Girls In Tech

One of the most cutting-edge social businesses, The Extraordinaries, is searching for the perfect lead engineer. If you’re interested, you can find more information about this amazing opportunity below:

Be extra-extraordinary and join The Extraordinaries team!

HELP LAUNCH The Extraordinaries (VOLUNTEER)

We’re looking for folks to help us take The Extraordinaries to market on a volunteer basis.  If you”re excited about what we’re doing and have at least 5 hours a week to join our launch team, click here to tell us more about yourself: http://volunteer.BeExtra.org

HELP BUILD The Extraordinaries (PAID)

The positions below are paid positions and are based in San Francisco, CA.  If you don’t see a fit for your skills, you can still be extra-extraordinary by sharing this page with friends who you think might be a fit (short URL: http://bit.ly/3sLC0).

For all inquiries please email “hiring [at] beextra [dot] org” with a cover letter, resume and links to any relevant profiles (LinkedIn, etc.).  We very much look forward to hearing from you!

Wanted: Inspired Lead Engineer

As the Lead Engineer you will lead the effort to architect, develop, deploy, test, and monitor a cost-effective and sustainable platform for micro-volunteerism (no pressure . Strong organizational skills, incredible technical expertise, and ridiculous attention to detail are key in this mission critical role. The Extraordinaries is transforming the way people engage causes and organizations they support, and we’re looking for an Inspired Lead Engineer who wants to help build a platform for massive social good.

Please join us for this event featuring prominent bay area entrepreneurs and lawyers for a panel discussion on legal strategy for entrepreneurs. We’re bringing together lawyers from the internationally respected law firm, Orrick, Herrington & Suttcliffe, with extensive experience assisting start-up clients at all stages, and founders and CEOs of start-up success stories Slideshare, BlogHer, Five Across and Girl Ambition. Please visit our events page for the full bios, event details and ticket purchases. http://gitgetslegal.eventbrite.com/

Beverages and hors d’overs will be served during network and arrival time from 6:00 – 6:30 PM. The panel discussion will begin promptly at 6:30pm. To RSVP, please click on the following EventBrite link: http://gitgetslegal.eventbrite.com/

We look forward to seeing you there!

I know I’m preaching to the choir when I talk about the wonders of technology. Gadgets, social networks, search engines, software, mobile innovation.. hell—even the remote control on my air conditioner. It’s these technologies we turn to in order to save time and make things quicker and easier. But ironically, it’s the time we save using technology to do more and more. We have gotten so good at multitasking that our lives are becoming more hectic than ever. And the “we” I’m talking about is women.

Where am I going with this? Kim Wroble and Lorian Williams-Willis of Advocate Christ Medical Center in Chicago paint a great picture:

“You are the last to bed at night and the first one up in the morning. You are a mom, wife, sister, friend, playmate, student, cheerleader, career woman, organizer, vacation planner, finance manager … the list goes on and on. While managing all these different roles, who cares for you?”

Economy notwithstanding, it’s important that we stay in tune with our pace to make sure we’re not overextended. We’ve gotten so used to this “make it happen” mentality that we often push our own emotional and mental boundaries to get things done. There are many more incredible technologies awaiting innovation, and as they become available, there will be new chances for us to squeeze more into our schedules. So, let’s keep the mental breakdowns to a minimum, shall we?

Here are my 5 essential rules to abide by in putting yourself first:

