:: Netwoman ::

:: Saturday, July 31, 2004 ::

Internet stalking

Seattle man is first to be prosecuted for Internet stalking

SEATTLE - The first man prosecuted under a federal Internet stalking law has pleaded guilty in Seattle. In a plea agreement with federal prosecutors, 38-year-old James Robert Murphy of Columbia, South Carolina, pleaded guilty to using the Internet with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass.

He admitted to sending dozens of uninvited and harassing e-mails and fax message to a former girlfriend and her co-workers. The Seattle woman (Joelle Ligon) broke up with him 14 years ago.

The US attorney's office says the harassment included making it appear that she was sending pornographic material to co-workers.

Murphy was arrested in April as the first person to face charges under a 1997 federal law that equates sending obscene e-mail to making obscene phone calls.

If convicted, he could have faced two years in prison and a fine of 250-thousand dollars.

Prosecutors agreed to accept a sentence of three-to-five years probation.

He'll be sentenced October 29.

:: Netwoman 10:28 PM [+] ::
...

Tech Consumers Confused

New PARADE Technology Study Finds Consumers Confused (30/7/2004)

Technology has provided us with more choices than ever-plasma, LCD and HDTV television; digital video recorders and cameras; online gaming and more. The result? We're confused!

A new study from PARADE magazine, conducted by The Yankee Group, has found 16% of consumers think they own a digital video recorder (DVR); 4% do.

71% percent say they understand and can explain the concept of a DVR to a friend; 36% understand and can explain the concept of TiVo. TiVo is a DVR.

Similarly, 40% of consumers say they understand and can explain an MP3 player to a friend; 35% understand and can explain an iPod. An iPod is an MP3 player.

Plasma televisions and computers are No. 1 on Americans' technology wish lists, at 26% each; 17% want HDTV; digital cameras, 16% and DVD players, 10%.

Online gaming is burgeoning, especially among women (70%), the biggest users of Web-based parlor games. Men take the edge in other entertainment- related applications, including e-mailing photos (75% vs. 67%), burning audio CDs (54% vs. 44%), watching DVDs on PCs (47% vs. 37%) and purchasing or downloading MP3 files (36% vs. 29%).

Compared to households without children, families (children 18 or younger) are more technologically advanced. They better understand concepts like DVR (79% vs. 66%), text messaging (78% vs. 60%), HDTV (61% vs. 50%), broadband (56% vs. 46%) and MP3 (47% vs. 35%).

Four profiles of head of the household, defined by the PARADE study:

* Gadget gurus are technologically advanced. They have a median age of 40, are affluent (average income of $87,500) and, most likely, parents (58%). Fifty-four percent are male. Gadget gurus comprise 15% of the population.
* Digital mainstreamers, or those with intermediate skills, are also around 40, with an average income of $62,500; 43% are parents, 52% are female. Thirty-six percent of us are mainstreamers.
* The tech-challenged are low adopters, largely female (61%), age 50, with an average income of $42,500. Thirty-one percent are parents. Thirty- four percent of Americans are tech-challenged.
* The technologically overwhelmed are slow adopters, age 60, with an average income of $30,000; 63% are female; 15% of Americans are overwhelmed.

Segments are based on product ownership and weighted by national penetration. The PARADE study was conducted in March/April 2004 among 2,000 households.

:: Netwoman 10:01 PM [+] ::
...

Internet paves the way in helping moms build careers

By ANNABELLE ROBERTSON 07/25/04 (Subscription needed)

Jennifer Elin Cole begins her mornings like many other mothers — with a group cuddle followed by breakfast with her family.

But while Mollie, 5, and twins Sophie and Alan, 3, eat, Cole checks her e-mail, glances at incoming faxes and pulls up the FedEx Web site. She prints shipping labels and applies them to two packages of books prepared the night before.
After helping the children dress, she loads the dishwasher, piles everyone into the car and drives them to preschool, making calls on her cellphone. She swings by a drop-off point and puts her packages into the box. She then drives to work.

In Cole's case, that means heading back to her home in Lawrenceville.

Like millions of women around the country, Cole juggles the responsibilities of full-time parenting and work. But in her case, her job is based in her house — a job she says she couldn't do without the Internet. A new generation of moms who want to work but also want more flexibility are using technology to set up home-based businesses.

"I don't have to choose between being home with my kids and what energizes me professionally," says Cole, a self-published author. "I can work on the time frame of parenting — in between pouring cereal, playing Barbies, learning to read — and the interruptions never disrupt the final project. Thanks to the Internet, my office is open all day and I'm present, even when I'm with my kids."

The number of women like her appears to be on the rise.

"More and more people are jumping on the bandwagon," says Cheryl Demas, who runs an online magazine (www.wahm.com) for work-at-home mothers. "And as more people become aware of this trend and it becomes accepted, it will grow even more," she says.

Lesley Spencer, who founded the National Association of Home-Based Working Moms in 1995, says her membership, sales and advertising have jumped about 60 percent since last year.

"We have members from every field imaginable," Spencer says, "but the most popular jobs seem to be related to the Internet. It's flexible, and it allows women to work according to their children's schedules."

Cole is convinced that the success of her latest children's book, which has sold almost 25,000 copies, is directly related to technology. Not only did she write the story with her twin sister, Jessica Elin Hirschman, who lives in Buffalo Grove, Ill., but she also secured the printing company, which is based in China, through the Web. The two authors interviewed and negotiated a contract with their illustrator, Bonnie Bright, who lives in California, via e-mail. The three viewed drafts of the illustrations on a secure Web site, but the sisters have yet to meet Bright.

"The Internet is the only way that three people in three different states, in three different time zones, could conceive, produce and publish a book cost-efficiently, in a reasonable time frame," Cole says.

Now that the book has been published, Cole tracks down wholesalers, distributors, booksellers, reviewers and individual buyers through the Web. Her current distributor is based in New Zealand.

A corporate trend

The work-at-home trend has been growing in the corporate world as well. According to a recent study by the Society for Human Resource Management, 36 percent of the 459 companies surveyed offered part-time telecommuting to their employees. Nineteen percent offered full-time telecommuting, an increase from 17 percent last year. Additionally, 34 percent of the companies offered compressed workweeks, up from 31 percent a year ago.

Ayana Glaze of College Park created a virtual public relations agency after she became pregnant with her second child. After placing an ad on Google, she signed a contract with a client based in Canada. More work followed. Her company, Just Write PR, began to take off. Now Glaze, who previously worked in public relations and software testing, has clients as far away as Michigan and Toronto.

"Virtual for me means global," she says. "I can work anywhere, anytime. And if we ever need to move, it's not a problem. I take my business and my clients with me."

Glaze holds meetings with potential clients on the phone. She also networks online using special-interest groups. She holds virtual workshops and seminars via the Web and teleconferencing. Designated rings and caller identification on her home phone allow her to monitor incoming calls, which can be caught by voice mail if the baby is needing his bottle.

