Angela Shelton in 140 Characters April 25-May 2nd

Here is the my speech from the 140 Conference in NYC

Here’s the link to this video if the one above doesn’t work.

Thank you @JeffPulver for having me at the #140conf. It was a pleasure.  I announced the Angels All A-Twitter week for April 25-May 2nd. http://angelasheltonday.eventbrite.com/

I wrote my speech for the 140 Conference in tweet!  I veered from this a bit once on stage but here you go:

The Internet is like a Bizarre Bazaar, like a big flea market and we all have a booth. http://angelashelton.com/bazaar

Your booth is your website, Facebook page, or whatever social network you’re on – it’s your space.

So what’s in your booth? What are you sharing, telling, selling? Can we leave you a message? Are you there?

In the rafters of this Bazaar, above all our booths, are the @twitter birds.

The twitter birds can poop on your booth or they can flock around it and sing about it.

Don’t shoot the birds. Watch the birds. Listen to the birds. Feed the birds.

It is through the birds that we find out about each other booths. We are a community in the state of Now.
There is no community without unity and there is not unity without U. So what are U up to?

What’s happening right Now at your booth? How are you contributing to the whole Bazaar?

U and your booth are important to the whole community. U are that important. So what are U up to?

I first set up my booth in this Bazaar to make a movie. I had written screenplays and produced and was ready to direct.

I set out to survey women in America by interviewing women who had my name.

I’m @AngelaShelton and I went Searching for Angela Shelton. I thought it’d be funny.

My goal was to inspire women to unite & end the whole women against women battle.

I asked Angela Sheltons: who are you, where have you been and where are you going?

I discovered that 70% of Angela Sheltons I interviewed were victims of child sexual abuse, rape and/or domestic violence.

And that doesn’t mean don’t name your kid Angela Shelton. It means sexual abuse & domestic violence is an epidemic.

The discovery all started from having authentic conversations and listening to people’s stories.

It became personal when I met an Angela Shelton who tracked sexual predators & lived in the same town as my child molester dad.

We arrived to that Angela Shelton’s town on Father’s Day. So I confronted my abusive father as he was leaving for church.

You can watch Searching for Angela Shelton on @Snagfilms or @Hulu. Please rate & comment. http://ow.ly/1A1by http://ow.ly/1A1c9

I could have picked any name – even a man’s name. I learned that this is not a woman’s issue. This is a people problem.

@JamieKennedy told @Oprah about it and I was invited on the show in 2003. The rest is history. The movie became a movement.

70% of Angela Sheltons were abused but 100% of those healed, moved forward, got help and now lead joyful lives. http://ow.ly/1AeAr

The movie is used all over the world and has inspired many to break the silence and the cycle of abuse, including me.

After yrs of speaking in the trauma & recovery field I came up with a theory that trauma is like being pierced with a sword.

You can live with that sword in you, that’s denial. And leaving it in causes all sorts of other problems. Or you can face it.

Removing the sword brings up pain that put it in place. Purging Pain doesn’t last forever.
Once you remove the sword, you heal the wound and then you have the sword – to use with love instead of vengeance.

I see more people healing & becoming warriors for transformation right NOW than I see people perpetuating pain. I see that on TV.

The sword of trauma does not just come from sexual abuse, you can read a fashion magazine and be traumatized.

We’ve all experience pain. If we stay wounded, we affect those around us. When we’re healed and happy – we change the world.

It’s time we transform suffering into healing. I’ve seen it for years on the streets. Now I’m seeing it in social media.

All of us know someone who has suffered. Hi. Breaking the cycle of abuse and healing starts with breaking the silence.

One movie can change a life forever. Seen it. And you can alter the course of someone’s life in 140 characters or less.

This movement moved me to make movies & tell stories to howl out healing, humor and happiness.
@ozsultan suggested I use my writing talents to tell stories via twitter with the hastag #NEVERAGAIN

April 25-May 2nd we are twittering 3 true stories with hashtag #neveragain to break the silence and the cycle of abuse.

The @survivormanual was started in order to inspire and empower all survivors to heal and lead joyful lives http://ow.ly/1A26F
. @thearmyofangels began when people removed the sword, healed and wanted to move forward. http://ow.ly/1A2bi

My advocacy work started with Searching for @AngelaShelton and continues through @theArmyofAngels & @survivormanual.

Now, via social media we have saved lives, inspired healing, shared resources and empowered warriors via @survivormanual.

Now we’re using interactive storytelling on Twitter to inspire healing in 140 characters or less and I’m announcing it at #140conf

The stories April 25-May 2nd will follow 3 people who experienced sexual violence. Follow hashtags #s1, #s2 and #s3

We can use our booths to share resources, inspiration, & our stories. Follow #s1, #s2 and #s3 #neveragain.

In stories #s1, #s2 and #s3 two survive and one doesn’t. But you can help save a life in 140 characters or less. #140conf

We are a community. There is not community without unity and there is no unity without U. #140conf
You can alter the course of of someone’s life with a tweet. #140conf

Everything you do affects everything else so what are U doing April 25-May 2nd? Hopefully it’s not nitty.

Thank you for being nice to each other. We all have a story. It’s a pleasure to tweet with you at #140conf

I’ll see you online and I’ll see a lot of you April 25-May 2nd. http://ow.ly/1BbbT

Thanks for reading! Please comment on my blog and let me know how I can help you, inspire you or just make you laugh. I'm listening. Feel free to email me at angela@angelashelton.com and let me know what you like (or don't like). To keep in touch, connect with me @ Facebook | Twitter