Sep
01

Being a Female in Tech Rocks!

rosie female power

One of my favorite quotes of all time is by Ghandi, “We must become the change we want to see.”

If you want change to happen, don’t wait for someone else to do it, do it yourself!

So many people, as pointed out in this TechCrunch post, have written meaningless posts about this problem and why it may be the men’s fault. Why don’t we all stop complaining and wondering and start embracing and encouraging? We never thought we’d see a woman in the running for the president, but we did. We never thought more women would be in college than men, but they are. We never thought women would become up and coming CEOs today, but they are. What is to stop females from rising in the high tech scene?

I know many other females around Boston that are in the same situation as I am: one of the only females at our workplace. I have spoken with many of them, including Lindsay Goldner, Ali Powell, Cait Downey, and Victoria Song about the current deficit of women in the Boston tech scene but that is not stopping us, it only empowers us to keep going. We find ourselves just as interested in high tech as many of the men we work with, and we want others to feel the same.

There have been many misconceptions about women in tech and that we will never grow to a large population, but I’d like to see that change happen in my lifetime. I saw this misconception come to life at an event in San Francisco that I attended a few months ago, Structure 2010. Structure was an intensive two-day cloud computing conference, discussing top trends, issues, opportunities and challenges in the cloud industry. I was forewarned that I was going to be significantly outnumbered at this event, and that I was! Being a 22 year old female left me sorely out of place in a conference packed with middle-aged men. People looked at me funny like I walked into the wrong event, but once I started talking with others about my career and interests, I felt right at home.

Having been raised on technology (setting up my family’s first home computer, getting my first cell phone at 13, and using AIM and MySpace in my early teen years) stirred my initial interest in the subject. Once I bought my first Mac computer in college, I was a complete tech innovation lover. I started exploring all types of techie things such as setting up Google Apps, creating a self hosted blog, studying SEO, checking out HTML, and then on the side I did reviews of various mobile apps (on my iPhone).

A few months ago, as you may have read, I landed a job at a high tech start up here in Boston. I’ve been here for four months now as the only female in the company and can’t even begin to explain how much I have learned and grown. I have been surrounded by some of the smartest minds in cloud computing, internet marketing, and website design. Four months ago I could never have imagined that I would learn as much as I have already.

Just because women aren’t the majority in the tech scene yet (or maybe ever) doesn’t mean we can’t still make a huge impact and learn like crazy. Although several of my female friends and I are the minority at events and in our workplace, that only adds oxygen to our fire. I actually enjoy being part of an underrepresented group of motivated individuals ready to take on the ‘impossible.’

Many women don’t want to be in this industry because of the misconceptions that it is a nerdy, masculine arena. Those few of us that don’t fall for that misconception need to be given a shot.

In the start up world, it is not about who or what gender formulated an idea for a start up; it is the idea that counts. If your idea rocks, it will go far (and probably make you a millionaire). Silicon Valley is a great example of this happening left and right.

I don’t regret joining this industry for even a second. It shouldn’t matter what gender you are that determines if you will succeed in a given area of interest, it should be your ideas, passion and determination that gets you far. I love what I do and will keep doing it for as long as I can.

There are many awesome groups around Boston that act as female tech incubators, including Girls in Tech, Boston Womenpreneurs (founded by Ali Powell whom I mentioned above) and Boston Women’s Network. This is a great network of groups to facilitate female interest and advancement in a previously male-only industry.

What are your thoughts? Do you have a minority of females working at your company? Share your ideas and stories below!

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Jan
30

Lost Without Technology

What would you do without your most prized piece of technology?

I didn’t think of this question until my iPhone was stolen last week. I kept most of my life on that phone; my contacts, social networking sites, banking, messaging, videos, etc. Once it was gone, I felt like a part of me was gone as well.

This got me to thinking about how advanced our society is today. Even a year ago I would have been fine without my phone because it was a simple flip phone with no special attributes. Now I am a Mac Loyalist and hold onto all of my Apple products with my life. It is strange to think how much we tend to rely on technology today. Our computers help us process information on a daily basis, whether it is at school, work, or at home. Our phones help us keep in touch with friends, store special dates on the calendar, and provides Internet access so we are always connected. Our iPods or MP3′s allow us access to music anywhere, anytime.

What is one piece of technology that you could not do without? For me, it is my iPhone. I would love to hear you input!

Jan
08

Information Overload for Generation Y!

