Notes from an intern and aspiring Fearless fem:

 

Having just finished David Kirkpatrick's The Facebook Effect over the weekend (which I would definitely recommend anyone), I feel more excited than ever at the thought of new ideas, jobs, startups and endless possibilities that come alongside the disruptive, tradition-challenging digital revolution. As so beautifully stated in Facebook's recent film, The Social Network, "inventing a job is better than getting one," and what better time than now in the new Renaissance of the Silicon Valley?

Working for Fearless, I constantly see new opportunities in these emerging industries. Mobile apps, social media, blogging, online advertising, and on and on and on! Yet something stood out to me when I finally returned from my reading trance this weekend - there are a million and one opportunities, but where are all the women?

I hadn't before thought twice about this phenomenon. In fact, I loved The Social Network the first time I saw it. But just pre second viewing over the weekend, my friend made a small but disturbing comment - "Oh my god, women were represented terribly in this movie." What on earth are you talking about? I've seen this movie before and found no fault with it! And this is 2011 - by now we have to have reached a level of politically correct portrayals of women. But throughout the movie, I couldn't help but notice this time how little credit any girl was given for having half a brain.

Now before I go any further, I want to make a small disclaimer: I am not a self-proclaimed feminist, nor do I think The Social Network needs to be deprived its Academy Award, but I am concerning myself with this subject because I must look at it through a lens where my own future and career goals are affected. In the field of Media Studies, we call the process of identifying with characters interpellation. But between all the players I admire as thought-leaders in revolutionary technologies - Steve Jobs (Apple), Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), Eric Schmidt (Google), Biz Sone (Twitter), Bill Gates (Microsoft), etc., etc. - where is awoman I can relate to?

According to this article in the New York Times, while women own 40 percent of the private businesses in the U.S., they create only 8 percent of the venture-backed tech startups. By now we've come a long way from the domestic expectations of the 50's in almost all industries, so why in such nascent industries where the playing field is theoretically level are we back on the sidelines? And I don't want to hear the excuse that boys are more "into" video games and computer programming. Women thrive in the Web 2.0 world - we're inherently social, creative creatures, and what better sandboxes to play in than in new media, social media, and all other interactive Web 2.0 communications?

Sheryl Sandberg is one influential woman highlighted in the book who currently serves as Facebook's COO, and in the TED Talk embedded below she makes a lot of thoughtful points of her own attempting to explain the lack of women in leadership positions today. I think it is dangerous to stand by complacent in leaving women out of the big decisions in the new and exponentially growing tech industries. There are too few women leaders for us to look up to and use to imagine our own careers in tech, so we had better start stepping up to the plate so our children will eventually have some role models. It's time for a Silicon Valley takeover and for a little more estrogen on the interwebs.

Join me tomorrow in a Twitter chat dedicated specifically to WHY WOMEN ROCK! Follow the convo by using the hashtag #WomenRock, and share with us why you think women belong in the top leadership positions. Tell your friends and followers to join the #WomenRock convo, too, and maybe we can finally generate some buzz around this issue. Then, September 21 join us in the Silicon Valley to extend the conversation at our WomenRock conference.

 

Kim Bielak is a third year student at UC Berkeley pursuing a degree in Media Studies. She is our current Marketing and PR intern, and enjoys bringing you this very newsletter every week! Email Kim at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or follow her on Twitter via @kimbielak.

Do you feel like email has taken over your life? Well, you're not alone - in a recent study by Information Week, over three-quarters of the people surveyed said that email is essential to their lives - and an additional 15% say they'd rather lose their spouse than give up email! It's important to remember that email is a tool that we can control - one that is meant to improve communication and make our lives easier. To that end, here are four top tips to wrangle that inbox:

• Smarten up your subject line. Put as much descriptive information in the subject line as possible, and your recipient will know what your message is about without having to even open your email. For instance, "Rescheduling Meeting: Orig. 6/1/07 3PM - New 6/1/07 5PM" is a lot better than "Meeting time changed" - the more descriptive, the better.
• Don't use your inbox as a filing cabinet. Instead, create descriptive folders in your email program - by topic, client, vendor, etc. As you're finished reading your messages, file them accordingly.
• Filter your messages to save a step. Once you've set up some folders, you can then tell your email program to automatically put messages from specific senders or with specific subject lines into the folders where they belong. For instance, if you're receiving dozens of newsletters, create a "Newsletters" folder, and have your email program filter those emails right into the folder, bypassing your inbox entirely. In your email program, search the help for "rules" or "filters" for more instructions.
• Beware the 4000-message inbox. Instead of letting emails "pile up" in your inbox indefinitely, set a limit for how many messages you want to have sit in there at any given time - I recommend no more than 25 or so (once you have more than that, it's hard to actually see what's in there). Once your messages start growing past the limit that you set, schedule some time to process your email.

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Joshua Zerkel, CPO® is a the founder of Custom Living Solutions, a San Francisco-based productivity and organizing consulting firm, specializing in helping busy people save time, space and money by getting organized at home and at work. For more FREE organizing ideas, visit www.customlivingsolutions.com or call 415-830-6345.

© 2009 Joshua Zerkel and Custom Living Solutions. All Rights Reserved.

