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 »

Open – it’s a web buzzword so buzzy you can practically see the vuvuzelas flaring behind it. But, what does it really mean? And, why does everyone care so much?

But first, a little background. Most websites run like their own unique countries. They have specific rules, structures and languages in place to help the site communicate with its users, with its databases, with its developers, etc.  Because every site operates differently, it’s been historically difficult for programmers to create sites that can clearly communicate with each other in an efficient manner. That’s where the API – or application programming interface – comes in. To really simplify things, an API is like an interpreter that allows different sets of site code to communicate with one another coherently and consistently.

The past few years have really seen the rise of the API as an important part of a site’s structure, and as a major selling point for companies like Facebook and Twitter, whose API’s have allowed them to become more than just stand-alone websites. Thanks to API’s, these sites are now more like platforms, from which other developers can draw on the site’s databases and core functionality to create new features, programs and applications. They also allow sites to use information about the entire breadth of a user’s internet use – from the music you like on Pandora being promoted on your Facebook page to the friends you chat with on Gmail getting automatically loaded into your LinkedIn address book. And that’s where the whole open web thing comes into play.

The open web is basically a movement to standardize certain practices across the web, and to share data between developers and the sites they work for. It’s being heavily promoted by groups like the Open Web Foundation, who works to foster communication and collaboration across the web. But, it’s more conceptual than concrete.

Open Social, OpenID and the Facebook Open Graph are all concrete, code-based examples of the movement towards making the web more open.

Open Social, which was developed by Google and MySpace with help from various other partners,  is basically a set of APIs that allow users to sign in and share with one ID across sites that have implemented the OpenSocial code. Facebook’s Open Graph allows users to use their Facebook login information and data across a network of partner sites, and send and share content between their Facebook profiles and their profiles on these partner platforms.

Similarly, OpenID provides users with a single username and password, which can then be used across a variety of sites, including LiveJournal, Google and Yahoo. And, services like OAuth, which Twitter uses,  use the same sort of concept to allow users to give a single set of sign-in information for multiple sites – often with some restrictions on what kinds of data the sites you sign in to using those credentials can get access to.

These are all examples of a single service trying to make it easier for a user to take their login information, personal data and any content they’ve created or shared from site to site across the web. But, that’s not where this story ends. Now that so many of these services exist, there’s a bit of a battle going on to see if any one service can become the standard for everything social and shared across the web.

If any one service can stand out as the single place for users to get login credentials, store their data and share their content from, then the company behind it will have all sorts of power and influence on the internets. Not to mention major monetization opportunities, and unmatched access to all sorts of interesting information about pretty much every person who uses the web. Forget that silly little ring. On today’s web, it’s all about one registration to rule them all.

Of course, it’s not all as big brother as it sounds. In fact, these open web services are responsible for some of the coolest cross-site mashups and mobile apps around, and giving sites the ability to easily communicate with one another and share information across the internet is a surefire way to guarantee even more amazing innovations in years to come – and to save developers a whole lot of money on the Aspirin required to cope with the dizzying array of different standards and systems on the web today.

At this point, only time will tell how all of the new open web standards and services shake out. All I can say for sure is that it’s a really interesting time to be a web user – not to mention someone who works on the web.

And that, my friends, is what all the buzz is about.

Tags: Sharing, social networking, web
Posted in Los Angeles | 2 Comments »

The semantic web — if that phrase doesn’t mean anything to you yet, don’t worry. Pretty soon it will be as commonplace as its close cousin – the ‘social web.’ It’s basically a fancy term for the idea of linking all the web’s data to create all kinds of relationships between people, products, sites and more. At its most basic level, it means creating a common language to allow all the individual elements of the internet to communicate and connect. By also making that language more human meaningful, developers can use semantic web principles to put out applications that are better able to comprehend and complement the core structures of our society.

Have you ever used Facebook Connect? Searched for something on Google? Bought a product through an Amazon affiliate link? Any time you do any of these things — and countless more on the big ol’ interwebs — you’re reaping the benefits of the semantic web.  In fact, some of the most exciting and innovative stuff happening on today’s internet is based on this concept. Which is why it’s fitting that for many people, ‘semantic web’ is becoming synonymous with ‘Web 3.0.’

