Girls In Tech

It’s the most wonderful time of the year – fashion week. And, from fashion blogs to the New York Times , everyone’s talking about all the sensational styles currently making their way down the runways of Lincoln Center. Of course, not everyone has a front row seat for all that fabulous fashion.

Fortunately, thanks to the wonders of modern technology, you don’t need a ticket to check out the latest trends on the runway. All you have to do is turn on your computer. Which is way easier than navigating the steps of Lincoln Center in your stilettos anyway.

Speaking of navigating, I’ve rounded up the best sites for finding fashion coverage on the web in this handy guide – How To: Find Fashion Show Videos & Fashion Show Pics Online. It’s full of the best places to find fashion show videos, behind the scenes coverage of fashion week, runway show reviews and more.

And the best part? These resources will last well beyond the trends they’re covering, so you can keep checking back for fresh fashion coverage during the rest of this season and beyond. Because the best fashion statement is the one that’s always in style. Well, that and pretty much anything by Chanel.

To see more fabulous lists, check out Ranker – home of the best lists on the web (if I do say so myself).

Tags: fashion, fashion sites, Internet, web
Posted in Los Angeles | 1 Comment »

No more than 10-15 years ago, playing games (especially by girls) was not only discouraged, but also frowned upon. Normally, this is the type of opposition one receives from their parents growing up, but that wasn’t the case with me. While all my girlfriends wanted to go shopping and put on make-up, I was anxious to hit the arcade and challenge all the boys to some game-play. Needless to say this activity sounded less than appealing to all my girlfriends.
Now as I sit here over 10 years later, it is those very friends that have inspired me to write this piece. The same friends that used to joke and tease me for being the “geeky” girl who likes video games, are the ones who now ask me “which computer should I get”, “what’s new in mobile technology and gaming”, and “what’s the best app out there to play together?”
It is this transformation in such a short span of time that amazes me. We changed from what once used to be a taboo for most people to something that is not only socially and globally accepted, but assumed and almost required. I would think a change that happens this fast would lead to a culture shock. Instead, it spread virally. Nerdy boys gaming in their basements are a thing of the past. “I game, you game, and people game” became the new standard.
Now, gaming is easier than ever. I can play on my own on a hand held or on a phone or I can play with my friends via wi-fi. And getting other people involved just enhances your experience. I can invite friends to play from my phone, they can join me on their mp3 players, or if they don’t have one, they can compete with me on Facebook or a number of other social networking sites. The possibilities are endless.
All I can say is I hope this trend continues. Girls, now more than ever are comfortable playing games, and are encouraged to do so. They diverted their attention from the stereotypical female activities to a new set of interests in tech. Now, with their heads held high, this revolutionary shift brings girls one-step closer to paving the way for future innovations in gaming, technology, and more.

Tags: Alexandra, Alexandra Mokh, gaming, girls in tech, Internet, iphone, Mokh, technology
Posted in All Chapters | 1 Comment »

Browsers have been a pretty hot topic of conversation lately, with everyone from Mashable to the New York Times talking  ’bout browsers, and Google launching a whole browser-centric PR campaign yesterday.

Of course, the heavyweight championship battle in the browser wars is Google Chrome vs. Mozilla Firefox — at least amongst the techies in my life. So how does an enterprising girl in tech pick a side in the great Google vs. Mozilla debate? The answer is easier than a “Rock of Love” contestant. Just remember that browsers are like boys.

If you’re the kind of girl that likes a man she can mold to suit her own personal preferences and wardrobe styling tastes, then Firefox is your best bet. Because even though the whole you can’t change a man adage might be true for boys, it certainly ain’t true for Mozilla. All it takes is a simple trip to Mozilla Land to see the thousands (literally, 5000) of ways to change Firefox via add-ons.

Think of add-ons like accessories. Sure, your outfit provides perfectly adequate form and function without any additional bling, but the addition of a few choice pieces always takes things to the next level. The same is true of browser add-ons. If you’re a PR/viral marketing kind of gal, you’re going to want to add NoDoFollow, SearchStatus and Social Media For Firefox to see which sites will let google see your hyperlinked posts, which sites have page-ranks worth your time and how well your posts do. If you need to chase down development bugs, or just watch how the code runs on your favorite sites, you want Firebug, which is what I use when working on my site. But beware that debugging extensions will seriously slow down your surfing speed, so make sure you disable them when they’re not needed.

