Welcome to Social Hour, our new blog series where we will introduce you to members of the Socialix community. Writers, photographers, artists, videographers and social media enthusiasts will share their social media and blogging journeys.
For our next Social Hour installment, we connected with Penelope Guzman, the family lifestyle blogger behind Penelope’s Oasis. Penelope’s blog is truly an oasis. She gives readers a glimpse into her life as a busy mom and content creator through beautiful images, honest tips and lifestyle inspiration.
If you could only have one app on your phone, what would it be?
Yahoo email for work, or the camera app for fun (I take a lot of pictures of my family doing things).
What are some of your favorite Instagram accounts right now?
I tend to follow photographers whose work inspires me to get out there and shoot more, and today I was perusing through a new favorite: @meg_nlo.
How do you connect with your readers?
My readers tend to message me a lot on Twitter and Instagram, or by email directly… and I’m happy to chat with them in any of these ways.
As a busy mom and blogger, what is one tool you use on a daily basis to help you manage your time?
A planner! I have to write down everything, and have To Do lists, or else I forget what I have to do. I organize everything and plan everything on paper.
What is your dream brand collaboration?
Hmm, this is a hard one, but now that my sons are older and we are a family that both loves learning and loves traveling, I would LOVE to work with brands related to travel, and learning. My dream would be to work with places like the National Air and Space Museum and other educational centers and share them with other young families with curious kids. So basically, anything travel (cruise lines, tourism offices of amazing places, products that provide an enjoyable mode of travel, etc) and educational and STEM-focused brands. I’d also love to work with Boy Scouts and adventure clubs too that encourage and inspire children, and share it with other parents looking for information like this.
What has been the biggest surprise about running Penelope’s Oasis?
The biggest surprise has been how many friends I’ve made, and how many people will email me to talk about something I’ve written. To this day I still can’t believe what an amazing forum my blog has been in connecting me to people who have changed my life (or tell me I’ve helped them)… it’s incredible.
How has your approach to creating content changed since you first began blogging?
When I started blogging, I wrote in a way that assumed I had an audience, and I was writing for them… but I love to tell stories. Now I write in more of a story telling fashion, and I found it’s more natural for me, and also something readers like more.
What’s your stance on the new Instagram algorithm? Like it, love it or hate it?
Not sure yet, but honestly, I’m never a fan of any social media telling me what I can see in my stream, or choosing who is a priority for me, and I like Instagram that was it is now. I know whose streams, shares, etc I want to see, and left Pinterest when they stopped showing the shares of those I follow in my stream and decided to suggest other shares for me instead. We are smart, and we know what we like, and Instagram shouldn’t mess with a beautiful thing.
Be sure to stop by Penelope’s Oasis and follow her on Instagram and Twitter.