:: Netwoman ::

:: Saturday, November 29, 2003 ::

What does it mean to be a Tech Guru?

Joan Korenman graciously emailed me about some of my links that were not working. I also IM'd Kaye Trammell last night about some trouble with my archive. So I think things are straightened out now.

Joan also mentioned the tech savvy quiz that I blogged the other day. Joan said she didn't score the tech guru stats (and trust me, she is a tech guru). I think the problem with this quiz is how Microsoft defines the term - guru and Digital IQ.

What is interesting is that much of what is included in the tech savvy is access to some of the bells and whistles of technology...it seems that tech savvy means a certain social class of internet user...also, there is often no account for agency - people who choose not to purchase a laptop or PDA. Here are some examples of the questions:

-Did you buy your computer online?
if you don't have a credit card then you can't do this though you may be fully capable and want to do so.

-Do you have Broadband access at home?
if you are in a rural area then you might be limited to dial up

-do you read your office email - wirelessly, at your desk, after you've printed it out, after someone prints if out for you, n/a?
this is presuming you have a white collar job - doesnt consider jobs in the service industry - jobs where you don't have an office per se or access to the internet.

-do you read personal email - wirelessly, at work, at home
this doesnt account for people who might do so at a community centre, library, school and do forth and are still quite 'savvy'

-do you have wi-fi on your laptop?
Apparently owning a laptop means you are savvy despite the fact that you may not want or need one, or cannot afford one.

-do you use a PDA?
i don't like PDAs but apparently that is a bad thing - see above

-do you use personal-finance software to manage your money?
this presumes you have enough money to manage!

-do you use an online stockbroker?
uh, you need money to trade stocks, so again, this presumes some social capital.

Tech savvy or guru status comes with capital and class according to microsoft.

:: Netwoman 10:22 AM [+] ::
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Danah Boyd

Via misbehaving there is a New York Times Profile of danah boyd found here.

OK, so I followed the trend and joined Friendster. Now what? It's a bit funny that I have one friend on this thing.

Danah talks about Nielson Data today.

"Nielsen//NetRatings found that the growing online community of personal sites visitors consisted of Internet savvy adults. This report uncovered the online habits of those surfers logging on to dating sites and found that 84 percent of visitors to dating services are online five or more times a week. Additionally, 37 percent have been online for seven or more years. Those using an online dating site access the Internet to send online invitations, search for homes and apartments, download MP3s, look for restaurants and participate in fantasy sports leagues. Online dating sites are keen to understand the habits of users to maximize reach of online ad campaigns"

I will have to look at this more in light of my recent post on Internet dating as a class issue. But I suspect that the internet savvy represent a certain demographic.

:: Netwoman 1:14 PM [+] ::
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Isis Manila celebrates women's information and communication work

Communication, both its tools and processes, has long been recognised as central to the women's movement. It is a vital tool for activism as it ensures that the issues get heard, discussed and acted upon. Women's organisations across the world play an active role in ensuring that women are able to communicate with each other in a meaningful way and that they are able to communicate their issues, concerns, views and ideas to the right audience.

This work is now further highlighted, as Isis International-Manila prepares to launch Collective Journeys, a website on women's information and documentation work in the past 30 years. Join us as we celebrate women's contributions to information and communication work and the women's movement through the launch of Collective Journeys at the World Summit on the Information Society in Geneva, Switzerland on 09 December 2003.

The website will highlight the significant events, innovations and initiatives by women's organisations that have successfully used information tools for their advocacy work. An enriched historical timeline is also featured on the site with links to full stories and will eventually host multimedia clips and content from the organisations featured. Site visitors will be able to get in touch with organisations through a comprehensive directory of women's information and communication organisations.

For those who will be in Geneva for the Summit, the launch will take place on 09 December from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. at the Jura Conference Room in Palexpo. To find out more about the event, please write to Aileen Familara aileen@isiswomen.org, call us at (632) 435-3405 or 435-3408 or 436-01312 extension 107, or send a fax to (632) 924-1065.

:: Netwoman 1:07 PM [+] ::
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Gobble-Gooble

For my American readers - Happy Thanksgiving

"Of all of the holidays to be observed in our calendar year, Thanksgiving is indeed considered the most American of them. Yet autumnal harvest festivals of giving thanks predate the American observance by centuries throughout various parts of the world. But it was the unique experience of 1621 when a shipload of English-speaking Pilgrims from Holland on the Mayflower feasted with a local indigenous population on the eastern North American continent, and were actually saved by them! Although the Pilgrims, religious and political refugees from mother England that they were, gave thanks for having survived much misery and disease through a safe trans-Atlantic Ocean arrival, the actual three-day festival was more of an observance of a successful harvest season having been granted them by Divine Providence." found here

Not to burst your full thanksgiving belly but - Check out this blog - Black Hand Side for another side to the thanksgiving story.

Also, consider folks who can't afford to eat properly on this holiday - donate some food or help out at the food bank and soup kitchens.

:: Netwoman 1:19 AM [+] ::
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Test your Digital IQ

Technically Speaking is a Digital Ace - this survey says so. He scored 174. Alas, I only scored 101 - but am still considered tech savvy.

I really wish they would ask your gender though at the beginning. These are the stats:
*81450 responses
Below 50: 15%
50-79: 18%
80-109: 24%
110+: 44%

:: Netwoman 1:13 AM [+] ::
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Wednesday's Featured Blogger - Kaye Trammell

This week's feature is Cele-blog star Kaye Trammell. Kaye is a Doctoral Candidate at the University of Florida and has "a meta-blog: a blog about blogs". Kaye is well known in the blogosphere for her astute blogger insight.

>What do you think is the key to bloggers become so popular?

I think that the key is offering something unique, honest & interesting. It helps to be a good writer, but a good heart can compensate for not know where to put a comma. I find myself much more interested in blogs where people talk about their lives, profession & feelings much more interesting than boring blogs like mine :)

>The Perseus results indicate that more women are blogging than men. But it does seem that the blogs that get the most attention are authored by men. Do certain types of material get more attention than others? Why so? Others feel it is the linking. What are your thoughts about this?

I think that political blogs get more attention than other types of blogs, but that doesn't make them any better than other types of blogs. I actually prefer the more personalized blog to the political blog. If no one links to you then no one knows who you are. That is a very real factor in blogging.

>What are your thoughts on why there are so few women deemed to be 'A list'? The recent Top 100 seems to highlight this as well.

Blogging takes a long time -- maybe men have more free time on their hands ...

>What are your thoughts on the blogosphere as gendered space?

I don't feel it very gendered, but I tend to not look at the world in that way. I think that blogs are great because you don't have to be gendered. You can can have a dark blue background & post to a very masculine template.

