02-12-10
Today’s show takes a look at a new program underway in Australia called “Energise Women”.
Talking Points
Video Replay
08-21-09
Today’s show inspired through the events of this post featured a guest host Maggie Fox (Twitter: @maggiefox) and a conversation about diversity and making change happen for the better.
Talking Points
Video Replay
Chat History
13:04 maggiefox: hey – looking forward to the show today! Info | Delete | Ban
13:09 skeohan: I may actually be able to see FMR today – working from home 8/21
13:10 ccmehil: 5 mins to go, @maggiefox is online and ready to go as well
13:12 jspath55: patching video and audio for @karin_tillotson please stand by!
13:13 GretchenL0703: Hello all! Really looking forward to this week’s topic!
13:14 Graham Robbo: Hi all
13:14 corycc: g’morning all – looking forward to FMR today
13:15 oliver: hey
13:15 jspath55: Everyone text Hi to Karin.
13:16 skeohan: Hi Car-in
13:16 corycc: hi karin
13:16 thorstenster: Hi all!
13:16 Graham Robbo: Hi K
13:17 GretchenL0703: Hi Karin!
13:17 jspath55: #BITIpeeps
13:17 jspath55: we c u
13:17 ewH: Maggie AND Cmehil in one place? How lucky can we be?
13:18 RichHeilman: morning all
13:18 maggiefox: @ewH – hi, eddy!
13:18 se38_uwe: 24 viewers, record this year?
13:18 mcrapo: Good morning.
13:19 RichHeilman: @maggiefox draws a crowd.
13:19 citoki: hello
13:20 jspath55: Hi Sue, Gretchen, Graham, Cory
13:20 skeohan: follow Maggie @maggiefox on Twitter
13:21 dahowlett: morning/afternoon/campers
13:21 maggiefox: @dahowlett – hey there!
13:22 jspath55: Hi Dennis
13:22 skeohan: http://technicallywomen.com/
13:22 jenrobinson: hey y’all. happy friday!
13:23 jspath55: Hi Jen. – did you get a new job or did I misread your tweet?
13:23 yojibee: Hi jen 
13:24 jspath55: @yojibee
13:24 Michael Koch: Hi
13:24 jenrobinson: @jspath55 new job?? nope, still at SAP. i moved to the New York office in May, though.
13:24 ewH: Rich, Sue, Dennis, Jim, Jen, Anne, Michael, Karin — Good Morning!
13:24 maggiefox: @yojibee – hi!
13:24 maggiefox: @jenrobinson – hey, jen!
13:25 mcrapo: Should I be seeing – hearing something?
13:25 jspath55: I thwack bots one at a time. Poof you’re a ghost.
13:25 RichHeilman: yea, keep getting a maggiefox imposter following me on twitter. very annoying
13:25 RichHeilman: @ewh morning dude. how’s MS
13:26 skeohan: In discussion w/colleagues yesterday, they said that Twitter users were ‘losers’ – then I told them I tweeted
13:26 oliver: Just had a hundret new porn followers in the last couple of days. Twitters user number are exaggerated!
13:26 maggiefox: @richheilmann – lol
13:26 skeohan: Heh heh heh
13:26 yojibee: @maggiefox Hi!
13:26 GretchenL0703: Some of us would speak more often if the organizations we work for were more supportive. Many layers of approvals, hurdles to jump, due to instituional fearfulness.
13:26 jspath55: @Sue LOL!!! (or, ji ji ji)
13:27 skeohan: @jspath55 ’sTruth!
13:27 jspath55: sock puppet?
13:28 thorstenster: There’s @fakesacca – hilarious
13:28 GretchenL0703: I had to explain to the guy in the T-Mobile store yesterday why I am a twitter user. Very skeptical 30ish guy.
13:28 jenrobinson: @maggiefox nice to have you here, maggie
13:28 RichHeilman: you know, I don’t even think the real @maggiefox is following me. LOL
13:28 maggiefox: @jen thanks!
13:29 ewH: just to clarify, who are we talking about when we say “the usual suspects”?