In my previous post about my favorite productivity-enhancing tech tools, I covered a few applications that can help you gain control over your paper. Now let’s look at a few that will help you manage your digital realm:

RoboForm Online – Keeping track of passwords is hard – that’s why so many of us end up using the same passwords over and over. While that makes it easy to remember our passwords, it’s terrible for security. Most experts recommend having a different, secure, hard-to-guess password for every site – but how can you keep track of them all? I like Roboform – it’s a tool that helps you create and manage your passwords, logins, and other data you’d want to keep handy yet secure. You enter one master password to unlock the encrypted Roboform database, and then it remembers all your online information. It keeps you secure and organized – an awesome combination in my book.

Mozy – If you have data on your computer that you value in any way, it’s essential to develop a backup strategy. Most businesses and individuals don’t backup their data regularly, which in our digital age is a very risky thing to do! Backup is really simple with automated tools like Mozy, which works in the background while your computer is idle. Instead of you having to click a button or plug in a drive, Mozy simply sends bits of data securely over the internet to their storage servers. Your data is safe, and if you ever need to restore you computer, you simply log in to the Mozy website and download your data over the internet.

Dropbox – Many of us have more than one computer – a desktop at work, a laptop at home, a netbook for on the go. With multiple computers, keeping your data accessible and synchronized can be a real challenge. The easiest way to solve this problem is to use a sync service, which essentially makes sure that the files and folders you specify are available on all your computers at all times. Dropbox is a super-simple service that lets you keep the documents you specify in sync across all your devices. Any change you make on your home laptop will be automatically reflected on your work computer – and vice versa. The best part? You don’t have to do anything – just like Mozy, all the work happens in the background.

ReQall – It’s hard to remember everything we need to. If I didn’t use tools to help me remember important tasks, notes, and details, I’d be lost – my “built-in” memory is terrible! My preferred tool is ReQall, which is a voice-enabled memory booster, list-maker, transcriber, and more. ReQall lets you create various lists of to-do’s and tasks – but that’s just the beginning. You can add items to your lists by using your voice, by sending an email, by text, or by instant message. Then, on the web or on your smartphone, you can bring up your lists, organize them, and act on the items that are priorities for you. ReQall also integrates with other tools you may already be using, like Google Calendar, Evernote, Outlook, and more.

What are some of your favorite tools for managing your digital realm?

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Joshua Zerkel, Productivity Strategist, is a Certified Professional Organizer® and the founder of Custom Living Solutions (www.customlivingsolutions.com), the San Francisco Bay Area’s premier productivity and organizing consulting firm, and he’s the creator of the Profitable Productivity System (www.profitableproductivitysystem.com). Josh specializes in helping entrepreneurs and small businesses find easy ways to get control of their space, information, time, and technology so they can reduce stress and boost their productivity – and their profits.

In my productivity and organizing business, I’m constantly on the lookout for tools that will help my clients save time, save money, and make their lives – and their work – easier. Frequently, I find myself recommending “web apps” or “cloud services” – essentially, tools and applications that live online, of which there are thousands. These tools require no installation, and are accessible from any computer that has internet access. Many of the services out there are, frankly, not that great – either their interface is clunky, their site is buggy, or their service just plain doesn’t offer much utility. You don’t want to spend your time figuring out which tools are worth it and which ones are not – so I’ve done it for you. Here are some of my favorite tools that I use myself and with my clients to help them better manage their paper:

 

OfficeDrop (http://workplace.intuit.com/appcenter/moreInfo.aspx?AppID=3246) – It can be a real struggle to try and go paperless – scanning documents into your computer can take a lot of time, and keeping track of electronic bills, receipts, and purchases can be tricky. Enter OfficeDrop, a service that scans your archival and current papers and will also import your electronic records as well. This is an ideal service if you are trying to get rid of paper, are constantly on the go and never get to your paper, or are simply trying to organize all your documents into one cohesive, searchable system.

 

Expensify (http://workplace.intuit.com/appcenter/moreInfo.aspx?AppID=3255) – Whether you’re a solo professional in a service business, an employee in a larger company, or something in between, keeping track of receipts and expenses can be a total drag. In most cases, lost and disorganized receipts mean lost money – either money that’s supposed to be reimbursed to you or money that you were supposed to deduct at tax time. Most of us keep our receipts in a box, bag, or shoved in a wallet or glovebox, and then we have to spend hours or days sorting and categorizing them. Not fun! Expensify connects with your bank to download your spending data, categorize it, and quickly create reports that you can then use internally, with clients for expense tracking, or with employers for reimbursement.

 

MyFax (http://workplace.intuit.com/appcenter/moreInfo.aspx?AppID=3232) – Since I run a green-certified business (www.sfgreenbusiness.org), I’m always looking for ways to save supplies, energy, and paper – not to mention time and steps. When it comes to faxing, I prefer electronic paper-free fax services to having a fax machine and a dedicated fax line. While there are a number of services that offer electronic faxing, MyFax is more full-featured and easier to use than most. For instance, you can send and receive faxes from any email-enabled device, including your smartphone, and the MyFax web control panel lets you view all your sent and received faxes for an entire year. It’s slick.

 

These are just a few of the tools that I use and recommend. What are some of your favorites?

 

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Joshua Zerkel, Productivity Strategist, is a Certified Professional Organizer® and the founder of Custom Living Solutions (www.customlivingsolutions.com), the San Francisco Bay Area’s premier productivity and organizing consulting firm, and he’s the creator of the Profitable Productivity System (www.profitableproductivitysystem.com). Josh specializes in helping entrepreneurs and small businesses find easy ways to get control of their space, information, time, and technology so they can reduce stress and boost their productivity – and their profits.