Girls In Tech

Late last month May 23-25, 2011, NCWIT kicked off its Summit on Women and IT in New York City. NCWIT mission is a national community of change-leader organizations working to significantly increase the meaningful participation of girls and women in IT. The yearly summit brings in together leaders, change agents, and stakeholders to focus on research-driven practices and ideas that can strengthen the computing workforce and promote technology innovation by increasing the participation of girls and women.  The NCWIT Summit on Women and IT convenes prominent leaders from corporations, K-12 and higher education, non-profits, startups, and government organizations. Topics to be addressed during the summit include:

• How an increasingly diverse U.S. population impacts the future of IT
• How to develop diversity in open source
• Ways to better inform and educate girls about IT career choices
• How diversity impacts innovation and how stereotype threat affects underrepresented groups in particular environments
• What organizations can do to promote a diverse work environment, retain talent and avoid high attrition

The Department of Labor estimates that the U.S. workforce will add 1.4 million technology jobs by 2018, yet universities will produce fewer than half of the technology-trained candidates needed to fill these jobs. Research shows that the number of women in IT is dwindling; in 2009, only 25% of U.S IT professionals were women, compared to 36% in 1991.

check out NCWIT’s Alliances

Check out NCWIT BLOG |   Photos from the NCWITSummit |   Schedule of the prominent speakers/panelist |  Don’t forget to read all of the coverage #NCWITSUMMIT @NCWIT, And last but not least, like their Facebook page |   Fun digital photo booth on the last night hosted at MTV HQ for Symons Innovator Award |   Press Release for media

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Tags: 24notion, Computing, diversity, education, girls in technology, innovation, IT, Ivo Lukas, NCWIT, ncwitsummit, New York, tech, technology, women in technology
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As an actor and producer of 35, the first scripted web series to stream live on the Internet, Kathryn Jones is reinventing the concept of “theater techie.” No longer is it only about shadowed souls clad in head-to-toe black, frantically whispering into headsets, trying to perfect the lighting on Juliet’s face as she waxes poetic about her happy dagger right before plunging the rusty tool into her broken heart. No – because of Miss Jones and her crew, theater techies now perform a much more visible bow at curtain call. In fact – curtain call has taken the form of rolling credits behind the glow of our computer screens, and the theater techie, now clad with multiple cameras and vigilant live-editing skills, has risen, lens first, into the limelight.

Founded by three women, Better Left Unsaid is a cross between a play, an online video and a live-streamed event – and with already six performances under their belt, Jones (producer) has already broken cross-industry ground by merging theater, technology and social media.

Written by Joey Brennaman, the play follows eight lives as their secrets are revealed, ultimately asking the question: “How well do you know the people you love?” Performed in front of a live audience in Manhattan, the production is shot with multiple cameras, mixed in real time, and streamed live so that anyone anywhere in the world can watch, and interact during the show and via the post-show discussions ‘What You Said.’

GIRLS IN TECH: come support your fabulous, fellow GIT. Don’t leave Better Left Unsaid unsaid! SPREAD the word. And WATCH their second round of live performances, starting THIS Friday, in your pajamas at home or with armloads of flowers and applause at Center Stage in Flatiron District (48 West 21st Street, 4th Floor, between 5th and 6th Ave., Subway: F or N/R to 23rd).

Theater and online performance times:

Friday, Feb 4 – 8pm EST

Saturday, Feb 5 – 8pm EST

Sunday, Feb 6 – 3pm EST (optimized for European audiences respectively – 9PM GMT )

Sunday, Feb 6 – 7pm EST
Theater tickets are $18 while interactive online viewing tickets are a suggested donation of $2-$18.

For more information and tickets, visit www.betterleftunsaid.tv.

Tags: better left unsaid, live-streamed, New York, play, Techie, theater, women founder
Posted in All Chapters, New York | No Comments »

In less then three months, Mountain View based start up, Bizzy, has registered almost 120,000 local business favorites in the hopes of providing YOU with business recommendations for everything from a lunch spot to a mechanic.