"There's a whole revolution out there — the virtual revolution — and it allows us to be home with our children," Glaze says.

Long hours, less money

Dawn Roberson of Lilburn relies heavily on technology in her home business as a consultant for Southern Living at Home. A former financial quality control manager for IBM, Roberson now holds up to 10 home decor parties a month. She maintains a Web site and networks with clients, hostesses and fellow consultants by e-mail.

Roberson also uses a detailed "consultant's workstation" at the company's Web site to enter orders, check on product status and learn about awards and other incentives for sales consultants.

Working at home isn't without its downsides. The women say they multitask like crazy and put in long hours. Roberson is out of the house several evenings a week. Glaze keeps her home office open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and often works late into the evening on client projects. And Cole says her most productive hours are between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. She sleeps just five hours a night.

In addition, their incomes may not be what they were in the corporate world.

Glaze says she earns less than she did as a software designer, but it evens out because she spends less on clothes, gas and food.

"We don't want to trade being full-time mothers and enjoying our kids for full-time work," Cole explains. "We're in the middle of the pendulum between our grandmothers and mothers. It's the '50s thing and the feminist thing all at once. We've blended the two."

So, does the Internet challenge or reinforce gender and domestic roles?

:: Netwoman 9:50 PM [+] ::
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Light Blogging, Stay Tuned

Blogging will be light - I am in the middle of preparing course outlines for three courses I am teaching - Theories of Mass Culture, Media Analysis (both at Brock U) and Tech and Society (Co-taught with Prof. Barry Wellman at University of Toronto) - also dropping off 900 surveys for dissertation, and preparing for conference in San Fran in two weeks. Things are a little hectic right now.

Can I tell you how great Hillary was tonight? Hillary for Prez!!!

Clancy is writing her qual exams right now, let's wish her luck!!

I am envying my colleagues at the Oxford Internet Institute right now, but Kylie is blogging it with lots of pictures.

:: Netwoman 1:01 AM [+] ::
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UK Children Go Online Website

The project explores the nature and meaning of children's internet use and maps emerging patterns of attitudes and practices across diverse contexts and social groups in the UK.

Does access to the internet really alter children's daily lives?
How are children finding out how to use the internet?
What skills are they gaining?
Who lacks access or can't use the internet?
Are they getting left out?
Does online communication enhance face-to-face interaction? Or undermine it?
Are children benefiting from the educational potential of the internet?
How much are they engaging in risky or harmful behaviour?

Reports are available on the site. The latest one will be presented at the AoIR conference.

:: Netwoman 1:33 AM [+] ::
...

Living the Broadband Life

The New York Times
July 15, 2004
By KATIE HAFNER

"DEBRA GIBB has had a high-speed Internet connection in her home longer than
anyone she knows. In late 1996, when Time Warner Cable began trials here for
its cable modem service, Ms. Gibb leapt at the chance to become one of the
first residential broadband users in the nation. She was beta tester No. 6
in San Diego, she said.

Since then, Ms. Gibb, 47, her husband, Tom, 46, and their teenage twin sons
have been in the vanguard of the broadband way of life that now defines this
city of 1.2 million people.

Like many San Diegans, the Gibb family use the Net for the same things
people elsewhere do - e-mail, shopping, games, trip planning. But they do
more of it. Broadband, with its "always on" connection, is so ingrained here
that residents can't imagine life without it. For them, the Internet is like
hot and cold running water - available 24 hours a day with a flick of the
wrist."

"San Diego and other cities with such heavy broadband use serve as signposts
for what other cities might come to expect in a future when such service is
an omnipresent and vital part of daily life.

Before getting in their cars, for instance, San Diegans routinely check
traffic online. If conditions look unbearable they can use their broadband
connections to work from home.

According to comScore, Internet users in San Diego are more likely than
others elsewhere to shop online. They spend more money online than Internet
users in other cities, and they visit more Web sites.

San Diegans use the Web to read the news, to check the tide's comings and
goings and to tap into the surf-cams that line the local beaches so they can
find the best waves.

They use the Web to reserve and renew library books and, increasingly, to
buy their groceries."

"I doubt we'd have done anything like this in the days of low bandwidth
dial-up connections," she said.

:: Netwoman 1:08 AM [+] ::
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Women call misuse of camera phones invasion of privacy

Special Report by Asma Ali Zain

"There was a time when speaking on your cell phone in public was the greatest faux pas committed. But wireless etiquette seems to have taken a new twist lately, with people carrying camera phones flouting all rules and norms of decency, clicking away instant photos of unsuspecting victims.

The ease and immediacy by which these pictures can be transmitted to others are being cited as a grave concern from people, especially women, who feel that this constitutes a blatant invasion of their privacy.

Expressing concern over the misuse of the latest hi-tech digital camera phones, Sameena Qureshi, a web designer said, "The increasing use of mobile phone cameras and the instantaneous dissemination of material via the Internet has the potential to exploit people, especially women, in ways not contemplated by past lawmakers."

:: Netwoman 12:58 AM [+] ::
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Rural Africa Yearning for Internet, Connectivity

Joyce Mulama Nairobi
"In a few years, an old woman in rural Africa should be able, if all goes according to plan, to connect to the net and communicate with her children in the city.

This is what an Information Communication Technology (ICT) workshop being held in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, is seeking to explore. The meeting is seeking to ensure accessibility of ICT to rural people, who form the bulk of Africa's population."

"Most of the communication infrastructure in Africa is concentrated in urban areas where only a handful of people live, according to a recent report by Panos Institute, an international non-governmental organisation (NGO), based in London.

It says 50 percent of telephone lines are found in capital cities where only about 10 percent of Africa's populations reside."

:: Netwoman 12:50 AM [+] ::
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Youngsters Kill Time at All-Night Internet Cafes

Sanad Esteita, Arab News

"The issue of Internet cafes is a cultural dilemma. They keep the young off the streets, but is what they do online worth keeping them off the streets for? The bored young will always try to find some new form of entertainment. Sometimes, the rest of society disapproves, but offers no real alternative."

:: Netwoman 6:16 PM [+] ::
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Household Internet

Here are some questions I answered in an email exchange with Anjali Kapoor from Canadian Living Magazine.

AK:What are the sociological impacts of being a society that can be connected/wired constantly? How can that translate to the household/family and affect relationships?

TK:There are many different kinds of sociological implications that we can talk about. For example, we need to consider individuals who do not have constant access from their homes, and use public facilities (such as Internet cafes or University facilities). How are these people being left behind as more and more Internet connectivity is expected in our lives (for example online banking)?