>Have you ever had any negative responses to your blog - in the comments perhaps, or via email?

Honestly, the only disagreements people have had with me have been very well-thought out posts (on their own blogs) explaining exactly why I'm wrong. You can't complain about that. I love Lasica's comment on Dan Gillmor's blog: "If you publish a blog, you're self-published. That means you're the publisher. That means you can fire the ass of any punk editor. When the readers send in corrections or criticism, I just call it fan mail."

>What has been your biggest challenge in the Blogosphere?

Tearing myself away from blogging. I would love to blog the day away, but alas, I have a dissertation to write.

>How has blogging influenced your life?

Words -- or blog posts -- cannot describe it. Completely transformed is an understatement.

Thanks Kaye!

:: Netwoman 12:14 AM [+] ::
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Women with (Dis)Abilities and the Internet

The nice thing about having blogs is that people email about their blogs and their interests. I recently received an email from a woman named Ingrid who blogs at ME AND OPHELIA .

This is a snipit from the email:

"There are millions of people around the world with the same story as the one that I am sending to you here. Vinton Cerf will tell you that too. He is partially deaf and does a lot of work for the sick, disabled and disadvantaged. I have blogged about this too. His link is in my sidebar - and that of the Christina Network which he supports. I realise that "we" are invisible and forgotten by most people but hope you will remember, in your research, the existence of the sick and disabled and housebound."

Ingrid shares her blog post with me:

VINTON G CERF
Father of the Internet
What a great gentleman.
On a visit to MCI : Cerf's Up a few days ago, I felt moved to send this email:

Dear Mr Cerf,
Just to say thank you for all your pioneering and hard work.
Six weeks ago I was able to afford my first home computer.
Within a few days I discovered weblogs and started one - free of charge through Blogger - called ME AND OPHELIA.

I have picked up a little HTML, purchased a new house sign, sent gifts of chocolates and flowers, visited art galleries and auctions, had groceries and books delivered; been reunited with old friends, have sent and received emails all over the world, met many interesting bloggers and had some good laughs....all without speaking or leaving the house.

This new laptop and the Internet has opened up a whole new life for me, for which I thank you.

It means a lot to me because I am housebound and horizontal 23.5 hours a day, with limited energy, due to a severe form of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis - known as ME here in England and CFIDS in the US - from which I am still hoping to recover.

These past six weeks have been the most interesting - and least isolating - weeks that I have spent since falling ill in October 1999.

Thank you once again. You are a hero. I have put you at the top of my web links column in my right sidebar.
Hope you will visit us one day.
With love and thanks once again from Ingrid and Ophelia (my wonderful cat).

In my email box the next day, four words leapt out of my screen:

From: vinton g. cerf
I was thrilled. What a gentleman. I shall treasure and frame this:

Dear Ingrid,
I am copying two other people who will be very pleased to hear your story. One is Robert Kahn, who initiated the Internet project and with whom I worked to do the initial design. The other is Tim Berners-Lee, who invented the World Wide Web - that is the application that is helping you so much. Of course, Tim has pointed out that without the Internet, WWW would not so interesting and vice versa.
Thanks so much for taking time to write.
Vint Cerf"

Thank you for sharing this with me Ingrid. Alas, a Blog talks about The Disability Gulag in the NYTimes today. See this for discussion board.

Also this:

CNIB launches groundbreaking digital library

Last week, more than 105,000 blind and visually impaired Canadians gained access to thousands of books, daily newspapers, and magazines when the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) launched its new digital library.

The online library is the most advanced library of alternative formats in the world and a model for 175 other alternative-format libraries worldwide. It also contains the "Children's Discovery Portal", the world's first portal of its kind for children who are blind.

"For sighted people, technology makes access to information easier. For people like myself who are blind, it makes access possible," said Jim Sanders, president of the CNIB.

"The CNIB Digital Library will open up worlds of opportunity and knowledge. For example, I can now read a newspaper the same day it hits the newsstand."

For more information, visit here

:: Netwoman 11:56 PM [+] ::
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Strategies of Inclusion: Gender and the Information Society (SIGIS)

The results of a major two-year European study on public and private initiatives to include and attract women to information and communication technology (ICT) use, employment and education are now available. This research project, funded by the European Commission IST (Information Society Technologies) Programme, has published a collection of case studies and analyses for policy makers, product designers and service developers.

The reports are available online- check here .

In the first stage of the research, a comprehensive overview of current digital divides and inclusion measures was conducted, including a review of literature and statistical trends on gender and ICT.

The second stage of research involved the empirical investigation of public and private initiatives to include women in the Information Society, and female user experiences of these initiatives.

48 Case Studies were conducted on:
-Public efforts to include women in ICT: Including education and training initiatives
-Private efforts to include women in ICT: Including design of products and websites for women and girls; support networks for female professions in IT; digital design industry recruitment and retention of women in the field of digital design
-Female user experiences: public and private policies and products: Including women's lack of access to resources, skills and knowledge, and integration of computers and the Internet into women's everyday lives

The case studies were based on public and private initiatives to include women in ICT, covering a wide range of contexts, from national government policy to women's networking organisations and design of video games. From these findings important insights emerged into the way gender and ICT is understood and managed by many organisations, governments and industry sectors across Europe. These cases currently form the basis for the development of analytical tools to help policy-makers, educators, designers and relevant practitioner communities improve their efforts to integrate more women into the design and use of ICTs. These policy and design guidelines will be published at the end of 2003.

Why Study Gender and the Information Society?

The SIGIS project addresses concerns that for some time women have been, and continue to be excluded from, the use and development of communication and media technologies, and thus the Information Society. This is most obvious in the relative absence of women from computer sciences and the design of ICT products. However, there are important changes going on: the transformation of ICTs and their penetration into the home, workplace and education means that the gap is narrowing between men and women in their levels of use of computers, the Internet, mobile phones and other systems. These issues have become the centre of much debate and have resulted in specific initiatives and policies by both public and private organisations, many of which have played an active part in 'democratisation' of ICTs.

:: Netwoman 3:17 PM [+] ::
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Internet Dating a Class Issue?

I never thought it would be possible to be too tired to blog. I have been raking leaves all day (unlike Electric Venom who is raking debris from her yard) and I am too sore to type (who knew?!)

Future Now blogs about "Love in the Time of No Time By" JENNIFER EGAN in the NYTimes. More and more Americans are spending an enormous amount of money on internet dating services. Membership fees and the aid of digital cameras are emptying the pockets of people. This is expensive stuff - not many freebees out there in cyberloveland. You need cashola to meet the new elite on the internet. Is this a class issue?