We can all go to Google or Yelp and type in “lunch in San Francisco” or “sushi in Soho” but the thing is, we are all going to get the same results. Even if you like upscale fusion sushi and I like the all you can eat buffet. Bizzy, Bizzy.com, is changing that with their personalized local business recommendation engine powered by people with similar tastes to you.

The favorites that have been shared on Bizzy thus far have been used to make over 650,000 local business recommendations and with every new shared favorite, the recommendations Bizzy makes are getting that much better. So sign up and share Bizzy with your friends and family to get the scoop on where to eat, shop and play.

Bizzy has released lists of the most favorited local restaurants in the top 10 cities gettin’ Bizzy including San Francisco, New York, Dallas, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, DC, Seattle, Shreveport, La., Boston and Austin, Texas. Visit http://blog.bizzy.com/the-bizziest-cities-in-america to see the lists.

Top 10 Restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area
1. Absinthe Brasserie & Bar
2. Pizzeria Delfina
3. Little Star Pizza
4. Yoshi’s San Francisco
5. Nopa
6. Cafe Borrone
7. DishDash
8. Coupa Cafe
9. La Fondue
10. Tied House Brewery & Cafe

Are some of your favorites in that list? Head to http://www.Bizzy.com and enter your favorites to start getting personalized local business recommendations. If you end up trying Bizzy and their recommendations, let them know how it goes! You could win $500 with their “Rec Check Challenge! Oh, and yes, there is an app for that: Bizzy.com/iPhone.

Tags: Boston, Chicago, Dallas, DC, dinner, eat, Google, Los Angeles, lunch, New York, play, recommendations, restaurants, San Francisco, shop, Washington D.C., win, Yelp
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There is a space that exists between ambition and success, the dull and delicious, static and  fresh – a demure gap of inspiration that can catalyze global movements, or remain entirely  invisible.

That space is called the AHA. A flash instant, in which our entire perspectives are shifted,  swirled and flipped inside out – revealing a new playing field of ideas and opportunities.

Shauna Mei harnessed her AHA moment a long time ago and launched AHAlife this past Monday. Curious minds all over the world will soon be kowtowing in gratitude.

AHAlife.com is a discovery platform of innovative lifestyle products built for savvy, socially conscious consumers. The AHAlife experience is unerringly reflective of how we are growing as a society. As our lives become more and more cramped with shiny new things, we naturally begin searching for ways to filter and curate. We yearn to cut out the noise, so that we can save time and focus on what’s most important, interesting, inspiring. Which is exactly what AHAlife does for the consumer palette.

Their mantra, “1 product. 24 hours. 100% inspiring,” leverages urgency, scarcity and crowd-sourcing to break the heavy mold of e-commerce by creating a shopping process where the only sales pitch is one we make to ourselves. Because the real ‘aha’ behind AHAlife is their growing network of curators who suggest fiercely inspired products from all over the world.  And though that list of curators includes the likes of Diane Von Furstenberg, Tim Gunn and Vivienne Tam, anyone can submit products for consideration. The platform gives us the chance to be influential tastemakers, ultimately guiding ourselves to become a new generation of more sophisticated, conscious and self-generated consumers. You could say AHAlife is a tastemaker of tastemakers. And it is precisely this move that will be the source of their viral success.

Hey Shauna. You always said you loved when people make everyday objects beautiful. Well – look what you have done to the entire industries of e-commerce and media. You. Go. Girl.

There is a force that sits quietly, waiting to be noticed. A bolt of lightning willing the Earth to obtain a charge.

That force is called the AHA. It stops time, allowing us to discover and recognize a piece of life at its fullest. And it is that AHA that pulls our everyday ordinary into a state of infinite beauty.

