Girls In Tech

Last month it was that time of year again: Panel Picker Voting for the Annual South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) conference in Austin, TX. Sound familiar? Check out fellow GIT blogger Kristine Gloria’s post about it here: http://girlsintech.net/2009/08/31/girls-in-tech-at-sxsw-2010/

Each year the public votes online for which proposed panels should make it through to being accepted for the conference. I submitted a panel proposal, titled “Impact of Women in Technology”. Whether the panel makes it through to the final round and becomes an official SXSWi panel or not, I do want to share some of my thoughts on the subject, as well as hear everyone else’s and get some great discussion going on this.

For all you girls out there, was there a female presence that got you excited about tech? Maybe it was a mother, sister, aunt, or friend. Perhaps someone well respected in technology today, like Social Media Strategist Erica O’Grady, or Ad-Village CEO Marissa Louie for example?

If you do have an example like this, what about them or their journey in the tech world inspired or empowered you to pursue your dreams? How important do you think their roles are as pillars of Women in Technology to the future of Women in Tech? For me, two of those people are Tekzilla Co-Host & Gadget Guru Veronica Belmont, & New media producer and star of “The Guild”, Felicia Day. These two women are strong willed, have shown great initiative in their respective spaces, and have become pioneers and tastemakers in the fields of Journalism & New Media.

How have women influenced and changed the face of technology as we know it? This includes anything even remotely tech related, whether it be Journalism, Gaming, PR, Marketing, Social media, & more. Are there any famous cases of companies or brands that have seen great success due to Women in Technology? What issues as a Girl in Tech have you had to face? What issues have other women who’ve made a major impact in technology had to face on their paths to success? What would you tell younger or newer women entering the tech space to help them overcome these hurdles and encourage growth of the amount of women in the tech field?

Why are women in tech important to you, or the Tech Space in general?
I hope this post serves as some great food for thought, & would love to hear everyone’s thoughts and discussion (preferably in the comments below) about this!

Thanks!

May 13, 2009
7:00 pm	to	9:00 pm

We are very excited about this weeks Girls in Tech – Santa Cruz event. Veronica Belmont will be coming to speak with us about community building, gaming, girls in technology and what she is currently working on. This event will be a very casual “fireside chat” where audience and group participation is encouraged. We are lucky enough to have the event hosted by the lovely people at NextSpace from 7 – 9 PM on Wednesday, May 13th.

In order to be admitted to the event, you must RSVP here: http://gitsantacruz.eventbrite.com/

Veronica (twitter) is the co-host of Revision3’s tech-centric show, Tekzilla, and Qore on the PlayStation Network. Previous to that, she hosted several other online video shows and podcasts, including Mahalo Daily, Buzz Out Loud, MP3 Insider, and Crave. She also created tech video content for CNET TV, including the popular series Prizefight.

Veronica frequently guest hosts other technology-related podcasts, and also speaks about technology, gaming, and social networking. In her spare time, she hosts the science fiction and fantasy-themed podcast / book club The Sword and Laser. She currently resides in San Francisco, with one technology writer and two cats. She attended Emerson College, B.A. in Audio/Radio, focus in New Media studies.

We can’t wait to see you there!

To be honest, when I reached out to Adriana about starting a chapter of Girls in Tech in Santa Cruz I wasn’t sure what kind of a response I was going to get from the local community. I knew we had a huge pool of talent who commutes over the hill into Silicon Valley every day but wondered if people would be interested in taking more time out of their day to “talk shop”.

The response from the community has been overwhelming. In addition to having a hot line-up of speakers for our events, like Sarah Lacy (TechCrunch, BusinessWeek, and Author of ‘Once You’re Lucky, Twice You’re Good‘), Tina Seelig (Executive Director, Stanford Technology Ventures Program and acclaimed Author), Veronica Belmont (Co-host of Revision3’s tech-centric show, Tekzilla, and Qore on the PlayStation Network) and Girls in Tech’s own lovely Adriana Gascoigne, small businesses and organizations around town have been rallying around us to assist the group with promotion or even venues for our events.

