Lijit Publisher Spotlight

As a community catalyst, I get asked frequently about what my job entails. In a nutshell, I'm here to make sure our current users are happy and to help acquire new users. The part of my job that I really love is the interaction I have with the publishers that use our wijit. I've been fortunate enough to meet a lot of Lijit publishers at conferences and trade shows, but there are many that I feel need some more Lijit loving. Therefore, I want to start spotlighting more of the fantastic bloggers that make up our Lijit community and thought this might be a good way to achieve that.

I'm starting with a very special Lijit publisher today...my mom.

She started blogging last April, about the same time she retired, and calls her blog Peace in Retirement.  In the pursuit of educating others, I thought I would ask her some questions about why she blogs and help in her mission to spread the word about social justice.

Why did you start blogging?

I started blogging because I've always loved to write and have always been a writer. When the chance to invade cyberspace came, it was a no brainer for me. [She also has a very patient daughter who helped her set up the blog and provides tech support on a regular basis.-Ed.]

What did you hope to accomplish with your blog?

My purpose for blogging is to start a dialogue about social justice issues. If we can become aware of injustice, and talk about it, then we can start taking action, and become voices to solve problems. We can join each other to form communities to stand up for justice. It's all about the community we create!

How has retirement played a part in your quest for social justice?

AH! Retirement is the freedom to have options, to make decisions about what to do with your time, your talent and your treasure. What a perfect place to be! As a public health nurse, I worked with social justice issues every day, on the front lines trying to find solutions for big-time problems clients had to live with.

Now I can look on a much broader level, not only locally, but nationally and globally. I can spend quality time learning about problems, discerning my response to them, and taking action to address them without having to go to work tomorrow at 8 am! I can even go to jail for a month to call awareness to a very important issue.

How has Lijit helped you and your blog?

If I had seen the word Lijit two years ago, I would have guessed it was the name of a newly-formed country in Eastern Europe! Now I know better. Thank God my daughter is employed by them because as a result, she is leading me into the 21st century fo communications and communities. It must be a huge endeavor for her, but after all, I am her mother!

Because of her exposure and through her, my exposure to Lijit, I have a blog that is a gathering place for ideas, expression and action. What is more important than that? My daughter can add another title to her growing resume: Seer, Advocate and Mentor to Old Folks! And that is what social justice is all about...

My mom was arrested last November for crossing a protest line onto a federal military base. She went on trial and was sentenced to 30 days in federal prison. Next week, she reports to SEATAC in Seattle to serve her time and like a good daughter, I've promised to update her blog for her.

(And just to legally cover Lijit's butt, let me state for the record that this blog post in no way represents the social or political views of any other Lijit employees. Especially with all the mom jokes we throw around the office.)