Black Girls Code wants to change the tech industry for the better, by encouraging more women of color to enter the field, as well as science and engineering. Their Summer of Code workshops are now open to registration and seeking volunteers in St. Louis, San Francisco, Oakland and Atlanta. Maybe our young women are not sitting at home dreaming about Ruby on Rails, but you never know what could happen if you give them a little push. Lets spread the word to young ladies, and our tech-savvy friends that may be interested in volunteering. This program will change lives, and may even change the face of tech for the future.
Social media darling and rapidly expanding platform just secured a cool $100 million from Japan based financiaers, Rakuten. The company is known for their pioneering efforts in social commerce, and the new funding “allow Pinterest to continue improving its service and expanding its community globally .”
But what could this really mean for the platform? Here are my best guesses, stay tuned in the next few months to see if any of these was right on the money.
Our new Facebook page cover. Thank you kindly, @iamthenublack!
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Join Damsels in Design and General Assembly for the final conversation of our three-part Women in Design & Technology Series. “Innovating Mobile Technology” offers an intimate look at the burgeoning mobile tech industry (think Instagram!) including opportunities for entrepreneurs, designers, and investors. Kelly Hoey, Co-Founder of Women Innovate Mobile, will discuss the market for mobile tech, barriers to entry, and design trends. She will highlight resources available to aspiring entrepreneurs and designers looking for funding or for those looking to develop their ideas including, Women Innovate Mobile, her accelerator program designed for women-founded companies in mobile technology. Stay afterward for our one-on-one Q&A with Hoey, and for open networking with members of Damsels in Design and other like-minded peers.
About the speaker:
Kelly Hoey is a founder of Women Innovate Mobile, the first accelerator program for women founded (or co-founded) startups focused on mobile technology or mobile applications. She sits on the Women’s Advisory Board for Stone Creek Entertainment and the advisory boards of Lion’esque Style and The Levo League. She is a corporate attorney and a graduate of The University of British Columbia Law School.
Register here: http://womenintech3.eventbrite.com/
- Name: Corvida Raven
- Occupation: Tech Blogger
- Location: New York
- Why do you love what you do?
Technology intersects with so many things that you don’t initially think about. I love playing in those spaces and seeing what comes out of it. It forces you to take many risks, but since I love the intersections I get to stand in, I can enjoy taking those risks. I love getting to that point of what I do
- Why are you a Digital Girl:
I’m a digital girl because I love using technology and I’m passionate about making others feel comfortable about using tech to make a difference in their lives
- What has your road to success been like so far?
My road to success has been a blessing with many highs, and a handful of lows. I’ve learned a lot and grown tremendously as a person since I started doing this at the age of 19. Fortunately, there’s much more to come and I’m 10000% grateful for that!
- Why did you create SheGeeks.net?
I’ve been blogging since the 8th grade (early 2000s). My blog was originally created just to have fun and get into web design because that was really popular amongst my peers at the time. For me, SheGeeks is the evolution of blogging as a fun hobby into a platform where your voice can make a difference
- Advice for women aspiring to work in the digital industry
Follow your passions, believe in yourself and never give up. Network, network, network!
Find here here:
Women dominate the blogosphere... and more.
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These ladies are making waves in the tech industry, introducing innovative programs and lauching online businesses that are changing the world.
Lisa Utzschneider
VP of Global Advertising Sales - Amazon.com
This Microsoft veteran moved to Amazon.com in 2008, tasked with beefing up the online retailer’s practically non-existent advertising efforts. Since then she has worked to implement innovative strategies to expand that side of the business, making the company a power player in the online advertising arena with over $1 billion in ad revenue. Clearly this woman gets results! They could even be gearing up to take on Google with their Amazon Affiliate Program. Utzschneider will be speaking at today’s Ad Tech conference, where she is expected to share some details about their innovative display advertising programs and related projects currently in development.
Caterina Fake
Co-Founder of Flickr and Hunch.com
Caterina Fake is one of social media’s pioneers, co-founding Flickr, the site that revolutionized photo sharing. After leaving the company she started after its acquisition by Yahoo, Fake created a new site, Hunch.com, which aimed to curate the tastes and preferences of internet users worldwide. But Fake didn’t slow down, even after successfully selling that company to Ebay for a cool $80 million. She recently launched Pinwheel, a new service that “finds and leave notes around the world.” Though still in private Beta, the community seems to love the innovative service, which some are comparing to Flickr for places. Keep your eyes on this one, its sure to explode soon.