1. Check in with your doc. Do NOT cross this item off the list. Routine visits can help detect changes and problems early on. With all the stress we cause ourselves, it’s important to make sure our bodies are keeping up.
2. Exercise. This goes without saying, but not only does exercise help your overall physical health, it gives you 30 minutes or more of “me time”. Many people use this time to brainstorm for their next project or to go over the mental To Do list. I encourage you to zone out. Think of nothing, listen to your favorite music, focus on your breathing.
3. Let someone else make the decisions. If you’re in a powerful position at work, this a great way to let an up-and-comer show their stuff. At home, ask your roommate, spouse or friend make dinner for you – whatever they feel like cooking. During this time when you’re not cooking or working on a project, don’t add something to your list. Enjoy doing less.
4. Do one thing at a time. This has less to do with putting yourself first and more to do with having peace of mind. I have a tough time focusing – Firefox tabs alone could cause me great anxiety – but on those few days when I’m not giving in to every distraction, I get lots done. Having many items crossed off my list makes me feel accomplished and productive.
5. Ditch the guilt. No one should make you feel bad about making time for yourself. If you don’t want to watch your sister’s kids, don’t. If you didn’t go to last week’s Tweet Up, your network will not turn their backs on you. If you make the time to put you first, you might be surprised to realize that the world doesn’t end.

So, what are you doing for yourself these days?

As many of you already know, Girls in Tech has partnered with YouNoodle to enable all Girls in Tech members to communicate, collaborate and connect with each other.

A cutting edge and iterative technology, YouNoodle is the perfect social network for Girls in Tech members because it supports innovation and entrepreneurship – the fulcrum of the organization.

Following is a little more detail on how the YouNoodle technology works. Sign up for the Girls in Tech YouNoodle social network, by clicking on the following link:

Join the Girls in Tech YouNoodle network by clicking here!

YouNoodle develops innovative ways to bring together the information, people and technology that help startups succeed.

We provide a platform for so far 50 of the world’s top university entrepreneurship clubs and competitions, serving tens of thousands of members and thousands of startups. Our tools help to effectively manage business competitions, events, mailing lists and community development. If you run a group and would like to join the platform apply and we’ll get in touch.

Startup Predictor is the first in a series of decision-making tools YouNoodle plans to introduce for the startup industry. Our development team studied thousands of current and past startups, using both publicly available and proprietary data, to determine patterns of predictive factors for early-stage companies’ success. You can try the test for free.

Let’s face it. One look at Gary’s Guide and it’s pretty clear even in the summer time people can get “evented out”.   Never fear, I have compiled a list of the most valuable event marketing sites on the web that can help you break through the clutter, create buzz and drive ticket sales.

5) Bernardo’s List - The bi-coastal list of  who’s who in venture, media, and business.   What started out as an email to friends grew in both reach and influence.  Looking for the right exposure for your next event?   Bernardo offers free posting on his site and cost-effective ad sponsorship in his newsletter, all for the cost of 1 ticket, with the minimum being $25  and a ceiling price of $100.  Of course, Bernardo has a soft spot for start-ups and like many, lives and breathes by  word of mouth marketing.  If you have a large event but can’t afford paid exposure, he is  willing to negotiate if you ask nicely.

4)  Mashable – Yes, this one should be a no-brainer.  I don’t think we need to number crunch how many visitors trail their Event Guide every day looking to get the inside scoop on conferences, workshops and festivals happening globally.  Tamar Weinberg is the go to gal for ensuring that your event gets listed.  A couple of important tips:  1) be sure to give at least 2 weeks notice 2) if the tickets are priced at more than $75, expect to offer a “Mashable reader” discount.

3) Eventlet -  It’s Gary’s Guide 2.0.  This site, which launched a few months ago, integrates your event with several social media and micro-blogging platforms.  The option to sign up using your Twitter account makes it one less username and password to have to remember.  The site is very intuitive, easy to upload free events and targets the tech and digerati crowd.

2) Happn.in - Another newly launched site, this one focuses solely on the hot micro-blogging sphere.  The site essentially tracks what people are talking about, by city.  With over 185,000 followers, that’s a lot of chatter!  Advertise your event through a “sponsorship” - for a small fee and you can advertise an event that will get tweeted to all the followers of  the city of your choice, once per day.  Did I mention Jay Boice, founder of this hot site is also test friendly?   Yes.  This dynamic site  great exposure to people who are specifically looking to find out what is “happn.in” in their city.

1) Good old-fashioned email – Never underestimate it’s power.  Dedicated emails about an upcoming event are a sure fire way to conversion.   Your audience has opted-in and poised to hear about the latest events.  One smart acquisition strategy is to run a “refer a friend” promotion that encourages them to sign up and then be eligible for the companion discount.