*

For more information, sign up to become a member at www.ahalife.com

Tags: aha, aha moment, AHAlife, e-commerce, editorial, fashion, New York, ny, nyc, shauna mei, shopping, social media
Posted in All Chapters, China | No Comments »

During Internet Week, the array of tech events and parties in New York City are almost dizzying.

By the end of the week, it can be difficult to keep all the events straight and remember whom you met where.

That’s why GIT’s New York City chapter is proud to be a sponsor for the DaniWeb “Dinner with Dani” event. It’s a cross between speed dating, a dinner party and old-fashioned networking.

There are 12 tables and three courses. Those invited (fill out the survey to snag an invite) are shuffled between tables over the course of the dinner according to their interests.

You might, for example, be really interested in virtualization, want to talk to folks about SEO and want to pick someone’s brain about widgets. At a typical event, you’d be stuck with whomever you were seated next to or have to seek out people with other interests throughout the evening.

At the Dinner with Dani, you’d sit at one table for the first course (Table 1, “Web 2.0,” has a focus on widgets then), another for the second course (Table 11, “Internet Marketing,” will discuss SEO then) and another for the third course (Table 4, “Cloud Computing” focuses on virtualization then).

Each table has a sponsor’s representative, who will help guide the conversation and keep it on target.

This is how the setup will look:

TABLE #1 “Web 2.0″
Widgets  |  AJAX  |  Web Services

TABLE #2 “LAMP”
Linux  |  PHP  |  MySQL

TABLE #3 “.NET”
C#  |  IIS  |  Microsoft SQL

TABLE #4 “Cloud Computing”
Windows Azure  |  VMWare  |  Virtualization

TABLE #5 “Software Development”
C++  |  Java  |  Python

TABLE #6 “Web Development”
ColdFusion  |  CSS  |  Ruby

TABLE #7 “Databases”
Databases for Web  |  Database Design  |  DBs for Client/Server

TABLE #8 “Rich Media”
Silverlight  |  Flash  |  Photoshop and Design

TABLE #9 “Hardware”
Storage  |  Network Hardware  |  Gaming Rigs

TABLE #10 “Operating Systems”
Mac OS  |  Windows 7  |  Linux

TABLE #11 “Internet Marketing”
Social Media  |  SEO/SEM  |  eCommerce

TABLE #12 “Entertainment”
Mobile Apps  |  Media Center  |  Streaming Video

Those attending will have the opportunity to network in small groups with upwards of 36 people.

Then, after the three-hour dinner, the party at The Yard (55 W. 21st St., near Sixth Avenue) opens up at 10 p.m. to the general Internet Week public, with an hour of an open bar and festivities until 2 a.m. that include Rock Band 3, raffles and the chance to get your photo taken on the red carpet, plus other surprises.

The dinner is a wholly unique event, with invitations for just 100 or so people, so fill out the survey now for your chance to attend. And either way, you’ll want to come to the party and challenge your friends to a game of Rock Band 3.

Tags: DaniWeb, Internet Week, New York
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Laurel Touby, the founder & cyberhostess of mediabistro.com – the largest online destination for media professionals – recently gave GIT-NY a heads up on some amazing Spring events tailored exclusively for the social media marketing diva in New York.

Two events that caught our eye were the upcoming Think Mobile event and the 3^rd annual Mediabistro Circus event.

Think Mobile, which takes place April 7-8 at Comix in New York City is a conference about all things mobile as it relates to the marketing mix. What’s really cool this year is that they’ve devoted an entire day with a laser-focus on mobile apps.

Confused about which apps work best for your organization? There’s a panel for that.

No idea about what it actually takes to build a mobile app? There’s a panel for that.

As expected, the 2-day conference features an amazing mix of panel participants and moderators – from PC Magazine’s Dan Costa to Bravo TV’s Aimee Viles.

Mediabistro Circus enters its 3^rd year of fabulosity on May 20 at 92Y Tribeca in New York City. Girls in Tech was delighted to hear that the focus of this year’s Circus is on “women as visionary leaders who have challenged traditional thinking at a time of great economic upheaval.”