My own research examines the impact of the Internet on the household, but I also consider how diverse households use the Internet in different ways depending on their needs and expectations. I think it is important to consider the roles of household members. For example, women are still primarily responsible for childcare, domestic chores and have less leisure time then men do (this is presuming a heterosexual arrangement of course). How will this affect how women use or do not use the Internet in the home? Women might have less time to 'leisure' surf then men do. Women may utilize the Internet to help with their domestic chores - buying groceries online, searching for health information when their child is sick, helping children with homework and so forth. Women may also utilize the Internet to multi-task while they are doing other things such as communicating with family and friends and so forth. This is much easier to do online then on the phone for example. Also, using the Internet can be done at anytime, when household tasks are done and children are in bed. My article on Gender and the Internet talks about how women and men use the Internet differently and how the presence of children influences time spent on the Internet from home.

Having said that, we also need to consider how having the Internet in the home can challenge stereotypical domestic responsibilities. Women have traditionally been seen as less technically savvy then men, yet we now see that women and men are online in the same amount - compared to five years ago. Perhaps having the Internet in the household will change the assumptions of domestic responsibilities - anyone can do the online banking, purchase gifts or products, order groceries and so forth. Though I do suspect that gender socialization will still dictate (to a point) who does what with the Internet in the home.

We can also think about how families and households are using the Internet for 'family' time - by surfing together, playing online games or even communicating (if there is more than one computer with Internet access in the home). We need to think about how the Internet might be changing how we think about 'family' time - what families do and why. I have a computer and a laptop in my home, and have wireless for my laptop. Often my son and I will IM and play online games together. Sometimes we are in the same room, sometimes we are not – but it is still a new and different way to spend time together. Is this a valid way to spend time together because it is not necessarily F2F?

Another thing to think about is how living spaces within the home are being changed to accommodate the Internet. Where is the computer located and why? If it is in a private office, there is less chance of it being used communally by household members. We are seeing a move to a central access space in the home so that all and any members can use the Internet. Also, I have seen media articles that talk about how new homes are being built with this in mind (and of course, the hype of the total wired home that turns on lights when you ask it to - but that is far in the future).

AK: What are the trends you are seeing now on how technology is influencing the way we live our lives? How has it changed in the past five years - and how has the Internet played a role in that?

TK: The current trend I see now is just that Internet technology is become more embedded into our daily routines. I can't say that technology influences the way we live per se, because that would be deterministic and assumes that people have no agency with or control over our daily technology. I think the relationship is reciprocal - technology may influence people, but people also influence technology. We can certainly see this with the telephone (which was not meant to be used the way it was). More people are using Internet technology in their lives, and I suspect that has a lot to do with the increasing demands on people because of work or school. People are often concerned about how to fit everything into a day - and technology often helps that (dictating a letter to your staff in the car on a your MP3 on the way to work or whatever). I am not convinced that we should be trying to do so much in one day, but unfortunately it seems that this is where we are headed. But what about people who cannot afford all this technology? How do they get left behind? There is an expectation that people have technology and use it (and use it the same way as others). For example, my son often comes home from school with homework that involves Internet searches (grade six), and I often wonder about the other children who do not have Internet access from home. This would involve more work from parents to go to a public facility, or efforts by the student to stay after school and use the computer in the library. I think people often assume that everyone is on the Internet, and this is not the case.

In relation to the Internet - Importantly, what I can see is that there is not just one Internet - but rather Internets - different ways of using the technology depending on the diverse user (we also need to consider class issues, and of course ethnicity and age).

Certainly there have been changes over the last five years. There is less of a Digital Divide in terms of gender and ethnicity, but there are still people out there who do not have access, or do not have the skills to know where to begin. As Stats Can indicates, there are numerous Canadian households with Internet access from home. What we don't really know is why they use it the way they do and why might there be differences between households?

AK: The lines between work and home have blurred significantly with the ability to be connected all the time - how can this affect one's lifestyle? And how do you balance the role of technology in your life?

TK: Yes, this is difficult - the lines between work and home life are considerably blurred for me. I work from home and it is often difficult to negotiate the boundaries of when it is 'family' time. Research on Tele-work has examined this as well. While the Internet can provide a way for many people (though usually women) to work from home, this can be problematic as there is overlap.

Technology is a big part of my life. In regards to the Internet, I use it all the time and am considered to be one of the 'always on' people. It helps me with my work, my education and my social life. It also helps me as a parent as I can easily find information for my son (say health issues), or even helping him with homework. I don't try to balance it actually, because technology is so embedded in my life. I imagine that my son will consider this a non-issue because he is growing up with it. I try to think about how life was before the Internet (I went online in 1995), and I have to say that things are easier now (convenience and time saving), but in other ways there are more expectations as well. If you are always on and you don't respond to an email, people may wonder why you didn't reply, or why you didn't email a report that was due and so forth.

AK: In many cases, being wired all the time is more than just emailing or using a cell phone. It's about not being there mentally or being preoccupied with getting connected, or sending that next email. How do you think this can affect the way Canadians perceive "downtime"? Does it deter them from relaxing?

TK: Well, this is interesting because often my downtime takes place online, and I find it quite relaxing. I spend considerable time online doing work and school, but I also use it for my personal life. I communicate with people, I search for information that is interesting to me, I update my websites etc. My down time online is reading Weblogs, surfing recreationally and so forth. I will admit that when I am not connected (sometimes when I am on the road it is difficult) I can feel cut off. This was the case for me when I was in England at Oxford University - my cell phone didn't work, there was no Internet connection or telephone in my room and I had to go to an Internet cafe in town. It wasn't the work or school connections that I was worried about, but rather being able to connect to my family and friends. I thought this was quite interesting. Perhaps it is about being preoccupied with being 'connected', but I think it shows more about how embedded the Internet has become into our everyday lives.

AK: What are the implications of being a society where we now communicate electronically - over email, Blackberry or instant messenger? What are the outcomes and how does it reflect on human relationships?

TK: There is considerable research regarding how computer mediated communication (CMC) has the potential to replace face-to-face (F2F) communication. However, Barry Wellman (among others) has noted that this is not the case - that people use CMC in addition to F2F - both are used simultaneously. The positive implications of CMC are that people can connect to anyone - anywhere - anytime. Of course, this cuts down on costs of long distance phone calls. It is also much easier and quicker for people to send emails or Instant Message (IM) people - there is also more opportunity to multi-task - working and communicating with friends and family. The nature of CMC also allows people to make contact with strangers more easily. Sending an email to a colleague or someone in a company is much easier through email then F2F. I feel that I have expanded my friendships and networks through CMC. I have many people that are my virtual friends all over the world because of CMC. I think that CMC has the potential to change our notions of friendships and relationships. Do we need that physical F2F to have friendships or relationships? Perhaps not, maybe this is a new and different type of relationship.

The article comes out in November.

