What a Web We Weave: Enhancing Conferences with an Online Community

I gave a lightning talk at MidWiC09 on how online communites are used at GHC. Below is my abstract and script.

In 2008, I decided to attend the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing (GHC). SInce I had not submitted a BOF, technical paper, or poster during the call for participation, I volunteered to contribute to the online community. THe GHC online community includes blogging, note taking via a wiki, tweeting on Twitter, sharing photos and videos via Flickr and YouTube respectively, and utilizing the social networks of Facebook and LinkedIn. This participation absolutely made my GHC experience, and I returned again in 2009 as one of the YouTube group coordinators. In this Lightning Talk, I will explain how the different online mediums are used and the benefits they provide beyond the conference.

LinkedIn and Facebook allow distribution of information over pre-established networks. More importantly it allows interaction between those in the networks that wouldn't happen if the info was solely sent in an email newsletter distributed via blind carbon copy.

Mediums used before the conference in addition to LinkedIn and Facebook were the GHC Blog, YouTube, and Twitter.

Before the conference, bloggers posted advice on how to make the most of the exhibits and recruiters, on what to pack, on networking. The blog allows for sharing of personal perspective, and bloggers shared why they feel GHC is so important, how GHC has affected their life, and what they hope to get out of the conference. Organizers also blogged to share some of the behind the scenes work done at the conference.

I was a coordinator of the YouTube group this year. I started a video blog with a classmate at GHC08 where we did two pre-conference videos introducing ourselves and going over what to pack. This year we did a five episode series that included introducing ourselves for anyone new to our show, providing tips to first time attendees, and going over the eight session tracks.

Twitter was used to distribute announcements of new blog posts or video or new information about the conference. It's also used as a networking tool. Many of the GHC09 official Twitterers did not know each other. At the conference, when we ran into one another (and realized it), we weren't meeting a stranger. I discoverer a Twitterer who works for Sun is from my home town after I tweeted about a Fort Wayne issue.

At the conference, all these mediums were used as was a Wiki for note-taking. While at the conference, a conflict arose, and I was unable to attend a session I felt would be beneficial to my career. However, I was able to access the Wiki at a later time to see notes not just from the presenter, but also the audience Q&A.

The blog was used to share personal reactions to sessions, as well as session summaries.

The YouTube group was used to video record attendees that may not be presenting as well as interview presenters.

Twitter was used extensively. The conference center actually had a Twitter account that followed those using the hashtag, and responded to requests for stronger WiFi, turning down A/C, and providing other venue-related q's. It also allowed people following the back channel at one session to tweet questions to people at other sessions to ask. For example, I was note-taking one session, and someone tweeted an interesting quote from another session. I replied with a question, which the woman was able to ask on my behalf.

Beyond the conference I use Twitter to keep in touch with the new members of my network. After seeing one woman invite my old roommate to a Girls Geek Dinner, I tweeted my jealousy. In response, the Su employee from my hometown declared we would have a geek dinner of our own over the winter holiday.

This post was originally published on Ashley's personal blog, Let's Eat that Big Fish, at http://organizefish.com/blog/archives/149.

A Humanities Major's Guide to Surviving GHC09

As a geek whose geekiness comes out in her work (social media consulting, blogging, web presence development), her achievements (only high school student with an essay in She's Such a Geek, programmer for Stanford University Libraries at 18, three time presenter at Hopper) but not her major (Ethics, History and Public Policy [an interdisciplinary major between the History and Philosophy Departments], with a minor in Vocal Performance), it can be a little rough going to a conference for technical women.

Here are three of my coping mechanisms:

1. I am not my coursework--I am my ideas.
   
   Whether you are on Brazen Careerist or not, expect to be hired based on your web presence, not an 8.5x11 sheet of paper. My ideas--whether you find them in my presentations at this year's Hopper, my personal blog, or just through conversation with me--are what makes me a woman in technology, not whether I have taken C++.


2. Focus on the conversations, not the initials.
   
   The Impostor Panel was one of my favorites at Hopper last year. In it, incredible women (a presidents of a major University, inspiring technologists, groundbreaking innovators) stood up and told a roomful of women: "I am an impostor".
   
   Women in technology often feel like impostors, fakes, like we're sliding by until someone notices we're not up to snuff. As geeky humanities majors, we are particularly vulnerable to this feeling. Acknowledge it, process it, and ignore it. We have the ovarios to show up to this conference, and we are here because we have something to say. Once we say it, everyone will know we belong.


