July 5, 2010
Canada, Locations, Montreal
Comments Off
It’s that time of year.. Summer… and we are sure feeling it!
The MTL GGD events will be taking a little break for the season but we’ll be back at it again in the Fall.
Any suggestions for speakers or topics are very much appreciated so send them my way. Anything goes so don’t hesitate!
I also want to take the time to see if anyone’s interested in being a speaker at WordCamp Montreal this summer.
Details can be found here http://wordcampmontreal.org/become-a-speaker/#propose
Enjoy the heat!
Tanya
______________________________________________________
C’est l’été – et nous sommes sûrs de le sentir!
Les événements MTL GGD prendra une petite pause pour la saison, mais nous serons de retour à nouveau dans l’automne.
Toutes les suggestions des conférenciers ou les sujets sont très appréciés -STP envoyer à ma façon.
Je tiens également à prendre le temps de voir si quelqu’un est intéressé à être conférencier à WordCamp Montréal cet été.
Profitez de la chaleur!
Tanya
May 20, 2010
Canada, Locations, Montreal
Comments Off
Presenting our June Montreal Girl Geek Dinner event – Public Speaking 1.0 with Suzannah Baum.
Do you ever shy away from giving presentations because of a fear of public speaking? Or when you do speak, do you know the best ways to engage your audience and structure your presentation for maximum impact?
As an entrepreneur or business professional, you have to be able to get your point across clearly, concisely, and confidently. All too often, however, we spend our time focusing on creating cool websites, blogs, marketing materials, and PowerPoint presentations – but fail to spend enough time preparing what we’re going to say and how we’re going to say it when they are in front of our clients (or our audiences), and in a position to sell our product or ideas. It’s time to showcase your knowledge and get the credit that you deserve! This workshop will provide concrete steps to introduce the public speaking skills you need to create and deliver a career-building, reputation-enhancing presentation – and to deliver it powerfully and persuasively.
Bio -
Suzannah Baum is a public speaking and presentation skills trainer, speaker, and coach. As President of Ideal Communications, Suzannah teaches public speaking classes at McGill University, gives presentation skills seminars at companies across Montreal, and provides executive speech coaching to help her clients unleash their ultimate public speaking potential. An executive member of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers and Toastmasters, she has published numerous articles about public speaking in various online publications as well as her blog and monthly newsletter. For more information, visit her website and blog at www.idealcommunications.ca and www.idealcommunications.ca/blog
BONUS: Get a copy of the FREE Special Report, “10 Tips to Bulletproof Your Presentations,” when you sign up for The Ideal Communicator newsletter. Sign up at http://www.idealcommunications.ca/news/newsletter.php
Date- Thursday June 3rd at 6:30pm
Location –
Station C 5369 Boulevard Saint-Laurent, Montreal
March 12, 2010
Canada, Locations, Montreal
Comments Off
Pour quelle raison t’es-tu retrouvée dans le domaine technologique? As-tu été inspirée par une autre femme, qui est devenue ton modèle ou ton mentor?
Viens partager ton histoire sur ton héroïne au Girl Geek Dinner du mois de mars, qui aura lieu le 23 mars prochain au Brutopia. Nous tiendrons une table ronde, informelle et intime, en célébration de la Journée Ada Lovelace, la journée internationale du blogage (videoblogging, baladodiffusion, dessin de bandes dessinées, etc), afin de promouvoir les exploits accomplis par les femmes dans le domaine technologique et scientifique.
Cette soirée se tiendra sous forme de « non-conférence », c’est-à-dire que chaque dame aura 3 à 4 minutes pour partager son histoire. Fais la connaissance d’une autre technophile de la communauté montréalaise. Réseaute. Découvre une nouvelle personne.
Date: le 23 mars, 2010
Heure: 18h-20h
Location:
Brutopia – 1219 rue Crescent St (sous sol)
March 5, 2010
Canada, Locations, Montreal
Comments Off
How did you end up being a woman in tech? Did you meet a woman who inspired you, who became your role model, or mentor?