:: Netwoman 4:19 PM [+] ::
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The Effects of the Internet in the Home

Looks like I will be interviewed for another Canadian Magazine called Canadian Living about the Internet in the home. This is a little about the article from their email:

"The general theme of the article is "Tune out technology" and how being wired 24 hours a day/7 days a week can take a toll on the health/wellness of an individual person and the household. A recent Stats Can survey that came out last week shows that 64 per cent of Canadians use the internet regularly. The article I am writing takes into account that the line between home and work has been blurred and is there a mental toll for being connected all the time (whether through email, cell phone, blackberry, etc). What does this mean for the Canadian household? I am looking for the sociological impacts that this type of "connectedness" might have in society today. "

Sounds like it will be an interesting interview. When it comes out in November, I will link to it here.

:: Netwoman 5:58 PM [+] ::
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blogger.com changes

 
I really wish that Blogger would let me know when it changes the set up to publish posts.... I just realized - after a half hour of fiddling - that there is a new "edit html" option among other things. I couldn't figure out what was going on at first - broken links, had to re-sign in because I was MSNing while blogging....I should stop and read the main site, but never do. And what is that new button here? and there? what is going on?
 
 

:: Netwoman 11:45 PM [+] ::
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BlogOn is Off on Gender Ratio

From Liz at Misbehaving:
 
SpeakerWatch: BlogOn
The upcoming BlogOn Conference does slightly better than Web 2.0 in its gender ratio, but not by a whole lot. A total of five women out of 41 speakers. Of course, to their credit, two of their five speakers are misbehaving contributors--Halley Suitt and danah boyd.
 
Not only are there few women (which seems to be a constant problem) - but I am wondering about what the discussion topics will be. There is an entry about the quality and quantity of blogs, which is quite good
 
The list of speakers looks compelling - I must say, I wish I were going to add my two cents  - but instead, I am sitting here in my Berkeley sweatshirt (yes it is cold tonight in Canada). Truthfully, I can't afford to attend these grand events. I am sure I am not alone. But despite the popular A-listers that are presenting, and I am sure have insightful comments to make about Blogging, I am really getting tired of the academic theorizing about all of this. Conferences and discussions - let's see some research. I don't just mean number crunching and such, I want to some decent qualitative (feminist?) research - interviews with the 'little people' (read - not A-listers), with a smaller audience. I want to hear the voices of everyday people who blog - why they blog, what blogging does for them, the implications of blogging on their lives and so forth. Maybe it's coming. Maybe we need to have these gala gatherings (that I want to go to) before we can get down and dirty with the 'real' people.

Liz also doing this:

"It spurred me to institute a new feature here on misbehaving.net, SpeakerWatch. From now on, every time I hear about a new conference, I'm going to count the number of women speakers participating.

Web 2.0 has a total of three women out of 43 speakers. Maybe they'll add a few more before October. (If they need ideas, our sidebar has a few to choose from...)"

:: Netwoman 11:24 PM [+] ::
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IBM Centers for Advanced Studies Conference

Hilton Suites Toronto/Markham Conference Center,
Markham, Ontario, Canada
October 4 - 7, 2004

CASCON 2004 the 14th Annual IBM Centers for Advanced Studies Conference, is the premiere computer science and software engineering conference in Canada. CASCON is an excellent venue for exchanging ideas, showcasing results, experiences and tools, and networking with researchers and practitioners from academia, industry, and government. The Meeting of Minds, as CASCON is otherwise known, is an opportunity to present, discuss, and learn in beautiful surroundings. The venue is the Hilton Suites Toronto/Markham Conference Center in Markham, an award-winning community 20 minutes north of Toronto, which boasts the highest concentration of high technology firms in Canada, and is the home of the IBM Toronto Software Lab.

CASCON 2004 comprises keynote presentations, technical paper tracks, Frontiers of Software Practice track, challenging workshops, Best Paper and Best Student Paper Awards, and a Technology Showcase, which is a key attraction of the conference. CASCON always aims to innovate. As well, the proceedings from CASCON 2004 will be included in the ACM Digital Library, a "window into the world's core computing literature." We invite you to participate in CASCON 2004 to help us build an exciting forum for exchanging ideas and experiences in these ever expanding and critical fields of software and computing.

Join us for this exciting "Meeting of Minds". Keep checking the website for upcoming information and important dates.

I have put in part of my work into a workshop with other students and Prof Barry Wellman. It will be interesting to see how many women are at this conference. Maybe I am wrong - but it is computer science....

:: Netwoman 8:38 PM [+] ::
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Issues of Access

BC Rural Women's Rights to Access Government Information

The current Provincial government is trying to improve public access to government information and forms by relying on Government websites. In an attempt to make BC government more economically efficient, officials are reducing the distribution of print materials and encouraging the citizens of British Columbia to surf online for relevant forms and information.

The Provincial Government is forgetting that many peopl, especially women who experience isolation in rural British Columbia, do not have access to the Internet. According to the 2000 General Social Survey on Internet Use only 53.3% of rural people over age 15 in BC used the Internet and in Canada only 49.6% of women used the Internet. Rates of women's use decrease when geography, ethnicity, income-levels, age, ability, and education are factored in.

The BC Rural Women's Network Initiative is seeking input from women living in rural and remote BC communities about their access to free or affordable Internet services. As government offices and social services have closed throughout the "rural heartlands" of BC, where are rural women able to go for assistance or information?

"Whether or not women have actually used a public computer to get onto the Internet will in itself tell us something," states Nythalah Baker, Network Coordinator. "In turn, we will create and distribute a 'Best Practices Guid' from women's input. We hope that this Guide will help service providers and government be more responsive to what women are saying about public Internet access."

In 2002-2003, the BC Rural Women's project heard many suggestions from women living on low-incomes in rural communities to improve policies affecting their daily lives. Women stated that potential and impending closure of government offices, social services, and non-profit organisations would severely affect their safety and isolation. The aim of the BC Rural Women's Network Initiative is to increase marginalised rural women's voices being heard on public policy issues affecting them, their families, and their communities.

To share your experience of using or trying to use public Internet sites, contact the BC Rural Women’s Network by July 29th, 2004:

Mail: PO Box 1242, Vernon, BC V1T 4B5
Phone: 250-542-7531
Fax: 250-545-6406
Email: bcruralwomen@junction.net
Contact: Nythalah Baker BC Rural Women’s Network Coordinator

For ongoing updates about the Initiative go here

:: Netwoman 7:57 PM [+] ::
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Household Internet Research

I have updated my Dissertation research website in case anyone is interested in looking at.

Also, here is a link to a paper that I am working on called "The Household Internet: Issues and Processes of Domestication". It is a draft version.

:: Netwoman 9:58 PM [+] ::
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Toronto media and blog workshop

I am glad that Dave Weinberger knows what is going on in Toronto, because apparently I do not!

Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication conference in Toronto. Dan Gillmor, the Berkman's Rebecca MacKinnon and Jeff Jarvis will be paneling and Jay Rosen will be in attendance.

