Digital Girls Club

One to Watch: Zora Ball, the Worlds Youngest Game Developer

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 11:37:16 -0500

While you were watching cat videos and Harlem Shake memes on the internet, 7 year old Zora Ball was busy becoming the youngest person to create a mobile game. The first-grade student at Philadelphia’s Harambee Institute of Science and Technology Charter School even graciously shut-down the haters that implied her big brother really built the game for her by reconfiguring the app on the fly. Can’t wait to see what she comes up with next!

Malikah Kelly is an e-commerce and digital communications pro and Digital Girls Club contributer currently based in Milan, Italy.

FINALLY the trailer has been released for Downloaded, a new...

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 04:22:35 -0500

FINALLY the trailer has been released for Downloaded, a new documentary exploring the rise and fall of Napster, premiering March 10th at SXSW.

Malikah Kelly is an e-commerce and digital communications pro and Digital Girls Club contributer currently based in Milan, Italy.

Video

Sat, 24 Nov 2012 20:13:19 -0500

Digital Girls Black Friday Guide

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 12:30:00 -0500

Why brave the cold and wait in line for hours with the hopes of scoring an amazing deal and the strong possibility of being trampled by a crowd eager for door buster deals? You are a digital girl. You’ll be lounging on your couch after a satisfying Thanksgiving meal, smartphone in hand ready to score the best deals on the web. If you are not sure which sites to start your shopping, follow my lead.

Even though its Wednesday, its already Black Friday on The Body Shop’s e-boutique. Select products are three for $30, and there is an adorable “Joy in a Bag Mistletote” packed with products for just $30 with any $30 purchase. Some savvy dividing could cover Christmas gifts for 3 of your girlfriends, or give you a plentiful product stash for the rest of the year. Ouidad is also currently offering 25% off their salon quality products for the curly girls in your life, plus free shipping on all gift sets for the curly girls in your life.

I’m most excited about Gilt’s mobile only sale starting at 9pm EST on Thanksgiving, continuing with the official Black Friday deals live the following morning. They end with a bang, or should I say a free-fall, on Cyber Monday at 11:45am, when the online retailer will launch 5-10 minute sales with dropping prices each minute until the goods are gone. If you cant get enough of online flash sales, head over to Hautelook, where in addition to their already amazing deals, the members only site will be offering a $20 grab bag filled with products from Urban Decay, Mario Badescu, Kinerase and more.

Continue the beauty shopping marathon on Monday when Stila’s legendary online warehouse sale kicks off, with discounts up to 80%. While you are there don’t forget to browse the already discounted Phased Out Favorites while you still can If you’re not sure exactly what you are shopping for, seek inspiration by following @amazondeals on Twitter so you don’t miss any of the Daily Deals alerts on products in multiple categories.

And this is how a Digital Girl does holiday shopping!

Malikah Kelly is an e-commerce and digital communications pro and Digital Girls Club contributer currently based in Milan, Italy.

How Does Blogging Feed You?

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 11:57:00 -0500

How Does Blogging Feed You?:

From one of our favorite digital girls, Lala Lopes.

The 10 Most Powerful Business Women On The Web

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 11:42:00 -0500

Does a power position in the executive suite lend itself to online influence and reach? This is quite an important question as women look to solidify their spot in the Digital Age (on the web).

This is quite an important question as women look to solidify their spot in the Digital Age (on the web).

The answer is a twofold one which is not easy to conclude.

Arianna Huffington, of The Huffington Post has been using her reach since the 1990’s and began her news website in 2005. In 2012, The Huffington Post became the first commercially run, United States digital media enterprise to win a Pulitzer Prize.

I was introduced to The Huffington Post during the days of my confused “what to do now” stage in political science and public policy.

While Ms. Huffington might not be everyone’s cup of tea, women are certainly making strides in the industry.

Social Marketing: Pinterest v Instagram

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 04:40:00 -0500

Leading businesses on social media manage an active presence across multiple platforms. For those looking to catch up to the big players, you probably already have a stronghold on Facebook and Twitter, and are debating whether or not to launch on Pinterest or Instagram, the leading photo-sharing social media platforms. Content marketers are quickly learning that users respond strongly to visuals, which is just one reason why these two photo based platforms are on fire. But which one is right for your brand or business?

At the core of each platform is a different philosophy. Pinterest is all about posting ready to be admired images, while Instagram and its filters encourage the user to creatively manipulate any picture before posting. In effect, Pinterest is an art gallery where each visitor is a curator; on Instagram user is the artist. Brands that don’t have the resources to create visually stunning content can do best by crowdsourcing content on Instagram. However if your ultimate goal is related to traffic or sales, Pinterest is amazing for driving traffic to brand sites, and increasing conversion rates.

