Girls In Tech

For all you Girls in Tech on the lookout for new ideas, ways to indulge your passions and potential, or to know yourself better, allow me to offer a strange recommendation: try doing nothing. Well, not nothing – not exactly, anyway. Rather, try meditation, which is the act of stopping and sitting quietly, and in many cases simply watching your breath and your mind.

Why am I bringing this up for Girls in Tech?  Tech, after all, seems to imply iPhone apps or Twitter add-ons, not a 2,500-year-old technique that takes merely the equipment we’re born with. For two reasons: 1) meditation can help cultivate an entrepreneur’s mindset, from openness to creativity! And 2) an amazing event for beginners is happening in San Francisco next weekend, November 14: Twheet, a daylong, donation-based conference on meditation.

Let me back up just a bit. Meditation isn’t quite a tactic for brainstorming the next Google. However, it can bring greater concentration and more awareness into daily life, allowing space for creative responses to quotidian challenges. Meditation can encourage qualities prized by entrepreneurs: being open to the reality of a situation, transforming tricky moments into learning opportunities, and learning that there’s nothing wrong with “failure.”

Many women working in technology learn early that it is their intentional attitude – rather than “inherent aptitude” – which allows them to creatively meet challenges and be open to the hectic pace of life in Silicon Valley. In this vein, basic meditation is basically awesome for your cranium.

Which is why I’m excited to announce that Turning Wheel Talks, or Twheet, a daylong conference on meditation, is taking place next week, on Nov. 14 in San Francisco. This nonprofit event was pulled together by dozens of creative folks in the Bay Area. It includes: a kick-off introduction to basic meditation, an informal un-conference where folks will lead their own activities, a talk on nonviolent communication & an open house with more info, among other activities.

If you’ve never meditated but want to try, if you’ve meditated and want to grow the hobby, or if you’re a frequent meditator (is that a word?!)  you’re welcome to stop by!  Feel free to bring a friend –or to forward this info to any communities that might be interested.

What: Twheet, an event for young people (under 35)
When: Saturday, November 14
Where: 1187 Franklin Street, San Francisco, UU Church Conference Facility
When: Nov. 14, 2009 –Ongoing all day. Highlights for beginners: morning introduction to meditation, afternoon peer-led workshops & open house.

For more info: http://twheet.org/ Hope to see you there!

As you probably know, the Bay Area hosts many of the top events for innovative new technologies, startups, and social media. We are also a world class music hub.  With venues ranging from The Fillmore to the Great American Music Hall, from the Boom Boom Room to the Red Devil Lounge, and with festivals like Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, Outside Lands, and Treasure Island Music Festival, there are few places in the world with a better selection of musical options. However, the specific field of music technology is rarely addressed in major start-up conferences today, despite bands and venues relying more heavily on the amazing local technologies being created regularly to help them grow and market, like Pandora, Blip.fm,  IODA, and BandCamp, just to name a few.
Music Technology is also becoming increasingly female friendly: classes, blogs and events are now being geared toward them. So, this year Girls in Tech is partnering with the premier west coast conference addressing the growing merger of music and technology:

The SF Music Tech Summit! – December 7th at Hotel Kabuki

SF Music Tech Summit draws over 600 musicians, developers, distributors, entrepreneurs, engineers, lawyers, and managers from around the city and around the globe for a full day of informative talks, engaging discussions, and relevant networking in the cooperative fields of music and technology.  At the 5th show on December 7th, we’ll discuss the current challenges with and solutions for online publication and distribution, how social media is affecting music sharing and marketing, how Hollywood and video games are defining a new niche in the space, why mobile technology needs to be taken seriously by musicians, distributors, and marketers, the newest methods of music monetization, and much more.  Expect the leading innovators and executives in the field, including:

• Kevin Arnold; CEO, IODA
• Tom Conrad; CTO, Pandora
• Zoe Keating; Cellist and Composer
• Zahavah Levine; Chief Counsel, YouTube
• Sandy Pearlman; Music Producer, Schulich Chair at McGill University
• Tim Quirk; VP of Music Programming, Rhapsody
• David Ulmer; Director of Marketing, Motorola Media Solutions
• Emily White; Co-Founder, Whitesmith Entertainment
• With more being added to the site daily!

Despite being a multi-billion dollar industry, the meeting of music and technology continues to create unanswered questions and unaddressed problems; it is rife with opportunity for entrepreneurs, PR representatives, marketers, and performers ready to tackle the big issues.  And the decisions that are made will affect not only the musicians, distributors, lawyers, and startups, but also those of us who are the consumers, media producers, and press.  There is no better place than the SF MusicTech Summit to get all the newest music and tech news, see where the industry is headed, and learn what to expect for artists, marketers, distributors, entrepreneurs, and consumers.