This is what Dave Akin is organizing:

"Exploring the Fusion Power of Public and Participatory Journalism August 3, 2004, Toronto, Precedes AEJMC Convention Participatory journalism tools in the form of weblogs and other electronic communications are changing the face of mass media, but are complementary to public journalism. These are powerful tools as Howard Dean’s campaign proved by using weblogs and MeetUp to get 170,000 people nationwide to sign up for face-to-face meetings. The Daily Kos, a citizen run weblog, has 1.5 million unique visitors a month. These are just two of many impressive examples. Learn how we can borrow from or incorporate these tools to improve the state of journalism. Walk Away Knowing:
What journalists can put to use now
What questions researchers should be asking
What journalism professors should be teaching
How citizens around the world can practice participatory journalism
How to begin building information communities.

I might try and go for this session, but will have to register for the whole conference I suppose. But, I would like to add my two cents (and my critical perspective on the issues at hand) during the session. Looks like it is on Tuesday, August 3rd at 12:30pm.

:: Netwoman 2:01 PM [+] ::
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Media and Working Women

Via Dina.

"Some highlights:

- working women consume more internet, press and cinema than non-working women

- the time spent in a day on watching television again coincides for working men as well as working women. Working women spend less time watching television than non- working women do. This pattern of being 'like working men' is apparent across other parameters of media consumption too such as language of media consumption, genre preferences, etc, the study shows."

The article is located here.

:: Netwoman 1:56 PM [+] ::
...

Women & Internet: Croatian Perspective

by Kristina Mihalec and Nevenka Sudar, 2004
ISBN 953-6967-08-1

The authors had the unique opportunity to document and publish what occurs with women's Internet use in a transition and post-war country, specifically in Croatia. The formation of Croatia as an independent state began approximately at the same time these two seemingly separate aspects may actually mirror one another in their development. The book, Women & Internet: Croatian Perspective, looks at how women and the "women's movement" use the Internet within Croatian society by incorporating various analytical perspectives. Thus, the research links theory and analysis with everyday lives and realities of women in Croatia and (South) Eastern Europe. The goal was not only to contribute to the international discourse on women and ICTs from a regional level, which is often times missing, but also to identify problems and create "new" theories from a local perspective.

Chapter 1 introduces an international overview of ICTs discourse in the Eastern European region, and gender indicators used as a method of analysis and evaluation. While Chapter 2 focuses on Croatian statistical data we gathered, Chapter 3 - Women-Owned Websites - also looks at quantitative in addition to qualitative data, specifically what women in Croatia are expressing via web sites and why. The way women's organizations and activists use ICTs can be found in Chapter 4 - Online Activism. While typical research addresses lack of resources as playing a large part in limiting women's use of ICTs, Chapter 5 looks at indirect aspects of society, - the portrayal of women and new technologies in mass media - which can influence people's perspectives of women's ICT use even when resources are available. The final chapter is a collection of interviews, offering a space for women who are in some way connected to ICTs to share their stories and experience.

By looking at the expectations and potentials the Internet can provide to a society in transition we can measure the status of new democracies by evaluating how the Internet, as a tool of and for an open and free society, is being used by women. Are democratic attempts to incorporate women's human rights and greater public participation on a political and cultural level being achieved in everyday lives of women?

As this book is the first of its kind, it represents a starting point, a work in progress that will hopefully lead to more in-depth research or similar follow up studies.

:: Netwoman 1:51 PM [+] ::
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Internet more friend than foe for libraries

Thanks to the growing popularity of the Internet, the purpose of public libraries is changing. "People are turning to their libraries more than ever for job searching and using the Internet," said Tracy Trotter, library director of Adams Memorial Library, Caldwell Library, Unity Library, and the Your Neighborhood Library bookmobile, all serving Westmoreland County."

"Circulation increased by 4 percent from 2002 to 2003 and there is an anticipated increase of an additional 5 percent from 2003 to 2004. This shows me that although we have decreased the book budget by 42 percent, our library patrons keep coming and finding information that they want and need," Mikula said. In light of steady library patronage, librarians are not fearing that the popularity of the Internet will lessen the enduring popularity of lending books. "You can't curl up with a cup of coffee or a cup of tea and a cat on a sofa with a computer," Ross said."

Sure I can, I am doing it right now with my Laptop.

:: Netwoman 12:02 AM [+] ::
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Public Awareness on Internet Crimes Against Children

The dissemination of child p o r n is growing on the Internet. This article gives some states about it and states the current problem is understated.

:: Netwoman 11:51 PM [+] ::
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Race and Tech

Via Negrophile. Some discussions about the lack of blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans in the IT field. Molly is talking about it, and so is Tiffany.

:: Netwoman 11:36 PM [+] ::
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Conservative Cyber-hate

Conservative cyber-hate - As the mainstream media moves away from the topic of gay marriage, conservative Web sites continue to preach hate - By Thom Metzger .
This commentary addresses the numerous anti-gay sites in cyberspace. Here is an example:

"TownHall.com, a site that publishes the 'best of' conservative commentary on a daily basis, features its daily anti-gay-marriage screed. The pieces largely are impossible to differentiate. Like hate-filled Mad Libs, the various authors recycle the same shrill warning to their good, God-fearing, red-state-inhabiting readers: "Once gay marriage is legalized throughout America, your (positive adjective) (noun) will be forced to accept (negative adjective) (noun)." The slippery-slope favorites include polygamy, bestiality, mandatory gay scouting, and witchcraft. Some authors of these items take really creative leaps, asking their readers to imagine a day soon when Christianity will be illegal. One article recently suggested that the government literally would need to steal children from good heterosexual parents to feed the insatiable demand for gay and lesbian couples to adopt. Rosie and Kelly better start planning a lot more cruises for gay families."

Wow.

:: Netwoman 3:41 PM [+] ::
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The Formula (One) is Sexism

This weekend marks the Molson Indy in Toronto. As a child, Sunday afternoons were always reserved for watching the Indy races. I haven't followed it much as an adult, though I developed driving skills much like an Indy racer :)

This article caught my eye today. "Why formula 1 really is the pits for women" by BEVERLEY TURNER. This is an excellent article that outlines stereotypes of Indy racers, sexism about female drivers, and the reproduction of masculinity in Formula One racing.

"Women do work in Formula 1, but none hold positions of real influence. F1 Racing magazine recently ran a feature on the "50 most powerful people in Formula 1" and not one was a woman, after 50 years of the sport."

"F1 bosses are quite happy to give the sponsor liaison and PR jobs to women, along with the waitressing, cleaning and being a brolly-dolly. This is surely the most demeaning job: wearing short, tight skirts, brolly-dollies stand on the grid at the start of a race, shielding each driver from the sun with an umbrella.

The Australian Grand Prix boasts the highest percentage of bare flesh per driver. Promotional models walk the circuit handing out leaflets and posing for photos with punters. They move around in groups, huddling together ever more closely as drunken men hug their bare shoulders and slobber kisses on their cheeks...I know these women are young and that they enjoy the sense of occasion, but as long as lipsticked pit-babes and brolly-dollies remain the female face of Formula 1 there will never be a woman team boss and, most importantly, there will never be a female driver."

