podcast

Future Tense

Posted on March 23, 2010

We were on Future Tense this morning, which was pretty cool! I listen to that show every morning while eating breakfast and getting ready to head into the office, so I had a bit of a fangirl moment interacting with Jon Gordon. He talked with Nancy and me — and Jennifer Bohmbach — about Ada Lovelace Day tomorrow.

Check out the audio that aired this morning, or you can also listen to our unedited conversation with Jon (y’know, the one with more ums and ahs).

mp3 file here.

On a Mac, hold down the control key and click and select “Save Link As…” and save the mp3 somewhere on your computer.
On a PC, right click and select Save Target As… (in IE) or Save Link As… (in Firefox) and save the mp3 somewhere on your computer.

When you open the file, it should launch your preferred audio player.

Keep an eye on this blog, and FindingAda.com for a worldwide day of blogging about women in technology.

Oh, and in the long version of our conversation with Jon I reference this presentation from Ignite Sydney, “I’m a Barbie Girl…in a CS World.” I really love its message about being yourself, whether or not that matches who people think you “should” be — check it out:

Podcast #10 – What is The Cloud?

Posted on March 18, 2010

In our 10th podcast we break down a popular buzzword-of-the-moment, The Cloud. (We also blogged about this topic last October.)

Listen Online


Summary

We could recap the podcast, but we’re so dang busy right now (as you can tell from the dearth of posts and podcasts lately). A good complement to this podcast is our blog post about the cloud from last October.

What do you think? Does that explain it? Hit us up with any questions in the comments, or over on our Facebook page.

Gleek Girls Guide

In somewhat unrelated news (except that it’s just further proof of what geeks we are in other parts of our lives as well), we Geek Girls are also hosting a Glee premiere party on April 13 in Minneapolis. You should come! Get more details and RSVP at gleepremiere.eventbrite.com.

Podcast #9: Stupid Social Media Advice

Posted on February 25, 2010

In our 9th podcast we react to a recent news channel’s story on how social media, and especially Facebook, can affect your marriage. What? Yeah.

See for yourself: the most ridiculous social media advice ever: [WCCO video].

Listen Online


Summary

We react to the following list of dos and don’ts by psychologist John Buri of the University of St. Thomas. Here’s what he said. You can hear our thoughts about this in the podcast (and in the brackets below):

The Dos

1. Share your username and password with your spouse. [WHAT?!]

2. Include your spouse in pictures and status updates.

3. Tell your spouse whenever someone asks to “friend” you. [Really? Every friend request? Oy vey.]

The Don’ts

1. Don’t criticize your spouse online. [DUH!]

2. Don’t “friend” exes.

3. Don’t engage in private chat. [Um, by this logic you better stop answering your phone, too.]

Take the hilarious Facebook compulsion quiz! http://tumanov.com/quiz/

What do you think? Are we wrong, or is this the most ridiculous crap ever said aloud?

Podcast: The Cult of Social Media

Posted on February 12, 2010

In our eighth podcast we talk about the cult of social media, what to look for when choosing your social team and how to tell the difference between social media enthusiasm and expertise. We’ve now got three ways for you to listen:

Listen Online

Click the cute little button below to stream the audio in your browser window.


Join the Discussion

What did we miss? What do you think is important to illustrate expertise and experience in social media? What successes or failures have you experienced when trying to assemble a social media SWAT team, or find a social media consultant?

Podcast #7: Social Media & Personal Safety

Posted on January 8, 2010

For our seventh podcast we invited Geek Girls Guide reader Alexis Bell over to talk about some concerns her family members had with her jumping into the world of social media.

Listen Online

Click the cute little button below to stream the audio in your browser window.


Recap

Alexis (@alexisjbell) sent us an email and said:

“My parents have become very concerned that on my Twitter account I have my picture and my real name. One night I tweeted that I was going to the MIMA holiday party and that concerned them because A) someone could rob me knowing that my house is unoccupied or B) stalk me. I realize their concerns are real and that they are just worried about me but I haven’t figured out how to ease their minds yet.

So I guess my question has to do with personal safety and security while posting information about what you are doing and where you are going. With Facebook I know who everyone is ‘In Real Life’, but with Twitter I don’t yet know any of these people. Some I’m hoping to know/meet in the future with regards to social media and web design. I know that approving everyone that follows you is an option but I don’t see that as a solution if I’m trying to get into social media.”

We talked about:

  • Generational differences between what we are used to sharing, and having public
  • The insidious danger of danger – a brilliant post by Tara Hunt (@missrogue)
  • Sharing information sensibly; be aware of what you’re sharing in any network you’re participating in.
  • Ways to demonstrate why it’s important for a modern professional to be creating content about themselves that is indexed by search engines.

The bottom line in this whole conversation is that it would be a mistake to miss out on the personal and professional opportunities to connect with people in social channels out of fear. Be smart, but don’t be afraid.

Join in the Discussion

What do you think? Are you avoiding social media because you’re concerned about safety or do you brazenly share all?

Podcast #6: The Decade in Review

Posted on December 30, 2009

In our sixth podcast we take a look at the last ten years, how technology has played a role in our lives, and what we think is on the horizon. We’ve now got three ways for you to listen:

Listen Online

Click the cute little button below to stream the audio in your browser window.

