Girls In Tech

Today is Blog Action Day (www.blogactionday.org) — an annual event held every October 15 that unites the world’s bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day. The goal is to spark discussion around an issue of global importance, in particular among those who don’t often write about social issues.

This year’s topic is climate change.  So far, more than 9,500 bloggers from over 100 countries have already registered, including many of the world’s largest blogs such as The Official Google Blog, Mashable, and entertainment blog TMZ (who knew?).  Also, by a surprising effort, even Prime Minister Gordon Brown has even blogged:  (You can read his climate change blog, here: http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page20931.)

Besides showing the solidarity of bloggers around the world, it is also helping out 50 non-profits from World Wildlife Fund to Oxfam and CARE.  …So, if you are still online tonight & want to help spurn on this very relevant and timely social issue, please blog away!

If you are on twitter, also post tweets with #BAD09 hashtag. – www.twitter.com/blogactionday.

Tags: Blog, Bloggers, climate change
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Years ago I’d see “roach coaches” rolling by construction sites and feel my stomach turn – not any more. Recently, LA has experienced an explosion in gourmet food trucks serving every type of food, including mexican, korean, bbq, contemporary american, desserts, ice cream, and various fusion cuisines. With the advent of Twitter, the roach coaches have morphed into gourmet food trucks as high-end fare has gone mobile. Twitter has aided in this explosion by allowing the trucks to Tweet their exact location to hungry eaters in real time. The “mobile restaurant” phenomena has taken off so much that a web site dedicated to the tracking of food trucks on Twitter also recently launched – Find LA Food Trucks – http://www.findlafoodtrucks.com/.

These mobile, kitchens-in-transit use Twitter as a real-time GPS tracking system – just without the GPS. At any time of day or night you know exactly where to find them. This level of accessibility has made these roving vehicles social-networking juggernauts, sometimes drawing upwards of 300 to 800 people (and a bevy of Twitter followers) each time it parks (often several times in a day).

Here is a list of my top 5 favorite to follow – and of course, to eat!

The Kogi BBQ Truck - Yumo-o!

Calbi BBQ (@CalbiBBQ): Followers – 2,190

Calbi is deliciously fresh, high quality Korean BBQ marinated beef, chicken and shrimp served in the traditional style of Mexican tacos and burritos.

Border Grill (@BorderGrill) Followers – 3,011

Border Grill is a Mexican restaurant concept in LA serving gourmet tacos, quesadillas, ceviches, and more from “Too Hot Tamales” chefs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger. It also offers their Twitter followers special deals by using the secret code – like “sweet tooth” for a free brownie.

Kogi BBQ (@kogibbq): Followers: 46,006

Kogi is the Korean BBQ taco truck that has spawned it’s own burgeoning cyber-hippie movement affectionately referred to as “Kogi kulture.”

Sprinkles Cupcakes (@sprinklesmobile): Followers: 7,251

The Sprinkles trucks dolls out delectable cupcakes made famous by their flagship store in Beverly Hills delighting celebrities and hardcore epicureans alike.

Nom Nom Truck (@nomnomtruck): Followers: 3,950

Nom Nom truck is a mobile food truck that serves “Banh Mi”, or Vietnamese Sandwiches, and other Vietnamese-inspired dishes.

Also, The Grilled Cheese Truck has yet to officially start rolling around town but when it does, you can expect to find me there for sure!

Christine Kirk is a PR representative and social media explorer for luxury brands including travel, real estate and food/beverage, at Murphy O’Brien Public Relations in Los Angeles. She also holds the position of PR Manager for the Los Angeles chapter of Girls in Tech. She can be reached via e-mail at ckirk@murphyobrien.com or on Twitter @luxuryprgal.