"Bernie Ecclestone has admitted that women will probably never drive in the sport. He says: "In all likelihood they will never get the opportunity, because no-one will take them seriously or sponsor them financially. Therefore they’re never ever going to get into a competitive car."

The notion that women won’t be taken "seriously" is the problem. In sport there is a general perception that any event in which men and women can compete equally can’t be very hard. Formula 1, in particular, needs to be seen to be "hard".

Its manufactured image is based on testosterone, aggression and the fighting instincts of those modern-day gladiators, the drivers. Put a woman alongside Schumacher on the grid today and that veneer of machismo would slip. And let’s not forget that driving still holds a curiously significant place in the gender wars. Despite statistics to the contrary, the majority of men still claim superiority behind the wheel and most women know that to criticise a man’s driving is to undermine his very masculinity."

:: Netwoman 3:22 PM [+] ::
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Personality

Via Liz and Danah, the 20Q Personality Test. I thought I would share:

"You are an SEDL--Sober Emotional Destructive Leader. This makes you a dictator. You prefer to control situations, and lack of control makes you physically sick. You feel have responsibility for everyone's welfare, and that you will be blamed when things go wrong. Things do go wrong, and you take it harder than you should.

You rely on the validation and support of others, but you have a secret distrust for people and distaste for their habits and weaknesses that make you keep your distance from them. This makes you very difficult to be with romantically. Still, a level-headed peacemaker can keep you balanced.

Despite your fierce temper and general hot-bloodedness, you have a soft spot for animals and a surprising passion for the arts. Sometimes you would almost rather live by your wits in the wilderness somewhere, if you could bring your books and your sketchbook.

You also have a strange, undeniable sexiness to you. You may go insane."

Most of this is strangely very accurate.

:: Netwoman 10:00 AM [+] ::
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Do Women Want Fun Computers?

Make Computers More Fun Say Women - Study shows IT gender gap is on the wane

"Making IT less 'nerdy' and more fun can help increase the number of women who use computers. However more needs to be done to make women feel wanted in IT design and development jobs according to a major study on gender and the information society...Several of the SIGIS studies have shown that when women and girls find technologies such as email or the web to be enjoyable and fun, they no longer think of them as technical and difficult. Women can be attracted to ICT by focusing on the activity that is being supported, rather than the technology per se."

What women are they referring to here? I am going to hazard a guess that what compels women to utilize technology is not that it is fun (is there time for fun?) but that it can be time saving - muti-tasking with the multitude of other things they do.

:: Netwoman 10:33 PM [+] ::
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Bloggers with Credentials - What does that mean?

I have been following the discussion about who is going to blog at the democratic convention. Apparently, 60 bloggers applied but only a select few will be chosen.

"More than 15,000 people will converge on Boston later this month to cover the Democratic National Convention -- including, for the first time, bloggers. The Democratic Party plans to give media credentials to a select group of bloggers who want to cover the event, where Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.) is expected to accept his party's presidential nomination. The group has not announced which bloggers might get the passes, but that information will come in the "next few weeks," an event spokeswoman said. The convention begins July 26."
Washington Post.

I am interested in what the credentials are - who is chosen and why? Weinberger at Joho the Blog says this:

"Of course I'm bothered by the skew towards the A-List. How great would it be for bloggers with smaller readerships to function as hometown reporters of a sort? I understand the convention planners thinking that they can't just let anyone in who has set up a blog somewhere. But are we at the point yet? Yo, credentialing committe, how about some transparency about the criteria? How about blogging about it?" I agree, these folks are the A-listers. What about the voices of others?

These are some of the people blogging at the convention:
Dave Winer
Dave Weinberger
Taegan Goddard
Jay Rosen
Markos Moulitsas Zuniga
Jerome Armstrong
Aldon Hynes

Uh, will there be any women blogging? Will the bloggers represent ethnic diversity? What about class and sexuality? Is this an elite core of bloggers who will say the right things and in the right way? We won't see Rageboy there (though I would love to read those posts), or Michael Moore. I suspect that the A-list bloggers were chosen because they have such a large readership - a way to reach many bloggers and get the vote. I would like to see responses of "the little people" to what is being blogged by the bigshots.

So, Blogging gives voice, eh? Only if you have media credentials.

UPDATE: Apparently Shelley and I are on the same wavelength, as she blogs about the lack of women too. It looks like there about six female bloggers who have the credentials...

ANOTHER Update: As I posted in my comments - I cannot find who the six are. At Shelley's comments Jessamyn said she wasn't in, then got invited. Here is another interesting comment from Shelley's blog:
From Elisa:
"I am a woman, and I applied to be credentialed. I write the blog for the Santa Clara County Democratic Party at http://sccdp.org/blog.php.

The criteria I saw were subjective EXCEPT they wanted 'high readership' (without defining 'high' of course.) I pretty much assumed I wouldn't make the cut based on that. BUT they never even contacted me to ask what my readership was, and there is no site meter or anything on the blog where they could check for themselves."

Subjective Indeed.

:: Netwoman 9:49 AM [+] ::
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Peeping Tom's and Digital Cameras

"Peeping Tom's secret weapon.
The rapid growth of camera phones has had a sinister side effect - men taking sneaky snaps up the skirts of unsuspecting women. And, Hugh Wilson discovers, they are then pored over by a global audience of voyeurs"

"It's impossible to put an exact figure on it, but it wouldn't be an exaggeration to suggest that tens of thousands of women are unknowingly appearing on pornographic websites. They are topless at a beach, bikini-clad at the pool, bending over in the street, or on the escalator in a shopping centre. They're enjoying a private moment in a secluded beauty spot or a public one in a crowded bar. And they don't have to be showing much flesh to make it to the fetishistic reaches of the web. A hint of bra will do it for some voyeurs. A flash of thong can be an erotic treat."

Gross.

:: Netwoman 11:11 PM [+] ::
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Women lead rural India's internet rush

"The internet is beginning to have a revolutionary effect on the 700 million people who live in villages in India - and the charge is being led by women." BBC News.

"A project set up by one of India's leading technology institutes has put women in charge of forging the way across the digital divide as the proprietors of a fast-growing number of internet cafes or kiosks around the sub-continent.

In total 80% of these new kiosks are run by women, many of whom have had very little or no acquaintance with technology before."