Cheers to your next successful event!

We are gearing up for tonight’s ‘The Road to Development: Women Leading the Charge‘ panel and in addition the Santa Cruz Chapter of Girls in Tech is excited to announce our August event:

New Media: Who is Today’s Modern Woman?

Please join us in welcoming a few of the women who are shaping the way we are seen in the media today.

This event will be a panel on how new media is painting the modern woman. The panel will be a great opportunity to share experiences and inform others of what it’s like being a female in the new media world.

Speakers for this months event include:

*Eileen Rivera, Revision 3

*Neha Tiwari, Neha Tiwari Pvt. Ltd. & Rad on the Web

*Irina Slutsky, Geek Entertainment TV

*Sarah Austin, Pop17

*Kirsten Sanford, TWIS – This Week in Science

Mary Duan, Reporter for the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal, will be moderating the panel.

The event will be held on Friday, August 28th from 7 – 9 PM at NextSpace.

Please RSVP here: http://git.eventbrite.com

Chicks Who Click, a conference and networking event for women engaging in social media, is headed to Palo Alto touting an all-star line up of power women in technology.

Chicks Who Click is a community of like-minded women using social media to further collaborate, listen, learn and experiment with new media tools that will enhance their careers and personal networks. Conferences have sold out in Kansas City and Boulder, Colo., and became International last month with its expansion to Vancouver, BC.

The one-day conference will take place Saturday, August 22, at The Garden Court Hotel, 522 Cowper Street. In addition, conference registration will also include a Friday night mini seminar, by Alyssa Rapp, CEO of Bottlenotes and a wine tasting at Joya Restaurant and a Saturday evening cocktail party.

“Chicks Who Click creates an opportunity for women to learn and collaborate in social media whether you’re just getting your toes in the water or run your own startup,” said Denise Smith, Chicks Who Click conference director.

Palo Alto’s kickoff speaker is Adriana Gascoigne, founder of Girls in Tech, an organization focused on touting women’s achievements in tech and beyond. She will be speaking on “Where are the Women in Tech?” In addition to Gascoigne, Chicks Who Click is proud to present, Brittany Bohnet, Google; Meagan Marks, Facebook; Harry McCracken, Technologizer; Rick Bakas, St Supery Winery; Beth Blecherman, Silicon Valley Mom’s Blog; Mindy Roberts, The Mommy Blog; Stacy DeBroff, MomCentral; Emily Olsen, Foodzie; Suzanne Xie, Weardrobe, and Tara Anderson, Lijit. One of the goals of each of these conferences is to highlight local speakers along with national speakers.

Event sponsors include, Metzger Associates, Lijit and Crocs. With a special thanks to media sponsors, Mashable and Girls in Tech.

The price for the entire conference weekend including all networking events and the Saturday evening cocktail party is $220, by Aug 7. Registration information may be found at
http://www.chickswhoclick.net or by calling 720.833.5923.

The Journalism 2.0 roundtable is a first-of-its-kind event for Girls in Tech, allowing our members and other attendees to learn about the ever-evolving world of journalism. Esteemed female voices in San Francisco’s tech journalism community will be lead in a discussion by The Wall Street Journal’s Kara Swisher on topicslike how blogging has changed the face of journalism; how “citizen journalism” is impacting traditional journalism; the positive and negative impact of being a woman in the male-dominated world of tech and more.
Panelists include former SF Chronicle Tech Editor Deborah Gage, ZdNet’s Jennifer Leggio, Ubergizmo Editor Eliane Fiolet and VentureBeat’s Camille Ricketts.

Sponsored by Future Works PR, beverages and hors d’overs will be served during network and arrival time from 6:30 – 7:00 PM. The panel discussion will begin promptly at 7:00pm. To RSVP, please click on the following EventBrite link: http://girlsintechjournalism2roundtable.eventbrite.com/

http://greensoftwareunconference.eventbrite.com/

I am very excited to announce the upcoming Green Software Unconference taking place in  the Silicon Valley/Mountain View on Aug 19th! This topic is close to my heart, given that while I got my masters in environmental management, I spent the subsequent years trying to figure out how best I could combine that with my chosen area of work, namely software.