AND as a member of Girls in Tech, you can receive 15% off your ticket to this industry-defining event, using the code “GIT” at the Eventbrite link: http://sfmts5.eventbrite.com.

Details:

Hotel Kabuki
1625 Post Street
San Francisco, CA
Monday, December, 7 2009
9am – 6pm + cocktail party

Girls in Tech Portland chapter(GIT PDX) hosted an event for inspirational speaker, Katherine Durham, Vice President of Marketing, Imaging & Printing Group, Americas, Hewlett-Packard. The event started off with social networking among women with backgrounds in technology who reside in Oregon. We had a great mix that included engineers, developers, social media specialists, marketing and PR professionals, entrepreneurs and others. The evening ended with a great presentation and Q&A during which Katherine shared her passion for the HP business and connecting with end users.

Katherine started off by sharing her background and then quickly dived in to how to shift the digital marketing and technology mindset to harness the power of an integrated approach. With constantly emerging digital trends and a new media-mix landscape, how does HP harness these trends and measure success?

Effective marketing has remained the same for years: connect the right customers with the right message at the right time and in the right place. What’s changed is that consumers are spending more and more time connecting through social networking, video and mobile.

In fact, consumers are now devoting more time online than to any other media, averaging a total of 14 hours/week or more. This amounts to more than 40% of their free time. In the last year, microblogging and social media sites such as YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Wikipedia, Blogger, Baidu and more have exploded in popularity. Video and mobile technology trends all continue to point up. There is huge opportunity if you look at total media consumption vis-a-vis the total U.S. advertising spend.

HP concentrates on maximizing the cross-channel shopping opportunities online, in-store and via advertising. This creates a synergy that delivers results.

Take “Pioneer Woman,” one case study in success. The campaign features Pioneer Woman, a blogger with a growing following. HP reached out to her niche audience by having Pioneer Woman show how she incorporates HP solutions into her life. By leveraging this already-existing social community, they were able to bring more credibility to the message, in that the audience is not being told what to do, but is having information shared with them.

One key takeaway from the HP social networking presentation was how important and effective it can be to find ways for your brand or business to share and collaborate in the social media space.

Katherine closed with a few takeaways:

• Digital AND social media are the future…how do they work with and impact other assets?
• Use the data AND trust your gut if you have a good compass (or get someone who does)
• Leave enough room for innovation AND experimentation
• Traditional AND emerging measurement are both important

Thanks to 24Notion for the event sponsored. As well as for everyone who attended the lecture. For more info about Girls in Tech Portland, check out our Facebook group

It’s easy to dismiss anything with the words ‘good’ and ‘green’ in it as just another lame attempt to jump on the post “Inconvenient Truth” bandwagon. You know which bandwagon I’m referring to — the one that runs on ethanol, with the solar powered electric system and the big bumper sticker proclaiming the number of carbon offsets the driver purchased.

But, before you go and get all cynical on the whole sustainability thing, consider this: environmental consciousness isn’t just good for the environment, it’s good for the green too. And by green, I mean money. In a Thomson Reuters study last year, 82% of investors said they consider environmental and social criteria when making decisions.  And, in just this one BusinessWeek article, there are five examples of corporations from every sector of the economy who saved significant money by ‘greening’ their operations.

This can be especially true for tech and social media, where the consumer is king and an increasingly conscientious customer base is demanding more social and environmental accountability from their favorite brands every day. In September, Apple even started releasing data about its corporate environmental footprint, a move that helped boost its branding as the go-to gadget maker for conscientious consumers.

And, when it comes to social consciousness through tech consumerism, it’s not just about gadgets and green. From Mashable’s Summer of Social Good to Twestival, the social media scene is getting a whole lot more socially conscious too, resulting in the growth of what the blogosphere likes to call the ’social good’ movement. Whether it’s raising money, raising awareness or raising environmental accountability standards, the tech industry is certainly climbing atop that big, green bandwagon in full force. Now, the question is what impact that trend will have on the tech industry and on both the good and green movements it’s embracing. Not to mention how we as girls in tech and as tech businesspeople in general can do some good and make some green in the process — both kinds.

