tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35607587570370377442024-03-13T11:22:18.419-07:00Thoughts in my head, out of my laptopTWelsonRossmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12917893021081062557noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3560758757037037744.post-41323447193194336812016-10-04T12:01:00.000-07:002016-10-04T12:01:23.571-07:00The Trump Foundation and why I will continue to follow the rules even when they don’t (or won’t)<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is something I never thought I would say - I have something in common with Donald Trump. We both have started non-profit foundations. Mine is a public non-profit and his is a private foundation, but we are in it to help a cause or causes, right? For me it is the case, but after reading an article from the Washington Post about the Trump Foundation's dealings, I believe the similarity is a tenuous one.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I am currently very angry with the news about the Foundation. It has to do with following the rules which are set up by the IRS and the government to ensure that money which is earmarked for charity is properly used, not for the people who run the charity's self-interest.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As a public foundation, the charity I founded, just like others who are 501 c-3's, spend a considerable amount of time and money to obtain our status and to keep our status. Every year, we need to file a federal tax return called a 990, as well as documents with the state. The more we grow our budget and revenue, the more documents we need to file. I am fortunate to have accounting help which keeps the costs for maintaining records and filing these documents down to a reasonable number. But, every dollar spent on administrative costs is a dollar not spent on delivering our programs.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Besides keeping our financial house in order, we spend time discussing and understanding the rules for staying within the laws that were set up to prevent fraud. We need to stay within our mission, we need to have a review or audit of our records in order to maintain our non-profit status. Again, this is time that could be spent on solving the problem that necessitates our having a non-profit in the first place.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I may not be jumping for joy to do these tasks, but I know it allows people, foundations and corporations who donate money to us, to know that we are above board and transparent with how we are using their money.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Private foundations, like the one Trump founded, are regulated as well. One of the reasons they have rules is to prevent something called "self dealing". Self dealing is a term meaning that you are using your foundation to your benefit, not the causes you claim to serve. The government wanted to make sure wealthy people did not start these foundations as a way to shelter money from the government.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Post article, which you can read </span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-used-258000-from-his-charity-to-settle-legal-problems/2016/09/20/adc88f9c-7d11-11e6-ac8e-cf8e0dd91dc7_story.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">here</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, as well as this other </span><a href="http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/trump-foundation-self-dealing-legal-violations" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">article</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> from Talking Points Memo, which goes into further depth, shows how Trump used his foundation for personal gain. He used donated money to pay for his businesses' legal expenses and for two portraits of himself to be painted. The sum total of these projects are more than my current budget.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So I am a bit hot under the collar about this subject.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Let me lay out what I could do with this money ov if the foundation had actually donated it to a charity. (And if you have a charity, just take out my numbers and descriptions and put your own in. You will see my point.)</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is my budget for 2015-16</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Salaries and benefits $125K</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Programming costs $70K</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Insurance $3K</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Marketing $23K</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Professional services $3</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Travel $2K</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Office supplies $2K</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Total=$228K</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I do not take a salary or receive other compensation for the work I do with my non-profit. I do this work, as do the staff (who should get paid more) and our volunteers, because we are passionate about creating a change. We are growing quickly now and every week, I ask my staff and myself and my volunteers to do more and more because of the need. We make choices of what we can and can’t do because we have limited funds. We understand that this is the life of a non-profit.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So I am angry. Because there are so many of us who spend the time and the energy on changing our little piece of the world, when you find a person who has such disregard for what we do and how we conduct ourselves, it makes me angry. When this person only seems to cares only about how he can serve himself and not others as he is supposed to, it makes me angry. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But, even though he and his staff have no regard for the laws and the rules that govern non-profits, I do. I will continue to do this because having the trust of public is very important to me and to my staff. Mr. Trump may think I am not smart, but I believe my actions speak louder than his words.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #454545; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Addendum - Since I started this post, there is an update. The Trump Foundation did not file the proper paperwork in the State of New York to start the foundation. They have been given a cease and desist order. They have until mid-October to rectify this matter.</span></div>
TWelsonRossmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12917893021081062557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3560758757037037744.post-47568030120067511512016-07-22T06:26:00.002-07:002016-07-22T10:30:55.916-07:00The Power of Vulgar Words and How We Use Them to Make Women Smaller<div style="line-height: 16px;">
Warning : This blog post contains inappropriate language for children. These words are necessary to prove points cogent to the argument the writer will be making</div>
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Last week I was lucky enough to spend most of the week in the company of 26 pre-teen and early teen young women, as well as, many amazing women from the business and tech startup world. The reason was the 5th year of TechGirlz Tech Entrepreneur Camp. As much as we spend the week concentrating on having the girls learn how they can be part of tech economy, their enthusiasm and excitement of seeing themselves as business leaders, is infectious! I leave this week every year feeling energized and most of all, feeling hopeful for the future of these girls in the workforce.<br />
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And then I ran smack dab into this week. And it hit me hard.</div>
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I realized many of men can be still be truly disrespectful of women who are famous, accomplished and powerful. I realized words have power to shape how others view these women, and women who aspire to be like them. I realized how, as women, we must educate men, that the use of these words must not be used. </div>
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So what am I talking about. Scott Baio was called out for a a picture of Hillary Clinton which he had tweeted early this year. The unfortunate position of Mrs. Clinton in front of the word Count, had her blocking the O. You get the picture and if you don't, please refer to the definition at the end of this post. See his <a href="http://www.aol.com/article/2016/07/19/watch-msnbcs-tamron-hall-blast-scott-baio-over-misogynistic-twe/21434972/" target="_blank">response</a> to the use of this picture in this interview. His excuse - he didn't say anything about the picture, so it wasn't like he said the word. </div>
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You may not like Mrs. Clinton, you may disagree with her liberal stance, but does that warrant the use of that word. And you might feel that this word will only be used against her because you may not like her. But if this word can be used against her, potentially the most powerful woman in the world, can it be used against me in the </div>
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workplace if a coworker disagrees with me? Are we legitimizing the use of this word because a man does not like a woman's stance or work.</div>
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I have always found this word to be extremely distasteful and I refuse to use it. And if you read the warning that came before the definition on dictionary.com, it further cemented my belief that it should never be used in any circumstance. </div>
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But on this reflection, it made me think of the other word which I use sometimes to describe myself and other women - bitch. I will give the <a href="http://www.dictionary.com/browse/bitch?s=t" target="_blank">link</a> to the definition since there are many attributes in slang.</div>