Even though Instagram just launched web profiles the platform originated as a mobile beast, so to make a mark you must keep that in mind. Most companies still insist on giving staff Blackberries, but your social media manager absolutely must have access to an Iphone or Android for superior image quality and seamless sharing. If they don’t use one of those devices personally, an investment should be made in a corporate one. Pinterest, on the other hand, lets a department have more control over the content, from its development to the time it goes live online.

You can toss over the facts as much as you want before diving in, but as any digital marketer knows, success requires the ability to react on short notice to stay on top of the constantly innovating field.

Experien Marketing Services ranked Pinterest the world’s third most visited social network, and Instagram number 11. Last year Pinterest was number 188, Instagram number 609.

Malikah Kelly is an e-commerce and digital communications pro and Digital Girls Club contributer currently based in Milan, Italy.

The Most Powerful Women in Advertising

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 21:38:52 -0400

The Most Powerful Women in Advertising

Female founders give tech career advice

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 17:05:50 -0400

Women of DEMO

DEMO 2012 in Silicon Valley was sensational. Launch day for a new company unspools like a 24-hour rollercoaster ride; our own team returned to Washington, DC, sleep deprived, technology addicted, and ready to try out a dozen new web and social innovations shared by our co-presenters from other startups.

Yet as I stood outside the packed ballroom at the Santa Clara Hyatt grabbing the mini-sliders and puff pastries, the girl in me emerged. I couldn’t help but scan the crowd looking for other female co-founders and C-level execs.

Frankly, there weren’t too many. So I grabbed one of the few women I saw right away — Catherine Spence of HireQ — to help me hunt down more women for some pre-conference female bonding.

Coming out of an education non-profit, I am keenly aware that we need great models of female CEOs and leaders to inspire the next generation of girls to choose entrepreneurship and STEM related opportunities.

For instance, Inc. Magazine recently reported women make up half of the workforce but only one in four workers in the technology industry and 15 percent of senior management.

And according to the National Center for Women and Information Technology, women comprise only 11 percent of tech workers in Fortune 500 Companies.

So who were some of the rock star women of DEMO 2012? How can we all cheer them on as they build great companies that will build more jobs for our country? In their own words, here is what several had to say on how they got into technology and their advice for the next generation.

How did you get into technology?

Catherine Spence, co-founder of HireQ.com: I am a bit of an accidental entrepreneur.

While some people know they want to start a business (or many businesses), I was driven by my passion for this idea: everyone should love their job, and companies should love their employees.

My background is not in technology, but it’s clear to me that technology has the potential to solve some of the challenges that face job seekers and companies in finding each other. Using technology in sleepy industries like recruiting is way to create big change.

Rebecca Bahr, co-founder of Flinja: I got into technology from high school when my physics teacher would introduce us to various technologies and just make everything sound really cool from the invention of post it notes to solar systems.

Melissa Tyree, co-founder and CIO of Itography: Both my father and grandfather were programmers, so I took all of the computer science classes that I could in high school.

I ended up studying civil engineering at Texas A&M but followed my tech roots and was a systems analyst at Deloitte right after college. It seems that whatever industry I work in, tech always draws me back in.

Anna Anisin, CEO of 4sync: I think of myself as a geek in heels. I was that girl wearing pink lipstick and playing around with all the latest gadgets.

I finally took a leap of faith and launched my first startup in my early twenties and have been an active member in SF’s tech community ever since.

Courtney Titus, co-founder and CMO of GivingTrax: It all started in 2002 with my first marketing internship for KACE in Silicon Valley.

What career advice would you give young girls?

Tyree: Don’t be afraid to fail. Do things that scare and challenge you and you will never be bored. I encourage my daughters to try many different things. You never know what might inspire you!

Titus:Intern, if you’re in college. Find great mentors. Try and try again; don’t give up.

I’m currently part of the startup leadership program down in San Diego, and it’s been a great experience. I would definitely recommend it to other aspiring women in tech.

Anisin: No matter what career you pick, it’s very important to work hard and never stop believing in yourself.

It is also very helpful to find one or two solid mentors, who can guide you and also brainstorm with you. I wouldn’t have made it this far without the support from my mentors.

Bahr: My advice to all girls thinking of going into technology is to never lose hope and never get intimidated by others. Technology can be fun, creative and challenging, but its not an easy journey so don’t give up.

