Girls In Tech

Girls in Tech are giving away 3 tickets to the World’s Largest Crowdsourcing Conference, CrowdConf2011. How would you apply the crowdsourcing principles in a unique way?

Jeff Howe of Wired Magazine first coined the term crowdsourcing. Howe explains that because technological advances have allowed for cheap consumer electronics, the gap between professionals and amateurs has been diminished. Companies are then able to take advantage of the talent of the public, and Howe states that “It’s not outsourcing; it’s crowdsourcing.” A less commercial approach was introduced by Henk van Ess in September 2010: “Crowdsourcing is channelling the experts’ desire to solve a problem and then freely sharing the answer with everyone”. More >>>

Girls in Tech would like to offer 3 tickets to our members. To be considered, simply post how you would use crowdsourcing (crowdfunding, crowdwisdom, crowdvoting, or crowdcreation) for your business or any other business out there. It doesn’t have to be a a large submission, simply comment to this post with a few lines of how you would apply the crowdsourcing principles in a unique way. Get creative, think of how the fashion world and television has utilized its concepts, non profits (like Kiva) and how crowdsourcing could possibly grow an organization like Girls in Tech… you can post as many ideas as you’d like. If you do, please post each idea in a separate comment. Post away!

More about CrowdConf2011 >>>

Posted in All Chapters, San Francisco, Silicon Valley | 3 Comments »

Girls in Tech are giving away 3 tickets to the World’s Largest Crowdsourcing Conference, CrowdConf2011. How would you apply the crowdsourcing principles in a unique way?

Jeff Howe of Wired Magazine first coined the term crowdsourcing. Howe explains that because technological advances have allowed for cheap consumer electronics, the gap between professionals and amateurs has been diminished. Companies are then able to take advantage of the talent of the public, and Howe states that “It’s not outsourcing; it’s crowdsourcing.” A less commercial approach was introduced by Henk van Ess in September 2010: “Crowdsourcing is channelling the experts’ desire to solve a problem and then freely sharing the answer with everyone”. More >>>

Girls in Tech would like to offer 3 tickets to our members. To be considered, simply post how you would use crowdsourcing (crowdfunding, crowdwisdom, crowdvoting, or crowdcreation) for your business or any other business out there. It doesn’t have to be a a large submission, simply comment to this post with a few lines of how you would apply the crowdsourcing principles in a unique way. Get creative, think of how the fashion world and television has utilized its concepts, non profits (like Kiva) and how crowdsourcing could possibly grow an organization like Girls in Tech… you can post as many ideas as you’d like. If you do, please post each idea in a separate comment. Post away!

More about CrowdConf2011 >>>

Tags: competition, conference, crowdsourcing, entrepreneurs, event, Events, San Francisco, Terra Khachooni
Posted in All Chapters, All Chapters, Events, Girls In Tech, San Francisco | 3 Comments »

Be sure to grab your tickets for the World’s Largest Crowdsourcing Conference coming this November 1 & 2nd.

Curious about what Crowdsourcing? The Daily Crowd describes it as “getting a crowd of people to help you with a task. You ask an undefined group of people to perform a task for you, and anyone who’s interested may perform the task.  You’ll get finished work from dozens of participants, which you get to select the best one(s) from.

The principle of crowdsourcing is based on the idea that more heads are better than one, and you can hire people based on skill rather than lowest bid. By canvassing a large crowd of people for ideas, skills, or participation, the search for an elusive answer or design is made that much simpler and more accurate.” Read More >>>

I am sure you can think of dozens of business models that take follow the principle of crowdsourcing. It’s strategy can be differentiated into four types, crowdfunding, crowdcreation, crowdwisdom, and crowdvoting. Grow your understanding about crowdsourcing at the world’s largest Crowdsourcing Conference, CrowdConf2011. CloudFlower has set up a series of crowdsourcing competitions through their many sponsors for the conference. Read about them here >>>

Girls in Tech are joining the Crowd in giving away 3 tickets to CrowdConf2011! Learn More >>>

Tags: conference, crowdsourcing, Developers, entrepreneurs, event, innovation, Terra Khachooni
Posted in All Chapters, Girls In Tech, San Francisco | 3 Comments »

Girls in Tech San Francisco chapter Managing Director, Laura Slezinger was party to an exciting launch at Web 2.0 this week. Slezinger, and Girls in Tech are early adapters and on the forefront of new technology and tools. Girls in Tech San Francisco launched its new Facebook Page to be part of a beta testing round prior to the launch of Roost’s Social Marketing Platform. Slezinger, along with Star Varga of Vega Star Productions, and Restaurant owner Joe Hargrave of Tacolicious answered questions on a panel conducted by Chris Brubaker, VP of Marketing for Roost.