Want to learn more? Check out Mediabistro’s Web 3.0 Conference in Santa Clara next week. With speakers like Microsoft’s Mark Johnson and Scott Prevost, Google’s Johanna Wright and Vulcan Inc.’s Mark Greaves, the conference is already shaping up to be a great resource for anyone interested in learning more about the next big movement on the web. Plus, GIT members will save 20% on tickets with code: W3GIT.

What: Mediabistro’s Web 3.0 Conference

Where: Hyatt Regency Santa Clara
5101 Great America Parkway,
Santa Clara, California, USA 95054

When: January 26-27, 2010

Register

Tags: 3.0, conference, semantic web, tech, web, web 3.0
Posted in Events, Los Angeles | No Comments »

So, you’re looking for a social media job. You want to be a content coordinator, a social media marketer, an editorial executive, whatever. You’ve polished up your resume, rounded up your references and picked up the perfect pair of interview shoes. You email every job post on the web. And then you wait. And wait. And wait. And meanwhile, I’m sitting at my desk, sifting through resumes and wondering why we can’t find anyone halfway decent for social media openings at our company.

So why aren’t you interviewing with me? Well, assuming you’re a qualified candidate, then the problem is probably your cover letter.

You see, your cover letter is a lot more than a simple intro for your resume and references. It’s a first impression of your qualifications. And, in many cases, it’s the only impression that busy person on the other side of the screen is going to get before they decide to dismiss you completely.

So, how do compose a killer cover letter? Simple. Just follow the three P’s. Personality, profiles and proofreading.

Personality is probably the trickiest of the trifecta. Social media certainly ain’t a 9-5 gig, so when I’m screening resumes, I’m always aware that I’ll probably end up spending more time with the person we pick than I do with my friends and family combined. A little personality in your cover letter is a great barometer for me when making those decisions. But, show too much personality, and you might come across as unprofessional. So, I’ll gladly read colloquialisms, creativity and even the occasional quip. Emoticons and excessive exclamation on the other hand will probably get a less positive response.  And don’t forget, one person’s treasured triple-exclamation-point sign off might just be another one’s personal pet peeve. (Hint, hint).

If you’re applying for a job in social media, the profiles part should be the easiest part of this equation. Just make sure you include links to all of your social media sites. And you might as well include the personal and professional. Don’t think I’m not gonna google it if you don’t. When we’re hiring for a heavy social media job, we want to see people with a presence on the social web. So,I’m looking at your ratio of Twitter followers to followers, your number of tweets, your social aggregator accounts, your blog, your boyfriend’s blog — whatever I can find to prove that you know your way around the web. You don’t need to have your fingers in every profile pie, but you should have some background in this whole social networking scene. If you don’t, then you better have a backup plan for proving to me that you’re the person for the post.

Last, but not least, make sure you proofread. If I had a nickel for every typo, grammar gaffe, misused word or spelling mistake I’ve seen in cover letters over the past year, I could probably afford to just fund the invention of a robot who would cover all of our open job posts, so I’d never again have to stare in disbelief at the cover letter of a college graduate who can’t tell the difference between ‘their’ and ‘there.’ Seriously, I can’t stress the importance of proofreading your cover letters enough. This is also true for emails sent from mobile devices. If it’s the first piece of writing I’m going to be seeing from you, it’s worth a few extra minutes of meticulousness.

At the end of the day, crafting a killer cover letter comes down to this: you could have the best background of anybody on the web, but if your cover letter is awful, it’s like hiding a gorgeous gown under a crappy coat. What’s the point? If you’re going to invest in the gown, make sure you spend some time on the outerwear too. After all, it’s the first layer of your first impression. And, the first step towards scoring a chance to show off those interview shoes.

Tags: careers, hiring, jobs, socialmedia, tech, web
Posted in Los Angeles | 4 Comments »

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 »

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 »