When I looked up the definition of "power," several words came up that were accurate, but disconcerting -- authority, control, strength, force -- often connected to "over" as in "control over, authority over" and so on.
In the introduction to her excellent new book, "No Excuses: 9 Ways Women Can Change How We Think About Power," feminist and activist, Gloria Feldt writes:
We can start by changing the very meaning of power from an oppressive power-over to an expansive concept I call the power-to. And if we muster the courage to stand in our power and walk with intention, we can achieve our highest aspirations at work, in civic life, and in love for good -- by which I mean we can transform power relationships for our own good and create good in the world for others.
I jumped on The Huffington Post bandwagon -- as a reader -- almost from the start (full disclosure: I now write weekly for the site, focusing primarily on issues that are important to people over 50) and have seen it morph from its business and political roots to become the diverse content powerhouse it is now, with sections devoted to style, entertainment, health, travel, technology, divorce and more, while maintaining its strong political voice. In fact, only 15 percent of the traffic comes for politics, showing just how far The Huffington Post has evolved. Arianna and those with whom she shares editorial power -- the editors, bloggers, and readers -- have their fingers placed firmly on the global pulse... attracting nearly 25 million unique visitors to the site each month, and counting.
The concept is simple: invite people to create communities through blogging, commenting, and sharing on other social media such as Facebook and Twitter. We, the people, become the arbiters. By sharing her powerful position -- as the leader of this site -- with us, she made The Huffington Post even more powerful. I have been able to write about feminism being the new moral compass for change in the world, about feeling invisible after turning 50, the mistakes many of us make in midlife, and about what we feel like when our hair starts to turn gray. All of us who regularly blog for the site can raise important issues, and start big conversations which often generate hundreds of comments, and continue on other social media. It's exciting and empowering.
With the sale of The Huffington Post to AOL, Arianna is the toast of the media world (old and new), and rightly so. She created something with a relatively small investment of $1,000,000, (and many skeptics), and a few years later, sold it for $315 million. That's pretty powerful stuff. However, even though this marriage between The Huffington Post and AOL seems to make good business sense on many levels, there will be detractors, some of whom have already started to air their views in the media.
Why? Arianna figured out early on that the key to power was to share it. And that makes some people uncomfortable, especially those who run traditional media. Here's a snippet from an article by Washington bureau chief of The Daily Beast, Howard Kurtz:
Whatever her site's flaws, Huffington saw a void in the market in 2005, well before Politico, The Daily Beast, or Twitter existed. And that says as much about the old media giants as about her business judgment. "Why didn't The Washington Post or The New York Times or CNN create The Huffington Post?" Jarvis (Jeff Jarvis, a City University of New York journalism professor) asks. 'It's too populist for them. They still think they're the source of content and value and didn't see the value in other people's content.'
In "Daring to Be Ourselves," a beautiful book filled with quotes from some of the world's most influential women, activist and actress Jane Fonda had this view of power:
Women view power differently. It's not power over; it's power with. It's about empowering others.
What would happen if women became empowered and could lead from their core basic values? Not just put women into a structure that is up-down power, like 'I have power over you,' but what if women could actually influence the way power is wielded in the world from a core feminine place?
Learn from Arianna Huffington, as I have: stay current; share power; maintain and grow your network of contacts; be on the lookout for opportunities; engage in technology and social media; take care of your health (a "top read" post on HuffPost this week is an interview with Arianna about the importance of sleep); connect with the world; and keep a positive attitude. It's simple, really: believe in yourself and miracles can happen.
The most important lesson we can learn from Arianna Huffington, though, comes from her best-selling book, "On Becoming Fearless":
We have so much potential, yet we hold ourselves back. If women of all ages are to take their rightful place in society, they must become fearless.
Staying connected is a powerful tool: "friend" me on Facebook and "tweet" me on Twitter. For more information about The Best of Everything After 50, please visit my website: www.bestofeverythingafter50.com.
Follow Barbara Hannah Grufferman on Twitter: www.twitter.com/BGrufferman
Arianna Huffington - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Arianna Huffington (ariannahuff) on Twitter
Woman in the News: Arianna Huffington
Thanks for reading and commenting . . .
Barbara
I saw something on tv recently about many successful Boomers participating here. They're not going to show up just anywhere. They don't have to.
I think Arianna deserves every bit of her success and I wish her much more.
Thank you so much for that supportive comment, and I love the analogy to your experience of LA. HuffPost really is a terrific concept, and is unlike any other website that I'm aware of. I'm very happy to be a part of it.
Please stay in touch!
Barbara
Stay in touch!
Barbara
She is the anti-Palin!
I'm surprised to read a comment advocating "conscious conversation", include the above comment pitting feminine against feminists. There is a fringe element in any group, but to suggest that feminists aren't feminine is sad to me, and that's what "vs" means. Take a look at gun toting palin. She considers herself feminine rather than a feminist. Same with sharon angle. Thanks, but I'll stick with Gloria Steinam who simply wants women to be treated and listened to with the same respect as men.
Thanks for your comment. Please take a look at this article I wrote for HuffPost a few months ago that generated a great deal of discussion: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/barbara-hannah-grufferman/feminism-a-moral-compass_b_793759.html . . . it is another way of looking at feminism.
Thanks so much for reading, and commenting . . .
Barbara
i've decided to be fearless and make it Love day because Valentine's day is a big phony.
authenticity demands 2 things : celebrating goddess Juno on feb 14 or the martyr Bishop Valentinus
for women over 50 then it is Juno day [ with some sensitivity enhancements ]
".....To abolish the heathens lewd superstitious custom of boys drawing the names of girls, in honor of their goddess Februata Juno, on the fifteenth of this month, several zealous pastors substituted the names of saints in billets given on this day..... Whoever he was, Valentine really existed because archaeologists have unearthed a Roman catacomb and an ancient church dedicated to Saint Valentine. In 496 AD Pope Gelasius marked February 14th as a celebration in honor of his martyrdom. http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=159 "
Best,
Barbara