Come and share your story about your heroine at March Girl Geek’s Dinner on March 23rd at
Brutopia, where we’ll have an informal, and intimate, round-table discussion in celebration of
Ada Lovelace Day, an international day of blogging (videologging, podcasting, comic drawing etc) drawing attention to the achievements of women in technology and science.
This event will be “unconference-styled” meaning ladies have 3-4 minutes to share their stories. Get to know the other girl geeks in the Montreal community. Network. Learn about someone new.
Ada Lovelace is the matron saint of girl geeks everywhere and was one of the world’s first computer programmers, and saw computers as more than just a machine for doing sums. She wrote programmes for
Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine, a general-purpose computing machine.
If you’re so inspired,
take the pledge to publish something for Ada Lovelace day, Tuesday the 24th about a woman in technology that you admire.
Montreal Girl Geek Dinner event details:
Date: Tuesday March 23, 2010
Time: 6-8pm (roughly)
Location:
Brutopia – 1219 Crescent St (lower floor)
February 15, 2010
Canada, Locations, Montreal
Comments Off
I’m thrilled 1-up to announce that our February event will feature a talk on Interactive Storytelling via Videogames with Marie-Jo Leroux.
***Details on this talk:
As an increasingly diverse audience discovers gaming, and as this audience matures, developers face the challenge of providing increasingly diverse content and deeper emotions to players.
Videogames now include most of the elements found in film – soundtrack, script, cinematography, etc. They thus offer a unique opportunity to deliver complex, engaging stories in addition to gripping interactive experiences.
The presentation will expose the various challenges posed by the medium of videogames in telling compelling stories and eliciting emotion, and the creative ways in which developers are currently rising to this exciting occasion.
***About Marie-Jo:
Before Marie-Jo Leroux became a videogame producer, she gathered an eclectic set of experiences through studies in film making and pharmacology, as well as jobs teaching disaster management and sequencing owl DNA.
Since becoming a producer in 2004, she has worked on titles such as Happy Feet, Iron Man and James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game on most existing platforms including PlayStation, XBOX, Wii, PSP, DS and PC. She is currently producing an unannounced title for Ubisoft.
*******
Many thanks to Station C for hosting this event. If you’re looking to co-work, this is the place to do it in.
We’ll meet up at Station C for 6pm, talk amongst ourselves then start the talk for about 6:30pm. We’ll have a question /discussion period and then go on our way.
Dinner options:
- Eat beforehand
- Bring vittles along with you
- We’ll go for nosh after the talk at a nearby, mutually-agreed upon restaurant.
Date: Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Time: 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Location: Station C 5369 Boulevard Saint-Laurent
January 27, 2010
Canada, Locations, Montreal
Comments Off
If you missed out on January’s Montreal Girl Geek Dinner talk with professional organizer Edith Dandernault aka Haven Maven, well I’m sorry, but you really missed out!
Aw. Don’t beat yourself up over it. We still have an offer for you that will cheer you up. Edith’s offering members of the MTL GGD group 33% off of an initial assessment session with you if booked within in the next 30 days (that mean it expires on February 27th). The cost of an initial session is $50 (regular $75)
To schedule an appointment with Edith, please contact her via email: edith@havenmaven-dot- ca or via phone at 514.544.9545
Edith’s also now on Twitter so you can check her out at thehavenmaven
January 8, 2010
Canada, Locations, Montreal
Comments Off
Lose weight in only 40 minutes!
Start 2010 with professional organizer, Edith Dandenault, www.havenmaven.ca and feel the impact your busy lifestyle has on the clutter you deal with every day. Be it with the many tasks you need to accomplish to the unbelievable number of trinkets on your shelves, find out why such factors have an impact on how you work and how you feel in your workspace.
In this introductory talk, Edith mixes fact and fun and presents some of the simple habits or tricks that will help start you on your way to creating a lightweight routine and a working haven for yourself.
Drop the weight: drop the clutter!
About Edith -
Edith Dandenault has over 15 years of experience of organizing and de-cluttering for friends, family, co-workers, and references. She has lived in 3 different countries and moved over 9 times, alone, then with a husband, then with an added dog, and now with two children and 2 careers so she knows the challenges real-life can hand-out in getting organized.
