November 28, 2008
Locations, Seattle, USA
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Our December 4 Holiday Girl Geek Dinner is almost here!
We’re excited to have Margaret Cobb as our speaker.
Margaret Cobb, Director of Internet Explorer Consumer Product Management
Margaret Cobb is a wife, mother, sister, daughter and Director of Internet Explorer Consumer Product Management. She’s been at Microsoft for over 13 years in various functions including Xbox LIVE Product Management. The last few years at Microsoft she’s spent understanding female consumer audience trends. Specifically, how much money do women control and spend and where do they spend it? As marketers what can we do to capture the interest and buying power of women worldwide? Margaret is a graduate of Michigan Tech University where she earned her degree in Mechanical Engineering. It was working as an engineer that she realized that many of the latest innovations in technology just didn’t resonate with the average female. For over 20 years she’s been working to demystify technology and capture the interest of female consumers.
It looks like we’re going to have a great turnout for this dinner, and we hope to see you there, too! Don’t forget to let us know you’re coming by registering for this dinner at Eventbrite!
November 28, 2008
News
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Amplified 2008
Amplified 2008, a ‘network of networks’ event bringing together entrepreneurs, creatives, digital media practitioners, and geeky types, was held from 4-8pm on Thursday, 27th November 2008 at NESTA’s offices by Chancery Lane. NESTA did a great job of hosting the event, also providing much-needed refreshments throughout. Amplified 2008 attracted around 200 attendees, followed an unconference format, and covered a wide range of topics, some of which are summarised on the Amplified Wiki. Congratulations to @sleepydog @joannejacobs @DT @loudmouthman and @sizemore on bringing together such a diverse range of people and stimulating some great discussions.
A session of interest to me — as an obsessive reader who absorbs fiction/non-fiction in any form readily available while also collecting first edition children’s books and so appreciates the book as fetish object — was the ‘Future of the Book’ session that had stimulated some debate on Annie Mole’s Going Underground blog, and has been a topic of interest in pop culture for decades, it seems. I’ve posted my notes from the session, below, which I hope might be of interest. Below these notes I’ve also made some suggestions for the dream eReader which it would be fantastic to have your ideas about, perhaps we can send these ideas to a mobile lab so they might start producing the types of eReaders we’d like to use (and not in pink)!
The Future of the Book (rough notes)
Held By: Annie Mole, Billy Abbott, Chris Meade
Details: 4.30-5.10pm session in T2 @ NESTA
Future of the Book :: Introduction & Overview
Annie Mole
Annie sees many reading on the tube each day, wonders if people will be reading differently in 5 years. In November 2005 saw her first eReader (size of the Asus Eee) and yet she’s still not seeing many people with eReaders on the tube. She believes the eReader-centric reading future may not be quite as near as 5 years away. We’re used to seeing scary titles such as ‘The Death of the Book’ (”Publishers are braced for the slow death of the book”, February 13, 2008, Times Online) – often there’s a book vs eReader discussion where it’s considered one will die and the other survive – why can’t they co-exist?
Phillip Pullman currently protesting against a school librarian being surplus to requirements – this has stimulated debate. Whatever happens to books, we still need guides around libraries – in Annie’s blog comments on this topic a contributor made the point that “a library without a librarian is like an internet without search engines”. You can’t make sense of that much information without having someone to guide you through it.
Consuming Books – does the device matter? As long as people continue to read, that’s the primary concern, whatever device they use to read? Whatever you may think about the Richard&Judy bookclub, it’s managed to get more people reading than many similar initiatives in this country (as has its inspiration, Oprah Winfrey’s Book Club internationally).
Entertainment on the move (books versus movies versus gaming) – much discussion is around portability of our entertainment on the move, not necessarily about books. There’s no reason that future media can’t incorporate story-rich elements, for example, ARGs have amazingly complicated storylines, and if children are able to embrace those worlds through gaming that’s equally valid.