A quick glance at the amazing day-long program (which we’re told is still being finalized) already had us giddy. (Shout-out to GIT-NYC member Lynne Johnson of the Advertising Research Foundation, who will be speaking on the Social Media Panel alongside Conde Nast Digital’s Alice McKown.)

From the changing face of online retail to strategies on how to build community into content, all eyes are sure to be on this circus.

Will we see you there?

Tags: Events, New York, social media
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Doing it Right is an unparalleled resource for success – a transformative program designed by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs who want to become dominant players in their sectors. And last year, it expanded across the world.

The format? A comprehensive 6-day workshop, 2 month program of personalized coaching from premier experts and the opportunity to start benefiting from theglobal ecosystem of Angels, VCs, corporations, and entrepreneurs that is Astia.

Who should apply? Exceptional women-led high growth start-ups who know that success is not just about raising money but about growing a business and thriving even in today’s tough market.

Doing it Right is about…

Seizing opportunities to engage with Angel and Venture Capital.

Taking advantage of alternative sources of funding

Crafting an investor pitch to get the wallet from the investor’s pocket

Building defensible financial plans for maximum growth.

Developing a winning valuation and term sheet strategy

Drafting a blueprint for taking and defending significant market share

Bootstrapping to success through customer sales and strategy

Attracting the right team

Apply today if you have…

An innovative idea in either the Technology, Life Sciences or Clean Tech sectors

A high-growth investment opportunity

An exceptional team and business strategy

A significant market opportunity

A defendable competitive advantage

At least one woman in a leadership role (at C level) or in significant position of equity and influence

Tags: ASTIA, Bangalore, Doing it Right, girls in tech, London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco
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Doing it Right is an unparalleled resource for success — a transformative program designed by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs who want to become dominant players in their sectors. And last year, it expanded across the world. The format? A comprehensive 6-day workshop, 2 month program of personalized coaching from premier experts and the opportunity to start benefiting from the global ecosystem of angels, VCs, corporations, and entrepreneurs that is Astia. Who should apply? Exceptional women-led high growth start-ups who know that success is not just about raising money but about growing a business and thriving even in today’s tough market.

-Seizing opportunities to engage with Angel and Venture Investors
-Taking advantage of alternative sources of funding
-Crafting an investor pitch to get the wallet from the investor’s pocket
-Building defensible financial plans for maximum growth
-Developing a winning valuation and term sheet strategy
-Drafting a blueprint for taking and defending significant market share
-Bootstrapping to success through effective customer sales and maximization
-Attracting the right team

Qualified companies from the Doing it Right Program will participate in this flagship event in the investment community’s calendar. Throughout 2010 there will also be targeted forums in New York, London and Bangalore.

Astia is a global not-for-profit organization built on a community of experts whose goal is to ensure the success of women in high-growth start-ups. In 2009, Astia’s Doing it Right programs have expanded with Astia pioneering leadership for women entrepreneurs globally, providing unprecedented access to funding and expertise for our clients.

Angelsoft; Cisco; Fenwick & West; Greenberg Traurig; Iron Creative; Microsoft; Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo P.C.; Morrison & Foerster; Moss Adams; Osborne Clarke; PayCycle; Reed Smith; Square 1 Bank; SVB Financial; UK Trade & Investment

Alloy Ventures, Apex Venture Partners, Asset Management, CalPERS, Cisco, Garage Technology Ventures, Hamilton Lane, Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, Illuminate Ventures, Levensohn Venture Partners, Milk Street Ventures, Prolog Ventures

“Astia has an extraordinary success rate which attests to the hidden opportunity presented by women-led companies.”
- Mitchell Kertzman, Partner, Hummer Winblad Venture Partners

Tags: Adriana Gascoigne, ASTIA, Bangalore, Doing it Right Program, girls in tech, London, New York, San Francisco
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The cold and dreary weather in New York has finally disappeared. The warm and sunny weather brings a sense of renewal and optimism, particularly important in the difficult economic times that we have experienced. Companies, too, are slowly starting to thaw from the deep freeze of the last several months and beginning to seek out talented individuals.