Press Release Follows:

ROOST REDUCES TIME SINK AND STRESS CAUSED BY SOCIAL MEDIA WITH NEW SOCIAL MARKETING PLATFORM FOR SMB

Free Social Marketing Tool for Individual Professionals and Small Businesses

First of its Kind Product, Solves the Biggest Headaches: What to Post and When

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – WEB 2.0 EXPO – March 29, 2011 – Roost (www.roost.com, @roost), a technology company committed to helping small business go social, announced its new social marketing platform for Facebook and Twitter at the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco today. The Roost freemium productivity tool helps businesses who rely heavily on word of mouth and referrals tap into the power of the social Web more efficiently and more effectively.

Roost solves the nagging problem all business owners face when thinking about social marketing, “what do I post and when do I post it?” To alleviate the stress and time-sink often caused by social media, Roost developed the Campaign Creator which helps professionals plan their social marketing activities in 20 minutes per week. With the Campaign Creator, a user can set the duration and content types (post, link, quote, etc.) for each campaign. Roost automatically provides customized recommendations on post type and frequency to match the length of the campaign and to deliver a variety of content for higher audience engagement.

In addition, Roost’s suggested content feature, a first in this category, solves the problem of what to post with direct access to articles, blogs, quotes and other original content. With the suggested content feature, Roost users can easily queue up content on a daily or weekly basis by accessing a dynamic library of content related to the user’s specific occupational sector and interests. Campaign Creator is also designed to build relationships and attract more business with The Roost Bar. When friends, fans or followers view a shared link, a small, branded bar appears above the article and allows audiences to immediately “like” the user’s Facebook Page.

“Roost Campaigns are critical to disseminating strategic content in an efficient and timely manner to our various Facebook Pages, Groups, and Twitter accounts,” said Laura Slezinger, Managing Director, San Francisco Girls in Tech. “And Roost Circles allows us to connect to our dozens of national and international chapters without having to coordinate manually for each post.”

Unlike existing publishing tools for social networks, Roost is inherently social. Roost Circles, announced today in Beta mode, is a way for SMBs and individual pros to band together with their closest business associates, and by request, share each other’s posts, providing branding and engagement opportunities across each other’s networks. Whether the circle includes employees, favorite customers or vendors, the technology capitalizes on the economically relevant concept that rising tides lift all boats.

“Roost was built for the restaurant, CPA or Realtor, who doesn’t want to spend 10 hours per week on online marketing. They know they need to be on Facebook and Twitter, but they aren’t sure what to do or how to start,” said Alex Chang, CEO of Roost. “Roost is a product for real people who have little to no time, aren’t fully up to speed on all the nuances of social marketing and live and die by referral business. And best of all, it’s free.”

To create real social marketing campaigns, stay top of mind with your existing customers, find new customers and grow your social network for free, sign up at www.roost.com.

Tags: facebook, laura slezinger, roost, roost marketing, San Francisco, Terra Khachooni, web 2.0 expo
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Girls in Tech, San Francisco is migrating their Facebook presence from Groups to Pages. As early adapters, Girls In Tech was first to join Facebook anduse social media in a real way to grow their network and online presence. Facebook has made some changes (and continues to make changes) and it is important to fall in line with where Facebook and social media is taking us. Please follow us on www.facebook.com/GirlsInTech.SanFrancisco as we will have great content for you to pull from for you Pages and of course, stay updated with Events. Groups will still be a place to connect and is a wonderful arena to have private interaction with your members, however as Facebook focuses on building out Pages, it is essential to understand the importance of have a robust Facebook Page.

In reading Mashable’s article how Social is Turning Search on its Head, I realized that although many of us are on Facebook, we may still need to understand how powerful of a tool it can be. And, with all of the changes Facebook makes, it can be hard to keep up.

