Jovana ‘Jovie’ Paredes: 40 Digital Women to Watch 2020: Where Are They Now?
Yep…we’re back with yet another inspirational Digital Woman! This week, we’re talking to Jovana ‘Jovie’ Paredes: a Social Media Content Creator and owner of Jovie’s Home (@jovieshome), an award-winning YouTube channel. After posting her first YouTube video in 2019, Jovie’s Home now has more than 20,000 subscribers on YouTube and Jovana has continued to grow her following across multiple platforms, including Instagram and TikTok. She was nominated for 3 Digital Women Awards in 2020 and earned a well-deserved place on Digital Women’s 2020 Top 40 Digital Women to Watch list.
In this blog, Jovana shares her incredible insights and experience of being named one of Digital Women’s 40 Digital Women to Watch with you. Hopefully, her story will also inspire you to enter yourself or nominate a fellow incredible woman for the Digital Women Awards this year!
Did you share the news of you being named as one of our Top 40 Digital Women to Watch with your (ever-growing) community?
Yes! It was an absolute honor to be nominated and eventually selected. It remains on my profiles and even on my IG bio!
Has your career evolved since winning Digital Creator of the Year and being featured as a Digital Woman to Watch last year?
Yes! My social media following has more than doubled since I won. The award gives me a lot of credibility when working with/pitching collabs to brands and other creators. In a world where so many strive for a digital career, having won the award of Creator of the Year truly sets me apart from the rest.
Since the Digital Women Awards last year, the digital space has changed quite significantly. How has the changing role of digital and tech-based businesses and the sudden increased reliance on digital in 2020 affected you and your business?
Initially, it was difficult to find motivation and inspiration to create content while quarantining at home. I actually took a step back from social media during those early days. I felt like, if I couldn’t create uplifting content for others, I didn’t want to be on social media complaining/bringing others down either. We were all struggling and I wanted to help to uplift others.
Eventually, after a bit of thinking, I started doing weekly live streams with my audience. I saw that others were lonely too, and having a weekly thing “to do” was good for all of us. We would occasionally do it during dinnertime and people could send in a picture of their dinners/pets/drinks/whatever and just connect. The livestreams helped keep us connected and brought us closer.
From a professional side, I tried as much as possible to be creative with the content and find joy in the little things, since that’s all we had. The explosion of TikTok’s popularity also allowed me to create short-form content that was silly or funny and show something different than people saw on YouTube.
In short, while the pandemic initially presented me with a lot of challenges as relates to the content I had planned for 2020, it also brought up new opportunities to connect in deeper ways with the audience.
Thanks so much for sharing that with us Jovie! With the 2021 Digital Women Awards approaching, do you have any advice for women who are considering entering themselves or nominating others for the Digital Women Awards?
Go for it! Nominate a woman you think deserves it – even if she doesn’t win, a nomination is an incredible motivation and recognition of your hard work. It really gives someone a big boost to be recognized by peers in this way.
And if you’re starting out but doing something special/unique nominate YOURSELF! There is no shame in being your own biggest cheerleader!
Talking of lifting up other women, are there any names that spring to mind that you think we should be watching out for 2021?
Christel Jaarsma (@thatdutchlawyer) on TikTok. She is showing how a woman can kick butt in her career, be a single mom, have a sense of style and humor and be incredibly humble while confident.
And finally, what is your favourite thing about the Digital Women community?
Truthfully, I wish I had engaged more with the Digital Women community in 2020. Only since decluttering my IG feed did I realize the wealth of knowledge and passion that these women share! I am now following many of them and getting so much “free” education from their posts. It’s truly inspiring to see!
If you’d like to find out more about Jovana, you can find her on social media at:
Nominations for the Digital Women Awards 2021 are now open. Here are a couple of key dates for your diary:
8th February: The deadline for award nominations. Don’t wait for a nomination; we encourage you to recognise your own excellence and put yourself forward for the awards!
15th February: Entry deadline for all.
8th March (International Women’s Day): We’ll be announcing the shortlist (decided by our expert judging panel).
Get your applications at the ready! Enter the Digital Women Awards 2021 here: https://digitalwomenawards.com/categories-and-enter
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