Future of the Book? :: Books ain’t dead
Billy Abbott
Tablets with writing on them have over 8000 years of history, it’s quite extreme to suggest books will be replaced by technology overnight. eReaders have only been pushed to the mainstream in the UK for the past few months (Sony readers are currently priced around £200), though for about a year in the States. eReaders vary from Sony readers to full laptops (Asus Eee etc) – there are portability advantages and ease-of-transfer, for example Billy bought Stephenson’s hefty Anaethem in Sony eReader format, while Sizemore has shown him graphic novels on the iPhone. Some eReaders also incorporate interesting interactive elements, for example the ‘Blue Book’ (as shown in a YouTube video uploaded by account simonwardley) enables readers to play with the story, when can flick through the Blue Book printed book and press on particular page sections the ‘book’ triggers blue-tooth connections between the book and your personal laptop nearby and enables readers to interact with their computer.
Re. publishing costs breakdown, distribution and printing total around 2/3 of the cost of producing any individual book, therefore eBooks really should be cheaper. Publishers are currently working on how to price these, however the cost of books isn’t actually about printing&distribution, it’s really about how much consumers are willing to pay. Some retailers are using pricing as an advantage, for example, Sony is selling Anathaem for £8 (my note: the only version available in print, hardcover, currently retails for £20). Similarly, Charlie Stross & Cory Doctorow give books away for free (Accellerando.org was given away by Charlie initially) and are leading the field in different models of author-public interaction and purchasing models.
The Future of the Book Think Tank
Chris Meade
Chris started paying more attention to eReaders/similar following his becoming depressed by the idea of books as objects. Books, in Chris’s opinion, shouldn’t so much be considered as objects so much as an experience through a certain type of platform. Chris recommended follow up on points made by Bob Styne who set up the Institute for the Future of the Book in the States.
As we transfer from page to web, we’re moving from the Gutenberg Press format just as the press moved from hand-printed publications. Gutenberg went bankrupt when he printed the first book (it cost as much as a farm at that time). Websites are becoming physical books – we get so caught up in the screen being the big issue – however we have to think about what a ‘book’ really is, and it would be useful to try to understand the concern people have about the ‘loss’ people are feeling about these changes.
In terms of the writer-publisher relationship – there is a new model emerging – writers may get excited about this as they progress.
Audience Member: Books were initially published through serial magazine publications. Similarly, science-fiction / genre fiction writers are published through those magazines in short form and then using that as the basis for honing their work.
Audience Member 2 – Currently publishing his own work as PDF and focusing on encouraging a community around that work.
Audience Member 3 – How is Piracy affecting the industry?
Chris – Unless someone is buying a work there’s no point in piracy copying it – so it doesn’t change the issue for the majority of works published on the web, but it does affect larger authors. Billy bought Stephenson’s work but actually read them on pirated PDF versions on his PDA.
The Amplified 2008 Future of the Book session provided a great overview with interesting insights into the various issues facing publishers and consumers of eBooks, and was supplemented by some wonderful photos from Annie Mole, documenting reading habits she’s observed on the London Underground.
The Perfect eReader
Further to the great discussion stimulated by the above session and previous posts on Going Underground, I’d like to contribute a starter wishlist for characteristics of the Perfect eReader (you know, kinda like Penny’s Computer Book in Inspector Gadget) – sure I’ve missed many useful features, all contributions welcomed:
- Ruggedised (eg. a plastic enclosure option similar to those already available for those who go sailing, for bathtime reading)
- Light
- Flexible
- Have a screen that opens like a book in the middle of a phone
- Adjustable to suit backlighting preferences etc.
- Instant-opening of eBooks, as we’ll wait only a few seconds for files to open
- Annotatable
- Universal format and DRM-free (eg. PDF)
- Cheaper than real books as distribution costs so low
- Content accessible to kids in developing countries – focus on linking OLPC, Wikipedia, Project Gutenberg etc.
