Girls In Tech

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!

Tags: community, Events, networking, santa cruz, women
Posted in santa cruz | No Comments »

Ah, Spring Break. To a good majority of the college crowd, this means vacations, sun, and a much needed break from school. To Girls in Tech, Spring Break is the start of something new, as we begin to launch GIT university chapters among West Coast universities, with plans to spread the word about GIT U across colleges nationwide by the Fall 2010 semester.

Recent statistics show that women are looking to other professions or are leaving the technology field at twice the rate of men. Additionally, women lead only 5 to 6 percent of major high-tech companies in Silicon Valley. Well, those of us at Girls in Tech want those statistics to change and we are not the only ones. We have met plenty of young women at colleges and universities with a passion for tech and a hunger for advice on how to get into the technology field.

As we begin to set up Girls in Tech University programs at local colleges, we ultimately have the tech-savvy student in mind. So, potential GIT U members, what do you value most from participating in student-affiliated groups? Ultimately, it’s what you care about that will help shape local GIT university chapters, so we’re eager to hear your thoughts.

As always, be sure to drop us a note if you have a specific school in mind.

So…Vote! Click on the link below to add your insight on how GIT U can help you get involved in technology.

Girls in Tech University: What Matters Most To You?
( online polls)

Tags: "mandy kakavas", Girls in Tech University, Local Chapters, Spring Break
Posted in All Chapters, San Francisco | 1 Comment »

Last Tuesday night, Lir was the HOT place to be for the official launch of the GirlsInTech Boston Chapter. We took over the upstairs level of Lir and our wonderful hosts ensured that we had drinks in hand and food nearby as the room filled with female professionals from a variety of technology backgrounds.

Our fabulous sponsor at Qtask.com stood out as one of the five men in a sea of women, but received a gracious public thank you from our Chapter Managing Director, Kate Brodock, as she teetered on a makeshift stage/chair to make the welcome speeches. Microsoft and other regional donors was kind enough to contribute some prizes for our raffle and several guests walked away with video games, software, wine-tasting tickets, and even a t shirt!

The rest of the Boston Chapter board members were on hand to meet and greet guests, weaving through the crowd and joining conversations here an there. We were overwhelmed by the encouraging feedback and support that party attendees provided! It seems that many women felt that this type of social network organization was exactly what was missing in Boston. The most popular question was “When is the next event?” The answer to that is: soon!

The Boston Chapter of GirlsInTech is pulling together our upcoming list of events and will be updating members shortly with educational seminars, networking events, and meet ups in the coming weeks, so stay tuned! If you didn’t make the party, then join us on Facebook to get updates and learn more about us. We want to make this valuable for all our members, so feel free to share your feedback and tell us what you want to see in the future.

Thank you to all who attended! No doubt pictures will be circulating in the coming days/weeks from our friendly photographers who snapped pics all night long.

Tags: Boston, girlsintech, launch, party
Posted in Boston | 2 Comments »

We’re really excited that Couture Cult was able to get some AMAZING coverage of the Girls in Tech Social Fashion and Beauty Summit this past week. Here is the video and link. Check it out!

When I heard about the Girls In Tech Social Fashion & Beauty Summit, I thought this would be the perfect event for me to get started on the long promised video content! I was excited to attend this event because there are a lot of big changes coming to Couture Cult, and I am also going to be launching my new venture, a social networking site, within the next month or two… and this offered up a little bit of so many of the things I love: fashion and beauty, tech, networking, and delicious pink colored vodka drinks! I got a lot of helpful information, not only from the formal discussion, but from the chatter during the cocktail party after. The best deals and friendships are made over drinks. It was wonderful to be surrounded by empowered, intelligent, stylish, with-it women who all share a passion for both fashion and business. I met some wonderful ladies and made some inspiring connections and I will be sure to attend the next GIT event that comes to Los Angeles.

