Hello Raising Boys World Readers – Happy New Year! My name is Tara Bazilian-Chang, and (as of November 1st, 2011) I am the new Community Manager for Raising Boys World. I am a photographer, and I have my own business – TBC Photo (www.tbcphoto.com). Yes, the photo I attached is a self portrait, and yes, I retouched it (because I can). I have a 19 year old daughter who just finished her first semester of college. And I have have a 7 year old boy who is in 1st grade. I am brand-spanking new to the world of blogging, posting, forums, tweeting – all things social media related. It’s been a very educational 2 months.
You’re probably wondering – Why did Renee, the founder of Raising Boys World, ask this inexperienced woman to be the Community Manager for RBW? I asked her that very same question. She pointed out that I am a sort of a Community Manager amongst my extended group of friends. I created a book club, a quarterly spa-party night, lunches in, dinners out, and we go to a fundraising dinner the first Wednesday of every month. I also hosted a ladies only dance party (it was so much fun, I’m going to host them whenever my husband is out of town), wine tasting tours to local vineyards, and movie nights. We are there for each other emotionally, we support each other, and we look out for each others kids. Unknowingly, I’ve created a Mom’s Support Group, granted it usually involves wine.
But how does that translate to RBW? Well, first of all, I have a boy. He is 7 years old. I get bored of playing with super hero figurines, lightsabers, and video games after about an hour. So I created a social network for my son. Every week he has a different boy over from his class, he also has 7 buddies that live in the houses around us, and we spend time with his cousins every weekend. I’m not afraid to have a bunch of boys over to our house, even though it gets very loud and very, very messy. I love to watch them play outside for hours on end, using their imaginations and working things out amongst themselves.
Friends are important. A community of friends is even more important. These are life skills that extend to every part of one’s life. And to think, my husband thought that I was just drinking wine with my girlfriends.
By Tara Bazilian-Chang, Community Manager for Raising Boys World