13:31 thorstenster: @skeohan LOL – I would have made it a point to congratulate them on the accuracy and perceptiveness of that statement, then back it up with the fact that I tweet, too.
13:31 monkchips: jenrobinson pulled me in. morning folks. hey maggie. all of you should check out my avatar
13:31 monkchips: do the nose thing!
13:31 monkchips: nose!
13:32 maggiefox: @monkchips maybe later 
13:32 maggiefox: @monkchips shut up!
13:32 skeohan: @thorstenster – I tried to enlighten them, as I usually do. I asked if they were so resistant when Television came out
13:32 RichHeilman: @monkchips NoseCrinklin Friday
13:32 monkchips: you’re a man, what’s in it for you?
13:32 oliver: Oh dear James
13:33 monkchips: a: its hard to get laid without diversity…
13:33 dahowlett: I needto see Maggie’s nose trick – again
13:33 monkchips: nose, nose, nose
13:33 jspath55: tweeting and driving? Oh Noes!
13:34 jenrobinson: @monkchips hey james, long time no see.
13:34 skeohan: Hi Maggie, I am Sue
13:35 monkchips: yay!!!
13:35 monkchips: tipjar!
13:35 jspath55: #MSF gets my spare change.
13:35 skeohan: Oh My God
13:35 RichHeilman: WTF?
13:35 monkchips: that is so fing great
13:35 monkchips: sure!!!
13:35 monkchips: hey jenrobinson how you doin?
13:35 jspath55: waves!
13:36 skeohan: Hi Jules
13:36 corycc: Hi buddy!
13:36 Graham Robbo: Hi
13:36 ewH: Jules…cool name!
13:36 corycc: good looking kid!
13:36 ewH: that looked like a mini male version of maggie
13:36 corycc: nose trick was totally worth @monkchips begging
13:36 maggiefox: @corycc thanks – I do make cute kids
13:37 thorstenster: @skeohan: They might still be using the horse + carriage.
13:37 jenrobinson: @monkchips doin well, thx. you? love the avatar.
13:37 skeohan: Shout out to Karin!
13:37 jspath55: an SAP Mentor too.
13:37 thorstenster: I need a female online persona. thorstine? thorstilette?
13:38 monkchips: jenrobinson – yeah, @lskrocki pinged me about chinposin with one of her classic avatars
13:38 jspath55: Karin looked at the entire conference, not just the ILM track.
13:38 Michael Koch: @thorstenster: “Thoretta”
13:38 yojibee: Yes, we definitely should be more women
13:38 Michael Schwandt: It works from within SAP domain
13:39 oliver: I’m also for way more women for sure!
13:39 monkchips: powerful women? do they have budgets/
13:39 maggiefox: @monkchips yes
13:39 jenrobinson: @monkchips i do
13:39 jspath55: I need to check ASUG volunteer ranks – I think it is extremely diverse.
13:40 monkchips: see what i did there? top salesman. now i know where the money is…
13:40 jspath55: And Bhanu is an ASUG volunteer, BTW
13:40 RichHeilman: Yea, people used to say “Thanks man” in her forum posts
13:41 GretchenL0703: At least it makes sense that people assumed that Bhanu was a man. I still get stuff addressed to Mr. Gretchen Lindquist.
13:42 jspath55: @gretchen
13:42 ewH: ok, I think we all agree that diversity is good…so what can we do?
13:42 Graham Robbo: We loose women to our industry in middle school. We need to find a way to retain them so the numbers imbalance is corrected
13:42 monkchips: gender free would SUCK!
13:42 Graham Robbo: Sorry I meant “lose”
13:42 dahowlett: yoohoo
13:42 dahowlett: @monkchips – it would suck mightily
13:43 jspath55: Example ASUG Community Volunteer Leadership Community Facilitator Ina Lerner Dow Corning Corporation Community Facilitator Catherine Barrett Philips Medical Systems – Cardia
13:43 jspath55: …iac Monitoring Systems Community Facilitator JoEllen Fiorvante Bridge Installation
13:45 dahowlett: douchebaggery – yay!