People are heading to the Internet to look for relationships, though women and men are having different types of experiences online. There is also a lot of 'fudging' going on when people write their personal profiles - something quite noticable when you meet these people face to face. Profiles are like resumes, snipits of our existence - you can be truthful or not. Will you really tell people that you are overweight or living under the poverty level?

This is a good article that outlines some of people's experiences with online dating. I think what is most interesting though, is the large number of people looking for love in cyberspace, given that many people don't want to go to a bar.

"The societal reasons for this fury of activity are so profound that it's almost surprising that online dating didn't take off sooner: Americans are marrying later and so are less likely to meet their spouses in high school or college. They spend much of their lives at work, but the rise in sexual harassment suits has made workplace relationships tricky at best. Among a more secular and mobile population, social institutions like churches and clubs have faded in importance. That often leaves little more than the ''bar scene'' as a source of potential mates. (Many single people I spoke to saw this as their only option, aside from online dating.) "

I hate meeting people in bars (I just don't go anymore), and have tried some online personals. But there is still much physicality attached to virtual courting. When I post a picture, I get many responses; no pics, no hits. Of course, I am guilty of the same thing. Not that looks are everything, but there should be some attraction or interest, no? Yet, I am still skeptical of online dating (concerns for crazy people). I know many people who have married online love interests, but so far it doesn't work for me.

The opening line in the article is "The city is full of people we can't reach." But we have to remember that the internet is also full of people we aren't reaching.
I guess I wasn't too sore to type afterall.

:: Netwoman 8:20 PM [+] ::
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More on Blog P o r n

My blog cruising has uncovered many blogs dedicated to p o r n. I found this blog post "P o r n Sites Hiding Behind Blogs" - "Over the last few days, I’ve seen a number of pseudo-realistic blogs spring up. They link to real stories, but all the comment and trackback links are just javascript redirects to the root of the site"

Looking at Blogorama - a blog search directory, you can check out 'What's Popular' in the blogosphere - so am I surprised that there are many p o r n blogs on here? No.
Here are some examples/titles - but without the links - I don't need this kind of traffic.
-Boobblog
-S e x Blogger
-Whore's Boudoir
-Big Tanned B o o bs and Cold Beer
-TwiddlyBits' S e x Blog
and so on....

Not surprising that this is running rampant in the blogosphere. I expect that this trend will increase as blogging becomes more mainstream.

:: Netwoman 11:52 AM [+] ::
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Miss Digital World

From Lisbeth Klastrup Miss Digital World. CNN article here.

"Miss Digital World is the first ever virtual beauty contest, strictly for the most beautiful and intriguing virtual models made using the most advanced 3D graphics tools. Miss Digital World is the search for a contemporary ideal of beauty, seen through virtual reality."

What is this ideal of beauty? Whose ideal is it? Where does it come from? I suspect that we will see stereotypical depictions - white women with unrealistic bodies, no 'imperfections' of any kind. The ideal virtual woman will be nothing like real physical women.

Much like Barbie:"if Barbie were a real person, she would be 5'9" tall and weigh 110 pounds, only 76% of her healthy weight. Her measurements would be 39-18-33, and she likely would not be able to menstruate due to being underweight."

I also suspect that if we were to create an ideal virtual man, he would be a macho dude with mega muscles, a six pack stomach and little body hair. What is it with these unrealistic notions of the human body that do nothing but make people feel insecure and uncomfortable with themselves? These ideals drive us to eat improperly, perform surgery on our bodies and spend countless dollars on anti-aging cream and cellulite butt busters. It's all about the Benjamins.

I have the theme song of the Six Million Dollar Man in my head:

We can rebuild him. We have the technology.
We have the capability to make the world's first Bionic man.
Steve Austin will be that man. Better than he was before.
Better . . . stronger . . . faster.

Better than what? What is wrong with our bodies now? We have the technology to build unrealistic depictions and expectations of the human body.

This should read:

We can rebuild her. We have the technology.
We have the capability to make the world's first perfect woman.
Virtual Women will be the new 'woman' - Better than they were before.
Better...more anorexic...more unrealistc...just more....

:: Netwoman 11:24 AM [+] ::
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Wednesday's Feature Blogger: Jeneane Sessum

This week's feature is Jeneane Sessum who blogs at allied and created a lovely community of women bloggers at Blog Sisters. Most people are familiar with her sense of humour and wit on her blogs.

TK: How do you think your blog became such a popular blogger ?

JS: Is my blog popular? I never know, really. Many women who started blogging shortly after I did have gone on to big hit counts and much blog notariety. I really haven't found the secret to their success and my lacking in it. It only bothers me sometimes. Like at night when I'm trying to fall asleep. No, only kidding. Sort of. Really, I think there are flavors in blogs, and while the specialists gain readers who are incredibly interested in the blogger's specialty (tech, law, sex, politics) and hit their pages every day, the more generalist bloggers--like me--don't get that same flow. Our visitors come for the writing, I think. Those who come to the generalist blogs are folks looking for little pictures of life from good writers. They're not coming for information or news or opinion columns, instead they're checking in, seeing what kind of things are bothering or inspiring me today. Perhaps in not giving my readers any expectations on what they'll find on my blog, I can delight them more easily. I think I can chase them away more easily too.

I've toyed with bringing a focus to my blog. Like PR, Marketing, the stuff I could write about til the cows come home. While I like to write about those things once in a while, those topics don't sustain me. They don't make me happy. I'm here to laugh and giggle and cry and maybe even throw up. Not to learn what I could be learning in any online magazine. So that's kind of how I approach my blog.

TK: The Perseus results indicate that more women are blogging than men. But it does seem that the blogs that get the most attention are authored by men. Do certain types of material get more attention than others? Why so? Others feel it is the linking. What are your thoughts about this?

JS: I think it's because more and more we're bringing to this place the patterns from the offline world. Early on, we happily broke those patterns--at least some of us did--writing about stupid stuff and meaningless stuff that was actually doubley meaningful in the way it connected us. But as more bloggers come in from the mainstream, more old world habits come with them--like looking for news here on politics, for example. When I started reading blogs (boing boing was the first blog I got hooked on) long before I started Gonzo Engaged two-plus years ago, I read blogs to laugh, because they were keeping up with the oddities you couldn't find anywhere else. Then 9/11. Then the War. And the political bloggers, most of whom were men, got a firm footing and massive readership, which they maintain to this day.