Jessica Alba
Co-Founder, the Honest Company
The Golden Globe nominated actress embarked on a new path, founding Honest.com in January. Her inspiration? The lack of safe, non-toxic, eco-friendly and affordable products on the markets for families. The new mom spent countless hours researching product lines that would be safe to use on her child. When she couldn’t find anything suitable, she went ahead and started The Honest Company with a dynamic team that includes environmentalist Christopher Gavigan and e-commerce veterans Brian Lee and Sean Kane. The company deliveries bundles of beautifully packaged, non-toxic, eco-friendly products to consumers each month, and a percentage of each sale is donated to Baby2Baby.org. Look out for some rapid expansion and new product development in the upcoming months – the company just landed $27 million in Series A financing.
Jamila Abbas and Susan Oguya
Founders of M-Farm
M-Farm is an innovative service that connects farmers to the global market prices of their crops, letting them buy and sell at the most favorable prices. Jamila Abbas and Susan Oguya (not pictured), two IT professionals launched their company after hearing stories of exploitation of small farmers in their native Kenya. The SMS based service helps farmers easily inquire about prices, in demand crops, and connect with suppliers or vendors of goods. Just 2 years after its launch, M-Farm has empowered 2,000 farmers in Kenya, many of them female, and has expanded their services to offer order management support, as well as group buying and selling tools to encourage collaboration among the smallest businesses. The next steps the company is embarking on include strategic partnerships with 5 NGO’s that currently work with farmers at a grassroots level, with the goal of impacting 10,000 additional farmers in 2012.
Mena Trott
Founder of Six Apart
Imagine a world in which every would-be blogger first had to learn to code by hand. Mena Trott is the woman who kept that from becoming a reality. Her and her husband created Moveable Type blogging software in 2001, just to make their own hobby easier, but after seeing how instantly popular it became, they dove in full-time. This innovation opened the doors for the blogging revolution, helping create a platform that would enable people to freely share their thoughts, opinions, ideas, and passions. Their company Six Apart, grew rapidly after securing VC funding and acquired several other blogging platforms, including Danga Interactive (the parent company of LiveJournal). In 2010 Six Apart merged with Video Egg, an online advertising network, and is currently a part of Infocom, a Japanese information technology firm. Mena’s passion drove her to create this business, and she continues to engage in her passion daily as a frequent blogger on several sites.
Hai-Yan Gong
Founder of jiayuan.com
In 2003, then 27 year old Hai-Yan Gong founded a love21cn.com (which she later changed to jiayuan.com) after growing frustrated with the emerging crop of Chinese dating websites, all of which she deemed inefficient. This strong-willed woman had no knowledge of servers or web design and programming, but knew she could build a website better than any of the others on the market. In less than 3 weeks she designed the front pages after a self-taught course, nabbed a programmer and launched the first profile. Gong’s strong entrepreneurial spirit kept her from closing shop, even after receiving job offers from various firms, and an early offer for a 5 million RMB (about $790,000) buyout. Fast forward 8 years later, Jiayuan.com International went public, leaving its founder and current CEO with a net worth of about $70 million. Jiayuan.com is still the biggest Chinese dating site in terms of both active members and revenue, and Gong shows no sign of losing momentum. She recently invested 20 million RMB in Xique.com, a site focusing on wedding planning services for engaged couples.
Lux-Fix founders Alice Hastings-Bass and Rebecca Glenapp
Lux Fix burst onto the e-retail scene last year, with a site that merges editorial content, flash sales, and access to exclusive items from top designers that fashion addicts love. The site offers choice goods by some of the UK’s hottest designers, including Peter Jensen, Angel Jackson, and Pringle of Scotland. Founded byRebecca Glenapp, who had a background in digital marketing, and Alice Hastings-Bass, a former private equity pro, Lux Fix fills a unique void in the online space, perfect for customers who want to shop an expertly curated collection of luxury items. Standout pieces currently online include Crumpet’s lace and cashmere biker jacket, a wonderfully quirky gold hippo bracelet by Emma Franklin, and a striking boxy clutch by Claudine London, sold exclusively to Lux Fix. And yes, they ship globally! In this interview, Alice Hastings-Bass and Rebecca Glenapp share their tips for starting an online business and managing its rapid growth.