Tags: 1928 Jewelry, 9 Group, Cat Cosmetics, Closet Couture, Couture Cult, girls in tech, Los Angeles, Megsmakeup.com, Robyn Cohen, Social Beauty, Social Fashion
Posted in Los Angeles | No Comments »

Even in today’s not-so-hot economy, I love shopping online. And it has only gotten better in the last year or so. With the convergence of sound design, video, interactivity, and 3D animation, some brands have really created some amazing e-commerce sites. 

Here are some of my favorites…

1. This site recently launched for Hoop emulates a real-life shopping experience where you see an article of clothing on the rack, drag it over to your want pile, and keep on shopping. See screenshot and go to play. 

2. I absolutely adore this site for Loopt. It’s one of the best out there because it’s so very clever. Each person is wearing a t-shirt, does a little dance, and represents a beat in a sound loop. While watching you will see their entire catalog of t-shirts.   Explore the loops or make your own. 

3. This is another fun one, check out Beams. I love being able to see the full catalog in one view. There’s a real sense of exploration and discovery designed in a very new and fun interactive way.

4. The sound design on this e-commerce site for Holden is beautiful. I love the emotional energy between the people, sounds, colors, and fabric. Be sure to check out a video or two. The videos really allow the user to examine the quality and detail of the products. In all, I think this site is a great example on how to connect with people on a deeper level online. Go! 

Tags: e-commerce, experience, flash, shopping
Posted in Los Angeles | 1 Comment »

You Should be at BlogHer ’09!
Thursday July 23, 2009, Sheraton Hotel & Towers, Chicago, IL.

Now in its third year, the BlogHer Business Conference is an annual crash course on best practices for reaching the most influential and powerful consumers, women online. The social media world is nothing if not rapidly evolving, so BlogHer Business is designed to get you up to speed on the latest techniques, tactics, tools and trends.

They’ve taken in the feedback from past BlogHer Business participants and this year decided that one of the best ways to provide immersion in the Blogosphere is to hold the event immediately before their annual conference, allowing attendees who choose to register for that event as well as the Business event the best opportunity to experience and network with the bloggers.

BlogHer Business attendees will join a mix of social media experts, business bloggers, and brand marketers who have experience building campaigns and working in social media environments. As always, they are capping attendance to provide the kind of intimate and interactive environment that has proven to be fertile ground for deal-making and innovative brainstorming.

On the agenda:

*Review of the State of the Blogosphere 2009: BlogHer will deep dive into the results of its latest commissioned benchmark study, focusing on the motivations, influence and shifts in media usage among women online, extracting insights and identifying trends since the previous year’s inaugural study was published.

*Five case study panels, featuring detailed accounts of top brands who have engaged social media audiences. BlogHer Business is unique because they present case studies that look at social media campaigns from a 360 perspective, including the insights of the companies, agencies and targeted bloggers involved!

*Networking breaks and end-of-day cocktail party, where attendees may connect with BlogHer Contributing Editors and speakers at BlogHer ’09, representing the most influential women bloggers out there.

Please be sure to use the following URL to link to registration: http://blogher09-GirlsInTech.eventbrite.com.

Tags: Bloggers, Blogher, Chicago, girls in tech, Moms, technology, women in tech
Posted in All Chapters | 1 Comment »

Please join Astia’s Doing it Right Program
New York City – April 20-22, 2009

Doing it Right is a program where exceptional entrepreneurs enhance their company’s ability to attract funding and cultivate invaluable resources. Through candid discussions led by local investors and seasoned entrepreneurs, it will increase participants’ understanding of the current state of venture capital and angel investment.

Entrepreneurs will gain important skills and insight when Doing it Right – developing an effective fundraising strategy, negotiating savvy term sheets, navigating the due diligence process, and leading a successful company. it is current, fresh and relevant.

All entrepreneurs in a high growth market looking to raise capital should attend!