Edith has given talks and training to professional women’s groups such as : Ottawa Women’s Business Network; American Women’s Association in Seoul, South Korea and the Australia Business Women in Korea.
Date: Monday, January 25, 2010
Time: 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Location: McKibbin’s Irish Pub, 1426 Bishop St. Montreal, QC
*Thanks to Felipe from the Montreal New Tech group for suggesting this venue! Be sure to attend their events.
December 8, 2009
Canada, Locations, Montreal
Comments Off
December. Take some time off to relax! You deserve it and goodness knows that I do too.
There won’t be any Montreal Geek Girl events for the month of December and planning is underway for January so please keep following this blog, our twitter account or our Facebook page for more details.
I’d also love to hear any suggestions you have for speakers, topics or locations so please give me a shout.
Happy holidays you lovelies!
December 8, 2009
Canada, Locations, Montreal
Comments Off
The gals started with describing how they met at a
WordCamp Montreal event back in July and came up with the idea that it would be cool to offer up a session for the Montreal Girl Geek Dinner crew related to WordPress for beginners and see where the interest and need for training of the Girl Geek Dinner crowd resided.
They started out their talk by covering what WordPress is, the various flavours (.org / .com) and provided a few examples of WordPress can be used for and sites that are WP powered. The ladies then took us through the basics of blogging using WordPress, the landscape of the admin panel and how to get started. An examination of plugins, widgets and the many customization features were all covered in great detail and gave us all so much information to either start or improve our WordPress-powered blogs.
The session was filled with many questions which showed that there’s the need for future events related to this vast topic so stay tuned as this won’t be the end of the chapter on WordPress educational sessions from Kathryn and Shannon.
Their presentation is available on SlideShare and provides a wealth of information based on the small bit they were able to cover in this session. I’d encourage you to check it out.
Special thanks go out again to
Station C for being an amazing part in the Montreal community and providing us with a location to host these kinds of events. They are going to be offering flexible packages for those who which to drop in for working sessions so be sure to stay tuned for upcoming changes to their services. Co-working is a great way to collaborate with others and escape the loneliness of working from home or to break away from the cubicle.
December 8, 2009
Canada, Locations, Montreal
Comments Off
Well it tickled my fancy to read this great recap of the Montreal Girl Geek Dinner events on Jennifer Cyr’s blog
I really appreciate that Jen mentions that “startup/techie/networking events provide her with learning experiences that may come in handy down the road” and that she thinks that these events provide a great way for looking at community involvement and participation in local groups.
Love it!
December 2, 2009
Canada, Locations, Montreal
Comments Off
Our October Montreal Girl Geek Dinner was held at
Capriccio Restaurant in Old Montreal where we were graciously hosted by Stephen Walsh and Chef Rich Tajiouti.
This evening featured an in-depth presentation by Brana Malobabic-Giancristofaro who covered all the bases of how to create a start up and in particular, how her company, Mon Roi came to be. It was a passionate, organized and very well-organized presentation which referenced many top business thinkers, philosophers and psychologists.
First off, Brana showed the group a video spoke to the global interest that there is for this game and how Mon Roi helps to deliver a powerful solution for managing the data behind chess.
Brana provided us with the history of Mon Roi and detailed her idea on how to transition the cumbersome paper-based system for tracking chess moves to that of using a PDA to do so and to make this information electronic. She developed a secure prototype of a PDA and was told by many “Good Luck” as she had to gain the approval of the World Chess Federation as well as 10 committees. Brana took their response of “No” to be “Not yet” and continued to persist. Demonstrating a strong analogy between business and chess, Brana spoke of the strategy behind asking why you want something and then creating the tactical moves to achieve your goal.
Brana provided our group with 15 tips for entrepreneurs and in short a few noteworthy ones include:
- Find meaning
- Believe and act
- Dare – Get rid of your fears
- Be adaptable
- Build trust
- Network
- Trust your intuition
- Keep it simple
- Embrace your values
Here are the slides from Brana’s presentation if you’re interested in reading more. There
are many valuable links in this presentation and she recommends many great books to check out.