Spence: As women, we hear a lot about the challenges that we face balancing work and family as we move through our careers. These challenges are real, and there are no right answers.

What works for you might not work for your best girlfriend. But these challenges do not need to be constraints. We are empowered by choices, to construct our lives and our careers based on our values, hopes, and dreams.

I am reminded of a quote by Marianne Williamson: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.”

My advice to girls is to accept the challenge of dreaming big and making choices.

Its Makeover Time

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 04:40:27 -0400

I came across this picture on the Little Miss Geek website, a project that aims to inspire school age girls to want to become tech pioneers.

This is the face of an IT person through the eyes of 10 year old Lila. No wonder little girls aren’t beating down the doors of computing classes. But if this is the stereotype that still reigns about tech lovers, the question is why. I think most women would say some of the biggest names in tech, like Jack Dorsey and Evan Williams are pretty easy on the eyes. Even David Karp, founder of Tumblr just starred in a J.Crew ad campaign. And we can’t forget women like Marissa Mayer, with her penchant for full, brightly colored and printed skirts, or Sheryl Sandberg of the perfectly tailored suits and sheath dresses who appeared in the pages of Vogue

The old-school code or die nerd stereotype isn’t the only one that still has its grip, especially on younger generations. Many women still believe the work will be dull and uncreative and their roles will not give them flexibility. Clearly the tech industry needs an image overhaul.

For my digital girls out there, what made you go into the industry and what do you love most about it? Spreading the word is a surefire way to start changing the perception of your industry.

Malikah Kelly is an e-commerce and digital communications pro and Digital Girls Club contributer currently based in Milan, Italy.

Who Run The World?

Fri, 05 Oct 2012 16:49:27 -0400

Who Run The World?

Photo

Sun, 30 Sep 2012 14:24:00 -0400

Celebrate Ada Lovelace Day

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 06:27:27 -0400

Ada Lovelace (1815-1852) is widely believed to be the world’s first computer programmer. The only legitimate child of the poet Lord Byron and Annabella Milbanke, young Ada followed in her mother’s footsteps and began studying math, which was quite uncommon for a lady in that time. Ada’s notes (which were longer than the actual book!) on a translation of The Analytic Engine by Luigi Menabrea, an Italian engineer, showed a profound understanding programming analytics, even deeper that the ideas of the original author. She saw beyond the document she was assigned to translate, realizing that what would eventually be called the computer could have a use outside of mathematical calculations. Though the engine was not completed in her lifetime, Ada’s notes on the first algorithm to be used on a computer set the stage for the technological systems we all are accustomed to today. Of course there were some haters but Ada’s contributions to modern computing are celebrated each year on Ada Lovelace Day.

If you are in the London area don’t miss Finding Ada and The Women’s Engineering Society’s event on October 16^th, and join in Wikipedia’s Edit-A-Thon in person or online, which will boost the Wiki pages of several leading ladies in STEM.

Malikah Kelly is an e-commerce and digital communications pro and Digital Girls Club contributer currently based in Milan, Italy.

Every digital girl needs to rock a few of these paraphernalia in...

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 11:17:35 -0400

Every digital girl needs to rock a few of these paraphernalia in order to remain dashing in their post-2.0 styling game.

1. Marc by Marc Jacobs Multicolour Pretty Laptop Case with arrow print and signature stitching throughout.
2. Dodo Case crafted with traditional bookbinding techniques using Moroccan cloth.
3. Bulavkus USB Flashdisk with Pin
4. Gold Bar USB 2GB

Google's Fashion Moment

Tue, 11 Sep 2012 04:37:27 -0400

New York Fashion Week is underfoot and one of the most buzzed about shows so far was Diane von Furstenberg, not just because she is one of the most influential women in fashion who turned out yet another stellar collection. The most talked about accessory of the show was the quirky glasses donned by each model, which marked the first public appearance of Google Glass (not glasses, just Glass).

The new augmented reality glasses were specially designed to compliment each runway look.The Google Glass is like a pair of digital eyeglasses with augmented reality features that lets the wearer take photos, record video, check their calendar and connect to the internet to name a few.

Augmented reality headpieces have been in development for some time, but this pair is by far the most fashion friendly thanks to its minimalistic design. And we all know fashion loves a quirky accessory and style challenge, which will surely lead to many fashion personalities giving these a test drive.

So what do you think about this wearable technology? Could it become as indispensible as your smart phone or is it just too distracting and possibly dangerous?