Again, to me it's about what you come to blogging (reading or writing) for. If it's to replicate the offline world, you'll seek out the blogland versions of Hanity and Combs and Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Riley who garner the same interest and same attention as those types do in mainstream media. If you're coming here to connect with others who are interested in what you're interested in, who have kids that don't sleep at night like yours, who are exploring what love is, what loss is, what joy is, what grieving is, and maybe all of that at the same time, then you're NOT replicating big media broadcast bullshit, and you won't be spending a lot of time on Instapundit and Glenn Reynolds' blogs. Because you won't get those things there.

You get the human heart in blogs like Shelley Powers, Paige Waehner, Chris Locke, Marek J. -- it's not that they're women's blogs or men's blogs. It's all about voice. I want voice when I read a weblog. If I want information, I'll go to google, maybe hit your blog, maybe read it once. Voice is what resonates, male or female, and keeps you coming back for more.

TK: What are your thoughts on why there are so few women deemed to be 'A
list'?

JS: It's the corporate and broadcast meda structure revisited, and it makes me ill. As more and more readers see blogs as news (the power of RSS and aggregators, I making things "worse" in this regard) I suspect the men-on-top A-List list won't change. We need new metrics in this medium to determine worth and say-so. But metrics for meaning and context (as opposed to information and content) don't translate to blogging so well. Or perhaps to anything, for that matter. I am certain there will be a few women who will climb the Top 100 because either they are great writers or because they play the game well. This is okay. It's not mine to criticize or celebrate. But both women and men who view blogging as more of a career than a conversation, and tailor their posts accordingly, aren't the types I want to read, whether they're A-Listers or not. The male-dominated political blogs will probably all do well for a long time to come. For the rest of us, 101 on down, both men and women, I think we can grow here more through connecting with one another and telling our stories. That's enough for me. Except when I get really pissed off about it. ;-)

TK: What are your thoughts on the blogosphere as gendered space?

When I was interviewed by the NY Times on women and weblogging, most of what I said didn't make the article. I blogged about it here.

When I started blog sisters nearly two years ago, it wasn't so much to have a blog dealing with women's issues. That wasn't my goal at all. It was specifically to feature women bloggers' writing in a place that was easily accessible, and to use the power of our combined voices to be heard. We have more than 100 members now. Elaine of Kailily and Andrea of ARJLog are co-administrators and handle the bulk of the member administration and graphic/design work. Bless them. They've both been instrumental in keeping that blog organized and alive.

Today, blogging is in a new place from where it was when I woke up one night with the idea for Blog Sisters though. I think many in blogland think of Blog Sisters as a kind of exclusive women's blog where women bloggers bitch about men and the world at large. That's really not it at all. You have to understand, two years ago women blogger voices were more sparse here, and were scattered about the net. To me, it made sense to say, "Hey, any women bloggers who also want to contribute to a blog hosted and written by women, COME ON IN! The more the merrier."

There is a huge story in the evolution of group weblogs that I'm itching to write. It's fascinating the way a group of voices on one page interacts within the blog and outside of the blog. It's fascinating how topics change, how disagreements ebb and flow, how sometimes the collective writing gets intensely interesting and sometimes incredibly not so. It's fascinating that after this long, women still want to join, and members who you think have left pop up with a great post when you're not expecting it.

TK: Have you ever had any negative responses to your blog - in the comments perhaps, or via email?

JS: I did get heat for the tagline of blogsisters--where men can link but they can't touch. It's not really true--men can and do comment there. I just thought it was a cute, memorable tagline. I do PR and Marketing for a living. I couldn't resist that tagline. But yah, I've heard all the "you're exclusive" arguments and "why should women be grouped and recognized by gender -- it's limiting" arguments, and blah blah blah. The point is, the blog isn't exclusive. You only have to be a woman with a blog to join. And men can (and do) comment on blogsisters, or link to us from their blogs just as they do with weblogs that *don't* have comments. Blog sisters is an open blog, and it always will be. I don't direct the content, where it goes, how it goes, and i purposely don't post much there so as not to be the voice that drives it.

For Gonzo Engaged, we're so freaky and twisted over there, we never get in trouble. No one bothers us. We bother one another instead. Truth in advertising helps.

For Allied, oh, yes, well sure. You get really smart people who challenge you in comments and email, and I love that because it helps inform my writing and my thinking in dialoging or having a knock-down-drag-out argument with them. Then you get assholes. Oh yes. As I said on Gonzo more than 2 years ago, there are potholes and assholes here, just like in the real world. Thank goodness here we can choose to close the browser window and shut down.

TK: What has been your biggest challenge in the Blogosphere?

JS: Not letting it take over my entire life, because if I could, I think I would live inside my blog. That is, except for the weeks that I despise it.

Jeneane, you are very cool - thanks for sharing and chatting with me...

:: Netwoman 11:11 PM [+] ::
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Digital Women

Just found this website called WomenGamers.com, and there is a page looking at female characters in video games.

"Proportionally, there are not many female characters in games. There are even fewer really GREAT female lead characters that are as powerful and fun to play as the male characters, that women can relate to and identify with. Female characters are typically portrayed as weaker than the male characters, as sexual objects, and/or as victims of violence. We have heard enough complaints about this from female gamers to believe that this is a problem in the industry. We decided to review the current selection of lead female characters as a way to give the gamers and consumers more information, and to spark discussion. "

Great review of female characters...

:: Netwoman 10:31 AM [+] ::
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Blog/Pop P o r n

Technically Speaking blogs about new blog called Fleshbot.

"Fleshbot is a new, frequently updated web magazine. It showcases all the porn that digital technology and distribution has made possible. This includes CGI and morphed images, amateur girls, webcam guys, sex blogs, hentai and yaoi, accidental smut, vintage erotica, celebrity candids, and streaming hardcore video." (this should send my google hits sky high!)

Ah the luxuries of technology and the exploitation of women...

It's nothing new that there is an abundance of P o r n on the internet, but this is a new twist and we should have seen it coming - a P o r n Blog. If you look at the stats for the site, Fleshbot is getting and average of 90,035 hits a day (will this go on the A list?) It's relatively tastefully done - no nasty images popping up at you, but I still have issues with p o r n - it is by men and for men, often illustrating men conquering women, men stroking their sizable worth and proving their manliness - it's all about men (and the women who need it, want it, have to have it). It's about power.

I have no problem with two consentual adults (same sex or not) having sex, it's not about that. I have no problem with erotica, which seems to balance the power between the two (or more) adults. There is a difference.

If you check one of the side bars, people are commenting - people like Instapundit and Halley Suitt (who calls this site the 'Instapundit of p o r n').

Wired features an article on the blog: "I think Fleshbot is a good representation of where porn is going," Breslin said. "It's smart, and funny and hip, and I think it makes looking at smut cool instead of trashy." and apparently 'intelligent hipsterslike p o r n'.

