Margaret Dilloway

Passionate about using empathetic storytelling and audience insights to create data-driven, high-performing content across all media channels. Equally creative and analytical, I specialize in making your tech jargon sound like it's written by a human. I also perform improv and write books for kids and adults. Additional samples on request. To see fiction writing, visit the Margaret Dilloway site.

Cisco Blogs •

Planning for Cisco Certification Exam Success

Two to eight hours of sitting still—sometimes completely alone. No breaks. Someone watching your every move. No snacks, no drinks, no paper, no watch, no wallet—just a computer. What’s the activity? Some kind of spy training exercise? Nope. It’s a Cisco certification exam. It’s no wonder Cisco certification exams are nerve-wracking, especially if it’s your first one. That’s not even taking into account all the studying you have to do prior to the actual exam day. Where do you start? How do you m...
Cisco Blogs •

A More Sustainable Future for Africa: Cisco’s Role in Bridging the Digital Divide

When you think of the term sustainability, chances are you think of the environmental kind. But improving the environment doesn’t happen in a void—you need technological access and people with the know-how to manage it all. This requires a strong foundation of sustainable communities, calling for digital divide solutions that incorporate intersectional considerations like education and gender equity. We could talk about the need for educational initiatives around the globe to support environment...
Golden Horizons Adult Day Center •

Golden Horizons Adult Day Center

This senior day center did not have a website, and their previous volunteer ghosted them after working on the site for 2 years. I completed the project in 10 days and learned a new CMS. This is what they had to say: "Margaret has been a fabulous resource. She did a beautiful job developing our website and truly captured the essence of our program. We are delighted with the final result! We also did not know she is an accomplished author and it shows in the work she did. We surely selected the right volunteer for this project. A special thanks to Margaret for the time and energy she put into the site-she is wonderful! We are so glad to have this completed."
HuffPost, viral, feature •

What White, Western Audiences Don't Understand About Marie Kondo's 'Tidying Up'

Kami are Shinto spirits present everywhere — in humans, in nature, even in inanimate objects. At an early age, I understood this to mean that all creations were miracles of a sort. I could consider a spatula used to cook my eggs with the wonder and mindful appreciation you’d afford a sculpture; someone had to invent it, many human hands and earthly resources helped get it to me, and now I use it every day. According to Shinto animism, some inanimate objects could gain a soul after 100 years of s