Recap

We talked about:

  • how the personal blogs we started a decade ago affected each of our lives, both personal and professional.
  • the major events of the last decade and how technology played a part, or how they might be different with today’s technology.
  • predictions for the coming years

Links

Dooce: the blogging juggernaut who was once known as the girl who lost her job because of her blog.

Meghan referenced a poem by Poetry Slam founder Marc Smith, which exemplifies the Geek Girls mission as we head into 2010:

pull the next one up
When you get to the top of the mountain
Pull the next one up.
Then there’ll be two of you
Roped together at the waist
Tired and proud, knowing the mountain,
Knowing the human force it took
To bring both of you there.
And when the second one has finished
Taking in the view,
Satisfied by the heat and perspiration under the wool,
Let her pull the next one up;
Man or woman, climber of mountains.

Read the full poem >

Join in the Discussion

Tell us what tech development or movement influenced your life the most of the last decade.  Share your stories and observations in the comments.  We want to hear them.

Podcast #5: Being Safe Over the Holidays

Posted on December 23, 2009

In our fifth podcast, we discuss the importance of paying attention while driving. Duh, we know. But, come on — so many of us have been guilty of driving while texting, or after having “just a couple” glasses of wine.

Download

Use this link to download the mp3.

On a Mac, hold down the control key and click and select “Save Link As…” and save the mp3 somewhere on your computer.
On a PC, right click and select Save Target As… (in IE) or Save Link As… (in Firefox) and save the mp3 somewhere on your computer.

When you open the file, it should launch your preferred audio player.

Listen Online

Click the cute little button below to stream the audio in your browser window.

Recap

Texting while driving is not cool. Buzzed driving is drunk driving. DON’T DO IT. Every 44 minutes someone is killed in an alcohol-impaired driving crash. Last year, nearly 12,000 people were killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes. Just around Christmas and New Year’s, 316 people were killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes.

Really, all of this comes down to paying attention to what we are doing. To not being so cocky about what we are capable of. As part of that, we also ended up veering off into the realm of how technology can distract us from our lives: from our children, our spouses, our work. So, this holiday season, and into the new year, think about what’s important to you and make a pledge to pay attention. Pay attention to how you feel after a party and don’t drive if you feel buzzed. Pay attention when you’re driving and don’t text. Pay attention at your meetings and don’t drift off into Twitter or get sucked into your laptop. Pay attention when your kids are in the bath and don’t play with your phone.

And hey, we’re not preaching here: we are pots calling the kettles black. We’re just as guilty of all of this behavior, and we’ll be making the same pledge.

Happy Holidays. Be safe, friends. And pay attention to the stuff that’s important to you.

— — — — —

This post is in honor of Meghan’s best friend Catherine Anne Bollo, who was hit by a drunk driver 20 years ago today and died on Christmas Eve day. She was 15 years old.
It is also dedicated to Nancy’s cousin Dusty Michelle Futrall, who died in a distracted-driving car accident in 1990 at the age of 19.

Podcast #4: MPR Technology Follow Up

Posted on December 8, 2009

I had the pleasure of talking to Kerri Miller on the Midmorning show on MPR this morning.  (You can listen to the show here.) Her guest was Robert Stephens and I was a call-in guest for a short part of the hour.  It is so hard to even try to touch technology in an hour’s worth of time.  It’s even harder to speak to the cultural impact of technology in short bytes.  We try to do all of that here on the Geek Girl’s Guide.  But we try to do it in a way that encourages very broad participation.  We want to open this up to audiences that may not normally be included in a conversation about technology.  Of course when I finished the interview my head was spinning.  The only logical thing to do was to keep talking to Meghan about the ideas we’d only touched on in the on-air chat.  Here’s the resulting podcast.  Enjoy!

Listen Online

Click the cute little button below to stream the audio in your browser window.

Podcast #3: Social Media for Job Searching

Posted on October 19, 2009

In our third podcast we talk about some ways to think about social media for job searching. It’s more exciting than it sounds! (Not really, but just go with it.)

Listen Online

Click the cute little button below to stream the audio in your browser window.

Overview

Think about three things:

1. Using social media (blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.) as ways to generate content about yourself that exposes your smart, savvy brain to potential employers (or people that could help you find potential employers).

2. Using social media to build and expand your network. Find and reach people in your industry that you previously would have had no access to. (Like, on Twitter: follow hashtags for events that are attended by the people you are trying to reach. I mentioned #mimasummit as an example.)

3. Do your homework! You now have NO EXCUSE for showing up to an interview not knowing about the company and the work they do. Set yourself apart from a field of applicants by knowing, and caring, about the organization you’re interviewing with.

The Kevyn Burger Show

Posted on June 18, 2009

We had the pleasure of appearing on FM107.1’s Kevyn Burger show this morning to talk about this site, and our upcoming Social Media 101: A Beginner Bootcamp seminar on June 22.

If you missed the show, you can listen to our segment by using the link below to download the mp3.

On a Mac, hold down the control key and click and select “Save Link As…” and save the mp3 somewhere on your computer.
On a PC, right click and select Save Target As… (in IE) or Save Link As… (in Firefox) and save the mp3 somewhere on your computer.

When you open the file, it should launch your preferred audio player.

Download the mp3 >

or by clicking the cute little button below to stream it in your browser window.

It was fun talking to Kevyn, and we got to meet Sheletta, too (who is just as funny in person as she sounds on the radio).

Follow-up

We talked about a few things:

Drop us a line and let us know what you think, or if you have a question!