Malikah Kelly is an e-commerce and digital communications pro and Digital Girls Club contributer currently based in Milan, Italy.

NY vs SF for Digital Girls

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 05:28:00 -0400

While the Bay Area has been the main tech hub of the US for decades, New York city’s tech scene has been gaining momentum, becoming a formidable player in the technology landscape. For Digital Girls torn between launching their careers in tech on the East or West coast here a few key points to consider.

Culture

While the San Francisco tech scene can be heavy on “bro culture” a factor that can be intimidating to most women entering the field, the New York scene is all about the bottom line – revenue. Wall Street has long reigned supreme, and that influence certainly affects the city’s tech scene. New York is definitely a haven for the high intensity Type A personality so if that describes you fitting in will be a cinch.

Scene

The city’s other top industries are fashion and media, and that definitely informs the kind of work available. While you may find a wide range of startups and tech companies in the Bay Area, if you were hoping to add a particular edge to your work in tech, New York is the best place for blending interest in digital with work in the city’s other popular fields. Noted fashion-tech companies include Gilt Groupe, Moda Operandi, Rent the Runway and Fashinvest, all with New York headquarters.

Talent Recruitment

San Francisco is still THE PLACE to find engineers and top talent thanks to the educational institutions and array of tech-focused startups that help young engineers refine their skills. If you are thinking about starting a new company in New York, consider the pool of engineers will be smaller at least for the next few years. Some of the city’s leading institutions are investing in expanding their computer engineering programs, particularly Cornell, which is building a whole new school dedicated to the science on Manhattan’s Roosevelt Island. And in any case the opportunities cross-industry tech recruiting are boundless – popular fields such as journalism, real estate, tourism or food to name a few, have roots in the Big Apple.

Cost of Living

If you thought New York’s real estate market was ridiculous, you have yet to go apartment hunting in San Francisco. The cost of housing can be as high as 41% more expensive than in NY! When you factor in average salaries in each city the real cost of living becomes more comparable, but you are pretty much screwed either way. Considering other quality of life factors may help you make up your mind, like the proximity of amazing beaches on the West Coast vs the experience of busy, bustling New York City life.

Choose carefully but don’t sweat it too much. There are far tougher decisions than choosing to work in one of the hottest industries between two amazing cities.

Malikah Kelly is an e-commerce and digital communications pro and Digital Girls Club contributer currently based in Milan, Italy.

Amy Jo Martin on innovation in social media and how she became...

Wed, 08 Aug 2012 05:37:52 -0400

Amy Jo Martin on innovation in social media and how she became “Digital Royalty”

41 Female Founders That Every Entrepeneur Should Know

Mon, 06 Aug 2012 13:40:09 -0400

41 Female Founders That Every Entrepeneur Should Know

A look at Rachel Skylar founder of Change the Ratio on being a...

Thu, 26 Jul 2012 12:33:49 -0400

A look at Rachel Skylar founder of Change the Ratio on being a woman in tech and how to change the systems that keep us out or limit advancement in the field.

"Love the first ten speakers -- all brilliant, inspiring figures in the tech world. Oh, they are all women? I hardly even noticed; their qualifications are overwhelming."

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 10:47:57 -0400

"Love the first ten speakers -- all brilliant, inspiring figures in the tech world. Oh, they are all women? I hardly even noticed; their qualifications are overwhelming.":

changetheratio:

Love that comment from Quincy Apparel founder Christina Wallace on this post from Paddy Cosgrave. Backstory:

Too often I get asked: where are the female entrepreneurs in tech? It’s a very valid question because the answer is: There simply aren’t as many compared to men, and in particular at the highest levels. But, and this is important, things are changing, and changing fast. Now more than ever there are incredible female entrepreneurs in tech, and that number is growing and growing fast, in particular at an early stage.

And so, inspired by the suggestion of Faye, my wonderful fiance, we’re announcing 10 incredible female tech entrepreneurs on day one and no men. Yes we’ve got hundreds of more speakers to announce over the coming months, and yes they are mostly men, who have or are building incredible tech companies. But we hope this says something.

It does. Peep the speakers here! Or scan the list below:

Jen O’Neal - Tripping

Cindy Gallop - If We Ran The World

Deborah Berebichez - The Science of Everyday Life

Yulia Mitrovich - Svyaznoy Group

Shauna Mei - AHAlife.com

Eva Ho - Factual

Silje Vallestad - Bipper

Soraya Dorabi - Foodspotting

Alexandra Chong - Luluvise

Alexia Tsotsis - TechCrunch