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In a conversation today with a coworker, we were discussing a hard conversation I was planning on having. As we discussed wording and tactics, he said "You can start off by saying - I don't mean to be a bitch" and I realized that I had used that phrase myself, about myself. I know he did not mean anything by it, but I said back that a man would never say in a difficult conversation. "I don't mean to be a dick" (dick being equal to bitch, but not as harsh). I said it is business and I should not have to excuse why I was having the conversation. I will not be using that word again when describing myself (or another woman) in a conversation again.</div>
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I know you may be thinking I am making too much of this issue, but these words paint a picture and degrade a women's worth. I refuse to be part of allowing others to use these words on the 26 girls I help shepherd to greater confidence in their abilities. It is part of how I plan to make it easier for them to be part of the working world. And I ask that you join me.<br />
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<span style="font-family: -apple-system-font;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">C**t - definition (and warning) from Dictionary.com</span></span><br />
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<i><b>All senses of this word are vulgar slang and are very strongly tabooed and censored. The meanings that refer to a woman and a contemptible person are used with disparaging intent and are perceived as highly insulting and demeaning. There are many words used to refer to people in sexual terms. However, to call a person a <span class="dbox-sc" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: underline;">c**t,</span> especially a woman, is one of the most hateful and powerful examples of verbal abuse in the English language. </b></i></div>
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<header class="luna-data-header" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span class="dbox-pg" style="box-sizing: border-box;">noun</span>, <span class="dbox-italic" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; font-style: italic;">Slang: Vulgar.</span></span></header><br />
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<span class="def-number" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; float: left; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">1.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">the vulva or vagina. </span></div>
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<span class="def-number" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; float: left; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">2.</span></span></div>
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<span class="dbox-italic" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Extremely Disparaging and Offensive</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">a contemptuous term used to refer to a woman.</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">a term used to refer to a contemptible person.</span></div>
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TWelsonRossmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12917893021081062557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3560758757037037744.post-11054218453474098402016-06-16T18:56:00.000-07:002016-06-16T18:57:56.464-07:00Reflections from the United State of Women Summit <div style="line-height: 16px;">
I have had a couple of days to reflect after attending the tremendous summit that was the United State of Women which was sponsored by the White House. I did not really understand what the full event was going to be, but was a bit skeptical. So many times you attend these large events aimed at women and it is a lot of platitudes with no real discussion on how to move forward. I was not totally prepared to take in all the information that was handed out by President Obama, Vice President Biden, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, First Lady Michelle Obama and the host of women who spoke who are not household names. </div>
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But before I dive into what I learned and what my take aways are, I need to discuss how this event fit into the context of world and personal events. The two weeks leading up to the summit included news about the shameful sentencing of the Stanford rapist and the outpouring on social media, the continued “musing” of hate speech by the presumptive Republican Presidential candidate (it should be noted I will not be voting for him), the forgone conclusion our country will have its first female Presidential candidate, and the massacre of 50 people at a LGBT club. Couple this with my eldest son’s graduation from college, my niece’s wedding, and confirmation of TechGirlz working with 2500 girls in one year, and I am a swirl of emotions, both happy, sad, angry, and hopeful.</div>
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I began the Summit on Monday with a pre-conference on Entrepreneur Empowerment. This was about 150 women, so much smaller then Tuesday’s marquee event/ The sessions were very good, full of information, especially about how the SBA can help with providing funds. I am hoping to have a high level SBA representative come to talk to the Philly tech community. I don’t think this is really thought of as an option for funding. And if it is not a good option, I want to explore why. I did learn the SBA is supporting women led funding groups with a two to one match. It is called the SBIC program (Small Business Investment Company).</div>
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Tuesday was the big event. I am not going to review the entire day. I recommend <a href="http://www.theunitedstateofwomen.org/watchsummit/" target="_blank">watching the videos</a> the White House has put online or finding reporters versions of the soundbites and quotes. There were tons of statistics to support why we need to support women (like did you know women earn 79 cents on the dollar for what men make in comparable jobs, but African American and Hispanic women make significantly less than that?. I didn’t). It was a bit of a commercial for the administration, but I did not realize how much this administration had done for the cause of women’s health, economics and family life. <a href="http://www.theunitedstateofwomen.org/topics/" target="_blank">Here is a good link worth exploring. </a>There were talks on violence against women, not just here in the US, but also internationally, talks on closing the pay gap and the growing role of women in the workplace, the changing of culture to break down gender norms, and education for women.</div>
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I do recommend <a href="https://youtu.be/1MyXFYINQsA" target="_blank">watching Biden’s speech</a> as he talks urgently about violence against women. But, I urge you to <a href="https://youtu.be/oxHAG60z9ZM" target="_blank">watch President Obama’s speech </a>which outlines the strides that have been made and the hope for the future of women in America. It is stirring and I will admit to crying at the end of it.</div>
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It is hard for me to describe the joy I felt during the day of being surrounded by 5000 women. It felt like a true sisterhood.</div>
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But, as I predicted, there were no actionable items you were left with, so what did I take away and what is my advice for other attendees as they come down off the high of such an event?</div>
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I came away reenergized to do the work that needs to be done to further women down the path. I know that even though it was stressed time and time again that this is a great time to be a woman in the United States, there is still so much to be done. I have my action items. It is to continue to slog it out on a day to day basis and do what I, and my team and my co- conspirators, are doing. It is to continue to support each others work with words of encouragement, acts of kindness, and purposeful connections. It is to make sure I am visible to other women to serve as an example and role model. I do not say this in a narcissistic manner, but in truly understanding that it is not just famous who are helping us make strides, but the ordinary women who are just as important as role models on a smaller scale.</div>
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I also discovered that I could come further out of my shell than I ever thought I could. Those who know me are chuckling because they think networking comes easily. But it does not. I was feeling so good about the idea of this event (and also happiness from the graduation just a few days before) that I think I unconsciously opened up. I came to the event by myself, I did know a few people, but did not have a safety net of constant companions. So I made them at every corner, every line, every table, in the hallways. I easily introduced myself to others and made some valuable connections because of being so open. Where I might be reticent about meeting someone who had a high position, I threw caution to the wind to talk to them. I really did not know I had that type of spirit in myself and gaining this knowledge will make me less afraid in the future. I gained so much by taking chances.</div>
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What would I recommend to others? I will start with a story of a young women I meet while in the registration line. We exchanged who we are and what we do. She told me me about her work at a large company. She said she had been given a ticket at the last minute and was not sure what she wanted to get out of the conference. But she told me about how #BlackGirlMagic had inspired her to bring the African American women at her company together to meet once a month so they could support each other. I am not sure she truly understood how that one act was going to impact the group she formed. She did not think it was that big of a deal, I could tell by the way she had underplayed her role. Maybe it was because it was a newly formed group, But I know from experience that her reaching out to support other women and form a community, no matter how small, would be impactful.</div>
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The point of the story? Each of us can play a small role in creating change in your company, in your school, in your community. You can decide what it looks like or what it is, but do something. The speakers did not need to provide the tools, they provided the information of what needs to be done. Pick a small project, make a commitment to yourself to see it through, no excuses. </div>