November 30, 2009
Canada, Locations, Montreal
Comments Off
At long last I have some time to write up a few of the recent Montreal Girl Geek Dinner events. I have to say thank you and the participants for their patience in waiting for me to get this together.
Here’s the first of three to get us all up to date.
Back in September, we had a great time visiting
The S.W.A.P Team’s “Take Off Your Clothes” clothing swap at Piknic Electronik- Parc Jean Drapeau and lending our support for such a super cause.
Rachel Dhawan, of Brazen Design was on hand to give fashion consultations and help folks out in putting together some fab outfits. If you missed out on attending this event, then please don’t miss out on next year’s. Trust me. There was much swag to be traded and for those of us who made it out, we were blown away with the selection available. All of the remaining 4000 pieces were donated to the Salvation Army and 1945 items were swapped. Wow!
A few weeks after the swap, we hosted our September talk at ‘the’ local co-working space
Station C. Aleece gave us a recap of the ”Take Off Your Clothes” events in Montreal and Toronto and covered how the organization and idea came to be, how the events work, the successes and benefits realized through the creation of this organization and its future plans for growth. With chapters springing up throughout North America and hearing the stories of effective change and connection that is coming from The S.W.A.P Team, we’re certain that this is only the beginning for this group.
Rachel Dhawan, bling-mistress and founder of Brazen Design spoke to our group about on “How to Look Good and Buy Local”. It was clear to see that this is one of her passions and that she is the human google of the Montreal local fashion set as she fielded some great questions from the crowd on where to find the most sought after and difficult to fit pieces (ie: jeans, boots). Rachel spoke about numerous local fashion designers, what each was known for and gave mention to the local stores that stock their products. I was so pleased to see her encourage our support of these local shops and designers in keeping business local for numerous economic and environmental reasons. Rachel also gave mention to many of the local fairs that happen here in Montreal where these designers are known to sell their wares as well as several online Canadian retailers.
Rachel also be gave us a rundown of her top ten must haves and described the best fit for each and what to pair these items with. It was an information-packed evening but really demonstrated that this girl is geeky about fashion and loves to share this with the local community.
For those who missed Rachel’s talk, here’s her slides for you to check out.
November 11, 2009
Canada, Locations, Montreal
Comments Off
Thinking of attending WordPress for Montreal Girl Geeks on Nov. 24? We’d really appreciate it if you could take a few minutes and answer some questions we have for you in this survey http://bit.ly/oQXan
Thanks so much!
November 9, 2009
Canada, Locations, Montreal
Comments Off
This November, our event will focus on the joys of WordPress and provide participants with a great overview of this blogging platform.
This workshop is aimed at both beginning and established bloggers who want to kick their WordPress-driven site up a notch. Whether you’re itching to better understand how themes work, need help wrangling widgets, or would like plug-in advice, this hands-on presentation is for you. We’ll go spelunking in the WordPress admin panel, offer tips for better blogging, look at how to enhance interaction with your readers, and provide some valuable WordPress resources for further exploration. There will be time for Q&A, so come bearing your thorniest WordPress questions – and don’t worry, no query is too basic!
Our presenters for the evening:
Shannon Smith is the founder of Café Noir Design Inc. a small boutique web design company in the Montreal area specializing in bilingual web design. She supports web standards, semantic markup, microformats, open source products, and sustainable business practices. Shannon works with a number of PHP/MySQL content management systems to create clean, minimalist designs, that adhere to W3C standards. She also holds graduate degrees in journalism and psychology. Also a foodie and mother of two.
Kathryn Presner of Zoonini Web Services does a lot more than simply create attractive websites – she delivers custom-designed solutions tailored to her clients’ goals. For over a decade, Kathryn has built unique sites that work well, look fabulous, and are easily found in search-engine results, by combining an eye for design with a focus on ease-of-use and intuitive navigation. Her latest project – built with WordPress – is When Bad Websites Happen to Good People, a ten-part series created with frequent collaborator A.C. Riley that aims to help save folks from the common pitfalls of bad websites.
