Professional blogger and online curator Tara Gentile ’04 of Wyomissing will speak at her alma mater, Lebanon Valley College, about the opportunities and challenges social media has brought to her as an entrepreneur, wife, and mother. She will explain how her sense of self and professional future have changed since she has built an online community. Her talk, titled “The Art and Business of Building Your Online Self,” is a presentation of LVC’s yearlong Wired Colloquium, which looks at the impact of technology in our lives. The public is welcome at no charge to hear her speak on Tuesday, Feb. 16 at 4 p.m. in LVC’s Neidig-Garber Science Center, room 203.
A year ago, Gentile created Handmade in PA, a blog supporting arts and crafts in Pennsylvania. Using social media and her passion for promoting handmade businesses, she built a wide following of fans and supporters. Gentile took over the highly respected handmade shopping blog, Scoutie Girl, in July. Since taking the reins, she’s built readership over 20 percent each month.
Gentile is a full-time blogger, mother, and Wordpress designer, who also dabbles in arts and crafts marketing. She writes that she graduated from Lebanon Valley College with a great education and many commendations, but absolutely no idea what to do with her bachelor’s degree in religion. She always had a great affinity for crafts, and a love of writing, so when she discovered the handmade blogosphere, she found her home. Her website is: taragentile.com.