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Change happens in little incremental steps, not in giant leaps. </div>
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TWelsonRossmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12917893021081062557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3560758757037037744.post-90229885344884979832016-06-13T06:01:00.000-07:002016-06-13T06:01:59.637-07:00The United States of Women Summit - Pledge Your Next Action <div>
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Today I am preparing to attend the <a href="http://www.theunitedstateofwomen.org/" target="_blank">United States of Women Summit</a> taking place in DC on Monday through Wednesday. I am honored to be chosen for the work I do to encourage, inspire, mentor, and teach girls and women to consider careers in technology and tech startups. I hope to spend some time with women in my regional community and meet some new contacts who are interested in the type of work I am doing. i also am excited to spend a day with likeminded women. And if I get to see and hear Michelle Obama and Oprah speak, well, it will be a very good day, actually a really good day. I am also speculating that a certain woman presidential candidate might make an appearance. I will have a lot to report back to my mom.</div>
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But I am all about what happens after a meeting, no matter what the size. Talk to anyone who has worked with me over the years and they will tell you I do not leave a meeting without action items. Otherwise, what was the point of meeting? You talked to people, you learned a thing or two and then that is it. And just as important as the action items is when the items will be completed.</div>
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When I look back on how <a href="http://techgirlz.org/" target="_blank">TechGirlz</a> moved from an idea in my head to the 5000 girls who have been through our TechShopz, when I think back on how <a href="http://chariotsolutions.com/" target="_blank">Chariot Solutions</a> went from a 10 person to 60 person company, when I see how the <a href="http://womenintechsummit.net/" target="_blank">Women in Tech Summit</a> has moved from our first event to three in one year, I know it was not just about the big idea, but the many,small actionable steps we took along the way.</div>
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The next couple of days I will be making plans after I meet new people or reconnect with those I know. I will be listening, learning and then taking that information to formulate ideas with plans to execute on those ideas. I will have small steps to further the goals of my companies and groups I support. </div>
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No one said change would be easy or fast. The real work begins on Thursday.</div>
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What actions will you be taking to make your pledge a reality? Please add your comments below or let me know on twitter (@twelsonrossman). Make sure to use the #stateofwomen.</div>
TWelsonRossmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12917893021081062557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3560758757037037744.post-88470878509905409872016-04-26T13:21:00.003-07:002016-04-26T13:21:56.910-07:00Philly Tech Week Schedule 2016 - Will it all fall into place? <div style="font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 12px; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 16px;">
Philly Tech Week is certainly a highlight of my spring. It is a great way for me to see and reconnect with a ton of people I know in the tech scene, as well as, meet new people. Besides that, I learn a lot. </div>
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Chariot has been a supporter of <a href="http://2016.phillytechweek.com/" target="_blank">Philly Tech Week</a> (PTW) since the first year. Philly Startup Leaders Entrepreneurs Expo was born during PTW and TechGirlz has also benefitted from PTW with the start of the Women in Tech Summit. It is amazing how it has grown over the years. Technically Philly has done a fantastic job!</div>
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As I viewed the calendar this year, I knew I was in trouble. There are a lot of events I want to attend. I am perhaps over ambitious in my current schedule, but I thought I would share where I will be. I will also share the events I could not get to, but wanted to, due to schedule conflicts. </div>
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I will also be seeing how Septa and Uber or Lyft will help me during the week. And hopefully I will have some time to grab some good food while I am in the city. </div>
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Thursday, 4/28 - <a href="http://2016.phillytechweek.com/events/through_a_prism--why_diversity_matters_in_design-tech" target="_blank">Through A Prism: Why Diversity Matters in Tech and Design</a> - Great topic, since Technology is not just about coding. Good design impacts how software and hardware products are used. </div>
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The Startup Crawl looks good if you don't want to trek out to the Navy Yard.</div>
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Friday, 4/29 - <a href="http://2016.phillytechweek.com/events/ptw16_kickoff_festival_-_arcade-dilworth" target="_blank">PTW16 Kickoff at Dilworth Plaza</a>- hoping the weather holds out for this one!</div>
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Due to a schedule conflict, I can't go to <a href="http://2016.phillytechweek.com/events/creativemornings_philadelphia--todd_carmichael_on_risk" target="_blank">Creative Mornings in Philadelphia with Todd Carmichael</a> or <a href="http://2016.phillytechweek.com/events/techniculture" target="_blank">Techniculture</a> with Sree Sreenviasan, Chief Digital Officer of the Met. I wish I could do both, sad I can't get to either!</div>
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Monday 5/2 - <a href="http://2016.phillytechweek.com/events/philadelphia-s_health_and_sciences_future" target="_blank">Philadelphia Health and Sciences Future</a> - with Philly a mecca for the health and bio industry, I want to hear what the future holds. It will help me plan some of Chariot's future direction.</div>
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Then off to - <a href="http://2016.phillytechweek.com/events/let-s_talk_about_tech-baby" target="_blank">Let's Talk Tech</a> run by my friends at Slice. There is always more to learn about press and media relations</div>
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And then I am going to try and be in two places at once, but I don't think it is going to work.</div>
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TechGirlz is the beneficiary of the proceeds from the <a href="http://2016.phillytechweek.com/events/how_can_philly_be_the_capital_of_gender_equality_in_tech" target="_blank">How Can Philly Be the Gender Equity Capital</a> discussion at the Pyramid Club. Beside the donation, I like a panel that is showcasing the how of change!</div>
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Now that starts at 6 and starting at 6:30 is the <a href="http://2016.phillytechweek.com/events/mayoral_tech_town_hall" target="_blank">Mayoral Tech Town Hall</a>. I am always interested to see how the city government will be helping and participating with the tech community. We shall see if I can do both. If not, Karen Stellabotte, TechGirlz Program Director, will be at this one and can give me a run down. </div>
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Tuesday 5/3 another busy day has me starting at <a href="http://2016.phillytechweek.com/events/transforming_tomorrow_today--how_emerging_technologies_and_trends_are_reshaping_greater_philadelphia" target="_blank">Transforming Tomorrow Today</a>. I love that this put on by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission discussing how emerging technologies are changing our region.<br />
Then it is off to <a href="http://2016.phillytechweek.com/events/curalate_open_house" target="_blank">Curalate's</a> open house (and maybe a quick stop at Hip City Vedge) before heading back to the <a href="http://2016.phillytechweek.com/events/the_rad_awards" target="_blank">Rad Girl Awards</a> where they were nice enough to nominate me as Tech Educator of the Year.<br />
There are several conflicting events that are too numerous to mention, so I suggest checking out <a href="http://2016.phillytechweek.com/events#date=2016-05-03&view=block" target="_blank">May 3</a> for yourself. It looks like there are a few events that were added after I made my schedule.<br />
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Dev Days is on 5/4. I will be manning the Chariot table at the <a href="http://2016.phillytechweek.com/events/dev_talks" target="_blank">Dev Days</a> event (and Sujan Kapadia, one of our senior architects will be teaching<a href="http://2016.phillytechweek.com/events/dev_intro_workshops" target="_blank"> Intro to Scala </a>in the morning). The evening will see me at the <a href="http://2016.phillytechweek.com/events/the_2nd_annual_women_in_tech_soiree" target="_blank">Women in Tech Soiree</a> and<a href="http://2016.phillytechweek.com/events/psl_entrepreneur_expo" target="_blank"> PSL's Entrepreneur Expo</a>. and the Dev Days Happy Hour.<br />
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Thursday 5/5 has me starting at my own office with our CTO, Aaron Mulder, teaching a workshop on Ionic for mobile apps. The workshop is sold out. I would like to go to the <a href="http://2016.phillytechweek.com/events/digital_health_evolution_conference_2016" target="_blank">Digital Health Evolution Conference</a> or the <a href="http://2016.phillytechweek.com/events/the_intersection_of_poverty_and_data--how_big_and_open_data_helps_and_harms_people_in_poverty" target="_blank">Intersection of Poverty and Data</a>, but those pesky "other obligations" are in the way. I will be headed to<a href="http://2016.phillytechweek.com/events/east_coast_innovation--bringing_a_little_of_dc_to_the_city_of_brotherly_love" target="_blank"> From Philly to DC: Building Inclusive Tech Communities</a> followed by <a href="http://2016.phillytechweek.com/events/n3rd_street_unplugged_panelists" target="_blank">Mindful Startups</a>, where Grant Hartman, a Chariot co-worker and mindfulness proponent, will be speaking.<br />