In fact, if you’re looking for speedy processing in general, then your best bet is probably actually Chrome. Using Chrome is like dating your best friend. It’s easy, it’s convenient, it moves quickly and it tends to anticipate your needs before you actually tell it what you want. It also uses much less memory than Firefox, so it won’t slow down all the other processes running on your computer.

The downside to dating your best friend — and to using Chrome — is that you kind of have to take it as it is. You might hate that he always leaves the toilet seat up, or that Chrome doesn’t really have a legit option for Macs just yet, but those are just things you’re going to have to live with. No nifty extensions here. The browser runs the way it wants to run, does the things google wants it to do and gets the job done much quicker as a result. Of course, you’re not going to be able to dress it up with any add-on accessories. But, if your web browsing is more about performance than personalization, than Chrome is the one for you.

Of course, you could always go for the rebellious underdog type and try your luck with Opera. Or, go for the security of Safari or the familiarity of Internet Explorer. Just please, for the love of all things holy, if you’re still trying to make it work with IE6, dump the loser already and upgrade to a newer model. Some relationships just weren’t meant to last.

Tags: Dating, development, Internet, tech, web
Posted in Los Angeles | 1 Comment »

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!

Tags: community, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, gamer, girls in tech, GIT, Internet, iphone, journalism, Los Angeles, marketing, networking, PR, public relations, social media, social network, social networking, tech, technology, twitter, venture capital, video games, women, women in business, women in tech
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Well, as more grim Economic data appears with rising unemployment rates, furor over bailout funds, increasing jobless claims and more, it looks as though Hollywood is still providing the best escape for Americans who are looking to forget their problems by heading to the multiplexes.  Audiences are crowding theaters for films that provide easy laughs such as “Paul Blart: Mall Cop,” which has sold over $163 in worldwide ticket sales or action-packed fare such as “Fast and the Furious,” which broke box office records for Universal Pictures this past weekend with a $72.5 million opening.

Hollywood did grow the most during the Great Depression of the 1930’s where audiences went to escape their everyday worries.  But we’re in a different time now as audiences now have interactive Entertainment from Rock Band/Guitar Hero, social networking sites, and youtube to satisfy their Entertainment needs.  Though all the Big Networks have added full episodes of their popular shows to their websites, one particular website, Hulu.com, has been growing steadily in viewership and even using TV advertising as a way of saying, “We’re taking over.”

Though Ad revenues are down and cost-cutting is the new reality, everyone is still looking to see where all the eyeballs are headed.  Paid Content recently reported that Hulu and Disney are in negotiations to sign on as a partner along with NBC Universal and News Corp. And the truth of the matter is that eyeballs and thus traffic will go where there is quality content. 

But in terms of finding the perfect Hollywood revenue model for the Internet, no one knows the answer yet, so what happens next?  You try new things.  Enter “Section 8, “ a new made-for-Internet series that Paramount Digital Entertainment and Gaumont are making, which will premiere on Myspace.  The show will have an interactive element and viewers will be able to vote on the outcome of the series.

For right now here in Hollywood, no one has the answer yet on how to game the Internet.  But one thing is more certain than not, just like in the classic film, “Field of Dreams,” if you build it, they will come.  If you create a site that has the content that your audience values, you will have a loyal following.

Tags: Box Office, Disney, Hollywood, hulu, Internet, Section 8, web
Posted in Los Angeles | No Comments »

What the heck is WOMM? For those of you non-marketing folks, this concept is the next generation, icing on the cake for big brand names and companies; sort of a social media movement on steroids.

As published in Wikipedia, Word of Mouth Marketing is marketing through a reference to the passing of information by verbal means, especially recommendations, but also general information, in an informal, person-to-person manner. Word of mouth is typically considered a face-to-face spoken communication, although phone conversations, text messages sent via SMS and web dialogue, such as online profile pages, blog posts, message board threads, instant messages and emails are often now included in the definition of word of mouth.