Tags: food trucks, gourmet, kogibbq, twitter
Posted in Los Angeles | 2 Comments »

Today Twitter is announcing their foray into two things we love — wine and Room to Read .  As part of their Corporate Social Innovation initiative, Twitter has chosen Room To Read, an organization that promotes literacy in some of the poorest regions  of  the  world,  to be their first charity partner.  The creation of the Fledgling Initiative will produce a new wine label called Fledgling Wine in partnership with San Francisco Do-it-Yourself winery Crushpad, with proceeds going to Room To Read.

Twitter staff will participate in making a Pinot Noir and a Chardonnay with Crushpad and the public is invited to pre-purchase bottles of the wine, follow the wine-making process on Twitter, and possibly even participate in its creation at Crushpad’s 50,000 square foot urban winery in the Dogpatch district of  San Francisco.

To kick off the Twitter-Room To Read-Crushpad first of its kind initiative, come join the proud partners and Girls in Tech at  Room To Read’s Annual Fundraiser and Gala taking place tonight at the SF War Memorial.  A few tickets are still available, inclusive of sumptuous food and wine, live music, and a live auction, which will include some very limited edition wines! Buy tickets here for $50, VIP $125, or at the door for $75.   See you all there!

Tags: Corporate Social Innovation, Crushpad, Fledgling Initiative, Room to Read, Tina Tran, twitter, wine
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Our founder, Adriana Gascoigne has been featured in the latest edition of The Personality Project, as one of forty successful women sharing their experience to inspire others!
The newest, 2nd edition of the project: ‘Women of Personality: A Compilation of 40 Extraordinary Women Sharing Their Stories of Success‘ is available now & includes some very inspirational women, indeed.
It is an ebook that compiles the stories of 40 extraordinary women as they recount the role personality has had in building their own successful careers and businesses. The goal of this project was to inspire future female entrepreneurs and business women of all ages to reach higher & achieve even more.

Girls in Tech is thrilled that Adriana has been highlighted in the project, and especially as it coincides perfectly with GIT’s mission to inspire women in technology. Besides Adriana, it includes such visionaries as: Anita Campbell, Editor of Small Business Trends; Zadi Diaz, New Media Producer – Smashface Productions; Charlene Li, Author & Founder of Altimeter Group; and Debra Morrow, Brand Consultant, Inventor, Frmr. Ad Agency President just to name a few. What an amazing project, which includes such an exemplary group of thought leaders!

To read more, go to the Personality Project’s website at: http://www.thepersonalityproject.com/wop2/
And to read about Rohit Bhargava’s book that is behind the project:
Personality Not Included: http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/

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As the World Wide Web 2.0 turns, women are disconnecting with melodramatic TV soap operas and logging onto social networking sites, like Facebook and Twitter. According to an analysis by Information Is Beautiful, Facebook and Twitter boast 57% female membership. So why the gender gap? And what does this mean for the future of social media and advertising?

Explaining the gender gap is quite simple: just look at the modern woman’s lifestyle and behavior. Her time is divided between work, school, and social life — not early afternoon soap operas. Through it all she stays constantly connected – always on her iPhone on Blackberry – whether negotiating a big contract or picking up the kids from soccer practice. She no longer has time to read the morning daily, but will definitely use social media to exchange fashion and beauty advice, share pictures of her kids with relatives, and read Girls in Tech. And what about the TV? Well, as witnessed with the recent cancellation of the longest running soap in TV history (“Guiding Light”), there is very little time for someone else’s drama.

Advertisers are noticing this spike in activity online and pursuing these new opportunities. Social networks are now a viable platform for them to explore relationship-based advertising models, a more efficient alternative to the outmoded CPC, CPM and CPA pricing models. A case study of this relationship-based advertising is demonstrated by Total Beauty, a one-stop destination for everything beauty and the beauty products giant, Sephora.