That’s why Girls in Tech LA is proud to present The Impact of Tech On Good & Green — a panel discussion featuring Sandra Sanchez (Creator of orGlamic.com & reality TV host/producer), Sarah Townsend (Editorial Director of Socialvibe.com & Creator of theoneinpink.com) and Tracy Helper (Co-founder of Yourdailythread.com). These amazing women will be discussing social good, sustainability, green gadgets and more at The Organic Panificio restaurant in Marina Del Rey on November 17. Of course, there will also be time for cocktails and conversation as well. And, a portion of the proceeds from ticket sales will go to Free Arts For Abused Kids — an incredible organization that provides at risk kids with counseling and support through art.  Because what’s more in keeping with the theme of ’social good’ than sharing good conversation and good drinks for a good cause?

What: GIT LA Presents The Impact of Tech on Good  & Green

Where: The Organic Panaficio in Marina Del Rey

When: Nov 17, 7-10pm

RSVP & Buy Tickets

The next event on the GIT U radar is the Berkeley Stanford CleanTech Conference on Smart Grids, coming up this Friday in Menlo Park, CA. This is a great event for Girls in Tech University (GIT U) members at both the GIT SF and Silicon Valley Chapters.

This is the fourth in a continuing series of focused conferences highlighting clean technology solutions to address the planet’s multifaceted energy challenges. This fourth installment is made possible through the Stanford University Energy Crossroads. This conference will provide:

VISION: What is the Smart Grid today? Where is it going?
OPPORTUNITY: How can innovators make the most of Smart Grid opportunities?
EFFECTIVENESS: What policies will enable the Smart Grid? What are the constraints in the system?

EVENT DETAILS:
For more information and registration please visit their website at http://cleantech.stanford.edu
Location: Stanford Research Institute Auditorium International Bldg – Room T
333 Ravenswood Avenue, Menlo Park, CA 94025
Cost: Adults $85, All Students $20
Contact: Deep Sahni 650-305-9345
Website: http://cleantech.stanford.edu/bscc4/
Facebook Event: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/event.php?eid=168824359896&ref=ts

Ubergizmo is hosting the Uber10 Awards private event on November 12th @ 6.30pm at Mighty Bar in San Francisco.

Ubergizmo is offering Girls in Tech 50 free tickets for its members.

You can register for free on this page: http://uber10-2009-git.eventbrite.com/
(Please do not forward the link; this is a private event.)

The Uber10 Awards will select the top 10 gadgets under $500… just in time for your holiday shopping. Ubergizmo is one of the leading global gadget and gizmo news and reviews sites.

Thanks to our Platinum Sponsor Dolby and our Gold Sponsor Intel, the Uber10 Awards will have special prizes for attendees. Ramzi Haidamus, Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Dolby Laboratories will briefly present the latest Dolby technology, just before the Uber10 Awards announcement.

Join CEOs, industry pundits, marketing and design gurus and top tier journalists as we toast the best in 2009 consumer electronics. And don’t forget to vote for the People’s Choice Award selected by Ubergizmo readers at www.ubergizmo.com.

November is National Novel Writers Month, NaNoWriMo.

Have you ever thought you had a book in you? NaNoWriMo is a great opportunity to finally bang that project out, although it is no easy task. The object of NaNoWriMo is to sit down and write a 175-page(50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30. Last year NaNoWriMo had over 100,000 participants and over 20,000 completed their novel. If you complete your novel within the time window you win the contest.

Recently FastPencil Co-Founder, Michael Ashley, posted his thoughts on “How to Win Big at NaNoWriMo” and I thought he had a few great points.

When writing a novel at anytime you shouldn’t be afraid to invite friends in to help you review and edit your material. Your friends and family are the people who want to see you succeed and can prove to be extremely helpful in making sure that you get some quality feedback. He also touches on how to avoid procrastination and think about your novel as a “sculpture” a bit hunk of material that over time will be whittled away into what you envision. The key is to just start writing.

What about writers block? I recently read a few great tips from CopyBlogger in “Why Writer’s Block is Your Secret Weapon.” As simple as it sounds they recommend you just take a blank sheet of paper and answer “what am I supposed to be writing now?” Sound simple enough? Then just start scribbling down thoughts, ideas, comments, etc. that relate to that project. That will get you going.

If you have ever thought about writing a book, now might be a great time to get started. I highly recommend taking a look at the two blog posts I mentioned here to give you a few other great ideas. FastPencil.com is a great place to write your book. They will help you by hosting the content (so it never gets lost), they will walk you through formatting and provide you with the tools you need to invite friends in to comment on or help you with your novel. FastPencil also has a marketplace where you can find professional editors, illustrators, graphic designers, etc. if you need them. They will also publish your book for a fraction of the cost of others as well as help you promote it. If you decide to write a novel for NaNoWriMo and complete the task, they will also offer you a copy of your printed book for free.