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I won't be at the closing event this year because I have an important family obligation, but you can't be everywhere.<br />
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This schedule is subject to change based on many factors including transportation, if my map planning skills actually are in tact, could I fit something else in the schedule and did I need to stop to eat!<br />
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Here's to a great Philly Tech Week! Follow my week @twelsonrossman on Twitter and Instagram.<br />
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TWelsonRossmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12917893021081062557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3560758757037037744.post-10490800307401593002016-01-30T08:44:00.002-08:002016-01-30T08:44:35.519-08:00For whom are you designing your website?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The TechGirlz team decided mid-year that we needed to redesign our website. We have been experiencing a good amount of growth as we were executing on our vision and strategy. This growth had us adding more pages to our site and it was becoming unwiedly. We needed a new design.<br /><br />Becca, TechGirlz co-webmaster and graphics designer (of the many things she does), decided to take on the redesign. (As a note, Becca is also my marketing assistant at Chariot. She had recently taken on a project, under the guidance of my coworker, Ken, and wanted to expand upon her knowledge and experience). <br /><br />Before we have even looked at a new design, Becca started with a site map. She worked with the stakeholders on the TechGirlz team, since they are her clients, and clarified their goals and frustrations with our current site. Then she and I sat down to discuss the flow.<br /><br />As we started reviewing the site map plans, we had a discussion about who would be using the site. Understanding our audience and what their needs would be, helped us think through the flow of how one of the members of the different audiences would go go through the site. <br /><br />After 5 years of TechGirlz, we understand our audience is comprised of parents who want to have their girls involved in tech, people who want to volunteer, people who want to use our materials for their programs/organizations, potential funders, and press/media. Most people assume because of our name, the girls would be the biggest audience for our website and that is not the case. <br /><br />
If you are a new service or product, you will have hypothesis of who your audience is. Talking to your clients, not only will help your sales and define your product/service, but will also help you understand what information you need to feed them.<br /><br />After revising the site map, we went and had a review by trusted advisors and potential visitors to make sure we did not miss anything obvious (sometimes another set of eyes is a good thing to catch a really dumb mistake). This second set of reviews also allows for some new ideas. Sometimes, you think you know everything, but you really don’t. <br /><br />Even if you are hiring an outside firm to design and implement your site, they do not know the people you are trying to reach as well as you do. Make sure that does not get lost in color and image selection, platform choice, etc.<br />
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<br />TWelsonRossmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12917893021081062557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3560758757037037744.post-70007662291839334572015-12-31T09:16:00.002-08:002015-12-31T09:16:57.579-08:00New Year's Resolutions 2016Last year, I wrote this post while drinking some very good wine at the bar at Abe Fisher's while waiting for my family to join me for dinner. It is a little earlier in the day this year, so no drinks to help me get started, but I guess that shows I don't need to drink to help me get started writing. <br />
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I have decided this is going to be a tradition. After reviewing my post, I realized that writing down my resolutions did help me be more aware of most of them. I did forget a few. I can also go back and see if I did a decent job of keeping them or at least making progress. I will go back to a word I used - accountability. Resolutions and goals are useless without having someone to be accountable to, even if it is yourself. I think I would add some new words - a plan of action - to help me do even better.<br />
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So, here is what I resolve for 2016:<br />
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-Being nicer to those closest to me. I will admit that I can be flippant, short, not thoughtful, and take them for granted. This was on my list for this year and I do not think I did a good job of making progress. I am putting alot of thought into how I can be better.<br />
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-I am keeping not eating mediocre food on here again. This is the third year for this one. And this is not about going to the most expensive restaurant or the most sought after place to get a coveted reservation, it is about eating good food. I believe food is to be enjoyed and paying for food that is sub par is just not something I want to choose to do. At least if you are going to have a meal with me, you will be well feed.<br />
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-I will continue to say yes more often. I read an article about Amy Poehler in June and she lived by this for improv. Saying yes to suggestions keeps my negativity from talking me out of projects, ideas, events that can be great for me! That does not mean I don't assess some of the risks, so don't ask me to jump off a building, but I may be more likely to not stay at home if you ask me to go to a concert on a "school" night or take that speaking engagement. More experiences are better for me to grow as a person. I talk myself out of too many opportunities.<br />
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- I need to get back to learning French and now Italian. I was not consistent in 2015 so back on the wagon! I am going to try and find someone who wants to learn with me. <br />
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This is a pretty good list and I think I can stick to it.<br />
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Here is to a good, exciting, healthy, adventurous, prosperous happy New Year.TWelsonRossmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12917893021081062557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3560758757037037744.post-53520875103205100282015-12-29T08:43:00.003-08:002015-12-29T08:43:33.429-08:00How Philly Can Be the Capital of Gender Equality in Tech I was recently asked to write an article for Philly Magazine on Philadelphia and our role in creating a more gender rich tech community. The original article is<span> <a href="http://www.phillymag.com/business/2015/12/29/philly-gender-tech/#3VqCFf0E5vmgCq7Z.99" target="_blank">here</a>, but if you are too comfortable on this page, below is the article</span><br />
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If you’ve been watching certain aspects
of the news over the last 18 months that aren’t focused on the Pope
coming to Philadelphia, the race for president, or the opening of <em>Star Wars</em>,
you may have heard about the current and constantly increasing shortage
of workers in the technology space. The U.S. Department of Labor has
been forecasting a shortfall of 1 million technology jobs in less than
five years.<br />
Being part of the tech industry has made me acutely aware of the reality that supports the barrage of statistics. My company, <strong><a href="http://chariotsolutions.com/" target="_blank">Chariot Solutions</a></strong>, is a great example, as we can’t find enough experienced, top-notch software architects to meet demand.<br />
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One way to ultimately resolve the shortage of tech professionals would be to get more women into the field. Stats show that <a href="http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/5072-women-and-minorities-stem-jobs.html" target="_blank">only 27 percent of women in science, engineering, math and tech careers are women</a>, while those <a href="https://business.linkedin.com/talent-solutions/blog/2014/03/women-in-engineering-the-sobering-stats" target="_blank">women who are software engineers</a> clock in at around <a href="http://ngcproject.org/sites/default/files/documents/ngcpstemstats_web.pdf" target="_blank">13 to 15 percent</a>.
If you consider women are currently more than half of the workforce and
earn 57 percent of the bachelor’s degrees, there's a major mismatch.<span id="more-3058540"></span><br />
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The lack of gender diversity is not
just a social-good issue, it's an economic one. Tapping into this pool
to expand the region’s technology and innovation workforce will allow
our region’s businesses to grow and thrive. And, remember, technology
isn’t just “coding.” It’s game design, cyber security, robotics,
multimedia, smart fabrics, medical devices and a multitude of things
that we haven’t even discovered yet.<br />
The Philadelphia region is already set up to be a leader in gender equality in tech. A recent study showed Philadelphia as the <a href="https://smartasset.com/career/best-cities-women-tech" target="_blank">9th best city for women in tech</a>,
with women filling over 30 percent of the computer occupations and
having the smallest gender pay gap. Our community has an incredible
amount of resources for women who are looking to be involved in tech,
including the largest chapter of <a href="https://www.girldevelopit.com/" target="_blank">Girl Develop It</a> in the country, the <a href="http://womenintechsummit.net/philadelphia/" target="_blank">Women in Tech Summit</a>, <a href="http://ladyhacks.org/" target="_blank">LadyHacks</a>, and of course, my favorite, <a href="http://www.techgirlz.org/" target="_blank">TechGirlz</a>.