The details:
When: 6 pm on November 24, 2009
Where: Station C, 5369 Saint-Laurent #430
RSVP: in the comments or on Facebook
After the talk we will head over to a nearby restaurant and continue to socialize (location to be determined so if you have a suggestion let us know at the event). Oh and if you’re prone to getting snacky, please bring along some munchies.
October 12, 2009
Canada, Locations, Montreal
Comments Off
Start-up business strategies for Girl Geeks
Brana is coming to Girl Geek Dinners to present a case study of MonRoi Inc launch and operations. She will touch on how to develop ideas into a business, some of the most common start-up mistakes, and some unique ways to grown your business.
Brana Malobabic-Giancristofaro , B.Sc.EE, runs a Technology Company that Webcasts Chess Tournaments Live Around the World. Prompted by a lifelong passion for chess, Brana founded MonRoi, a high technology and Internet company that specializes in patented live chess webcast system and wireless devices for score keeping. An expert in new technology development and marketing, she oversees day-to-day operations of the company, which enables spectators to follow chess tournaments in real-time on the Internet. Brana attributes the success that she enjoyed as an entrepreneur to her drive to innovate, curiosity and open-mindedness. Recognizing the value of chess as a fun way to help children develop planning, analytical thinking and decision-making skills, educators around the world gradually began to introduce the game into their classrooms.
For more information about MonRoi™ Inc, visit http://monroi.com/
Date: Wednesday Oct 28th, 2009
Time: 6pm – 8pm
Place: Capriccio Restaurant – 17 rue Notre-Dame West, Montreal [map]
September 6, 2009
Canada, Locations, Montreal
Comments Off
Saturday’s fashion consultations by Brazen Design at the S.W.A.P. Team‘s “Take Off Your Clothes” event were a smashing success! Rachel recapped some of her favorite finds on her blog and the S.W.A.P team did an impressive job documenting the whole event on their Facebook page. Don’t forget that there is still one more day to swap clothes, so head down tomorrow to check it out!
To follow up on sustainable fashion theme we’re going to have Rachel Dhawan from Brazen Design and Things that go Bling and Aleece Germano from the S.W.A.P Team come talk with us at Station C. Aleece will recap the S.W.A.P Team’s “Take Off Your Clothes” event and Rachel will talk about the hows and whys of buying local. Rachel will also be featuring her top ten must haves & feature some of her favorite local designers.
When: 7 pm on September 16th, 2009
Where: Station C, 5369 Saint-Laurent #430 [map]
RSVP: in the comments or on Facebook
After the talk we will head over to a local watering hole and continue to socialize. Location to be determined. If you have a suggestion let us know.
Hope to see you all there!
August 31, 2009
Canada, Locations, Montreal
Comments Off
It’s been a lovely restful summer and now Girl Geek Dinners is back for the Fall season.
There is a chill in the air and the fall fashions are out. This September we wanted to talk about being a conscious consumer and keeping fashion close to home, all while being fabulously fashion forward. To help us out we have invited Rachel Dhawan of Brazen Design and Things That Go Bling to do two events.
The first event on Saturday September 5th will be in conjunction with the S.W.A.P. team ‘Take Off Your Clothes‘ event at Piknic Electronik on Parc Jean Drapeau. Rachel will be on hand from 4-7pm for free on-site consultations – helping people on a first-come first-serve basis to pull together the perfect outfit. We’ll also have some picnic blankets ready for some socializing so come down and say hi!
When: Saturday September 5th
Hours: 4-7pm
Where: Place de l’homme at Piknic Electronic on Parc Jean Drapeau [Map]
Price: Entrance to the Piknic Electronik is $10
The second event will be a few weeks later (date and location to be determined) where Rachel will talk about the hows and whys of buying local. She will also be featuring her Top Ten Must Haves & Where to buy them locally & her Top Ten Fashion Faux Pas.
Rachel Rachna Dhawan is the owner of Brazen Design, a line of big bad silver bling. She launched her business as well as her local fashion blog, Things That Go Bling, in June 2007. Things That Go Bling showcases Rachel’s passion for local fashion through features of local boutiques, designers and sales events, as well as fashion tips and street style specials.