:: Netwoman 11:07 PM [+] ::
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S e x And the Internet

I stumbled upon this Indie P o r n Site (through a blog link on Halley's Blog. Tasty Trixie created this home made site, and she has a very interesting approach to P o r n on the Internet. What struck me was her "Webwhore Manifesto" located here. When I first looked at the site, my feminist knickers were all in a knot. But I quickly realized that my own feminist beliefs about women and s e x work is quite complicated and complex. Here is Trixie's Manifesto in brief - the explanations are on the site:

"WebWhore Pride Points:

1. WebWhores defy stereotypes.

2. WebWhoring empowers women.

3. Good WebWhoring requires skill.

4. WebWhore clients defy stereotypes.

WebWhore Purpose Points:

5. Sex Workers' economic and social contributions to society deserve commendation, not criminalization.

6. Women should NOT be villified and disrespected for capitalizing on human sexuality.

7. WebWhores should commit to a professional code of ethics.

8. WebWhores should join hands with other adult entertainment/s e x workers to promote pride in our trade.

9. People need to stop blaming p o r n for our social ills and start looking at the REAL indecencies in our society.

10. Compromising our freedom of speech is NOT the way to protect children or further the objectives of feminism."

Again, I am reminded of feminist debates about whether s e x work objectifies and disempowers women, or whether it is another form of labour. Is s e x work on the Internet any different? Here are some reading suggestions about s e x work as labour:

"Kamala Kempadoo and Jo Doezema, editors. Global S e x Workers: Rights, Resistance, and Redefinition. New York: Routledge, 1998"

AN INTERVIEW: S e x Workers are Workers.

"Deborah R. Brock. Making Work, Making Trouble: Prostitution as a Social Problem. University of Toronto Press. 1999."

"Brock, Deborah, Kara Gillies, Chanelle Oliver and Mook Sutdhibhasilp, "Migrant Sex Work: A Roundtable Analysis". Canadian Woman Studies 20:2, 2000"

A difficult issue to unpack.

:: Netwoman 12:03 AM [+] ::
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Michael Moore's Blog

Michael Moore has his own Blog - he started it on July 4th.

I am looking forward to seeing what he blogs about. So far, he has only talked about how surprised he is at how well 9/11 is doing - and driving around sold out theatres in NY. Apparently some Spiderman fans are not fans of his.

Here are some other things he talks about:

"** More people saw "Fahrenheit 9/11" in one weekend than all the people who saw "Bowling for Columbine" in 9 months.

** "Fahrenheit 9/11" broke "Rocky III's" record for the biggest box office opening weekend ever for any film that opened in less than a thousand theaters.

** "Fahrenheit 9/11" beat the opening weekend of "Return of the Jedi."

** "Fahrenheit 9/11" instantly went to #2 on the all-time list for largest per-theater average ever for a film that opened in wide-release.

How can I ever thank all of you who went to see it? These records are mind-blowing. They have sent shock waves through Hollywood - and, more importantly, through the White House."

I do believe this film will have an impact on the election!!

:: Netwoman 11:46 PM [+] ::
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Blogs and Businesses

Blogs set to become key UK business tool

"Blogs are like online diaries, and have traditionally been used for the personal ramblings of aspiring poets, novelists and journalists. But now major international corporations like Microsoft, Dell and Google have launched their own blogs and experts say it could set the trend for UK companies to follow suit. Paul Marshall, at Dean Statham accountants and business advisors, said blogs could become a natural extension of a company website: 'Blogs can serve a useful purpose in that they can inject personality behind a brand, offer a forum for management to air views and opinions and keep customers or clients up to date with new products and services. 'A blog is updated regularly, often far more than a website is and, if done properly, can be engaging, witty and inspire loyal readers.'"

:: Netwoman 12:52 AM [+] ::
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Blogs a New Social Scene for Teens

A new social scene - Teenagers turn Internet blogs into a place to hang out, flirt and share thoughts

"Along with e-mail and instant messages, online journals are fast becoming a fixture of teenage life. The teen blog scene has become the social equivalent of the shopping mall, a place where teens come to see and be seen, socialize and seek validation.

In many ways, what transpires online is an extension of the social interactions that take place at school. There are online cliques as well as the digital equivalent of hallway banter and gossip. Yet, what occurs online mostly lives in a digital reality that seldom crosses over into real life."

"Many teens say blogging is an outlet they wouldn't have otherwise. Nearly all invite strangers in -- but parents are discouraged from crashing on the scene. Many say their parents are unaware of their blogs. Steve Perkins, Rachel's father, says he's glad his daughter has a place to express herself -- and he's never sneaked a peek. "It's her own private space," he said."

Private space on the Internet? hmmm. I think I would be checking my child's blog if it is out there in cyberspace...

"Most teens abide by an unwritten code of the blogosphere: What happens online stays online. Many have digital friendships with classmates but never socialize in real life 'because we don't hang with the same crowd,' as one Evergreen student explained."

:: Netwoman 12:44 AM [+] ::
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Internet Censorship

BT'S CHILD P O R N BLOCK PRAISED here

"CAMPAIGNERS against violent po r n o graphy on the internet are closer to their goal of cleaning up the web thanks to BT.

The company has blocked its internet customers from accessing child p o r n websites and campaigners believe the same technology could be used to stop people from viewing pictures of women being raped, strangled and killed.

In what has been described as the first censoring of the internet, BT has blocked child sexual abuse websites which have been assessed as 'illegal to view' in the UK under the 1978 Child Protection Act as part of a trial of its blocking technology."

:: Netwoman 12:37 AM [+] ::
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Techno Accessories

Intel Centrino mobile technology props up modern living here
"Laptop bags, created jointly by Intel and International designer Julian MacDonald were used as stunning accessories by graduating models, in the first set of their on-ramp assessments for overall achiever, best catwalk and most photogenic candidate. The models were judged and watched by a bevy of specialists from the fashion and beauty industry.

The inclusion of notebook computers and laptop bags in a fashion event is symbolic of the growing role that technology plays in women's lives. The laptop is another symbol of women's growing role in business and of the role that technology plays in their lives. This event compliments the new generation of computer users, and truly celebrates wireless women in the Middle East,' said Souad Bennani, Intel's channel sales manager in the GCC.

The Intel bag encapsulates everything that has made the handbag an essential accessory, and is an object of desire for women across the world. Like all classic handbags the bag combines the aesthetic and the practical, and is available in three colours in stylish leather – white, fuchsia and black. The limited edition bag is available at selected retail outlets and Intel events."

An pbject of desire? Oh brother.

:: Netwoman 12:29 AM [+] ::
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Breaking Through the Glass Ceiling

No glass ceilings - Entrepreneur mentors on finding an edge - DANA SANCHEZ

"Adrienne Giannone found that being a woman has its advantages in the field of electronics technology. It gives her an edge. A Long Island-based entrepreneur and single mom, Giannone started Edge Electronics in 1990. She has since been recognized nationally for technological achievement in a male-dominated field. Considered a role model and mentor for other female entrepreneurs, she belongs to numerous organizations."

This woman is no role model for me folks.

"Whoever is more qualified for the job is the one who gets the job," she said. Giannone's message to women trying to make it in a man's world: "Don't believe in the glass ceiling," she said. "Just break right through and go for the stars. Anybody can be successful. You just have to want it enough."