Contrary to what we hear about other cities, our tech community is
extremely generous and welcoming to anyone who wishes to join.<br />
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But more needs to be done. There are not enough girls coming up
through schools to fill the rapidly growing number of positions created
by technology. So, what can Philadelphia do to continue to be a leader
in gender diversity in tech?<br />
<ul>
<li><strong>Inspire our large tech workforce to share their skills and expertise</strong>.
TechGirlz is not lacking for girls who want to learn, we are lacking
for instructors who have the knowledge to teach our materials.</li>
<li><strong>Educate our parents and teachers</strong> about the variety
of career options available and also why being proficient in technology
makes you more employable, even if you think technology isn't part of
the career path. This group has a profound influence on the career
decisions of young people.</li>
<li><strong>Encourage K-12 schools and universities</strong> to take a
hard look at how they are educating young women around tech. The
education system needs to incorporate a curriculum that teaches
technology, not just the use of iPads and computers to deliver courses.
The curricula must also be inspiring and resonate with girls and young
women. This is an issue we hear time and time again from our attendees
and volunteers.</li>
<li><strong>More collaboration between organizations</strong>, for
profit and not for profit, whose goals are similar. Sharing resources —
space, curricula, volunteers, constituents, marketing — allows us to
create stronger solutions. No one person or group owns the problem. No
one owns the ultimate answer. One reason for the current success of the
girls and women in the Philly tech community is due to our ability to
work together.</li>
<li><strong>Create more internship and learning opportunities</strong>.
Although it is an investment for businesses, having internships and
hiring less experienced employees will create the next generation of
experienced workers. Where else are they going to learn the skills?</li>
<li><strong>Work smarter to retain the women who are coming into these tech careers</strong>.
Companies should look not only at their culture to see if it supports
biases, but also at their benefits, work environments and flexibility to
keep women in their employ.</li>
<li><strong>Women who are in the tech field already need to be much more visible</strong>.
Philadelphia women in tech should be more proactive and take the
initiative to start speaking at more local events, attending events and
being mentors.</li>
</ul>
Philadelphia already has the means to support gender diversity in
tech and be a leader in the innovation economy — it just needs the
support from a workforce that can execute. We already have all the
building blocks in place. Now we just need you. The tech community
cannot create this change on their own. We need business leaders,
educators, parents, government officials and community organizations to
join together and take the actions, those outlined above and others, to
spark change. Let’s make the Philadelphia region the envy of other
cities by having a large and inclusive tech workforce that drives our
economic growth and success.<br />
<span><br />Read more at http://www.phillymag.com/business/2015/12/29/philly-gender-tech/#3VqCFf0E5vmgCq7Z.99</span></div>
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<br />TWelsonRossmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12917893021081062557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3560758757037037744.post-85809892657372631082015-11-19T17:42:00.001-08:002015-11-19T17:42:52.423-08:00Everyone SellsThe other day as I was leaving my local Target store, I was asked by 3 young men to help them pay for their college education. They were clearly selling something that was contained in the binder they all held, but I had no idea what it was. I politely declined before finding out what they had, it could have been something I was in need of. As I was walking towards my car, I thought about turning around and give them some advice on how to better frame their sales pitch. I figured they may not be willing to listen to unsolicited advice, so I drove home.<br /><br />But, it got me thinking. If I had given them some advice, what would I tell them. Even though it was a short ride home, I kept thinking that some of my points could be used in many situations since almost all of us is selling something at some point. Just because you are not making a living in sales, does not mean you are not selling an idea to your colleagues, a raise to your boss, a change in curfew to your parents.<br /><br /><b>Tell people what you are selling</b><br />Seems simple, but sometimes we forget to state the obvious. What is being sold. By starting their sales pitch without letting me know what they had to sell, they had lost me from the start. <br /><br /><b>It is not about you, it is about them</b><br />Because the young men in my story started their pitch with “help me pay for college”, they had lost me from the start. They looked like nice young men, but why did I want to help them? As good as most people are, when we are buying a product, service, etc, the seller needs to understand the benefits to their customer. Even if you are trying to get a raise, there still needs to be a benefit to the person you are selling the idea of the raise.<br /><br /><b>Sometimes you need to listen and ask some questions</b><br />Now if these young men had completed a few of these steps, the next piece of advice is to listen to the person you are selling to and make sure you ask some questions. Understanding what motivates someone to what or need what you are selling makes it easier for you to sell it to them. <br /><br />These are just a few basic things to consider when you are looking have someone buy from you. I forget about them from time and time. When I review why a sales situation did not go as well as it could have, many times it is because I did not follow my own instructions!<br />TWelsonRossmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12917893021081062557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3560758757037037744.post-40535324785504273732015-10-07T14:58:00.000-07:002015-10-07T14:58:26.499-07:00Conversations with your customers & audience through social media - Why you need to be engaged<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I know I am treading on already discussed ground, but since I recently saw examples of communication failures by companies and organizations around their social media conversations, I guess it does not hurt to look at this topic again.<br /><br />Recently I cut my 8 inches of my hair to donate to <a href="http://pantene.com/en-us/experience-main-section2/beautiful-lengths" target="_blank">Patene Beautiful Lengths</a> program. The program takes hair donations and creates human hair wigs for women cancer patients. Most people are familiar with Locks of Love, another great program, but their donations go to wigs for children.<br /><br />Now, it took me around 5 months to get my hair to the desired length, I had a pretty good start on it. I don’t tell you this because I want to brag about myself, but to illustrate a point. A lot of time and effort went into this endeavor, as well as lot of conditioner! When I told people about my plans, almost everyone asked me if I was donating to Locks of Love. I chose Beautiful Lengths for two reasons, they only require 8 inches of hair versus 10 inches for Locks and I like that the hair goes to women.<br /><br />
This is the second time I have made this donation. I did it about 7 years ago, before social media was a thing. Beautiful Lengths is not as well known as Locks of Love, even seven years later. This time when I visited the website to find the address to send my donation, I notice they had a hashtag. Being the good social media person I am, I knew I would Instagram, Tweet and Facebook my transformation and maybe get a couple of women to think about a donation of their own.<br /><br />A bunch of pictures were taken of the actual cutting process and of course of picture of the final product, and I was good to go. My hairdresser is on Instagram and of course I gave her a shout out. She responded on my post. Nothing from Patene. I posted on Facebook so my friends were not too surprised of my new look. I received a lot of likes and comments. I posted on Twitter. More likes from friends.<br />
<br />But total silence from Patene. Think of the conversation they could have had with me. Besides a thank you, we could have discussed how easy it was to grow, what a great experience it was, why did I do this, how much conditioner I used. The company is doing a great thing by spearheading this initiative. They have a great web presence, but if people do not know about the program, how many donations of hair will they get. I had a story to tell and they missed out on the conversation.<br />
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I contrast this with two experiences I had in my business life. The first is at <a href="http://chariotsolutions.com/" target="_blank">Chariot Solutions</a>. My marketing assistant posted a picture of one of our employees dogs with a cute saying and the #officedog. We are trying a campaign to attract employees by showing our culture. Imagine our surprise when Purina, retweeted the photo, with a new caption. It was a fun way to engage with us and our audience in an unexpected way. The photo was then taken by one of the dog’s owners and put on Facebook for an extended reach.<br />
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<br /><br />The last is about the non-profit I lead, <a href="http://techgirlz.org/" target="_blank">TechGirlz</a>. I manage the twitter account, I still can’t let that go. We get a decent amount of mentions and retweets. Most of the time, I am retweeting or liking others posts, but there are many times when I am answering a question or participating in a group conversation. Recently, I had to answer one of our parent’s questions and their disappointment about their child not being able to get into one of our TechShopz. After a little cyber stalking, I realized I had a chance to appeal to him to be a potential teacher. We had a good conversation on twitter, which drove home the point that TechGirlz has too much demand and not enough instructors. <br />
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Our conversation allowed him to understand why his daughter was not able to get a spot and convinced him to help us out! Without engaging him, this never would have happened.<br />