There is nothing cool or hip about looking at p o r n and it is still trashy - this sounds like pop porn to me. Let's keep in mind what Brelin says : "Fleshbot is a business; it's not about blogging or people taking back the media."

I am not a prude - really - but the bottom line is that this is not about getting people in touch with their sexuality, or helping communicate their sexuality - it is about money and objectifying women via technology. Check out this blog entry about the social value of p o r n - which would be fine if it were true. I am still thinking that p o r n is getting mixed up with erotica.

:: Netwoman 10:06 AM [+] ::
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Technology in the Home

Future Now points to a few NY Times articles about technology in the home, which is useful for my dissertation research.

When the House Starts Talking to Itself

You've Got Mail ... From the Microwave

Domesticating The (Electronic) Help

Remote Possibilities. This is about a woman who has no idea how the technology works in her home.

The Housing Project

Push-button your way through this e-home

Lots of interesting things going on in the 'new' home. But clearly there is a class/economic issue going on here (among other things). Not everyone will be able to afford these gadgets. In the USA, there are 200 million telephones in a population of approximately 284,796,887 (2001). Clearly there are many people without phones (let alone adequate housing) in the US. Who will be left behind? Who will benefit?

Here is an organization called "Computers for Families - Computer Access for Everyone". It is "a not for profit association founded to place computer systems with and provide computer information access to needy individuals who can not afford a computer system".

:: Netwoman 12:08 PM [+] ::
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Isn't it Ironic?

I Just had a good chuckle. The gender genie is coming up again in various blog posts (I blogged about this a couple months ago). I blogged recently about this totally ridiculous blog entry about the Pussification of the Western Male. SO, I decided to enter the text of this blog into the gender genie. Here are the results:

Words: 2755
Female Score: 5368
Male Score: 4947
The Gender Genie thinks the author of this passage is: female!

Excellent. Someone should tell this dude that perhaps he has become 'pussified'? whatever that means. Ms Lauren are you reading this? I can't stop laughing.

:: Netwoman 1:38 PM [+] ::
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The Women's Phone

Danah at Misbehaving blogs about the Women's Phone.

I am totally offended and I am beginning to wonder daily if I am really a woman. I mean, all this stuff for women - the internet for women, women's phones - just doesn't apply to me. The overgeneralization, the stereotypical depiction and the essentialist notion of women is ridiculous.

Here are some features of the 'women's phone':

-Calorie Calculator (because all women are on diets)
-Pink Schedule Calculator (what is it with pink? I hate pink!)
-feature to track menstrual cycle (what about post-menstrual women, or don't they use phones?)
-track ovulation (because all women are heterosexual and need to know when it's safe to have sex with a man?)
-calculate a person's daily biorhythm (because all women are into horoscopes?)
-it's small and light (because women are too weak to carry heavy things?)
-feature to purchase airline or theatre tickets (assuming one has a credit card and money)
-A silver rose is engraved on the outer case (cause women like flowers?)

Ugh! things are not getting any better. How many women were involved in this design I wonder? hmm.

:: Netwoman 12:07 PM [+] ::
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Blurring public and private spaces

Cross posted at Kairosnews
Wondering who is reading your blog? Well, if you are a student, you might think twice about pouring your thoughts and feelings about school, teachers and fellow students into the virtual world.

Lisa Kim Bach reports in an article called "INTERNET DIARIES: School discipline questioned" that teenagers blogging about daily student life are being reprimanded by school officials. Wesley Juhl and Angie Scaduto were both punished for the comments made on their blogs - comments that were taken out of context.

Scaduto now allows only registered 'friends' access to her online journal. Juhl didn't use his real name on his blog, but he gave up his online identity when questioned by school officials.

This incident has serious implications for numerous students who record their teenage angst online daily. School years is a time where kids should be expressing themselves and defining their self identity. Blogs seem to be an ideal way of doing this. But at what cost?

Do schools have a right to monitor students when they are at home ? Does the school district have any right to censor off-campus speech? Do we need to start thinking carefully about who will be reading our blog thoughts and follow Scaduto's action by having password protected blogs? Or do we start censoring and self regulating ourselves (Foucault anyone)?
Other comments and articles here and here .

:: Netwoman 11:30 AM [+] ::
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Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies
Call for Papers - Special Gender & IT Issue

The dialogue between gender and information technology (IT) has the potential to be a burgeoning, dynamic, multidisciplinary field of study. Instead, it is often explored as a series of disconnected topical areas.We are soliciting scholarly and creative submissions for a special issue of Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies that will successfully interconnect often disparate topics in gender and information technology. These topics may include:
-Gender and under-represented groups in the IT workforce and its educational pipelines;
-Gendered experiences with information technologies;
-Representations of gender in and by information technologies; and
-Feminist and other cultural critiques and/or expressions of the societal implications of IT. The deadline for all submissions is December 1, 2003.

:: Netwoman 12:24 AM [+] ::
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Kairosnews

I am thrilled that Kairosnews has asked me to join their blog group.

"Kairosnews is an open community of members interested in the intersections of rhetoric, technology and pedagogy."

I have been reading Kairosnews since I started blogging, and I am looking forward to blogging with them.

:: Netwoman 7:54 PM [+] ::
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Bits and Blogs

Frank blogs about advertising for games. New ads are coming out with women playing the games. Yes these ads challenge the geek stereotype, but reinforce another female stereotype. BBC has an article on "Why girls and games are a good mix".

Game Girl Advance talks about "Getting Grrl Gamers: The Future of Gaming". The future of gaming is about women. Excellent post (except for a couple essentialist notions). Here are some snipits of what girls want:
-Do not sell them recipe guides on the PS3.
-Don't attempt dating sims.
-Shopping games, while they could be done very well, should probably be avoided.
-Pink, Barbie, and glitter are right out.
-In short, don't push home the female stereotype.

The comments are good as well.

Hot topic: What type of social software are you?
Apparently I am a wiki like Danah - "The wiki is your outboard brain; the junk pile of content only makes sense to you, and there are many blank pages."
Other bloggers:
mamamusings and Jill are a game never ending. Dorthea Salo is Usenet (which she finds funny).

Links and influence, and the gender ghetto:
Shelley is blogging right up my blog alley today: "Are women linked less because our voices are different? Are we not as confident when making our assertions and are therefore less quotable? Are we not as aggressive in our opinions, and therefore less interesting? "
No, it is about credibility I think. Often men's opinions are valued more than women's and men get the links. Unless of course you are part of the 'in' crowd and have proved your worth.

Vicki aka Cal Gal sent me this website Share My World - the degradation and removal of the/a black male.
It is absolutely amazing, yet disturbing at the same time. Here is a media article about Wayne Dunkley's website.
"I wanted a way to enter the discussion that was about the common human condition of prejudice - the racism that resides each person."