NextSpace, has offered to host our event with Sarah Lacy on April 9th as well as the event with Veronica Belmont on May 13th. NextSpace is an entrepreneurial catalyst located in Santa Cruz, CA. They have a mission to catalyze local talent, local ideas, and local capital to create products, services, and solutions for the global marketplace. They have been such a help in event planning and promoting the cause here in Santa Cruz! If you are working locally and are interested in finding a place to work rather then your second bedroom, check them out.

Bookshop Santa Cruz has also offered to help us organize book signings and has partnered with our local chapter to promote their events as well as ours. Bookshop is the group behind bringing Tina Seelig to Santa Cruz and we are really excited to be working with them on ‘An Evening with Tina Seelig‘ for April 29th as well as additional events in the future

The Santa Cruz Chapter of Girls in Tech has grown to almost 40 members in about a month and I look forward to seeing how high we can take this organization in our community and in the global community of women in tech.

Cheers, Girls!

Guest blogger: Tommy Jenkins

Tommy Jenkins is an associate with a New York investment firm where she is responsible for investment analysis and management. Her passion for technology there has further lead her to become an avid programmer. She is currently working on bringing her enthusiasm for information theory, communication and charity to the web. Her areas of experience include marketing communications, visual design, natural health, and nutritional writing.

Tommy is Manager, Biz Dev & Strategic Partnerships for Girls in Tech NYC.

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“Who am I?”

In Unlocking the Clubhouse,  Jane Margolis and Allan Fisher point to secondary school as the juncture where women seek to define themselves with this important question and assert that, in this quest, many women are deterred from computing. Yet to many women entrepreneurs and members of the changing and vibrant New York tech community, the experience seems somewhat different.  Here, innovation and reinvention become synonymous with self.  Girls in Tech in New York aims to capture that spirit and help to awaken it through community.

In a study of women entrepreneurs using relational theory (the conceptual framework of relationships), NYU Stern grant recipient E. Holly Buttner notes that levels of entrepreneurship among women are increasing: as a group, they now employ more of the workforce than all Fortune 500 companies put together.

Buttner saw an opportunity to study women management and client-interaction models, and showed that women tend to be more interactive and focused on connectedness.  She concludes that women leaders can strike a new balance between social benefits (ethics) and economic gain.  I am reminded of In Good Company,  a Flatiron business helping to revolutionize our relationships within the workplace environment, putting itself on the increasingly populated map of coworking sites in New York City.  Social technologies and trends parallel women who are social, business-oriented, and technical.

As the economy forces us to redefine our selves and our relationships to one another, so too does the prevalence of the internet and our interconnectedness. Mike Masnick argues that no longer is there scarcity (defined by infinite need and finite resources) in the internet-driven economies, and that, even with market abundance, the economy can thrive.

Politically and economically, access to abundant resources means mastering the art of forging and organizing new relationships to capitalize on accessibility (whether with regard to information or capital).  It becomes the art of inclusion.  This revolution in perspective–constant access, abundance of information, and transparent public relationship–opens doors for women…and women are well-equipped to lead the effort to build our renewed economy.

Steven Weber (The Success of Open Source) writes:

“the production, flow, and control of information are core defining features of a community, economy, and society….The role of technology and organization is simply to liberate that creativity (like poetry).”(sic)

Women understand that interactivity, social ethics, and relationships are here to enable us to connect, and to do so effectively. Women influence 80% of purchasing power, and typically increase their workforce numbers during recessions.

How do we:

• Preserve innovation and invention?
• Market to and value women in the marketplace?
• Help drive and build market recovery as entrepreneurs?
• Increase the presence of girls in technology?
• Create strong and lasting connections?

Get involved and connect.