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These are just examples using Twitter. Knowing that there are multiple social media outlets can make this daunting, but having a plan, a process and a "voice" to your responses and engagement should help.<br />
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Some items you might want to consider:<br />
-How time sensitive do you want to be in your responses? A product or service that is needed by your customer may need you to monitor your notifications more often<br />
-Does your social team need advice from experts in your organization before they answer?<br />
-Can you create stock answers to frequently asked questions?<br />
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Do you have other suggestions? <br />
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<br />TWelsonRossmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12917893021081062557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3560758757037037744.post-34787187863346484702015-05-04T06:45:00.000-07:002015-10-07T15:05:05.570-07:00Thoughts on the passing of Dave Goldberg, Sheryl Sandberg's husbandIt is funny, I did not know the name of Sheryl Sandberg's husband until this weekend when the news of his sudden passing hit my news feed on twitter. Up to that point, all I knew of him is Ms. Sandberg's recounting of how important his support of her had been in her career and how her advice of choosing the right partner had been a key to her ability to lean in.<br />
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His passing at such a young age made me think about a few items which I think are important for all women who are married, especially with children.<br />
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First, I want to reiterate Ms. Sandberg's position on having a supportive mate. My husband, Steve, is my second biggest supporter. (Sorry, hon, my mom is still number one.) All kidding aside, Steve's mindset of sharing child rearing and home responsibilities has allowed me to pursue my career aspirations. He has also supported my career choices, varied as they have been. We have both made sacrifices, and trust me, it has not always been easy raising two children with two working parents, but his support has given me the opportunity for choices.<br />
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But here are some points that will not be discussed when recounting Mr. Goldberg's death and how it will effect Ms. Sandberg's future - we can be positively certain she will not need to worry about money and her financial future. This may be crass to discuss at this time, but tactfulness has never been a part of my upbringing.<br />
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So take this opportunity to discuss frankly with your partner about life without them. Do you have a will? And if you have one, does it reflect changes that may have occurred since you first put it together? When was the last time you looked at your insurance policies? Do you have have enough replacement income to maintain your current lifestyle, not to mention to pay for your kids' college tuition? Have you looked at your spouse's benefits at their work and are you named as the beneficiary? <br />
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And there are probably items I have not even thought about myself. Trust me, I have put calling my lawyer and insurance agent on my to do list this week. Since I live with my accountant, I will ask him when I get home.<br />
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Discussing death is not a topic we want to think about. It is scary and hopefully we will all be celebrating our 50th Anniversaries with our spouses while our children and grandchildren. But, there are some items that are not worth putting off.<br />
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<br />TWelsonRossmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12917893021081062557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3560758757037037744.post-69667614744003949582015-04-20T18:02:00.000-07:002015-04-20T18:09:19.875-07:00Periscope vs Meerkat Bake Off<b id="docs-internal-guid-d8163590-d978-2a52-c5f7-789beb6b1046" style="font-weight: normal;"></b><br />
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<b id="docs-internal-guid-d8163590-d978-2a52-c5f7-789beb6b1046" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It is not often that you get to do a truly side-by-side comparison of two new tools, but <b>Gloria Bell (@gloriabell) and I (@twelsonrossman)</b> got the perfect opportunity to do just that with Meerkat and Periscope at the<a href="http://phillyemergiingtech.com/" target="_blank"> Philly Emerging Technologies for the Enterprise Conference</a> (#PhillyETE) last week. </span></b></div>
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<b id="docs-internal-guid-d8163590-d978-2a52-c5f7-789beb6b1046" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img alt="DSC_6708.JPG" height="415px;" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/jyq224Nnkw3FJ5IGmigYJTav3OPWlH7L59i_GNwsefL8ZiOGoxIYI6afgNcBIH2ble-BKFUUC0mG1u3tRqLAF5C8BL5JByj6-KU0InLNmP0HyCHBv1OEEIytbKVAvsiG60i5hwQ" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="624px;" /></span></b></div>
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<b id="docs-internal-guid-d8163590-d978-2a52-c5f7-789beb6b1046" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We used both apps at various times throughout the conference, but at the Day 2 Keynote, we did an actual side-by-side comparison. </span></b></div>
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<b id="docs-internal-guid-d8163590-d978-2a52-c5f7-789beb6b1046" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The reason we wanted to try live streaming at the conference is a no brainer, this has the potential to be a great marketing tool . The ability to reach more people with good content, is really exciting when you run a lot of events like we do. </span></b></div>
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<b id="docs-internal-guid-d8163590-d978-2a52-c5f7-789beb6b1046" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here are the pros and cons of each with our “Bake-off” winner (and the reasons why) below. </span></b></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-d8163590-d978-2a52-c5f7-789beb6b1046" style="font-weight: normal;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Meerkat</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pros: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Easy to set up an account </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Easy to give the stream a name / title </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Ability to tweet comments in the stream</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Can schedule a stream</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Ability to save broadcast </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Can target smaller, more direct audience because no auto link to Twitter </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cons:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Cannot zoom in or increase volume </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Need a built-in audience to gain viewers </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Lack of direct connection to tweet the stream makes it harder to gain audience </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Hard to manage the chat and hold the phone </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Need a good cellular or Wi-fi connection to make it work </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Hard to understand the metrics for viewership during the broadcast and post</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Lack of documentation on how to use it</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Really need a tripod for a good recording </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> No post-viewing metrics </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Periscope</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Pros:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Setting up the account was easy</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Ability to save the broadcast </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Connecting to and broadcasting via Twitter was easy </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Ability to tweet comments and likes in the stream, but can’t easily add </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> other Twitter names in the tweet</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Easy to “title” - just like a tweet</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Direct link to Twitter makes for a larger audience but also more possibility for spam </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> comments </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cons: </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Can’t switch between Twitter accounts</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Can only have one account associated with the app</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Need a good cellular or Wi-fi connection to make it work</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Hard to manage the chat and hold the phone </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Lack of documentation on how to use it</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Few metrics - post view metrics much easier to see on an iPad </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Really need a tripod for a good recording </span></div>