Sephora leveraged the social content of Total Beauty to increase its market share and “top of mind” presence. Since they share the same demographic subset, Sephora and Total Beauty launched a sweepstakes that encouraged fans to create and submit product reviews for Total Beauty. For each product review written, reviewers received an entry for the Sephora gift card as well as an opportunity to share the review with friends, family and colleagues. The social component of this campaign trumped anything traditional media could achieve within this market segment. The social techie helped Sephora receive more entries into their sweepstakes and gain brand awareness while benefiting Total Beauty with yet another product review. Since females are more likely to spread the word by posting a link on Twitter and announcing it on their Facebook status updates, dollars spent marketing towards a female is broadcast, therefore going further than if it were spent on a male.

More women are being guided towards the light of their laptops, iPhones and Blackberry’s and advertisers are following. In the past, men commanded a dominant presence on the web, but social media has leveled the playing field. With her schedule increasingly filled, she relies on advice and input from her social network for the latest news bits, fashion tips and technology tricks. Web 2.0 has created the social techie and when it comes to being social, women rule.

Photo courtesy of: www.adage.com

Posted in Orange County | 3 Comments »

All attendees of the Virtual Goods Summit on October 30th are invited to the official conference after-partyhosted by Offerpal Media, starting after the conclusion of the conference on Friday, October 30th, from 6-9 PM. Join your fellow attendees for more networking, drinks and snacks at one of SOMA’s coolest venues! Playoffs to win a Wii, a flip camera, champagne and many more gifts….

The after-party will be at Harlot, located just a short walk from the Westin:
Harlot
46 Minna St
San Francisco, CA 94105
http://www.harlotsf.com

To RSVP, please click on the following Facebook Event link: RSVP here

Tags: Anu Shukla, Charles Hudson, girls in tech, Offerpal Media, VGS, Virtual Goods Summit
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Girls in Tech is proud to announce that Lauren Berger, an advisory board member from our Los Angeles Chapter, has been named a finalist for BusinessWeek’s 25 of America’s Best Entrepreneurs 25 and Under. Lauren Berger is CEO of Intern Queen Inc. (http://www.internqueen.com), an internship destination site she launched in August 2008. She came up for the idea to launch the site after participating in 15 internships during her 4 years of college.The site’s slogan reads,“Find Interns. Get Internships. All With a Personal Touch”. Berger works with over 500 employers and helps students from around the globe connect with these great internship opportunities.

To view more information about Berger’s company visit: http://images.businessweek.com/ss/09/10/1009_entrepreneurs_25_and_under/14.htm

And to vote please visit: http://images.businessweek.com/ss/09/10/1009_entrepreneurs_25_and_under/27.htm

Tell your friends and please post on your Twitter or Facebook accounts ! As we’d love a Girls In Tech member to win this!

*Photo credit: BusinessWeek

Tags: BusinessWeek, girls in tech, Intern Queen, Lauren Berger
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When I first started my career in public relations, I worked for an agency whose strongest portfolio was in high tech and information technology. While I didn’t necessarily have a strong personal interest in high tech, I paid my dues by publicizing semiconductors, virtualization, software test automation, service-oriented architecture and RFID, among other fabulously intriguing and, yes, wildly complex innovations.

During this time, two things were evident to me:

1. I was not talented in the area of articulating such companies to the press.
2. There were no strong female personas among the executives and thought-leaders I represented.

These days, when I think tech, I think internet and gadgets. So, when I stumbled upon Esther Schindler’s list of high tech blogs authored by women, I was pleased to see the number of women who are embracing their industry and increasing their visibility as intelligent, successful women in male-dominated roles. Among them:

1. Geek Feminism, with many women contributors, covering issues facing women in geek communities, gaming, science, technology, etc.
2. Infotropism by Kirrily Robert, on open source
3. Coding Geekette by Sarah Dutkiewicz, on programming
4. the evolving ultrasaurus by Sarah Allen, on software development
5. Sarah Mei, a Ruby developer
6. Notes Design Blog by Mary Beth Raven on Lotus Notes
7. The Hacker Chick Blog, by Abby Ficthner, on QA
8. Bea Stollnitz, on Silverlight and WPF

Kirrily Robert later commented on Esther’s post with a link to a wiki with many other women bloggers in tech: http://geekfeminism.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_women_bloggers#Technology.