Through my work with Girls in Tech NYC, I feel privileged to benefit from the passion and drive of the many talented women who want to help to build our local community chapter in the same way.  Not the least of these are Girls in Tech NYC’s Amy Cham, Open Source community champion and builder, and Janine Just, Avid Group leader and innovator and co-community-catalyst with NextWeb . I’m further looking forward to exploring the fascinating subsection of the vibrant NYC community that will participate in April’s New York City Entrepreneur Week.

More soon on these guiding lights and partners in the New York community!

Now, your story:

How do you show your spirit in business, technology or in connecting with others? What part will you play in building communities? How do you include others and promote interactivity? How can you, we, or all of us help?

Comment here, or send feedback to tommy@tamikojenkins.com if you prefer to remain anonymous!

Information on the Girls in Tech NYC Relaunch Launch Party: the details and the RSVP!

“Who am I?”
In Unlocking the Clubhouse, Jane Margolis and Allan Fisher point to secondary school as the junction where women seek to define themselves with this important question and assert that, in this quest, many women are deterred from computing. Yet to many women entrepreneurs and members of the changing and vibrant New York tech community, the experience seems somewhat different. Here, innovation and reinvention become synonymous with self. Girls in Tech in New York aims to capture that spirit and help to awaken it through community.

In a study of women entrepreneurs using relational theory (the conceptual framework of relationships), NYU Stern grant recipient E. Holly Buttner notes that levels of entrepreneurship among women are increasing: as a group, they now employ more of the workforce than all Fortune 500 companies put together.

Buttner saw an opportunity to study women management and client-interaction models, and showed that women tend to be more interactive and focused on connectedness.  She concludes that women leaders can strike a new balance between social benefits (ethics) and economic gain.  I am reminded of In Good Company,  a Flatiron business helping to revolutionize our relationships within the workplace environment, putting itself on the increasingly populated map of coworking sites in New York City.  Social technologies and trends parallel women who are social, business-oriented, and technical.

As the economy forces us to redefine our selves and our relationships to one another, so too does the prevalence of the internet and our interconnectedness. Mike Masnick argues that no longer is there scarcity (defined by infinite need and finite resources) in the internet-driven economies, and that, even with market abundance, the economy can thrive.

Politically and economically, access to abundant resources means mastering the art of forging and organizing new relationships to capitalize on accessibility (whether with regard to information or capital).  It becomes the art of inclusion.  This revolution in perspective–constant access, abundance of information, and transparent public relationship–opens doors for women…and women are well-equipped to lead the effort to build our renewed economy.

Steven Weber (The Success of Open Source) writes:

“the production, flow, and control of information are core defining features of a community, economy, and society….The role of technology and organization is simply to liberate that creativity (like poetry).”(sic)

Women understand that interactivity, social ethics, and relationships are here to enable us to connect, and to do so effectively. Women influence 80% of purchasing power, andtypically increase their workforce numbers during recessions.

How do we:

• Preserve innovation and invention?
• Market to and value women in the marketplace?
• Help drive and build market recovery as entrepreneurs?
• Increase the presence of girls in technology?
• Create strong and lasting connections?

Get involved and connect.

Through my work with Girls in Tech NYC, I feel privileged to benefit from the passion and drive of the many talented women who want to help to build our local community chapter in the same way.  Not the least of these are Girls in Tech NYC’s Amy Cham, Open Source community champion and builder, and Janine Just, Avid Group leader and innovator and co-community-catalyst with NextWeb . I’m further looking forward to exploring the fascinating subsection of the vibrant NYC community that will participate in April’s New York City Entrepreneur Week.

More soon on these guiding lights and partners in the New York community!

Your story:

How do you show your spirit in business, technology or in connecting with others? What part will you play in building communities? How do you include others and promote interactivity? How can you, we, or all of us help?

Comment here, or send feedback to tommy@tamikojenkins.com if you prefer to remain anonymous!