Reasons why to have a Facebook Page:

• Facebook Pages are indexed by Google (among other engines)
• Pages are Public, anyone can “like” your Page and follow you without adding as a friend
• It is easier to get someone to “like” a Page than to “join” a Group (joining sounds much more like a commitment)
• You don’t have to accept a friendship to have fans or followers, they can feel connected to you through Pages
• Pages are crawled as a stand alone website, sites with engagement receives a higher value and will rise to the top of Search Engines over static sites
• Everyone should have a Page, there are people who are looking for jobs and are using Pages as a way to showcase themselves, independent contractors, social media consultants, as well as restaurants, boutiques, nail salons, bars, etc. Companies are using Pages for brand and image (ex. pictures of non profit work, creating an identity through personal interaction, etc.)
• Savvy social marketers understand that followers do not want to be “broadcast at” but are engaged in a dialogue with people
• Facebook is building out it’s analytics for Pages, including Insights and Feedback
• Pages are cross marketing with each other and growing their reach
• Facebook is investing heavily to make Pages the best business presence on the web

To all Girls In Tech Groups, it is worth your while to start focusing efforts to Pages. Social Media Examiner recently talks about How to Optimize your Facebook Page and discusses Why Most Businesses Get Facebook Wrong. Unfortunately, there is no easy way to do this. Facebook used to offer a way to migrate to your Page, but it seems they have stopped this option. If anyone knows of a way to migrate a Group to a Page, please let us know! And don’t forget to connect your Facebook account to your Twitter account so you can further your reach. Roost.com makes it easy for you to post once to multiple pages and multiple accounts. – Terra Khachooni

Tags: facebook, laura slezinger, Pages, roost, San Francisco, Terra Khachooni
Posted in Girls In Tech | 1 Comment »

I love getting updates on who’s funding who. The beginning of 2011 has started off on an active foot. The Groupon - Google fall out at the end of the year was especially exciting, but what’s more exciting is the fearless progression of Groupon-like sites. Google has announced that it is launching its own coupon/group buying feature called Google Offers. Mashable was the first to showcase just how directly Google is going to compete with Groupon. [click here] The Washington Post reported that “Google Offers subscribers will receive a daily e-mail offer for a buy-in discount. According to its sources, businesses will get 80 percent of revenue derived from the coupon three days after a deal runs. Google will send the rest in 60 days, after processing any returns.”

As I have mentioned in my previous posts, I loved watching Groupon thumb their noses to Google’s $6Million offer and love the drama that Silicon Valley brings to business. Google is a giant and it’s interesting to see the beginning of an anti-google sentiment. Just like Firefox users in opposition of Internet Explorer or those who go out of their way to not use Microsoft products… we begrudgingly need google. Girls in Tech is an avid group of supporters and as entrepreneurs, we love to support start ups especially in the face of fierce competition. Plum District is targeted to us (women!) and with a female VC on the board, it is almost necessary to check the site out, join, and share.

Tags: Terra Khachooni
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A couple of weeks ago Alameda based start up, Vook recieved $5.25M in funding. First, it’s always nice to see the millions being circulated in Silicon Valley… but the exciting part is for who? Vook.vom is a site that sells experiential books and videos… sort of a twist to Kindle but even for Kindle, or your Tablet, or your iPad… VentureWire describes it as beyond buying the Sherlock Holmes book, you buy a digital “Vook” (get it?) and you get the Sherlock Homes experience. “ts Sherlock Holmes vook, for instance, features two classic stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – “The Man with the Twisted Lip” and “The Adventure of the Speckled Band” – and enhances them with videos that delve into the history and legend surrounding the character of Holmes.” It’s a combination of a digital book, text, video, photos, and social sharing. Vook founder and Chief Executive Brad Inman said he believes he has found the future of publishing. Just when you thought nothing can replace the last classic art form of solitary entertainment… think again. Even the nighttime novel you snuggle with in bed is going social, mobile, and interactive. Your vook (which ranges from about $7 to $16) will have about 10-20 chapters that include up to 20 short-form videos relevant to the text and are available on your iPad, iPhone, Android, and web.

Although I am a lover of technology, it seems I am still stuck in the generation that is not excited about telling everyone in the world where I am eating or getting my nails done via FourSquare or making everything I do including cooking chicken panang curry for the first time an online social event with pictures, comments and tips… it seems that the rest of the world is! When I think about reading the biography of JFK (JFK: 50 days a best-selling vook for the iPad that features content created in partnership with Perseus Books and NBC Universal), or old Jane Austin novels… I agree that I would love to discover more about the topic. I watched Becoming Jane because she is a favorite author and I thought about how interesting vook could make my annual Pride and Prejudice read.