3. Technology is more than programming (Or, What Can You Do With a Humanities Degree?).
   
   As a daughter of a programmer, and as a geek who grew up in Silicon Valley, I know the value of programming. But for any given technology to reach its full potential, it needs people to speak for it--policy makers, columnists and visionaries. Here are three humanities majors who are shaping how we develop technology today:
   
   
   
   • Lawrence Lessig graduated from UPenn with a BS in managment and a BA in economics.
   • Annalee Newitz from Berkley with a PhD in English and American Studies.
   • Clay Shirky from Yale College with a degree in Art.
   
   
   So what can you do with a Humanities Degree? Rock the world. In the short-term, rock the Hopper conference.

Build your ideas. Focus on the conversation. Remember who sets policy. And enjoy yourself--this is a world-class chance to be surrounded by geeks like us, and to confirm we're not impostors. Enjoy it, spread it, bring it home.

Inspirational Quote:

For there are two deserts: One is a grim desolate wasteland. It is the home of venomous reptiles and stinging insects, of vicious thorn-covered plants and trees and unbearable heat... visualized by those children of luxury to whom any environment is intolerable which does not provide all the comforts and luxuries of a pampering civilization.

The other desert -- the real desert -- is not for the eyes of the superficial observer or the fearful soul of the cynic. It is a land which reveals its true character only to those who come with courage, tolerance, and understanding. For those the desert holds rare gifts.--Randall Henderson

(My quote-theme for this conference will be desert quotes because we're in Tuscon AZ)

What I Love About GHC (and, Women Pilots in WWII!)

I wrote about this at my first Hopper, but I want to say it again: what I love about GHC is standing in the middle of the atrium floor on Wednesday night, watching 1000+ women talk and carry boxes and geek out about each other's gadgets and set up their posters and plan their evenings. Standing and watching, I am reminded that I am not that I am not alone, that I am in a community of women, women who are smart and geeky. As women in male-dominated fields, it is so easy to feel isolated and without community. I often feel pathless. Hopper gives me a chance to peer down the paths of life which other women have tread. I always start to reshape my life-map at Hopper, basing my new map on the stories I hear from the women around me.

As geeky women, we need this community, and this chance to imagine ourselves without borders. I am looking forward to it, as always.

PS: For geeks who are also history buffs, check out this article from the New York Times about female pilots in WWII. There were nearly as many then as there will be Hopper attendees this year!

Inspirational Quote:

"The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity." Dorothy Parker

Notes from a n00b (or, in which I explore coming to ghc09 from *slightly* outside the tech community)

A few months ago I stumbled upon the Grace Hopper Celebration Web site. I can't quite remember the series of clicks that got me to the site but I'm fairly certain it had something to do with a Twitter search or checking out tweets from the fantastic tech women I happened to start following around the same time. In any case, not only did I find other organizations related to women and technology, but I also noticed that this year's Grace Hopper Celebration is in Tucson, Arizona! (Meaning: Since I live in Phoenix, rather than just thinking about how cool it might be to attend one of these conferences while only following the happenings through blog posts and tweets, I found something could realistically consider attending.)

Now, the conference is roughly two weeks out and not only am I going to GHC, I get to be involved. This is a very cool feeling for me because I come to "women in tech" in sort of a round-about way (being a communication studies MA student). My technical background is limited. I worked with online communication technologies for government and nonprofit agencies but never on the development side. Due to that, I can get a bit caught up in my own insecurity. As a comm studies scholar, I feel like I can spend a lot of time between multiple disciplines, rather than in any particular one. Recently, I've challenged myself to get out of that "in-between" place and push my comfort zone, because of my research interests (new media, culture and technology) and because of what I have to learn about advocating for women in any community. I'm so ready for my first GHC! I can't think of a better way to learn a lot. Quickly.

Oh, and can I tell you about what has blown my mind so far?

FREE CHILDCARE.

A NURSING MOTHER'S ROOM!

And...

Women's shirts. ;) **While it might seem odd to be so excited about this I have to admit I made the assumption that the GHC shirts available would be, by default, men's sizes. Turns out that's not the case! It might seem obvious to others, after all this is a woman centered organization, it is an example of how I am still working out mental barriers personally.

Anyway, for other newbies, whether coming from the tech community or not, here's what I've been up to to create the GHC 2009 experience for myself this year:

• Checked out Registration information to budget costs (I decided to think about the cost as part of my education costs for this semester if necessary).
• Volunteered both to be a Hopper and for the Online Community.
• Registered my daughter for free child care.
• Made arrangements for my oldest child and husband as related to the demands on my time for the week of GHC.
  
• Started tweeting, and re-tweeting with the other #ghc09 participants I've been able to find on Twitter.
• Drafted a post for the Grace Hopper Blog and caught up on what's been posted so far.