- Don’t want to separate them from other devices – make the reader either an add-on device for existing phones or build into phones
- Possibly enable people to share annotated versions simultaneously so all can share ideas and comment on each other’s point sharinginfo. Ideally a virtual mobile library connected to friends, with friends checking out annotated versions of each others books, imagine the insights shared. This could be started quite readily with a mobile-friendly site linking to out-of-copyright books from Project Gutenberg) that would be fantastic.
As I previously commented at Annie Mole’s Going Underground blog, this topic really isn’t an issue that affects a great proportion of the population at present, however if those in undeveloped countries continue as previously, moving straight to mobile devices (skipping PCs) and absorbing their personal information requirements in that form, with those in developed countries similarly move to smaller and smaller OLPC/Asus Eee style laptops before similarly skipping to amped-up PDAs for day-to-day information needs, then it does seem to be the direction we’re moving in. Many don’t mind how information is delivered, as long as it’s accessible – and books beat most formats for one-to-many efficiency (save text files & MP3 for those of us who don’t mind consuming our info. electronically) — what with books being sold without chains&padlock or ‘this book will self-destruct within a month of reading it’ DRM bombs as most eBook/non-MP3 format publications are currently sold to the few of us who put up with their rubbish.
In any case, only 57% of UK homes currently have broadband (as of earlier this year), presumably it’s mostly those with broadband who bother with eBooks/audio versions (save those who still use CD walkmans), so until we start sorting out mobile phone screens & delivering Project Gutenberg out-of-copyright text through cross-platform readers, around 40% of the UK population won’t find electronic formats very useful at all – perhaps this is exactly what we need to do…
November 26, 2008
News
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Okkur langar til að biðja ykkur um að merkja strax við í dagatalinu að þið ætlið að koma á Arctic Girl Geek Dinner þann 11. desember klukkan 18.
Að þessu sinni verður umræðuefnið björgunartátur og hvernig tæknin er nýtt í björgunarstarfi.
Við erum að vinna í því að ganga frá fyrirlesurum og húsnæði og þið fáið fundarboð með nánari upplýsingum þegar nær dregur.
Nú, fyrst þið eruð með pennann á lofti við dagatalið þá skulið þið líka merkja við 15. janúar en þá verður janúarfundurinn.
Hlökkum til að sjá ykkur!
November 25, 2008
Australia, Brisbane, Locations
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This month we're going to mix it up a bit and have a "Coffee and Chic Flick" night. We'll meet at the Cafe next to the Southbank Cinemas for a coffee and chat and follow it up with a movie.
Thanks to Lisa for suggesting Australia - AUSTRALIA is an epic and romantic action adventure, set in that country on the explosive brink of World War II. In it, an English aristocrat (NICOLE KIDMAN) travels to the faraway continent where she meets a rough-hewn local (HUGH JACKMAN) and reluctantly agrees to join forces with him to save the land she inherited.
Register for the event here: http://girlgeekdinnersbrisbane03.eventbrite.com/
Read the rest...
November 24, 2008
News
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From the Frankfurt GGD Website:
Frankfurt Girl Geek Dinner #2 is only 2 weeks away and we want to invite you to join us!
Please view our Online Invite. Links to our blog and the *Official* site can be found on the online invitation as well.
If you are interested in sharing your skills and/or experience (be it career or hobby – and not necessarily limited to the technology industry), we would love to hear from you. If you would like to sponsor a Girl Geek Dinner or parts of it we would certainly love to hear from you.
The Frankfurt Girl Geek Dinners (FGGD) is committed to providing the women of Frankfurt/Rhein-Main area, interactive and engaging dinner discussions. We are looking for motivated speakers who want to share their experience, insights, wisdom and knowledge to groups – for empowerment.
It is often said that ‘technology drives the future’ and yet, it is the very nature of human behavior to constantly try to surpass previous boundaries. The world is changing vastly and it is essential that we work together to understand and learn how best to cope with these changes. Attend our dinners and you won’t feel left behind by technology.