Vook is setting out to not only entertain us with topical entertaining add ons, but further the depth in which we know, learn, understand what we are reading. Vook has released about 150 titles last year and is set to publish over 1,000 this year. They have also launched their own digital e-book imprint which will offer over 500 “how to” and educational titles to the 2011 market. Check them out and tell us what you think. Are magazines, newspapers, and books becoming a thing of the past?

Tags: Terra Khachooni
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Tripping.com was the winner of our first Vator.tv and GIT AMPLIFY Business Pitch competition!

Thirteen startups competed in last week’s Amplify business pitch competition, but there could only be one winner and Tripping.com was it!  Jen O’Neal, co-founder and CEO, won two iPads and the glorious bragging rights to being the first winner. Tripping was founded in 2009 and launched at the beginning of the year.  It is a free service however, they do offer premium memberships and brings in additional revenue through co-brand licensing fees, and partner-based revenue shares.

Tripping is a global network of travelers who believe cultural exchange makes the world a better place. Our members connect with each other for travel tips, shared cups of coffee and even home stays. Tripping is safe, free and good for the world. The concept takes Airbnb to another level. Instead of couch surfing or renting someone’s apartment, Tripping can get you into a local house party or enable you to practice speaking the language over a cup of coffee!

Tripping offers both Travelers and Local Hosts to connect and experience traveling like you’ve never done before. It allows you to have an intimate connection with the culture, the people, and to learn more about the country you are visiting.

Travelers: Step off the beaten tourist path and connect with great local people, all over the world. You’ll feel welcome everywhere you go and you’ll return home with far more than photos and crinkled maps.

Local Hosts: Not going anywhere for a while? Become a local host and meet travelers who are visiting your city. In an instant, your life will become more colorful and you’ll get to experience the world without ever packing a bag.

Congrats Tripping.com! The girls at Girls in Tech can’t wait to use your service the next time we roam around Europe, Asia, Africa and beyond!

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Social Gaming Summit & Virtual Goods Summit in LONDON
The first London Social Gaming Summit is a one day event focused on the intersection of games and the social web. The event focuses on helping social games developers build, monetise, and grow their social games. We’re bringing together the leaders in free-to-play games, social networking, and payments infrastructure for a full day of panels and talks.

Social Gaming Summit
The first London Virtual Goods Summit is a one day event focused on the emerging market opportunity for virtual goods and economies. Once restricted to the world of online gaming, virtual goods and currencies are beginning to influence the development of social networks, community sites, and many other new and exciting markets. The market for virtual goods continues to grow – join us for engaging talks and panels designed to highlight important trends in this fast growing market. With estimates suggesting this market will grow from $1 billion in 2009 to $1.6 billion in 2010, this is a must-attend event for those in the games, social media, and entertainment markets.

Virtual Goods Summit London
The first London Virtual Goods Summit is a one day event focused on the emerging market opportunity for virtual goods and economies. Once restricted to the world of online gaming, virtual goods and currencies are beginning to influence the development of social networks, community sites, and many other new and exciting markets. The market for virtual goods continues to grow – join us for engaging talks and panels designed to highlight important trends in this fast growing market. With estimates suggesting this market will grow from $1 billion in 2009 to $1.6 billion in 2010, this is a must-attend event for those in the games, social media, and entertainment markets.

Register HERE for the Social Gaming Summit

Register HERE for the Virtual Goods Summit

*Discount code for Girls in Tech: GIRLSINTECH010 *

Tags: gaming, London, Terra Khachooni
Posted in All Chapters, All Chapters, London | No Comments »

WarmGun is offering Girls in Tech 10% off! If you’re in and around San Francisco, you may want to jump on a GIT discount! Click HERE for more details.

It’s no longer enough to have a pretty UI. Face it – you need to make your site convert…wake up and smell the analytics!

Warm Gun: Designing Happiness is a 1-day conference for designers and non-designers about “designing for conversion”. From successful startups like Mint to iconic brands like Apple, design has become increasingly crucial for attracting, retaining, and converting visitors into users, and users into happy customers. The Warm Gun conference will uncover the science behind the art of web design, and demystify the process of designing for both conversion and happiness.

Tickets are almost SOLD OUT — for more info, visit www.warmgun.com or Watch it Live!

Tags: San Francisco, Terra Khachooni
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