:: Netwoman 1:35 PM [+] ::
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Wednesday's Feature Blogger: Virginia Postrel

This week's featured blogger is Virginia Postrel. Postrel is linked on many of the 'big wig' bloggers such as Instapundit and Scott Rosenberg to name a couple. Google her for a long list of interviews and articles - she is everywhere.

In an email exchange with Virginia, I talked about this famous A list idea, and the lack of women on it (and the top 100). Virgina comments on the A list - here is a snipit of our chat:

VP:I'm not exactly sure how you're defining "A Bloggers," but I'd venture to guess that most are people who had established reputations as generalist public intellectuals before they were bloggers. "Being one of the few female A list bloggers" isn't particularly different from "being one of the few female think magazine editors," as I was when I edited Reason for 10 years.

Women are a minority among generalist public intellectuals to begin with, and I can't think of any other reasonably well known female generalist public intellectuals who have blogs. I'm on the lists partly because I was well known before blogging and partly because I started blogging early on.

In fact, there are quite a few highly respected female bloggers, but they tend to be more specialized than the short list of generalists I'd guess is your "A list." Blogs devoted to education issues are dominated by female bloggers, including Joanne Jacobs, Lisa Snell, Kimberly Swygert, and Erin O'Connor.

Megan McArdle (a.k.a. Jane Galt)'s Asymmetric Information is one of the top economics blogs, and Lynne Kiesling's Knowledge Problem is a highly respected economics blog that concentrates particularly on energy economics."

Thanks Virgina for chatting with me.

I can't help thinking though that men and women specialize in gendered fields; the educational field is gendered as it often presumes that women are caretakers of children. Yes there are women out there blogging. Yes, there are some top-blog-dogs that are women, but they are still outnumbered by men. The idea of establishing one's reputation has come up more than once and I think this relates to a person's credibility and reliability.

:: Netwoman 1:09 PM [+] ::
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Measuring Blog Value

I have talked about the A-list thing over various posts, and addressed how it is all about linking, getting linked and blogging about the right topic. The recent top 100 covers blogs that are primarily political, and Halley noted that few women are on this list despite the fact that Perseus states more women blog then men.

Do blogs have to be popular to be effective? What does popular mean? What does this 'A list' thing mean? How do we meaure blog value? Shelley notes that popularity isn't important to her - she blogs for herself with no interest on being on the A list (whatever that means). If we have a community of bloggers that we blog for - faithful readers and supporters - what does the A list mean and does it really matter? I don't think so.

Why am I blogging about this? Well, Halley was kind enough to link me on her site and at misbehaving. My hits went sky high for two days, and it was great for my ego. Now of course, they are dropping off back to normal and it made me realize that you're as good as yesterday's blog link.

I would be lying if I said I don't want more visitors to my blog, to expand my blog readers - partly ego and partly because I want to get the word out on what is wrong with the tech world. I told Cal Gal that I wanted to change the world. Truthfully, it's not a hot blog topic, but merrily I blog-along.

I recently noticed a hit from Blogshares on my tracker so I went to check it out (had to ask Kaye what it all meant and who started it for me). Really, Blogshares is another way to measure blog value, and I don't think I am buying into it (so to speak).

"BlogShares is a simulated, fantasy stock market for weblogs where players invest fictional money to buy stocks and bonds in an artificial economy where attention is the commodity and weblogs are the companies. Weblogs, or blogs for short, are valued by their incoming links from other known blogs."

This brings us back to what blogging is really about. What is the motivation behind blogging? Is it a personal thing? Is it 'for the people'? Or is it for yourself and your blogging community? Is blog value gendered?

Cal Gal says this in an email exchange with me:

"Whenever I read about the influence/supremacy of male bloggers I think about what it means to accept the definitions of success or influence that the writers embrace.

I see my blog as a form of personal communication. I write to satisfy my need to roll words around in my mind and have them take shape in a potentially public way where my friends can see and comment on them. When someone understands what I am trying to say, likes the way I have said it, and comments on my blog, I have then achieved all the success I am looking for."

Well said, and thanks for sharing. SO, I return to my average amount of hits a day and continue blogging to change the world, sharing my thoughts with my blogging community - small blog-community, but a community nevertheless.

:: Netwoman 8:01 PM [+] ::
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Google Offering Anita Borg Scholarship

If you're a female student in the computer sciences, check this out. Google is offering two $10,000 scholarships (one undergrad, one grad) for women who are majoring or are in first year master's for "computer science, computer engineering or related field."

The page of information about the scholarship is available here. The page includes four "essay" questions (essay in quotes because responses should be no more than half a page each.) The applications are due January 30, 2004.

:: Netwoman 11:55 AM [+] ::
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Sunday Fun

Clancy blogged about this church sign generator yesterday.



See other signs:

Another one from Netwoman
Grrl Meets World
Culture Cat
Jason Shellen
Living Room
metamorphosism
Collision Detection

As Jeremy would say - Google it for more signs.

Halley just posted one at misbehaving...

:: Netwoman 1:09 PM [+] ::
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Blog Bits

I went to see the Matrix Revolutions last night, but not before I checked out some blogs to get the heads up. There are mixed reviews, but I enjoyed it. More people are blogging about it today. I am generally fascinated by any movie that deals with people and technology, and the tumultuous relationship that exists between them. 'Revolutions' is no exception. Wired notes the movie is disappointing. I'm still digesting it all, and am sure I will comment on it later.

Wired news about "U.N. Shelves Cloning Treaty".
"Nigerian envoy Felix Awanbor said his country hoped for a ban on stem cell studies for fear African women were "most likely to be at risk as easy targets to source the billions of embryos required for scientific experimentation on this issue."

Halley has many sides to her. She blogs about her writing for Penthouse among the other things that she does. Halley encourages us to buy a copy (because they need our money) so we can 'read the articles'. Her comment about how women should let loose and re-sexualize themselves makes more sense now. I admit, I am a bit taken by surprise over Halley supporting p o r n. But the beauty of blogs is that you can write about whatever you want. We can read it - or not - and agree or disagree on the issues.

Speaking of freedom of speech, Feministe blogged about a rather alarming blog post called the "The Pussification of the Western Male". Free blogging speech permits anyone to post their thoughts and opinions. There is too much to repond to on this one. Ms. Lauren does a good job (and she managed to do it before her head exploded). Following the path of Ms. Lauren:
mi-sog-y-ny
1. Hatred of women
2. Hatred of women
3. Hatred of women

But we can see now - via blogs - the sentiment of some people towards anyone who isn't white, male and heterosexual. And yet again - who said feminism is dead?