The only few things I have left on tap are to plan my days for the conference and then actually go. I'm quite excited to meet everyone in person!

Until then, you can find me online at: Twitter, Facebook, Posterous, and Linked In.

Grace Hopper Conference - How to land a job by becoming a child!

My first time in GHC was in the year 2007 in Orlando. I was a first year Masters student at Texas A&M University at that time. I went with zero expectations, literally. But I went with all the vigor and enthusiasm of a 5 year old:) And I landed myself a rewarding internship in a big firm. That started it all...

GHC will change you, for better. And I am not kidding. GHC taught me several things - confidence, networking skills, communication skills, building relationships and a host of other things!

There are already excellent posts on how to make the most out of GHC. I will not repeat them here. But I can share how GHC can help you land a job and also contribute to your personality. All you have to do, is become a child, once again. :)

1) Believe in yourself

Yes, that is the first and the last advice to remember. If you believe in yourself, you can make a mountain out of a mole. I believed in myself. I walked up to the recruiter's booth without any concerns - "Will I be able to impress them?", "Will I be able to get that internship?" etc. This automatically gives you all the confidence. You are no more anxious. You know that you are worth it.

2) Be inquisitive

Ask questions, like a child who is endlessly curious. Find out more about the company, about the job roles, about work culture, people, kind of work etc. If you don't ask questions, you will never know!

3) Prepare for your exam

Yes, just like a child who prepares for his exam. Come prepared. Take a printout of all companies attending and mark them in the order of your preference. Pick a company that is in the bottom of the list and go to their booth first. This is because you give yourself a "warmup" time. Converse with them, ask regular questions about their company, share with them your experience etc. This will give you time to reconsider how to talk to the other companies, especially the ones on the top of the list.

For example, the first company I approached, I forgot to take their business card. I also did not answer very well on a data structure question they asked me. Since I did not expect that coming. (Yes, they do ask some basic technical questions. So be over-prepared to be safe.)

4) Play and lose yourself in play

When you are with the recruiter, showcase your talent and work experience. It is very important to be passionate about your previous work experience and interests. You want to convince the recruiter that you know what you do and would love to contribute to their company.


5) Show love and respect

Again, recruiters have been standing all day long. Be genuinely concerned. Do not kick off with a list of programming languages you have worked in for instance. Give some time. Ask them about their trip to GHC, is this their first time, what sessions did they like etc. And then start briefing them about why you are at their booth.


6) Enjoy yourself

It is important to enjoy the process. Do not take this as a task. Plan out what companies you want to talk to in detail and do adequate homework on the company and on your resume. You want to be able to answer precisely anything that they point out in the resume. With a little planning you can relax, have fun, enjoy and also land that job!

My Splendid GHC08 Experience

Hi, I'm Ed. (That's one of my favorite things to say!) Anyway, I went to GHC last year and Valerie's and Barbora's posts inspired me to continue the "GHC Experience" thread. Last year I was able to go to GHC because I was a scholarship recipient. For me, that in and of itself was incredibly exciting! In preparation for GHC, I updated my resume and submitted it to the GHC Resume Database. My roommate at the time, Ashley, and I also decided that we wanted to do some video-blogging while at GHC. We filmed a couple episodes right before we left. That was the start of Ed & Ashley's 5 Minute Show.

Looking at my Google Calendar, my schedule was pretty packed for the conference. Several companies had contacted me about doing an on-site (at GHC) interview because they found me through the resume database. Between filming, creating my schedule, and preparing for interviews, my first GHC was looking pretty packed and I wasn't even in Keystone yet!

Before I knew it, I was arriving at GHC. I had never been to a big conference before and I was astonished by the number of people there, the exhibits, and the number of sessions. There was so much to do! The conference went by in a flash! Time flies when you're having fun and there never seemed to be enough hours in the day to go to all the sessions, check out the exhibits, and talk with everyone. Ashley and I did a bunch of filming. Because of our show we got to meet some amazing women! Being a young woman in the field of computer science, it was awe-inspiring to meet these woman and talk about their accomplishments and how far women have progressed in the field.

Another really cool thing that came out of GHC were some emails that I received during and after the conference that talked about the Imagine Cup. I'd seen a poster for it on the door of one of my professors, Gloria Townsend, but I didn't know anything about it. After these emails, I looked into it. As a result, Ashley, Malisa Vongskul, and I created an Imagine Cup team, Team MangoBunnies. For the 2009 Imagine Cup, Team MangoBunnies was the first runner-up in the nation (we won $4,000!) and we were the first all-female team to make it to the U.S. Finals.