Dates & Location
April 6: Application Deadline
April 20-22: Doing it Right NYC Program**
April 23: NYC Company Screening Day
June 4: NYC Investor Forum

Cooley Godward Kronish LLP | 1114 Ave of the Americas #45 | New York, NY 10036

**Single day passes are available. Attendance on all three days is mandatory for access to the NYC Company Screening on April 23rd and presentation at the NYC Investor Forum on June 4th

Attend the Program
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR A ONE-DAY PROGRAM PASS!
- $200 Day-Only Passes ($175 for Girls In Tech Members)

CLICK HERE TO APPLY NOW! — Deadline April 6th
- $125 Application Fee
- $1,200 Participation Fee per company (3 days + NYC Company Screening Day + 1yr relationship to Astia)
- Shares in consideration of services if selected to present

For further information on qualification criteria, pricing & benefits, please click here

Useful Links
Apply to the Program
Program Overview
Program Details & Schedule
Qualification Criteria

About Astia
Astia is a community of experts committed to building women leaders and accelerating the funding and growth of high-potential, high growth, women-led startups. Astia is a 501c3 nonprofit corporation. For more information visit our Homepage, or contact jen@astia.org.

Tags: ASTIA, girls in tech
Posted in All Chapters | No Comments »

The AP reported this week that Hillary Clinton and the US Department of State are embracing new media to spread the word about American foreign policy and help restore Washington’s image.

Its refreshing to see that the State is experimenting with social media to help carry out their mission of creating a more secure, democratic, and prosperous world for Americans and the international community.  We saw this work successfully for Obama during the campaign and it will be exciting to see how “Government 2.0″ progresses in the coming years.

Here are some of the changes Hillary’s team took since taking office:

• They have revamped the department’s Web site (http://www.state.gov) and the Gi blog (http://blogs.state.gov and http://twitter.com/dipnote) with a fresh array of features, graphics and colorful posts.

• Users can track her foreign travel on an interactive map (http://www.state.gov/secretary/trvl/map/?trip–id5)

• They can keep up virtually with her every move through Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/user/statevideo).

• They can pose questions through an “ask-the-secretary” column (http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/ask/secretary/117297.htm) that recently was revised to “text the secretary.” (http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/ask/secretary/120236.htm)

According to the article, Hillary’s staff says they also plan to venture further into the realm of social networking, an animated online world called Second Life, and cell phone technology.

Having moved to the Silicon Valley area in 2007, just as Twitter was emerging and Facebook opened up registration to non-college students, it’s been very interesting to see the progression of these tools to mainstream. Its essentially history in the making and we’re all watching it happen.

Tags: "Lucia Giacomantonio", Dipnote, facebook, Flickr, girls in tech, Hillary Clinton, social media, twitter, youtube
Posted in All Chapters | No Comments »

So, I’m not a mom… but as I was doing some research to find something cool to write about for my first blog post on green innovation, I came across the website for the Greener Gadgets Conference.  Every year 50 green gadgets go at it in a head to head design competition.  This year, of the four finalists, there was one that really caught my eye…  The Power Hog!

With everything that is going on in the environment and the huge push towards a greener lifestyle, it’s important to try any way we can to instill greener values in kids today.  The Power Hog helps to do just that.

This is a piggy bank that teaches children about conservation and how to respect energy cost.  The tail plugs into an outlet and you can plug any device into the snout (phone, television, ipod, etc).  When children deposit coins into the hog, they get 30 minutes of usage.  This is a great way to teach children an important lesson about being responsible both fiscally and environmentally while also monitoring the amount of time they spend in front of a television per say.  After the child inserts the coin into the hog, the dollar signs on either side turn green when power is available.  They turn red when time is running out.  The Power Hog is also made of all recycled materials and is itself recyclable.

I think this invention is genious.  As we all are so concerned for the environment, I think we sometimes forget about how we are going to teach our kids to be more responsible.  This seems to kill 2 birds with one stone.  Since this is a womens’ networking group geared towards technology, I thought I’d write about something interesting and fun for the moms out there!

If you’d like some more information on this Inhabitot or others, go to: http://www.inhabitots.com/2009/02/11/power-hog-piggy-power-monitor-teaches-conservation/.