13:45 corycc: DB – lol!
13:45 maggiefox: al hail the douchebags!
13:45 corycc: thanks maggie / craig – great discussion!
13:46 monkchips: thanks crazyfox
13:46 RichHeilman: Thanks Maggie
13:46 ewH: bye Maggie…see you at TechEd?
13:46 jenrobinson: thanks guys
13:46 oliver: I propose @monkchips to become Technical Woman h.c. That should give the movement some traction.
13:46 GretchenL0703: Yes, thank you both!
13:46 jspath55: #BITIpeeps are doing our part
13:46 dahowlett: Maggie can punch people through the internet
13:46 monkchips: holy shit. two nose things in one day. we’re not worthy
13:46 skeohan: Great for underwater swimming
13:47 maggiefox: @dahowlett – LOL
13:47 monkchips: thanks Craig!
13:47 maggiefox: @monkchips don’t get used to it!
13:47 skeohan: http://socialmediagroup.com/2009/08/07/what-does-it-take-to-be-a-top-10-social-media-speaker/
13:47 monkchips: i gotta be a guest on the show again soon. it needs more profanity
13:47 maggiefox: Thanks, everyone!
13:47 dahowlett: tootlepip Maggie
13:47 jenrobinson: ooh, love the backdrop, craig
13:48 dahowlett: cheers
13:48 Graham Robbo: Bye
13:48 jspath55: Thanks from Jim
13:48 jenrobinson: thx, craig
13:48 skeohan: nice Craig, we can still see you
13:48 skeohan: Nope, not leaving
13:48 ewH: this is like watching the rolling credits
13:48 oliver: thx bye
13:48 thorstenster: thanks, bye!
13:48 Graham Robbo: Bed time for me now
13:48 monkchips: dude check out my avatar today
13:48 ewH: just in case theres an extra scene
13:48 monkchips: outtakes!
13:49 se38_uwe: outtakes
13:49 ewH: loved the dance
13:49 RichHeilman: WTF?
13:49 thorstenster: Here they come!!!
13:49 ewH: that alone was worth the price of admission
13:49 skeohan: We’re still watching you
13:50 dhague: hey – I resemble that avatar!
13:50 skeohan: Thanks Craig!
13:52 ccmehil: thank you everyone!
08-20-09
Awhile back I wrote a post about someone I admire, it happened to be a woman and for Ada Lovelace day.
That woman, Marilyn, recently has become part of a group called Technically Women, along with several other woman that I know (some more than others). Now it’s quite interesting that very recently as I myself begin ramping up into a frenzy of event planning for the upcoming SAP TechEd events around the world — why is that interesting you might ask? Well it’s interesting because my connection to every single one of the ladies involved in this group is related to past SAP events and because the women in this group have begun as a collective to ask the question, “why are there not more women speakers at events”.
Inside of the Irregulars group the conversation was started there by my friend and someone I respect very, very much asked the question to the group as well. Maggie (find her on Twitter or on her blog) is someone I meet years ago and instantly liked. I mean honest to goodness truly liked which is why I can honestly say – what I think on this issue and know that it will be understood and taken in the proper way.
Of course I’ve probably already got you thinking this is negative however it’s not at least not entirely but as Jeff blogged the other day I think there is a bigger issue here than just whether we need more women speaking or not.
Every once in a while this issue flares up, usually in relation to conferences not having anything other than a bunch of white guys on the speaker agenda, but I think we should stop fooling ourselves about the technology industry valuing diversity and on there being a system of meritocracy for achieving it.
Women, Hispanics, blacks, and people with disabilities are all conspicuously absent at events and on company payrolls. We have deluded ourselves into a false sense of security about the fact that because tech centers like Silicon Valley, Boulder, and Boston are themselves centers for cultural diversity, that our industry is diversified as a result. Not true.
Follow that with a phone call I had this week from someone I work with yet have had no contact with in the past, somehow the conversation moved to the topic of diversity, most likely since I’m a foreigner living here and she was a foreigner living there. She was astounded though when I made the comment that,
“I think it’s about damn time we start looking at this topic more seriously and if that means we need to consider the role women play as executives or speakers at events as a starting point then I’m all for it!”
