Posts Tagged ‘women’

Last night Juli and I both had the pleasure of attending the kickoff of the Front Range Girl Geek Dinners.  I had heard about the Girl Geek Dinners before from various tech friends dispersed around the globe, and was pleased to see that Colorado was getting its act together in that respect.

I was not disappointed:  the room was packed, the women were fun and talented, and it was awesome to connect with other geeky women in a way more prolonged than that familiar nod of solidarity in a room full of 90% men that is common to local tech-type gatherings.

The estimable Deirdré Straughan of Sun Microsystems presented on “Social Media, the Enterprise, and You”.  My notes are below, along with a slideshow of her presentation.

I’m looking forward to getting more involved in this organization and meeting many more geeky girls!

• Social media is exploding: Sites that call for user-generated content (Twitter, Facebook, eBay, and the ilk) are the fastest-growing on the Web.
• Why do we care? Because social media helps us create serendipitous connections, collaborate with others, and engage the experts.
• Social media isn’t just fun…it’s the new résumé.  It’s more important than ever to drive awareness of yourself and why you’re wonderful…to develop your personal brand.  (You are signed up for VOCO’s free personal branding bootcamp, aren’t you?)
• Transparency is paramount if you’re going to be taken seriously. Sun is doing an amazing job of fostering conversations while remaining transparent, be it via wikis, self-policed blogs, or the dissemination of tons of user-produced content throughout the ether.
• Put a human face on your business. Twitter isn’t just a little chatterbox watercooler, it’s a way to build personal connections (however small and ephemeral) with other businesspeople.  You never know when it might pay off.

The cynics among us like to point out that all holidays outside of Christmas and Easter were manufactured by the card companies and florists to rob us blind and empty our bank accounts, increasing the hellish commute we’ll face when we need to walk uphill both ways to the poorhouse in our twilight years.

Seeing as Mother’s Day is this Sunday (and reading news articles like this one about anticipated spending on flowers, gifts, and cards for Mom), I’ve started to wonder if it’s a manufactured holiday, too.

Turns out it is…but not for the reasons you might think.

Apparently Mother’s Day is a combination of two traditions…the one pushed by Anne Marie Jarvis, who wanted to celebrate her mother after that woman’s death, and Julia Ward Howe (think “Battle Hymn of the Republic”), who used a mother’s holiday as a way to organize women around issues of pacifism and disarmament.  For years, Mother’s Day was known as a working-class holiday celebrating peace, safety, and health.  Only during World War II did this holiday gain popularity, perhaps due to its sentimentality in a time of war.

Though Jarvis wanted Mother’s Day to be about “sentiment, not profit,” her message has been co-opted by savvy marketers looking to cash in on parental devotion.  Nowadays, it’s rare to meet someone who remembers the true focus of the first Mother’s Days in this country.

When you’re buying those flowers or mailing that card to Mom this year, stop and think for a second about the true origins of this holiday.  What can we learn from the co-opting of Mother’s Day?  It can’t be all bad…after all, most mothers are unsung heroes of some variety.  Still, the authentic origins of Mother’s Day feel a bit more real and relevant than a holiday meant for random cards and obligatory gifts.  Maybe it’s time to re-hybridize Mother’s Day, turning it into a celebration of the women who bore us and the universal rights and values of all children.

New name, new look. Same killer skills.

Speaking of new looks, consider spending your upcoming Sunday with Voco Creative and the women of we2e at the NewYou 2008 Expo at the St. Julien Hotel in Boulder. We’ll be joining other female entrepreneurs for a day of networking, learning, and close encounters with experts in the areas of relationships, wealth, beauty, wellness, and environment. Better yet, the event benefits the Boulder YWCA and will feature the unveiling of ten whole-life makeovers donated by the women of we2e!

Still on the fence? In addition to goodie bags with freebies like microdermabrasion and CDs and an amazing keynote by Gina Schreck, you’ll be able to check out yours truly at Branding Boot Camp from 2:30 to 3:30!

We’ll see you there…and we’ll see you much more often on our new home on the Web!