Let’s find positive and useful ways to use new media to improve our lives at all levels. Join us on Monday December 8, 2008!
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us at contact@frankfurtgirlgeekdinners.com.
Our Warmest Regards,
The Frankfurt Girl Geek Dinners (FGGD)
Note: Men are welcome to attend but the general rule is: Guys can come ONLY if they bring a girl.
November 23, 2008
News
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Come along for dinner, a drink and an opportunity to hear Dave Thomas speak.
When: Thursday the 4th of December at 7pm
Where: ThoughtWorks Sydney Office, Level 8, 51 Pitt Street, Sydney CBD
RSVP: Via the
facebook group or email Damana
Other groups have had to share his time but he is enthusiastic to speak to GGD Sydney members.
Dave Thomas is best known as the founder and past CEO of Object Technology International, Inc., now IBM OTI Labs. OTI was responsible for initial development of the Eclipse open source IDE and the Visual Age Java development environment.
He is a popular, humorous, albeit opinionated keynote speaker with a unique breadth of business experience and technical depth. He is widely published in software engineering literature. Dave remains active in various roles within the technical community including ECOOP, AOSD, JAOO, Agile Development Conference, OOPSLA Onward, ENASE and Dynamic Language Symposium. He is an adjunct research professor at Carleton University and the University Of Queensland as well as a founding director of the Agile Alliance, an ACM Distinguished Engineer, President of AITO and an advisor for IEEE Software. He also writes an expert column in the Journal Of Object Technology.
November 21, 2008
News
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The Montreal Girl Geek Dinners is extremely proud to announce December’s Dinner with “blogeuses extraordinaires” Patricia Tessier and Michelle Blanc.
Just days away from the Provincial Elections in Québec, this be a politically well-timed dinner that will feature two of Montreal’s most active and most savvy social media evangelists. Whether you follow them on
Twitter or have recently registered on the
Un plan numérique pour le québec wiki – one this is certain – Patricia and Michelle are using every means possible to get
Quebec in-line with what’s happening online.
Patricia Tessier is an accomplished executive with experience in Internet Marketing Strategies, Operations and Strategic Planning. She is a results-oriented and decisive leader with proven success in new market identification and strategic market positioning for both start-ups and large organizations.
Michelle Blanc is Founder and President of Analyweb, a consultancy company specializing in e-business management and marketing. She is one of Canada’s most popular French bloggers and founder of YulBiz.org, an international movement of business bloggers gathering in over 6 countries worldwide.
Nous sommes très heureuses de vous annoncer également que Patricia et Michelle nous offriront leur présentation en français et en anglais.
Patricia et Michelle discuteront de l’initiative de lettre ouverte à Jean Charest demandant un plan numérique pour le Québec, pourquoi c’est nécessaire, ce qui a été fait et comment la communauté peut participer à l’initiative via le groupe Facebook et le wiki qui a été mis sur pied.
Here are the details for the evening: / Voici les détails de la soirée :
Date:
Monday, December 1, 2008 / Le lundi 1er décembre 2008
Time: / Heure :
From 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. / de 18 h à 20 h
Location: / Endroit :
Resto Brodino
1049 Van Horne Avenue, Montreal
November 21, 2008
Frankfurt, Germany, Locations
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An invitation to a Frankfurt Girl Geek Dinner is always OPEN.
You can view our ONLINE INVITE for more information.
For updates and details, please visit our Official Site.
If you have any questions or would like to know more about Girl Geek Dinners in Frankfurt you can send us an email at contact@frankfurtgirlgeekdinners.com.
November 21, 2008
Frankfurt, Germany, Locations
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Our 1st Frankfurt Girl Geek Dinner was a success. October 2, 2008 came and went and all of a sudden November creeped up unannounced. How unfair is that?!
As much as we would have loved to host a November Frankfurt Girl Geek Dinner the concept of *busy* kept coming up over and over again until it [...]