Girls in Tech NYC is fostering that spirit of renewal by hosting a co-ed TalentSeeker social at Kush lounge that will allow individuals to engage each other in a casual and relaxed environment. As a complement to the event we are featuring two motivational and powerful women within the NYC business community: Dina Kaplan, co-founder and COO of Blip.tv and Peg Samuel, CEO of Social Diva Media and author of How to be a Social Diva. Of course there will also be fabulous swag thanks to our generous sponsors: Beautiful Stranger.tv, Smashing Darling and SkinCeutials, who is providing a special giveaway!

This event has everything you need to network and engage in a chic and relaxing environment. All you have to bring is yourself, a friend and a business card!

DATE: Wednesday, May 27
TIME: 6:30 – 9:30pm
PLACE: Kush Lounge, 191 Chrystie Street (Lower East Side)http://www.kushlounge.com/

COST: $10 in advance, $15 at the door
RSVP: http://snipr.com/hhria (Meetup) or http://snipr.com/hhrjp (Eventbrite)

Last call for job listings and talent seekers!

We are compiling a PDF of available roles for our attendees to download beforehand (Tuesday evening). If you have a job or project you are seeking talent for, contact Tommy Jenkins at tommy@girlsintech.net to get on the listings, and join us for the event!  You’ll get a nametag identifying you as a talent seeker so those looking for work can introduce themselves and you can get to know each other in a relaxed, low-pressure environment!

Tags: Amy Cham, dina kaplan, jobs, New York, peg samuel
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Things have been quiet for a few months, but we’re back and ready to run with the NYC chapter of Girls in Tech!

Introductions

I’m Amy Cham, the new Managing Director for the NYC chapter. For some quick background, I’m the Tech/Marketing Convergence Manager at Tree House Agency, an interactive development firm. After a few years in front-end web development, I decided to get an MBA and focus more on the business side of things; today my work with Tree House Agency is a blend of marketing and project management, though I maintain a healthy interest in Drupal and use it for most of my own projects. I am also beginning to pursue professional photography, something that I’ve wanted to do since high school.

Also on board getting things going is Janine Just, owner of The Avid Group, a NYC firm specializing in events, marketing, and PR. Janine (and a team of associates from NextWeb) will be instrumental in helping to put on what we all hope will be a series of fun and valuable events throughout this year.

We are looking for more people to get involved! If you would like to help Girls in Tech move forward as a blogger, organizer, or in some other capacity, please send me an email at amy@girlsintech.net. I’d love to hear from you!

Upcoming Events

Speaking of events, the NYC chapter of Girls in Tech will be having a “relaunch” launch party late next month. Details will follow soon…to keep tabs on chapter news the minute it is available, join our Facebook group!

So what’s a techie girl to do in the meantime? Well, for us open sourceresses, there’s the NYC DrupalCamp 6 happening February 28, and DrupalCon in Washington, DC, at the beginning of March. I’ll be at both events, and would love to meet any members who make it out. (Especially, don’t forget to stop by the DrupalChix birds of a feather at DrupalCon!)

Hot on the heels of DrupalCon is the iconic SXSW Interactive in Austin, TX, running March 13-17. While I cannot attend this, there are sure to be fellow Girls in Tech members joining the festivities!

Beyond these events, there are always an incredible number of technology-related Meetups happening in New York City. Whether you’re more inclined toward the business or development side of things, there is probably a meetup event for you during any given week.

Getting Connected

The Facebook group is a great place to leave a note and reach out to other members to arrange face-to-face introductions at events, or just around the City. Don’t be shy!

Do you know of another upcoming event that the ladies of Girls in Tech NYC should know about? Post your favorites in the comments!

Tags: Amy Cham, facebook, girls in tech, launch party, New York
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