<br /><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There are a lot of limitations with both apps and we are hopeful there are more features coming that will address the issues we outlined above. Both seem to be good, fairly easy-to-use tools for livestreaming, especially at events. For right now we give Periscope the edge due to its seamless integration with Twitter. This feature alone will make it an easier-to-use social marketing tool.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It is a slight edge, though. Even with the limitations, we see these apps as a great tool for events and smaller conferences with small budgets. The video and audio quality will not be great, but these apps will allow for broader distribution of events. </span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Check out our next experiments at the </span><a href="http://phillywomenintech.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Women in Tech Summit</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> on April 18th and Chariot Solutions’ </span><a href="http://chariotsolutions.com/event/take-tour-angularjs-april-22/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">talk on Angular JS</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> on April 22nd.</span></b>TWelsonRossmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12917893021081062557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3560758757037037744.post-65938725775898316532014-12-31T10:49:00.003-08:002014-12-31T10:49:32.272-08:00New Year's Resolutions 2015i normally don't write down my resolutions, but my memory is not what it used to be. And if I put it out there, it makes it a little more real and even if others don't hold me accountable, I know (or at last believe) I will hold myself a bit more accountable.<br /><br />I will make this a little easier in myself and classify them by easy and wishful thinking.<br /><br />So from easy to most difficult:<br /><br />Think before I speak - this is a big one. When you are writing emails, you can delete before sending, you can edit. I have a tendency to blurt out ideas, thoughts, etc. Sometimes this works, but I will be more organized in my delivery and also will not talk over people.<br /><br />Be more patient with people - I have become a little mean to people, potentially due to the above, and it makes me unhappy with myself because I know that is not really me. I just need to take a breath and wait a beat.<br /><br />This one is from this year and I am continuing it - Try my best to not eat mediocre food. There is no reason to subject yourself to food that is just ok intentionally. It does not need to be fancy, just good. It helps to have a son who cooks with this one!<br />
<br />And now for the harder stuff.<br /><br />Don't make excuses - I have been working on this one for many years and it still needs refinement. There is a fine line between explaing and understanding what went a wry and making excuses as to why something did not work. <br /><br />Study French for 10 minutes a day <br /><br />Write more often whether it is for myself, for Chariot or for TechGirlz. This is the hardest one for me. I dislike writing, but I have alot of thoughts in my head.<br />
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<br />TWelsonRossmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12917893021081062557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3560758757037037744.post-34017331234936208502014-01-14T13:17:00.000-08:002014-01-14T13:17:41.115-08:00I'll meet you at the Ladies Room at Philly ETE<br />
<img src="webkit-fake-url://F253B29E-DA96-4DEE-B97F-2D85B58B900E/image.tiff" /><br />
Every year at <a href="http://phillyete.com/2014">Philly ETE</a>, I joke with some of the technical women that I know, that this is one of the few events where it is really easy to get into the ladies room. <br />
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The sad truth is last year, we only had 7% attendance of women in our audience. My co-chair, Andrea, and I are constantly asked to increase the number of women speakers (which we have been diligently working on), but no one asks us to increase the number of women in the audience. <br />
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Well, I am starting a campaign called - A Line at the Ladies Room. This year, I want a line that is reasonably long. I want to complain about how much time I had to stand in line. Because attending conferences like ETE are important for professional development for technologists.<br />
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I asked my friend, long time attendee and ETE committee person, Audrey Troutt, why she attends ETE year after year. She sent me this reason:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I make it a point to go to Philly ETE every year; I've been to a lot of technical conferences and it is the only one that I make a point to return to every year. There's always something that I learn about that ends up being useful in the coming months at work and in my side projects.</span><br />
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In this line of work the tools and platforms that we work with are constantly changing, so we need to be constantly learning and trying new things. There's a lot that you don't learn in school and that you won't pick up if you just keep your head down at work every day hammering on the same old problems with the same old tools. You need to seek out new knowledge and understanding. Reading blogs, wikis, stack overflow, reddit and trolling github will only get you so far. Philly ETE is a great conference for catching up on current and up and coming tools and practices. The talks are never about marketing, so you know that you are going to get intelligent, practical insight about the topic or tool.</div>
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It also helps to know a lot of other technical people because when you get stuck on an hbase problem it helps to have a hbase expert as a friend that you can reach out to. Philly ETE is great for that too because it's not too big, not corporate--it's an exciting and friendly environment in which to get to know other technical people in the region. The audiences are small enough that you can ask questions while still big enough to feel comfortable if you just want to sit and listen.</div>
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It's local, it's intelligent, it's friendly and it really is a bargain compared to any other conference I have been to of this quality. Win. Win Win. You should go.</div>
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Please help me in my quest. Encourage the women techies you know in your life to attend this year. And have them introduce themselves to me when they attend. I will be the one in the line.</div>
TWelsonRossmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12917893021081062557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3560758757037037744.post-16031880113107502292013-11-26T04:34:00.001-08:002013-11-26T04:34:07.528-08:00Off to the next adventure, thank you PSL Last night was my last duty as a Philly Startup Leader board member. Knowing that this was coming has given me some time to think about the last 5 1/2 years of one of the most satisfying volunteer gigs I have ever had.<br />
<br />Chris Cera said it best last Thursday at Founder Factory, the startup community was not exactly jumping when PSL was started. There was no Start Up Weekend, no Technically Philly, no DreamIt, Ventureforth, Benjamin's Desk, SeedPhilly or Philly tech meetup. But there was a group of people who wanted to connect with each other, learn from each other and try and build tech businesses. <br />I feel pretty lucky that I have been able to help in the building what is now the largest community of entrepreneurs in Philadelphia. I love my city and I believe our region has special qualities that allow us to build great companies. I have meet others in our city and region who feel the same way, many of them who have become life long friends. <br />
<br />As much as I have given to the community, I have received back in new knowledge, connections and experience. I know we have built a sustainable organization that at its heart will continue to lead the region’s entrepreneurs in new and better directions. I am excited to see what the new leadership team will create over the next several years. <br />
<br />And if you are thinking of getting involved in PSL, don’t wait to be asked, just jump in. It will be one of the most worthwhile experiences you will ever have. <br />
<br />
So thank you to everyone on the board and leadership team. It has been a privilege to work with you. <br />
<br />TraceyTWelsonRossmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12917893021081062557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3560758757037037744.post-7921116520653287182013-09-13T08:43:00.000-07:002013-09-13T08:43:00.484-07:00Open Letter to TechCrunch
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<i><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">"I’m as mad as hell, and I am not going to
take this anymore" – Howard Beale, Network<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(1976)</span></i><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">I opened my Facebook stream Monday morning to be
greeted by an article posted by a friend about the debacle that was the recent </span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/titstare-and-masturbation-apps-at-techcrunch-disrupt-2013-2013-9"><span style="color: #114ee6; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">TechCrunch Disrupt Hackathon</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">I usually avoid commenting on these issues. I am
more concerned about creating positive action to combat some of the negativity
caused by a lack of sensitivity or just plain boneheadness by men in the tech
industry.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">But then I was virtually punched in the gut by </span><a href="http://titstare.com/"><span style="color: #114ee6; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">Titstare.com</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"> and a presentation
that included simulated male gratification at what was supposed to be a leading
tech conference -- and I realized I can't stay silent anymore. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">There has been much made of the gender divide in
recent years. For more than a decade, I’ve been working in technology and studying
this problem up close, which is how I came to realize there is no one silver
bullet to this issue. The solution involves many steps and many people pitching
in.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">The only way to maximize the value of the
untapped resource that is women in tech is to change the culture, not just in
the workplace, but also in society.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">Groups like TechGirlz and Girl Develop IT can
train and teach and create girls and women who are ready to be tech workers.
But if the culture does not change -- if women are not considered part of the
team or are thought of as sexual objects in an overt way or if we are treated
like we don't belong -- this gender gap won’t be solved. And all the work that
groups like ours do will be laid to waste. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">That makes me angry. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">For four generations, women have been cut,
prodded and dissuaded from the technology picture. The first computer
programmers on the ENIAC were simply cropped out of the Army’s publicity shots.