:: Netwoman 6:26 PM [+] ::
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Race and Cyberspace

Robyn Greenspan writes an article called "African-Americans Create Online Identity"

Internet Penetration by U.S. Household Ethnicity (2001)
Caucasian and other 62%
African-American 45%
Hispanic 45%
Asian-American 63%

It's not quite clear how African Americans are creating an identity, other than the author commenting on shopping and surfing habits. hmm.

Another article "Black Online Population Narrows Adoption Gap" By Brian Morrissey.

"The number of African Americans online now tops 10 million, according to a new research by Nielson//NetRatings, but blacks still lag far behind the general population in online use. "

"On average, African-American Web users spent 44 hours on the Internet, 12 percent less than the overall Internet population."

"African Americans trail other ethnicities in online penetration. Hispanics, which recently replaced blacks as the most populous minority group in the country, have an online audience of 15 million"

Most websites that are visited by African Americans are cultural and political.

:: Netwoman 1:24 AM [+] ::
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International Digital Divide

"In countries where citizens still struggle for reliable sources of food, water, medical care and educational opportunity, bridging the digital divide may seem like a lofty goal indeed. Information and communication technologies will never be a magic bullet that eliminates the need for sound developmental investments, but they can serve as a crucial factor, enabling NGOs, governments and individual citizens to improve the quality of life at home and abroad." The Digital Divide Network supplies some useful resources on the International Digital Divide.

Indeed, I have heard many people critique researchers who are in other countries working to get information technology implemented. 'They don't need the internet, they need food and shelter' (note the word 'they' as in 'other'). Also, I have heard people comment on how problematic it is for the Western world to assume that 'third-world' (cringe) countries need to be rescued by Americans.

NUA September 2002 Stats on how many people online

World Total - 605.60 million
Africa - 6.31 million
Asia/Pacific - 187.24 million
Europe - 190.91 million
Middle East - 5.12 million
Canada & USA - 182.67 million
Latin America - 33.35 million

More up to date info by Robin Greenspan "High Usage Countries Experience Divide"

"The distribution of Internet users is extremely uneven around the world. Not all people are experiencing the benefits of the Internet, such as access to friends, jobs and information," said [Barry] Wellman. "We found that although the Internet's reach has grown exponentially in about the last ten years, increasing from just under a million users in 1993 to more than 600 million in 2002, only about 10 percent of the world's population is online. Additionally, almost 90 percent of the world's Internet users are from what are considered to be developed countries, with nearly a third of those users from the United States."

:: Netwoman 11:29 PM [+] ::
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Wednesday's Featured Blogger: Shelley Powers

Welcome to my second week of what women have to say about blogging and their experiences in the Blogosphere. This week's feature blogger is Shelley Powers who blogs Burning Bird

TK: How do you think your blog became so popular?

SP: I'm not an A List blogger, and most likely never will be. To become A List, I think you have to sell a bit of your soul to your readers -- form a pact with them that you will always be consistent, always write a certain way, feel a certain way, act in a certain way. For all my faults and blessings, one thing I am not is consistent.

Is my weblog popular? I've been lucky to have people who have liked my writing or my philosophy, my photographs and technology. However, I don't think you can read my weblog for very long, or continue to read it, if you don't like or respect my passion. I am not a quite person, and I will never be 'dignified', as so many A-list webloggers can be, especially the women. I get mad. I make mistakes. I bleed when I hurt, and sometimes I don't bleed prettily, and sometimes it falls on my web pages.

But I'm also honest. And I don't hold back because its the political thing to do. Maybe that's why people still stop by. I don't know. I appreciate it, though.

As for A List, I really am not. I consider A List folks to be those in the Technorati top 100, and I'm not. You know, if you think on it -- I have the 315 links, and I get about 1500-3000 visitors a day (3000 only on a really hot day). Most of these are probably Google related or webbots. Glen Reynolds says he gets 10,000, but I don't that's unique people -- I think alot of that's also google related.

This seems so much, but a reporter for a newspaper or online magazine for a medium size town gets more people reading them then Glenn, Dave Winer, and myself combined. Our influence lately is out of proportion for our true readership.

We're all small, medium, or big fish in a tiny pond. That's probably why we rub up against each other the wrong way all the time.

TK: What are your thoughts on why there are so few women deemed to be 'A list'? The recent Top 100 seems to highlight this as well.

SP: If you look at the top bloggers, for the most part they're linkers. They link to several stories a day, with a bit of commentary. They also tend to lean towards the flammatory side. I think where women differ from this 'top weblog dog' mode is that we write fewer posts, and put more time into them. Glenn Reynolds gets a ton of hits a day, but have you ever noticed that he posts constantly -- he's always updated. Women tend to update less frequently.

Most of the top weblogs are also political or technical. We know that there are not that many women technologist webloggers, especially ones who get involved in the weblogger politics. Some would say that this just shows increased intelligence, which is rather lowering for me because I've also been involved in the weblogging tech politics. But I don't think there are as many women who focus almost exclusively on politics. Those that do, and who mix in an edge of belligerance, a dash of humor and creativity, and controversy, as well as good communication skills will make it into the top.

TK: What are your thoughts on the blogosphere as gendered space?

SP: It's an open world. Anyone can start a weblog and being to write. Having said that though, there is a club online that has a great deal of power and that power is the link. The women members tend to write about themselves or their friends; and the men writers will usually only link to women that don't rock the boat.

TK: Have you ever had any negative responses to your blog - in the comments perhaps, or via email?

SP: Oh yes. Very. See above regarding that club I mentioned.

TK: What has been your biggest challenge in the Blogosphere?

SP: Whether to continue. Face this challenge every day. I used to also face the challenge of being one of the few (only) women who got involved in the tech politics, such as RSS and Pie/Echo/Atom. However, I gave up that fight about two months ago, and won't go back. No more challenge.

Thanks Shelley for chatting with me.

:: Netwoman 12:01 AM [+] ::
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Digital Divide Articles

Ezster's blog post reminded me that I should blog about the last two issues of IT & Society. Particularly since an article I co-authored is in one of these issues!!

