmodel for women and girls. The Chloe Pink pledge is to be curious about life, have self confidence and follow your dreams. Pete is her friend. But Pete is also a supporter because us girls need all the support we can get!

Through the Chloe Pink cartoon blog, I hope to reinforce these values for women and girls amidst the joys and pitfalls we experience in our feminine lives.

On this blog, I’ll post cartoons and then write a paragraph or two about why I did it, the inspiration, etc. I hope for it to be somewhat of a teaching tool for women and girls and to get them to be more confident, follow their dreams and get more out of life.

I’ll let you in on a little secret. I’m a “woman girl” and and there’s a little Chloe Pink in me. So, you see, every situation I experience is possible fodder for the CP strip. Be it a tennis match, buying a cup of coffee, getting my haircut, whatever…So, if you show no sportsmanlike conduct on the court, beware. You just might end up as a character in my next strip. The bottom line is that I get the opportunity to explore why women girls act the way they do, how we can be better, etc.

As Carrie Fisher, the famous writer says, “You need to be an archaelogist of your own life.”

Through Chloe, I am able to do just that: Express the challenges I have as a woman/girl and also to show how I and other women and girls can truly succeed while being their very own best unique self. Just like Chloe.

4. Tell me about a time you were misread or misunderstood on your blog.
Recently I wrote a post about my rules for tweeting on a local county blog: http://www.talkgwinnett.com/2009/give-credit-for-tweets-sake-my-twitter-rules/ One of my rules is to not bash politicians or political ideas. I explained you could opine and gently persuade, but don’t bash. Someone commented that this would take all the fun out of it. I then had to remind them, they could do whatever they wanted. However, if they worked for themselves or had clients, they could lose business over it. The person never responded and I didn’t feel badly about it.

Other occasions, which I won’t bore you with the details, mainly concern readers who are misreading what you wrote (like the above) and thus, are off track when they comment back. It’s up to us content originators to stay on top of our writings and to comment back to all comments. Always remember, it’s a never ending two way conversation. If you want to be understood, you will have to seekto understand first, then recomment and recomment again and again. That’s what blogging is all about. The writing hand moves on…and on….

5. Describe your process of writing online.

Chloe Pink Studio

As far as inspiration, of course I get stuff those I follow on twitter. I have 4 twitter accounts and of course, all those informative Facebook “friends.”

And mainly, I just try to get information from living. I’m always questioning why about everything. I’m naturally that way, but my husband is extremely that way. And he has rubbed off on me over the years.

Finally, I’d be remiss without my daily Starbucks venti 1/2 caf. I just downloaded all my French CD’s on my new I-pod Nano. Mind blowing for this baby boomer. And that Chloe Pink studio is a must! Every girl needs a room of her own where boys-especially husbands–must absolutely KEEP OUT! So, we can dream and do the seriously important work. In pink, of course.

6. Describe your online reading habits.
I follow Atlanta Journal Constitution, New York Times, NPR, MSNBC, etc. I blog on cause marketing, so I google search for businesses partnering with charities.  I also blog/do marketing on home care for seniors. Since women are the primary caregivers in our society, I’m starting to see overlap in all these areas: feminism, home care, cause marketing. It all works together in layers.

I have older and younger women and men friends who keep me posted and thinking.

You can follow Sharna on Twitter at http://twitter.com/chloepink and http://twitter.com/sharnafulton.  You can also read her comments on feminism from the Undomestic 10 interview by clicking here.
For more information on the Literacy in the Feminist Blogging Community project, and to see all of the interviews, click here.  Have something to add?  Comment or e-mail me at smallstroke (at) gmail (dot) com.