Which female-led IT blogs could you not live without?

Posted in Boston | 57 Comments »

Midwestern developers are all abuzz this week in anticipation of the Heartland Developers Conference, an event for building professional skills and cultivating community relationships, taking place Oct. 15-16 in Omaha. With 68 sessions and four development categories packed into two days, HDC is the place to be for software designers, developers, engineers, analysts, architects…you get the picture.

For the first time since the conference began in 2004, Girls in Tech will have a presence at the event to share our mission, experience and passion. We’re excited about networking with fellow techies, but we’re also looking forward to some high quality speakers and sessions. The first day features keynotes by Microsoft’s Scott Guthrie and Adobe’s Kevin Hoyt. The next day is no shabbier, with keynotes by Neal Ford of ThoughtWorks  and Google’s Patrick Chanezon . Session topics range from iPhone dev and jQuery to alternative database technologies and Flex.

If you’ll be attending HDC, let us know at Omaha@GirlsInTech.net and be sure to stop by our booth. If not, follow the action on Twitter with the official event hashtag #HDC09. We’ll be sure to report back with a recap of the conference and its awesome evening events soon.

Tags: conference, Developers, Events, networking, Omaha
Posted in Omaha | 1 Comment »

This weekend, Girls in Tech held our first Annual Retreat in Santa Cruz.  The day was packed full of hands-on learning sessions, starting with a Social Media Boot Camp with JD Lasica, a leading expert on social media and founder of socialmedia.biz.  JD shared best practices for businesses engaging in social media and identified leading campaigns that have been successful.

Photo credit: Seana Norvell

Kristin Schaefer and Bronwyn Saglimbeni got us out of our chairs and led an interactive and powerful Public Speaking Workshop.  Here are a few of the tips and tactics they shared with us on being a good speaker

1. Be a great story-teller and keep it conversational (people love to hear stories!)
2. Pick a person or several people to talk to (engages the audience)
3. Fewer words are more powerful (avoid fillers i.e. um, like, you know, I think…)
4. Use the physical space you have (don’t be rooted to one spot)
5. Keep an open, active, pose and free your hands to express yourself as you talk
6. Be authentic (Who are you and what are you here to do?)

Our keynote speaker was Megan Smith, VP of New Business Development at Google and General Manager of Google.Org.  Megan talked about the power of data and interconnection to change the world.  She gave us several examples including how the connection of data has been used to:

1.)    Track public health issues – Using Google Health, Google is able to see the correlation between the number of searches on a particular health term such as “flu”, and reports from the CDC on flu numbers.
2.)    Power people’s ability to advance civil liberties. (by making information available in countries where the media is tightly controlled)
3.)    Help the environment.  Google .org’s PowerMeter is a free electricity usage monitoring tool that people can use to review their power usage.

In summarizing the trait that has allowed Megan to be amazingly successful in her career, her good friend, David Hoffman, volunteered that “When faced with challenges, she believes there has to be a way.”

After the keynote, Gina Bauman and Elizabeth Weil of Institutional Venture Partners gave us a quick overview of the venture capital space.  And to close out the day Priya Ganapati sat down with Plantronics’ VP of Innovation, Joyce Shimizu.  Joyce shared the following tips on being a successful leader:

1.)    Be responsive to Change
2.)    Learn how to fly the plane, as well as land it (be able to set the 30,000 ft vision)
3.)    For work life/balance: Keep a short list of priorities, and enjoy the journey, don’t just concentrate on the destination.

Big thanks to all of our amazing speakers and to Seana Norvell, Managing Director of our Santa Cruz chapter, for organized an awesome first annual GIT retreat.

Tags: First Annual Retreat, Google, retreat, Seana Sullivan, Tina Tran
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