Athol social media maven becomes Oprah Insider

COEUR d’ALENE — No longer do Oprah Winfrey fans need to peek under their seats to find a prize, because she started a program that conveniently ships gifts to them.

O, the Oprah Magazine, selected a local business owner in March to be one of 50 ambassadors out of thousands of applicants to represent the magazine in their communities as part of its new “O Mag Insiders” program.

Shelley Webb, owner of The Social Webb, applied for the position after reading about the opportunity in the January issue of the magazine. Webb is a retired R.N., blogger and entrepreneur who moved to Coeur d’Alene to get away from urban California.

Webb retired after 30 years of nursing to care for her father when he developed dementia. After quitting her job, Webb started a blog called “The Intentional Caregiver” in 2007, where she wrote about her experiences with dementia and posted articles and other resources to support people taking care of their aging parents.

In 2008, Webb opened a Twitter account to supplement her blog and quickly gained a massive following. She currently has 14,000 followers.

“I was able to get quite a lot of attention from that and I was asked to write for Dr. Oz’s website and I was asked to speak at a national convention put out by Johns Hopkins University about dementia and how caregivers should be taking care of themselves,” Webb said.

Webb also started her own website, which works with businesses and individuals to build their online presence and reputation. She is now working on a website for her dance team, the Blazen Divaz, which performs in parades and community service events.

Webb, a longtime fan of Oprah, said Oprah is the reason she moved to Coeur d’Alene.

“I was stuck on the freeway in Southern California thinking, ‘This is not my best life.’ Oprah always encourages us to live our best life and I thought it would be a better life on a little farm with vegetables and chickens,” Webb said.

Webb chose Coeur d’Alene as her small-town getaway in 2005 after The View named it as one of three places in the U.S. people were moving to. In a week, Webb bought a plane ticket to Idaho, and within three days of arriving, bought a house in Athol, all on her own.

The magazine selected ambassadors, AKA “Insiders,” who could influence product innovation and content. Insiders get to access the magazine’s exclusive events, test products before they hit the shelves, and earn brand-name merchandise. This is the program’s first year and Webb’s status as an Insider will last for one year.

Webb applied for the position on the magazine’s website. The application asked why an applicant should be selected, how many followers an applicant had and it requested links to their social media accounts.

Webb and 14 other Insiders will join Oprah and the magazine’s editors at an intimate cocktail party on the first night of Oprah’s Year of Adventure cruise to Alaska. The cruise leaves July 15 for one week and features several events, including a speech by Oprah herself. As a major sponsor, Chico’s provided Webb and the Insiders with outfits to wear to the cocktail party and for their appearance in Adam Glassman’s fashion show during the cruise.

“It’s all about creating new relationships, participating in new adventures and stepping out of comfort zones. Plus, the opportunities we’ve been gifted are amazing,” Webb told The Press in an email.

If interested in finding more information on this program, visit OMagInsiders.com.