The S.W.A.P. Team is a non-profit organization founded by Aleece Germano and Nicole Picard. Through its clothing swap event Take Off Your Clothes, the group endeavours to promote sharing as an antidote to overconsumption while increasing awareness of the human and natural resources involved in the creation, transportation and marketing of mass-produced consumer goods.
July 14, 2009
Canada, Locations, Montreal
Comments Off
June’s dinner brought together two of our favourite things –
beer and a great speaker. We were fortunate to have Christine Renaud, CEO and cofounder of
E180 to spend some time with us describing her company which is a local startup concentrated on alternative educational models within the community at large.
Christine gave a personal account of her life’s journey and how she became socially aware at a young age. By seeing the ageism that was present in many communities she lived in and recognizing the obstacles that many in society face in obtaining a quality education, Christine was inspired to develop a company which sought to break these boundaries and hold the promise of helping to deliver inspiration and education to all.
The session was very engaging and encouraged audience participation. Attendees were given the opportunity to pose questions, brainstorm on the project and offer up their advice on the topic of social entrepreneurship and it was great to have the chance to collaborate with others in the group on how E180 could grow and expand.
Thanks to all those who came out to the event and sorry to those who couldn’t make it.
The Girl Geeks experimented a bit this time around and
collaborated with the fine folks at Startup Drinks as a means to bring two local community groups together and I think it was a great success. Thanks to the Startup Drinks crew and to
Brutopia for providing a warm and welcoming environment.
June 17, 2009
Canada, Locations, Montreal
Comments Off
Just a note that June’s event is booked solid & we have no additional spaces available.
If you didn’t reserve a space on Eventbrite, we’re sorry and hope to see you at future events.
Thanks for your understanding….
June 9, 2009
Canada, Locations, Montreal
Comments Off
We’re joining forces with Startup Drinks to bring you a great evening of startup culture. Think beer o’clock but with an educational talk! This month we will have 2 events in one and we couldn’t be happier.
June’s speaker is Christine Renaud, the CEO of two startups, one focusing on the democratization of education (E-180), the other, on helping artists to live out of their passion. She’ll be taking us through her thoughts on self-education, Web 3.0 and the paradox of doing good while bringing ROI to investors.
Christine is a social entrepreneur and consultant in alternative education and new media for international NGOs and media companies. She is passionate about the influence of new media on self-directed human potential development. She has been putting together social ventures from the age of 11 and has a well-rounded career in the development of curriculum and educational programs for such organizations as the Canadian International Development Agency, Amnesty international, Oxfam, StartingBloc and the Government of Japan
After completing her M.Ed at the Harvard Graduate School of Education as a Frank Knox Fellow in 2007, Christine reoriented her work to harness the power of social media as a tool for human potential development.
The fine print about June’s event:
Please RSVP via this Eventbrite link: http://mtlgirlgeekjune.eventbrite.com/
We’ll be starting a bit earlier than usual and ask that you arrive around 5pm. We’ll start the talk shortly after everyone is settled in.
We have a room set aside on the second floor. Please order as soon as you are able to as we’d like to make sure we don’t cause chaos for the kitchen and wait staff. Also, please keep the same seat around bill payment time to avoid confusion.
Christine will present her talk, then there will be a 15-minute Q&A period and then at 6pm, the regularly scheduled Startup Drinks event will take place with beer, networking and snacks in the main bar. Startup Drinks is a great way to share ideas and meet with folks who start, fund or work at startups.
Join us at Brutopia for this event. Wednesday- June 17th
Location: 1219 Crescent Street.
Montreal, QC
5pm-Whenever
April 23, 2009
Canada, Locations, Montreal
Comments Off
Our March Montreal Girl Geek Dinner was a huge success. So huge that we completely overran the restaurant on 2 floors and our speakers gave 2 sessions in order to accommodate everyone.
Yeah. Holy guacamole is right!
Kathryn Presner and A. Charlotte Riley gave an exceptional presentation on search engineoptimization (SEO) and took us through the strategy and science behind creating effective content, design and linking techniques. The presentation was lively and punctuated with many useful tips that all could use, regardless of their web-skills.
