Smart Girls at the Party: Why Amy Poehler Should Rule the World (of Social Media, at least...)

My infatuation with Amy Poehler happened suddenly.  After binge watching every season of her show Parks and Recreation over winter break, it became obvious to me that she was hilarious and cool... a more accessible version of Beyonce.  So, I'm just going to come right out and say it: I love Amy Poehler and I shall present just a few reasons why: 

Me and you both, Amy...

1. Her character in Parks and Rec, an overly-energetic government employee named Leslie Knope, gives me hope that my Master's in Public Administration might actually land me a job someday.
2. She hails from the great town of Burlington, MA and graduated from Boston College in 1993!  I am also from MA and I know people who also graduated from Boston College!
3. She's a non-annoying feminist and she's not afraid to show it. 
4. Along with two other women, Poehler created Amy Poehler's Smart Girls," a platform targeted at girls with the motto: "Change the world by being yourself!"

When visiting the Smart Girls website, the first thing I noticed was the simple, clean layout that was easy to navigate.  The second thing I noticed was the awesome Amy Poehler quote (that changes each time you refresh the page!).  And the third thing I noticed was the set of links to the many social media platforms they utilize.  All the usual suspects were there...

Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Tumblr, Google+, Pintrest, Instragram

So, naturally, I spent most of the evening get lost in social media profiles and learning as much as I could about being an Amy Poehler Smart Girl.   By staying up well past my bedtime, I was able to investigate all of them.  For the sake of depth over breadth and keeping things interesting, here is a quick look at how their Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are being utilized to spread the good word of being smart, kind, and fun.

Facebook
Generally speaking, Facebook may or may not be a dying art.  Regardless, Amy Poehler's Smart Girls page is alive and well! With over 143,000 "likes," the page is primarily used for celebrating the accomplisments of cool women all over the world, recipes and crafts featured on the Smart Girls blog, and promoting the #OperationNice campaign for the month of February.

It is also part forum: users who post comments are often responded to by the Amy Poehler's Smart Girls account and by other users. It's like a little sisterhood of support! (If you're curious, as I was, the Be Human 2014 campaign that Kirstie described is pretty neat...)



Twitter  
Similarly to the Facebook page, if you were to follow @smrtgirls on Twitter, you would be treated to a sampling of retweeted articles about women and girls doing great things, tips on how to be nice (for example: don't be mean to others on the internet...yes, it's really that simple), and conversations with followers.

YouTube
And then, there was YouTube.  And my friends, it is magical. As I watched video after video, my love for all things Amy Poehler became strong and stronger.  Organized into a handful of different channels, there seems to be something for everyone:

• Smart Girls at the Party: "Watch these wonderful Smart Girls as they change the world by being themselves"
• Operation Nice: "Every time you watch Operation Nice, a dolphin does a flip and your day gets better." 
• Girls of the World: " When you learn about the lives of others, the world gets a little smaller and maybe even a little better." 
• Meow Meow Music: "A wonderful cat themed music show!" 
• Boys Minute: A little something for the men-- watch Aziz Ansari teach us how to nap, Jason Bateman share his wisdom on how to lead a healthy lifestyle, and Amy's brother Greg showing off his basketball skills. 
• Ask Amy: Amy Poehler answers viewers questions.  Her answers are funny, thoughtful, and applicable to humans of all ages.  Check out the video below to hear Amy talk about news and education...

  

And so I leave you with this...

If you truly believed that you could change the world by being yourself, where would you start?