Volume 1, Issue 4, Spring 2003: The Digital Divide

-Is the Digital Divide Really Closing? A Critique of Inequality Measurement in A Nation Online by Steven P. Martin
-An Expanding Digital Divide? Panel Dynamics in the General Social Survey by Alan Neustadtl
-IT and Social Inequality in The Netherlands by Jos De Haan
-Beyond Access: The Digital Divide and Internet Uses and Gratifications by Jaeho Cho, Homero Gil De Zuniga, Hernando Rojas, Dhavan V. Shah
-Gender and Educational Digital Chasms in Computer and Internet Access and Use Over Time: 1983-2000 by Susan Carol Losh
-Digital Divide Evidence in Four Rural Towns by Joseph F. Donnermeyer, C. Ann Hollifield
-Measuring What Jefferson Knew and De Tocqueville Saw: Libraries as Bridges Across the Digital Divide by Jorge Reina Schement

Vol 1, Issue 5, Summer 2003: Digital Divides: Past, Present and Future

-New Social Survey Perspectives on the Digital Divide by John P. Robinson, Paul Dimaggio, Eszter Hargittai
-Re-Visualizing the Digital Divide as a Digital Spectrum by Amanda Lenhart, John B. Horrigan
-Applying Communication Theory to Digital Divide Research by Shana M. Mason, Kenneth L. Hacker
-Gender and Educational Digital Gaps: 1983-2000 by Susan Carol Losh
-Gendering the Digital Divide by Tracy Kennedy, Barry Wellman, Kristine Klement
-Behavioral and Environmental Correlates of Digital Inequality by Anthony Steven Alvarez
-Internet Use in Low-Income Families: Implications for the Digital Divide by Linda A. Jackson, Gretchen Barbatsis, Alexander von Eye, Frank Biocca, Yong Zhao, Hiram Fitzgerald
-Overcoming Digital Deprivation by Blanca Gordo

:: Netwoman 6:20 PM [+] ::
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The Unbearable Whiteness of the Blogosphere*

Today I prepared my lecture for the Race & Ethnicity section in my 'Theories of Mass Culture' course. I taught this course last year, but I like to keep my examples and artefacts up to date. I turned to Google to see what has been written lately on Race in Media. I stumbled across an interesting article called "Technology Versus African-Americans" by Anthony Walton.

"If blacks are to survive as full participants in this society, they have to understand and apply what works now. Otherwise they will be unable to cross the next technological threshold that emerges in human civilization. Blacks have to imagine ways to encourage young people into the technological mainstream, because that looks like the future. In fact, it always has been the future, and blacks, playing catch-up yet again, must reach for it to ensure themselves a place at the American table".

This started me thinking (again) about how 'raced' the blogosphere is, and how 'white' my techno blog space is. We cannot deny that the blogosphere is dominated by white privilege. I spend a lot of time blog cruising because my research interests are located within various 'isms'. I commented previously on Oliver Willis' blog concerning BloggerCon, when he talks about being one of the few minorities in the room.

"I'm not whining about that, but simply stating the fact that a technology that is mostly the pursuit of upper middle class white males does diddly to change the real world. I'm a geek through-and-thorough but when I hear tooth gnashing about issues like copyright as if they were the most important issue in the world - it tells me that the blog world is somewhat out of touch."

The fact remains that few African Americans are blogging. We still have a raced digital divide that needs to be addressed and fixed. As Walton would say, we need to ensure that a place is set at the American table for ALL Americans, not just white people.

I encourage you to visit some blogs I read:
Prometheus 6
The Black Hand Side
Negrophile
Occasionally Oliver Willis
Swirlspice
My new addition White Privilege

Because I am a white middle class woman, talking about race is tricky. Primarily because I am white, what the hell do I know about African American experiences with technology? Patricia Hill Collins talks about white feminists speaking on behalf of all women. In particular forgetting and marginalizing the specificity of the lives of African American women. I can't speak about their experiences, but I can talk about how problematic my white privilege is. That is why I read diverse (race, age, sexuality, global etc ) blogs because it is a good reminder of all the things that privileged white people forget about, or never think about.

Again I am left with thoughts about a technology that still marginalizes people, and wonder how this can ultimately be changed.

Also - In the Canadian context, I have yet to find a blog by or about First Nations people (US folks say Native Americans).

[oops - I published too soon - I pulled a Halley]

*Note about the title:

Kali Tal wrote a paper on the "Unbearable Whiteness of Being: African American Critical Theory and Cyberculture". I am thrilled that I found her Blog. I have heard Kali give papers about race and gender in cyberspace at several conference that we presented at.

:: Netwoman 5:37 PM [+] ::
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Changing women, the system or both?

Halley's blog entry called Misbehaving or Behaving Quite Respectably? got me thinking. She talks about women's role in changing the inequities in the tech world. She mentions Tom Peters who tells a group of techie women to let loose, take some risks and shake things up. Halley agrees and adds some other suggestions. I don't want to rewrite the whole post here, so go read it. But I will offer some responses of my own.

-To have a man get in front of a group of intelligent women and tell them to let loose is nothing short of disturbing. This argument blames women for the situation that they are in by not speaking up and letting loose. If you are quiet - then it's your fault for not speaking up, so don't complain. What about relations of power in the tech environment? Why might some women not be able to speak out?

-This argument also puts the burden of responsibility on women to change, rather than addressing the problems within the (sexist-racist-heterosexist) system. Why do women need to change? Is there something wrong with them?

-There are many women out there who are quite assertive (and their stories will tell you of the ramifications of such actions) and who 'let loose'. Offering generalizations about men and women is not only incorrect, but essentialist. Some women do 'let their hair down' and some men don't. To argue that women are sexy beasts (as Halley does) and that their sexuality is their greatest source of power is radical at best. Sexualizing women in the tech field to gain power is not the answer. Women are sexualized and objectified enough as it is - and where has it gotten us? At the bottom of the food chain.

-If you want to argue that speaking up and letting loose is a way to gain respect and make yourself heard in the tech world, then you are still playing by the masculine rules of the game. This doesn't change anything. This approach also places less value to other ways that women (and men) are working to change the system, and different ways that women empower themselves in a sexist field.

So, I disagree with some of what Halley has written. We need suggestions on how to empower the many silenced women in the tech field. Yes, some women do speak out and that is good (if it works for you). However, advocating that women should let loose, exude their sexuality and speak up doesn't address (or fix) the bigger picture. Blogs like Misbehaving are helpful in bringing women together to help overcome feelings of alienation and isolation. Building a stronger community (and safe spaces) is a good start, but much more work needs to be done (and not by women only). Yes, women have agency - choices they can make, but we cannot ignore the structural obstacles in the tech world that often shape and frame these choices.

:: Netwoman 5:56 PM [+] ::
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Charting and Bridging Digital Divides

Comparing Socio-economic, Gender, Life Stage, and Rural-Urban Internet Access and Use in Eight Countries. Written By Wenhong Chen and Barry Wellman NetLab Centre for Urban and Community Studies University of Toronto. This report was written for the AMD's Global Consumer Advisory Board.

:: Netwoman 12:10 PM [+] ::
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