Generation Y consumers are said to be the most technologically advanced and informed of all the generation segments today. This can be a good and bad thing for companies and marketers. Most of my friends and I have smart phones, laptops, iPods, Facebook accounts, cameras, and much more. We have almost TOO much technology at our hands, so we do not always know how to process all of the information. In addition to having all of these products, we are then bombarded by new products/ad/services, etc to add onto our already overloaded set of technologies.

Ads come to my phone (through Twitter text messages, ads on my iPhone apps, and other random advertising messages). They also are all over the internet, no matter what site I am visiting. We are constantly being targeted by Apple, if we already have one of their products, to get more accessories, or the most updated version of their products. Then, when we go to socialize with our friends online on Facebook, we get notifications from them about their new applications and there are also side ads on every page.

So, how do we filter all of this information? We ignore it! I personally just tune out all ads I see when i am overloaded with information, or not in the mood to investigate a new products or service. However, I find Twitter is a great way to reach Generation Y consumers in an intrusive yet acceptable way.

Twitter allows consumers to come to them, which is a great example of pull marketing. If a consumer wants to follow a specific company or person, they can. This means they agree to receive the messages, links, videos etc. that they post, and can decide whether or not they will read or watch what is posted. I personally follow a lot of businesses that I shop at, Dunkin’ Donuts in particular. I am interested to see what they are up to, and occasionally click on the links that they post to learn more.

I believe that Twitter is a great solution to the information overload that Generation Y is experiencing. However, there is a set back. The more people or companies that a person follows, the more information and posts they will receive every day. Twitter users do have the ability to create lists and ‘unfollow’ someone, so they can control the amount of information they are given.

If you can’t tell by now, I am a huge believer in what Twitter does. At first I was a skeptic, but after being on it for many months and interacting with several people and businesses, I have concluded that it is the perfect solution for this generation’s issue. Now all Twitter has to do is get more of these consumers to create accounts since hardly anyone I know even knows the purpose of Twitter, nor is even considering creating an account.

Dec
28

Lets Get Social!

Generation Y is unlike any other generation today. They like information at their fingertips, having cutting-edge technology, and do not like to be advertised to. Being a Gen Y’er myself, I am going to discuss what I have observed about the effectiveness of social media for this generation.

Social media allows us to connect with friends, relatives, co-workers, and even famous people or large corporations. People are exposed to over 3,000 ads per DAY! One may wonder how so many advertisements to an already saturated generation can be effective. Social media is the answer! But, it must be done right. I first viewed social media advertising on Facebook. Personally, I find these ads to be ineffective because they are not flashy and are not a topic of interest for people logging into Facebook. However, giving people the option to interact with a company, star, professional, etc. is a whole other realm of niche advertising.
I think the emergence of Twitter was the perfect outlet for this need. Twitter has allowed Generation Y to view what stars and companies are doing in real-time, all the time. When someone admires a favorite music artist they are able to see artist updates, interact and engage with them. Engagement is one of the most important aspects of marketing, as it relates to the AIDA model. The ability to comment or re-tweet their message allows Gen Y further interaction than ever before, social media ENGAGED! The same goes for a person communicating with a business. Companies can disseminate information regarding new products, services, events, community involvement, etc. so consumers can easily see what they are doing.
Traditional media outlets do not capture Gen Y much anymore, so there is little chance we would reference back to newspapers, magazines and even some television for the latest and greatest information. The internet transmits this same information quicker and more efficiently. Radio has been replaced by iPods and radio advertisements by satellite radio. The emergence of TiVo, On Demand, and other television services provide consumers with shows or movies, uninterrupted by advertisements.
It is clear that social media is how to engage Gen Y. With the development of the iPhone and other smart devices, Gen Y can be completely hooked up to their social media sites 24/7. Personally, I have an iPhone with applications for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and You Tube. This allows me to view messages from all of these outlets, even when I am not at a computer. I find it very valuable to get information when and where I want it. I do not have the time to listen to news broadcasts or read newspapers, so getting a simple message from Twitter linking me to the web site, or  seeing a Facebook update from a company lets me know the news is there if I want it.
So what am I suggesting? It is critical for all companies, stars, professionals, etc. to be deeply involved in social media if they want to capture Generation Y’s interest… and keep it. Our age group wants to interact with you, but in a way that fits our needs. Don’t assume we will be reading a particular magazines or watching a particular show anymore because there are many other ways we get this information now, social media in particular. Contacting us through social media outlets in a timely manner with quick tid-bits of important information is a highly effective and interesting way to get us engaged.

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