In the 1980s, the percentage of women studying computers in college began its decades-long
decline. We can’t forget the first Danika Patrick ad for GoDaddy in 2010,
though I wish I could.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And now one of
the most respected media outlets covering tech allowed not one, but two,
travesties at its conference.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">That makes me mad as hell.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">So, let’s put this in terms that will make those
who sponsor events like TechCrunch and those that depend on educated tech workers
think twice: you need us.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">The number of job openings versus the number of
qualified tech workers is widening. There are not enough men to fill open
positions. Women are getting more college degrees and becoming a greater part
of the workforce. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">If you want to make sure your companies will be
sustainable for years to come, don't allow this behavior to continue. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">The media frenzy around this event and the
ensuing flurry of content and discussion will fade shortly ... then return
again with the next round of idiocy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">My question for you: What are you doing to create
lasting change?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">TechCrunch screwed up, issued a lame apology and
offered up a process for the next Disrupt. That is great, all good stuff, but the
most important thing was still missed: regular positive action to increase the
number of women in tech and to create a welcoming workplace culture.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">Now is the time and TechCrunch has the
opportunity to make significant cultural changes. I have some suggestions:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">● Assist </span><a href="http://techgirlz.org/"><span style="color: #114ee6; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">TechGirlz.org</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">, </span><a href="http://www.meetup.com/Girl-Develop-It-Philadelphia/"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">Girl
Develop It</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">, </span><a href="http://www.blackgirlscode.com/"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">Black
Girls Code</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">, <a href="http://www.chicktech.org/">ChickTech</a>,
</span><a href="http://www.cyberjutsugirls.org/"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">CyberJutsu Girls</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"> and
the numerous groups doing the heavy lifting by helping them raise money by
getting our message out.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">● Create a dedicated new channel on the website to
generate stories and videos which encourage women and girls to enter the field.
We know that knowledge is power.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">● Help us with research. There is a lack of good,
up-to-date data on why this problem continues to exist. Most of our groups
don't have the resources to conduct this.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">Yours truly,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">Tracey Welson-Rossman</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">Founder, TechGirlz.org</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">CMO, Chariot Solutions</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">TechGirlz Board of Trustees</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">Anita Garimella Andrews</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">Tech Girl and VP, Client Analytics Services
@RJMetrics</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">Amy Larrimore</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">Managing Partner at The Empire Builders Group</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">Neelan Choksi</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">President and COO of Tasktop Technologies</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">Steve Rossman</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">Drucker and Scaccetti</span></div>
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TWelsonRossmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12917893021081062557noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3560758757037037744.post-47892299924890189602012-11-04T17:39:00.001-08:002012-11-04T17:39:09.616-08:00I am Voting on Tuesday<br /><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">Dear friends, family and colleagues,</span><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
I am writing this today about the election to urge you to vote and to take the time to encourage other women to do the same.</div>
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<br /></div>
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This election, more than any other in the past, allows women to show why our voices and ideas should be heard. We comprise over 50% of the population, our constituency can tip many of the races that are dominating the country.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Our issues are not only about equal pay, women's health and access to medical services, protection of women's rights, but also the economy, the budget and how it affects social services, and foreign affairs. </div>
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<br /></div>
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As women who are invested in our community, please pass this note along to your networks and show that women are a formidable voting block.</div>
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</div>
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I will be proudly be casting my vote for Barack Obama. I believe that he is invested in protecting women's rights today and in the future. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Best,</div>
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TWelsonRossmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12917893021081062557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3560758757037037744.post-56980116373519317052012-08-21T12:06:00.001-07:002012-08-21T12:06:26.166-07:00What I did not get to say at the Philadelphia Geek Awards
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This past Friday, me and my co-organizers of the Women
in Tech Summit were fortunate enough to have been chosen the winners of the
<a href="http://www.phillygeekawards.com/previous-winners/">Event of the Year at the Geek Awards</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
honestly was not expecting to win.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
realized after we left the podium how much I did not get to say. I knew I should have written a few words down!</div>
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First, I forgot to wish my husband a Happy 22nd Anniversary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Without him supporting all of the activities
I am involved with in Phila., I do not think this or other events would happen. </div>
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Next, I did not thank my co-organizers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gloria, Amy, Yasmine, Kimberly, Roz, and Pam
took a chance on this idea of bringing all parts of the women in tech community
together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Creating an event that was a
different direction than most women’s events out there was a challenge and a
risk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their guidance and added vision
made the event the success that it was.</div>
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Third, I did not thank my employer, Chariot Solutions, for
encouraging and allowing me to work on these extracurricular projects.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Last, I want to recognize the Philly tech and startup
community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> I believe the reason we have been growing is due to the support we receive
from everyone in the community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> I can't speak to other cities, but I do not see this concentrated activity anywhere else. </span>This
encouragement and help we receive allows each of us who is running these
programs (Girl Develop IT, TechGirlz, Geek Girl Dinners and more) to further
succeed in our missions.</div>
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TWelsonRossmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12917893021081062557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3560758757037037744.post-28757075384844356602012-06-19T12:15:00.000-07:002012-06-19T12:20:11.259-07:00Customer Service and Social Media<style>
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I recently had an experience with a national retail chain
that had me thinking about the relationship of customer service and how a
company uses its social media presence to solve issues.</div>
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Let me give some background. </div>
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The chain in question will remain nameless, but I recently
had a rant on my twitter account if you are curious. I will tell you it is a men’s specialty
store, My son, preparing for his first prom, and I had visited the store for
his fitting and rental. When he went to
pick up the rental, the tux was incomplete, the jacket was missing from the
order. The store clerk gave us a UPS
tracking number and promised us it would be in the store the next day.</div>
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Before leaving the office to pick up the jacket the next
day, I decided to check the UPS information.
The tracking number given was for the original delivery. Curious and
suspicious, I thought it best to call the store first. On hold with the store for 10 minutes, it did
not surprise me that the store manager had no clue about the missing jacket. Prom is the next day. Second fail.</div>
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Next fail came when I had to ask the store manager the plan
of action. He promised it would be there
the next day after I raised me voice to the next level. Third fail. I asked how I would be compensated for my
inconvenience after not being offered anything. Did anyone teach these folks how to handle an angry customer? </div>
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Being a bit hot under the collar, I took to twitter and
facebook to see if I could find anyone in corporate who could help. I posted a disgruntled twitter note which posts to my facebook account as well with the company's twitter name. I noticed their account was pretty much inactive. I posted directly on their facebook page,
which talked about sports and had nothing about suits. My reach after a retweet by a friend, about
2500 people in all. No response from their office. Fourth fail.</div>
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The story does have a happy ending after I called the
corporate office directly (which took a while to find the contact number on
their website). I had an extremely
competent customer service manager who helped get the jacket in time.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">But, this was after I think the damage had been
done. About 10 of my friends asked me
directly what had happened at the store. Remember, not all social media happens on line.
</span><br />
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There was no direct answer from their marketing or customer
service center, even after I had alerted the corporate office (I managed to talk to the head of North America's customer service) to the fact I had posted on their
site. How damaging was this to their
brand, how many other people have reached out to them this way and it has been
ignored? </div>
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Remains to be seen but I did
hear recently their stock dropped 15% the week after my tirade. Coincidence?</div>TWelsonRossmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12917893021081062557noreply@blogger.com0