A January Fast Company article states: “The green economy needs a cadre of specialized software developers and engineers who design, build, and maintain the networks of sensors and stochastic modeling that underpin wind farms, smart energy grids, congestion pricing and other systems substituting intelligence for natural resources. Coders with experience using large scale enterprise resource planning have an edge here, as well as developers familiar with open source and web 2.0 applications.”
Software examples include:
1. IBM – sensors & software to manage H2O
2. Lil Green Patch FB App saved 96,124,167 Sq ft of Rainforest so far
3. Go Green Mobile Carbon Tracking
4. Bon Appetit Management Co’s Low Carbon Diet Website
5. Clear Standards (SAP) Carbon Accounting Software
6. Numerous Green Blogs/Websites/Social Media/Virtual Communities

This is your chance to truly make a difference. Attend and be in the company of technologists, businesspeople, entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists collaborating and innovating for the environment and their businesses. The best part is A TREE will be planted for Early Bird Registrants, and you have the opportunity to lead a session on the topic of your choice.
Girls in Tech receives a 10% discount using this discount code: girlsintech @ http://greensoftwareunconference.eventbrite.com/
Companies wishing to Sponsor the Green Software Unconference can email: greensoftwareunconference@gmail.com

Register Now at http://greensoftwareunconference.eventbrite.com/:
**We’ll plant a tree for each Early Bird registrant via MokuGift, a United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) Partner. Thank you to Eventbrite for helping to Sponsor this.

Early Registration by July 31 – $100 (50% Discount)
By August 10 – $150
After August 10 – $200
**Limited number of seats available so sign up today!**

Facebook and Twitter:
Join Facebook LinkedIn and Twitter, and you’ll receive up-to-the-minute information about the Green Software Unconference!

August 19, 2009 Agenda:
8:30am – Breakfast and Registration
9:00am – Welcome and Introductions
9:45am – Unconference Session Proposals
10:30am – 11:15 – Session One
11:30-12:30 – Lunch
1:00 – 1:45 – Session Two
2:00 – 2:45 – Session Three
3:00 – 3:45 – Session Four
4:00 – 4:45 – Summary
4:45 – 5:45 – Happy Hour Networking and Raffle

Carol Smith is the SVP and Chief Brand Officer for the Elle Group, which puts her in the perfect position to preach from that coveted corner office. In this article from today’s New York Times, she offers up tips on everything from time management to talking in public. She also shares some proverbial pearls of wisdom culled from her long career as a powerful media professional, including why she thinks women really do make better managers. It’s a fascinating article, and definitely worth a click and a couple of minutes of your time. In the meantime, here are a few choice tidbits to whet your appetite.

“In my experience, female bosses tend to be better managers, better advisers, mentors, rational thinkers. Men love to hear themselves talk. I’m so generalizing. I know I am. But in a couple of places I’ve worked, I would often say, “Call me 15 minutes after the meeting starts and then I’ll come,” because I will have missed all the football. I will have missed all the “what I did on the golf course.” I will miss the four jokes, and I can get into the meeting when it’s starting. Men also, they’re definitely better on the “whatever” side. Things tend to roll off their back. We women take things very personally. We’re constantly playing things over in our head — “What did that mean when they said that?” — when they mean nothing. And I’m certainly not immune to this. So there’s a downside to women.”

“I failed a few times. I failed to get into the college of my choice. I failed to get into law school. And they were big failures for me, but I found the more I worked, the better I did, without ever having a goal. I didn’t have a goal. I wanted to be a lawyer and I didn’t get to be a lawyer, but all of a sudden I woke up one day and I was in publishing, and I knew what I was doing.

As I look back, I think that sometimes you can’t have the five-year plan for yourself. If you’re doing something well, you tend to keep doing it. That’s how you fall into careers.”