Happy writing.

Resume Best Practices Workshop

Sponsored by Kosmix: The web organized for you

Have you ever wondered what it is, exactly, about your resume that will turn a recruiter on/off to your potential as a candidate for employment? Find out with Girls in Tech Silicon Valley, on November 19, as we invite a variety of  managers / recruiters to share resume best practices and knowledge around how to make yourself an attractive professional in today’s competitive market.

During the evening, participants will be breaking out into intimate groups to do peer resume reviews while Hiring Professionals provide valuable insight and feedback.

Professionals from the following industries and others will be joining us:

Lizelle Baylon, Principal Recruiter at Boston Scientific (Medical Devices)

Debbie Donovan, Sr. Manager, Practice & Hospital Market Development at Intuitive Surgical (Medical Devices)

Kiran Prasad, CTO at Sliced Simple, Inc. Former Senior Director WebOS Emerging Technologies at Palm (Mobile)

Cindy Wang, Product Manager at Tiny Prints Inc. (Online Retailer)

Stephanie Lonn, Technical Recruiter at Zynga (Social Media / Games)

Isabelle Mitura, Recruiter at Zynga (Social Media / Games)

Spots are first come, first serve. Refreshments and snacks will be provided!

Doors open at 6:45, breakout sessions begin at 7:00pm
$10 in advance (register at Eventbrite)
$15 at the door

Kosmix
444 Castro St
(Entrance on Mercy St)
Mountain View, CA 94041

Wokai’s Bay Area Chapter is looking for a new president to lead their team to the next level in 2010. This is a very rare and great opportunity to make a difference by being an important part of a promising organization. Please review the volunteer job posting here, and help them find (or apply to become!) the next chapter president. This person should be ready to hit the ground running, to become involved in this great work of assisting those in rural China in becoming self-sufficient and profitable in their individual business ventures. To read more about the organization, visit their blog (http://www.wokai.org/news/?cat=153) & also see the kind of events you would help plan and deliver. They will be taking applications until November 16th.

Wokai is a 501c3 non-profit organization that enables Chinese people to lift themselves from poverty. Wokai is Chinese for “I start,” demonstrating their commitment to helping the impoverished help themselves. Through their website, they connect contributors worldwide with entrepreneurs in rural China to help them start small businesses. Based in Oakland, they have chapters in San Francisco, Seattle, and New York. For more info and a video on how Wokai works, click here. Helping others help themselves & doing a world of good!

I should be getting my Mary Lou Retton Halloween costume on right now, but instead, all I can think is — “Wow, I’ve never seen a conference end like that before.” Today marked the 3rd annual Virtual Goods Summit put on by Charles Hudson and David Sachs.  The last panel of the day was on the topic of Payments Infrastructure for Virtual Goods, and Anu Shukla, founder and CEO of Offerpal Media, was an obvious choice for the panel of experts.

Towards the end of the discussion, Charles Hudson, the panel’s moderator, opened up the floor for Q&A.  Michael Arrington of TechCrunch was the first person at the microphone.  He questioned the ethics of offer providers like Offerpal and game publishers like Zynga and accused them of 1.) Knowingly engaging kids who steal their parent’s credit cards to accept offers, 2.) Facilitating scammers who accept offers from Netflix and other advertisers with no real interest or intention to follow-through on the offer, and 3.) Taking advantage of an ecosystem where Facebook and everyone else is going along with the fraud since everyone benefits from it except for the advertiser.

Arrington’s question/accusation splashed water on the faces of the end-of-day crowd, and Anu Shukla jumped at the opportunity to address his points, which she referred to as “shit, double shit and triple shit”.  She stated that 1.) In her two years of managing customer service calls, she had received roughly five complaints from parents whose children accepted offers without their consent and were charged for an offer as a result. 2.) Netflix and other savvy advertisers have been using offer payment systems for years and continue to do so because it has shown to be an acquisition source with high retention rates.  She further stated that advertisers know their metrics better than a journalist would.  And, 3.) Anu defended Facebook and stated that Facebook is all about the user experience, and as recently as July, issued new advertising guidelines to clean up the companies who were clearly taking advantage of the system.

Anu received the biggest and most enthusiastic round of applause I saw in my two days at the event.  And that ladies and gentleman, was the very lively end to VGS09.   This will be a fun one to watch on YouTube when it’s up.