As it turns out, my preliminary job interviews went well at GHC too! I was offered a job as a software engineer in Denver, CO, where I am now!

Overall, going to the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing has been a pivotal point in my professional (and personal) life. Coming out of GHC, Ashley and I started a show about women in technology, Ashley, Malisa, and I competed and won money in the Imagine Cup, I expanded my network with lots of meaningful connections, and I had a job! Was it even a question as to whether or not I would attend this year's Grace Hopper Celebration? Don't be silly! See you Tucson!

Women and Their Involvement with Technology

As I was following my links through various blogs the other day, I ran across "Women in tech/women near tech" on the Geek Feminism Blog written by Skud.

Since deciding to major in Computer Science three years ago, I have attended a number of women in technology conferences. MidWic06, InWiC08, and GHC08. At GHC08, I learned about BlogHer, because the site and its three co-founders won the 2008 Anita Borg Social Impact Award. As a result, I decided to attend BlogHer09, an annual conference for women bloggers.

After attending so many technical women in computing events, allthough I was aware the conference was about the community rather than the technical aspect of blogging, I still wasn't quite fully prepped for the complete change in the folks surrounding me.

The "Women in tech/women near tech" blog post was able to articulate the fleeting awarenesss I had about why I experienced BlogHer in such a different way compared to previous conferences I have attended. It is the idea of "Women in Tech" as in those programming, doing sysadmin work, or other technical work compared to the idea of "Women Near Tech" as in those using technology.

When these two groups get mixed together, the "Women in Tech" have a tendency to get lost. As Skud states, "'Women in tech' articles and blogs like those make me feel invisible. Not cool."

As I begin to enter the workforce and leave my lucky percentage of 33% CS females at my university, this article makes me appreciate GHC and the efforts of ABI even more.

This post was originally published on Ashley's personal blog, Let's Eat that Big Fish, at http://organizefish.com/blog/archives/143.

How To Ask Your Manager If You Can Attend GHC: An Email Template

In 2008, Anna Krasnyanskaya, a Software Quality Assurance Specialist at Symantec, decided she wanted to go to the Grace Hopper Celebration (GHC). She put together an email marketing piece to send to her manager, explaining the benefits of going to GHC. We thank Anna for giving us permission to share her email. We also thank Anna, Jennifer El and Kitman McNeel for allowing us to post the slides they presented after the conference to share what they'd learned with their colleagues at Symantec. This is a great example of returning value to your organization!

To make this easy for you to use, we took out all Anna's work-specific references and created a fill-in-the-blank version. Remember to send these soon so you can also take advantage of our Early Bird Rate which ends August 31!

***********

Hi (insert Manager's Name here),

The Grace Hopper Celebration is one of the largest gatherings of technical women in the world. The advisory committee includes women from HP, Amazon, Cisco, Google, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Sun, Symantec and of course (check your company's representation at the conference and insert your company name here). Women come together to learn about the latest technology, learn new skills to enhance their careers, and build their network.

My goal is to come back from GHC with more experience to be productive and innovative on the (insert your team name here) team. (Insert Your Company Name here)'s vision is that (Insert relevant company vision/mission/ etc that addresses learning or employees). At this conference, I will be fortunate to meet women who have done just that, they have become CEOs, Professors, Directors, Managers, and Authors through hard work and passion. I want to get inspired and do the same at (Insert Your Company Name here). If I can bring back just one valuable idea, the whole trip will be worth it.

For 4 days, I will be learning on how other companies are working to "Create Technology for Social Good." I will attend multiple panels, a variety of workshops, seminars, affinity group lunches, forums, poster board sessions, and interact with women from all areas of technological innovation. Upon returning to (Insert Your Company Name here), I will host an "Everything I have learned at GHC" presentation for my team and write an informative article in the (Insert Your Company Newsletter Name here) November Newsletter for distribution to a larger audience.

One of the many forums at the conference is focused on (Select a Track/Sessions that are relevant to your job). This includes some of the following presentations:

• (Session 1 Name Here)
• (Session 2 Name Here)
  
• (Sesssion 3 Name Here)

There will also be talks on "Becoming a Person of Influence," "Communicating Powerfully Across Gender," "Developing Sustainable Technologies for an Improved Future," and "Technical Mentorship and Sponsorship: Why You Need It and How to Find It".

Additionally, there will be many posters sessions, including one on (Insert a relevant poster name here), and another on (Insert Relevant Poster Name Here).

With so much to offer, plus 3 meals a day included, as GraceHopper.org says it "GHC is a bargain. It's content you won't find anywhere else."

Thank you!

Regards,
(Insert Your Name Here)