Her response was, “wait your a man, what do you get out of it?”
At first I was not sure how to answer since it’s not an easy one to answer yet I think Cathy Brooks is on the right track with her post “Kerfuffle over a quandary: My take on the female conference speaker debate”
Where she states
No matter how you slice it this is a complex topic and one with which I have found myself confronted very directly in the last several years in my role helping produce/content curate for a number of major technology gatherings. On more than one occasion I have found myself torn because while I am as big a proponent as any for supporting women in business, the plain fact is that it’s a numbers game. There are just fewer women from whom to choose. I’m not suggesting there aren’t smart, accomplished, capable women available to speak on pretty much any topic, but let’s face it. When you look around any given room at any given conference and do the math – apart from BlogHer or other gatherings by women-inclined organizations – if you find a room where the percentage of female presence is anything more than 5% to 10%, I’ll buy you lunch.
What is true, however, is that it’s time to stop talking about it, and take action. Big time.
Now that is taken out of context but I think it fits perfectly well together and still maintains her primary thought in the post.
Maggie herself stated in her post (which ignited this thought for me) “What Does it Take to be a “Top 10″ Social Media Speaker?”
I think part of the problem is many of us suck at two things: valuing our skills and engaging in healthy self-promotion. There may be a good reason for the latter, which is what I want to focus on: when it comes to social media in particular, self-promotion so frequently trumps actual accomplishments that we have a saucy little word for it – douchebaggery. No one wants to be seen as a douchebag (except for the douchebags, and that’s because they don’t know any better).
So where am I going with all of this? Well the basic statement I have to make is “me too”!
I’m still young, or at least I like to think so despite the gray hair and I’ve been successful in my job however like Maggie who I considered to be far more talented and qualified than myself, well we seem to be in the same boat. It’s fighting the “Good Old Boys” and I’m simply not one of them despite being male, white, educated, etc…
Diversity in our business or any other business I see as a good thing because it gives those new folks an opportunity they currently don’t have. I saw this a lot while working in the automotive sector – the world is extremely small and everyone knew everyone and everyone seemed to bounce from one place to other and always because of the “my buddy John works there now” type of thing. This meant that those new folks – younger folks coming out of school often were shut out simply because they had not yet done the rounds – yet being fully qualified.
The lack of diversity, the lack of looking beyond the “usual suspects” hurts our industry as well as every other one simply because we are not looking at those on the edges – me I speak at events (sort of) I speak at my companies events and that is 3 times a year one right after the other and is certainly not a keynote – I’ve been invited to attend events yet I’ve never (honestly) been asked to speak at event other than 2 times to speak and share my companies success story (not my own thoughts on the market or community in the enterprise) of course I can only blame myself on that because I’ve never actually said “I’m willing to speak if you are looking” that self marketing that Maggie and the others elude to seems to be the essential missing piece for a lot of us in terms of this issue. Couple that with not being a member of the “Good Old Boys” club and I’m completely out of luck it seems.
Wait did that turn from diversity to what about me? I guess it did but isn’t that a big piece to the diversity puzzle? Either sit there an mope about it or get out there and do something about it? Maggie and the others have, and I hope if all goes as planned you can hear from Maggie herself on this topic tomorrow Friday, August 21, 2009 on the next episode of the Friday Morning Report!
As for me I guess until I tell someone where’s my speaking invitation or job offer or something like that I have no one to blame but myself? Despite the fact I’ve said time and time again it’s time to use your voice. Perhaps a lesson for us, Maggie and the others are using their voice and hopefully we’ll get to see people like her on stage soon, I can’t speak for them all but Maggie, Susan, Marilyn and several others I know have fantastic insights that I thoroughly enjoy hearing about more so than many of those “usual suspects”!
For those of who you living in the developer world this post shared to me by Nigel James is a must read on this particular topic!
Craig Cmehil is in Bangalore, India and has planned trips to:
Lippstadt, Germany