Oh brother, what alternate reality is she living in? We know that it is not always the most qualified person who gets the job. Don't believe in the glass ceiling? What is that about? So, I see women blaming here. It's our fault for not wanting the job bad enough and not working hard enough - that is why millions of women (and other minorities) haven't broken through the glass ceiling. Uh-huh. It has nothing to do with systemic discrimination in any way. Nope. Structural inequalities. Nope, I guess not.

:: Netwoman 2:37 PM [+] ::
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Ghost in the Machine

Girl Interrupted here.

Continued from my post a Blogger's Identity, the case of fictional blog character Plain Layne.

An article that makes you go hmmm. First, I am amazed at the investigative skills of Layne followers. I am amazed at the detailed construction of Plain Layne and the "creative interactive fiction". Again, we are left considering virtual personnas - Layne is real - but only in the virtual world, there is no physical body attached to Plain Layne, only the author/creator Odin Soli. Is Layne any less real?

"The internet is an environment in which all the richness of communication and self-representation gets flattened into plain text. It literally is a text--a plain text that gets shared with many authors interacting in different ways."

:: Netwoman 1:18 PM [+] ::
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Busy women turn to the internet

Via CWIT News.

"Busy women turn to the internet" from BBC News: "More and more women are connecting to the internet Women in Scotland are increasingly using the internet to help them manage their lives, researchers have found."

"In Scotland there are more women than ever before in management positions, who are juggling demanding careers with their personal and family lives. Anything that allows women to access information more quickly and frees up precious time is to be welcomed."

Hopefully my own research will reveal if this is the case.

:: Netwoman 1:06 PM [+] ::
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Into the Blogosphere

Into the Blogosphere located here.

"This online, edited collection explores discursive, visual, social, and other communicative features of weblogs. Essays analyze and critique situated cases and examples drawn from weblogs and weblog communities. Such a project requires a multidisciplinary approach, and contributions represent perspectives from Rhetoric, Communication, Sociology, Cultural Studies, Linguistics, and Education, among others."

Some interesting articles in this collection. In particular - Women and Children Last: The Discursive Construction of Weblogs by Susan C. Herring, Inna Kouper, Lois Ann Scheidt, and Elijah L. Wright, Indiana University at Bloomington. This looks like the paper that they presented at the AoIR last October, and the one that is creating much discussion between Liz Lawley at Many 2 Many and Elijah Wright. Alex has some comments on it as well.

:: Netwoman 12:51 PM [+] ::
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The Politics of Blogging

Apt 11D blogs about a new Blog paper that she is writing and asks an interesting question: "So, is the blogosphere a public space, like the New England townhall meeting? Is it a place where individuals can debate ideas and policy proposals and have some impact on political officials?".

However, the next post might answer her initial questions - the post is about a blogger who posted some negative comments about the survey he was sent. Apt 11D is upset of course...

"I sat in bed last night thinking about how I should respond. I couldn't comment on his blog, since he didn't have a comment section. Even if he had comments, my response would have probably never have been read by his readers anyhow. The damage was done on the front page of his blog.

I thought about writing him a very polite letter explaining our methodology and hypotheses, but there would be no guarantee that he wouldn't print it on his blog. He could unfairly edit it and add further sarcastic comments, which I could not respond to.

This is truly a downside to blogging. Each blog is not a democracy. It is operated by the whim of its owner. Most of the time that is all fine and good. It is interesting to get different people's perspectives on the news of the day, their views on the latest movies, and even what their kids said at breakfast. The personality of the blogger is definitely appealing.

But when bloggers personally attack others, who are not public officials or celebrities just private citizens trying to go about their work, this undemocratic creation is deeply troubling. Especially since there is no opportunity to satisfactorily respond. Perhaps if I had a more important blog, I could respond in kind (and provide a link to his blog), but I don't. My co-author doesn't have even a little blog like mine, so she has no voice whatsoever."

:: Netwoman 5:42 PM [+] ::
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CALL FOR PAPERS

3rd European Symposium on Gender & ICT: Working for Change - Feb 1st 2005
Weston Conference Centre, UMIST Manchester UK - For further details see here

Following the success of the Gender and ICT symposia in Amsterdam (2003) and Brussels (2004) we invite you to come to Manchester and continue the networking and discussions begun at these two events, and to highlight the conclusions of the JIVE transnational partnership.

This year the focus will be on work and education to reflect the main priorities of the sponsoring partners. However we are interested in and welcome papers about research in related areas of Gender and ICT. The symposium aims to be a meeting point for researchers from different disciplines and research schools and we welcome research on women’s work, careers and education in ICT and other branches of science, engineering and technology.

We invite ABSTRACTS on (but not limited to) the following themes

- Gender, technology and work : women’s work in computing and ICT including IT and new media industries as well as the Science, Engineering and Technology sectors; issues of promotion, career progression and work-life balance

- Power, gender and identity in the workplace: gender and organisational cultures; influence of ICT in the workplace, domestication of ICT's when the workplace is the home.

- Gender and ICT policy issues : inclusion and exclusion, influences of national ICT strategies, globalisation and work in the IT sector.

- Education : research related to practical initiatives to support women learners as well as theoretical perspectives; teaching and learning using ICT; gender and e-learning; gendered ways of learning technology including learning styles and pedagogies; design of ICTs in education

IMPORTANT DATES:

The deadline for abstracts (max. 500 words) is Oct 1st 2004. Notification of acceptance by November 15th 2004.

Abstracts and any enquiries to: genderandict@open.ac.uk

:: Netwoman 10:47 AM [+] ::
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S E X Sells in Six Figures

Kiss and sell for s e x diarist

"INTERNET s e x diarist Jessica Cutler - known in the US capital by her nom de plume "Washingtonienne" - has signed a lucrative book deal with HyperionDisney, to write a novel, the company said today.The publishing house declined to disclose the amount of the book deal, but her agent, Michael Carlisle told The New York Times that said the price was in the "substantial six figures....Ms Cutler was dismissed in May from her entry-level job sorting mail in the office of Republican Senator Mike DeWine after using congressional computers to post her lovemaking exploits on her internet blog."

:: Netwoman 10:14 PM [+] ::
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Women love hi-tech gizmos

Women love hi-tech gizmos 01-Jul-2004 Kim Gilmour

"British women are throwing away their strappy, blister-inducing Jimmy Choos in favour of groovy gadgets, according to a study released today...Women are also more interested in the shape, size and colour of their shiny new playthings than men, and over a third would forego their favourite shoes, lipstick and diary in favour of a mobile phone...Women aren't as technologically inept as you might think, either - only 23 per cent ask their male partners for help with their gadgets, with most preferring to teach themselves. It wasn't until gadgets started looking so stylish and sexy that women began seeing them as more than just some geeky piece of technology," said Vanessa Miedler, retail editor at Tatler Magazine."

:: Netwoman 6:52 PM [+] ::
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