Posted in Boston | No Comments »

In January, the White House brought the hammer down on salary discrimination – the first law signed by our new president provides workers greater latitude to sue their employers for unequal pay. While the Lilly Ledbetter Law is a step in the right direction, the sad fact is that women still have their back up against the glass ceiling, making 75.3 cents for every dollar their male counterparts earn (US Census Bureau 2003). The new law doesn’t prevent employers from continuing the unequal pay practice, it just makes it easier for those who have been unfairly paid to seek recourse IF they can prove they did not make the same wages as coworkers in the same position with the same responsibilities. Not an easy feat when company salaries are kept hidden under lock and key.

While technology certainly operates differently than most industries, it is, unfortunately, not exempt – a recent survey by Dice.com found that women are paid 12 percent less than male counterparts. The survey also noted that these same women held lower ranking titles and had less education and experience than men. But, let’s face it, the technology field can be a hard nut to crack when you prefer skirts to khakis, and fewer women are seeking employment in the field for a myriad of reasons, pay notwithstanding.

However, President Obama’s signing the law does seem to underscore what we females have been sensing for some time – that 2009 is going to be a big year for women in all industries and especially in technology. The appointment of Carol Bartz set the tone early on, and the talk at conferences and seminars is that women from all sectors are poised to make a big impact within the tech workforce. And not just within established companies or Internet giants like Google and Yahoo, we have experienced the excitement from women working at small start-ups and looking to launch their own businesses – even with the recession, females are excited for what the future holds for them in the field. One woman at a recent Girls in Tech Mixer put it this way, “My bosses and colleagues have always said that gender didn’t matter, but I never felt completely like a real part of the team until I went above and beyond to prove my worth. Now I feel like the gap is closing to the point where the lip service is a reality: gender doesn’t matter.”

Not every woman has experienced gender discrimination in the workplace and not every woman has felt the need to prove they have what it takes to code side-by-side with their male co-workers, but gender inequality is not exclusive to salaries – women are frequently treated differently by male co-workers and supervisors which can affect team building and productivity. Women and men emote, intake and exchange information differently, so working in an industry where men outnumber women almost 5 to 1 can be somewhat daunting for females. This can affect overall output for a company or create unnecessary competition between women in an industry where they feel they are vying for the one “girl” spot.

Many women I talk to relate the same experiences of not being understood by their male counterparts or that their ideas are diminished or devalued. Case in point — at a recent industry event, I was speaking with a woman who was in the process of launching her own company in the Web 2.0 space. This woman has years of diversified experience in product, marketing and development but couldn’t get through a VC meeting without smirking glares, non-verbal indifference to her pitch and inappropriate questions from the other of the table. She came prepared to the meeting with a well thought-out business plan, a real revenue model and an eagerness to get started and received a lethargic response to her monetary request and a high level of doubt from her male counterparts in tech in return.

There are a lot of reasons behind the gender divide in technology, and we women shoulder part of this blame. One of the major reasons is that we don’t provide enough encouragement to young women who are interested in science and math careers to pursue their dreams. This goes back to the inherent differences in men and women – especially in fields where there are not as many prominent role models, young women need to feel empowered and encouraged that their interests will prove fruitful down the road. We need to provide a strong support system for everyone interested in technology, but specifically young women as empowering and mentoring them will positively impact their long-term careers as well as the industry as a whole. A little encouragement goes a long way, and I do believe that in 2009 and beyond, the number of women in technology will increase accordingly.

We still have strides to make to really set an even playing field for men and women in all industries, but having the Equal Pay Act as the first law signed by Obama and his historic administration truly underscores the feeling of the “Year of the Woman” for me. The optimism in the air is palpable, and I am truly looking forward to an exciting year where women continue to increase their exposure to and status within the technology industry.

Tags: Equality, Equality in the Workplace, girls in tech, Lilly Ledbetter, Mel Bolton, President Obama, technology, women in technology
Posted in All Chapters | No Comments »