Here are a few solid WOMM resources out there for companies wanting to implement a WOMM program within a budget:
•    WOMMA, the official trade association for the word of mouth marketing industry, who’s mission is to promote and improve word of mouth marketing.
•    BzzAgents, a platform that allows people to experience new products and services, share their honest opinions about them with people they knew and report those activities and opinions so marketers could directly see the results. This community would be something entirely new, bringing consumers and marketers together to organize and track honest word of mouth.

Some key takeaways for your next WOMM campaign:
•    Leverage Existing Social Networks
•    Target the Influencers
•    Encapsulate Exclusivity and Scarcity
•    Micro-Market: market to the individual by providing highly customizable products
•    Industry Marketing: focus on the people who can build your brand

Sources:

http://www.doshdosh.com/word-of-mouth-marketing-strategies/

http://www.womma.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Word_of_mouth

Tags: adriana, Adriana Gascoigne, BzzAgents, girls in tech, Internet, Los Angeles, marketing, online marketing, public relations, San Francisco, social media, Wikipedia, women in tech, WOMMA, word of mouth, word of mouth marketing
Posted in Los Angeles, San Francisco | 2 Comments »

The Internet continues to transform how we communicate, how we do business, how we socialize, and so on. As people have embraced it, it has becomes an incredible tool on many levels. For those that have not, or who have been late adopters, I believe it has impacted their business in ways those companies did not think was possible. 

One of the industries that has been hit the hardest is the publishing industry, particularly newspapers. Something that was first produced over 200 years ago. It developed into the way news was delivered before radio, tv, and the Internet, that was synonymous with your morning cup of coffee, is being forced to change, adopt, and evolve.

The Christian Science Monitor, who is celebrating it’s 100th anniversary next month on November 25th, is the first nationally circulated newspaper shifting from print to a web-based strategy. Instead of producing the paper on a daily basis, it will be produced weekly, with enhancing the content on their site, and with daily e-mail editions. Their focus is to become a multi-platform strategy, which ought to take them into the next century. 

The decision by The Monitor to make this fundamental transition is very positive. Not just because they are fully embracing the Internet, but because they want to try and keep their staff and international offices in tact, and most importantly decrease waste generated by daily print. Bravo!

Tags: Christian Science Monitor, csmonitor.com, embrace, fundamental, Internet, late adopters, multi-platform, newspaper, online, print, transition
Posted in Los Angeles, San Francisco | 1 Comment »

In the last few weeks I have posted about what is innovative in many fields. Or it’s been about keeping up with what is making news in the fields of tech and innovation. It may be a simple thought, but how about change being innovative and leading to innovation?

Last week in Long Beach, CA was the Women’s Conference event. 14’000 women from all over California and of all ages attended this conference. I, unfortunately, was not able to attend, but watched their live webcast! The mission is to empower women to be ‘Architects of Change’. This is a very powerful message and mission and very powerful people, both men and women, from many different industries spoke at this event. The Women’s Conference was actually established in 1985, however since 2004 with the leadership of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver, the event has now become the largest conference in the nation.  Over the years high-profile people like Oprah Winfrey, Queen Rania, Thomas Friedman, and many more have spoken at the conference. 

The mere idea of women being ‘Architects of Change’ is innovative in of itself. I am not saying women over the centuries have not been architects of change, but in this country, that has not always been the case. With that, the more women that understand they can be architects of change empowers them to want to be innovative and make change possible. 

Speaking about change, I cannot help to mention our up-coming election. We all know one of the candidates is all about change. Obama not only wants to make and inspire change, but he embodies change because of his background. Having him as President would be very innovative for this country in many ways. (One week left until we all have to get out and vote!)

One last thing I want to mention about change is the internet. Born out of the idea of being a world wide information management system, has now become an industry where some of the most exciting advances in innovation are created. Something that was once, and still is with some groups of people, not embraced because it virtually (no pun intended) changed the way we communicate and do business. Now it’s thriving as one of the most exciting areas of innovation.

I think change is a good thing and very innovative .

Tags: architects, business, change, election, innovation, Internet, Obama, Oprah, tech, women, women's conference
Posted in Los Angeles, San Francisco | No Comments »