The ladies covered both the personal and professional elements of websites by discussing blogging techniques as well as the “Deadly Web Site Sins That Can Kill Your Business” and took attendees through the various myths circulating around the mysteries surrounding SEO.
Several websites were reviewed and evaluated so that participants could see some excellent real-world examples and at the end of the event, one lucky participant had received a free one on one site evaluation.
Major thanks go out to A. Charlotte Riley and Kathryn Presner for providing our group with so much information, resources and helpful advice. It’s easy to see that you are serious about SEO and web design and your passion came through clearly.
Thanks go to
Burritoville who provided us with the space for our event and who went above and beyond in feeding a
large gaggle of geeks. The restaurant, food and staff are all top notch. (Who here is craving their sweet potato burrito?)
If you weren’t lucky enough to make it, we suggest you head over to Burritoville, grab some takeout veggie Mexi grub and view some of the resources available at
http://www.acriley.com/ggd . Well it’s almost like being there.
Plans are underway for a May Dinner and we’ll keep you posted on more details as we have them.
Things are heating up for the Montreal Girl Geek Dinner Group. We’re thrilled that you are all a part of this & welcome any suggestions, help & comments you have for us.
March 11, 2009
Canada, Locations, Montreal
Comments Off
Search engine optimization: what does it mean and how can it dramatically increase your odds of online success? Kathryn Presner and A. Charlotte Riley will share their tricks of the trade and show you how to boost incoming traffic and market your site. Learn the deadly Web site sins that can kill your business!
A. Charlotte Riley is a content strategist who develops targeted, relevant and meaningful online and offline communications materials. Her company, A.C. Riley Communications specializes in identifying content requirements, developing optimized copy and organizing content as well as search engine optimization consulting. Before launching A.C. Riley Communications, Charlotte worked as an online editor and community manager and has a background in marketing.
Kathryn Presner of Zoonini Web Services does a lot more than simply create attractive Web sites – she delivers custom-designed solutions tailored to her clients’ goals. Helping customers maximize their sites’ potential is Zoonini’s raison d’être; Kathryn builds sites that work well and look fabulous by combining an eye for design with a focus on ease-of-use and intuitive navigation. For over a decade, Kathryn has created unique Web sites for companies, schools, individuals, and organizations in Canada, the US, and Australia.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
6:00pm – 8:00pm
Location: Burritoville (Downtown location)
2055 rue Bishop
Montreal, QC
March 4, 2009
Canada, Locations, Montreal
Comments Off
Our February Girl Geek Dinner took us all the way to the wilds of NDG where you’ll find Maman, bebe et cafe - a vibrant location catering to
families with small children.
Naomi Goldapple, “founderess” and President welcomed us to her cafe and warmed us up with a great selection of healthy, homemade dishes provided by neighborhood suppliers. The atmosphere was cozy as we listened to Naomi’s story of how she came up with the idea of creating a destination for families to grow both together and with others by playing, learning and relaxing in a friendly and open location.
Rather than the traditional sit & dine session, we were treated to a real-world demonstration of how interconnected the various suppliers are as Naomi walked us through the various products and services available at Maman, bebe et cafe.
Classes include Infant CPR, baby salsa, art classes and a mini-spa for parents to take a breather while their children remain nearby. Many of the people who provide courses are those who have decided to do so as a way to be with their children and then extended this to others seeking the same opportunity.
Naomi gave us a tour of the boutique and shared stories of the many suppliers who developed products to serve a need that they felt wasn’t being met on the market. The store offers a large selection of items from baby wraps, educational toys, biodegradable diapers, eco-friendly storage containers and diaper bags. (To check out their online shop click
here)
I want to provide you with a list of all of the suppliers that Naomi works with to allow you to see how robust her network of family-oriented businesses is.
March 4, 2009
Canada, Locations, Montreal
Comments Off
Thanks to Anna Filina, one of the organizers of this event for bringing this to our attention.
The PHP Quebec team is waiting for you from March 4 to 6 at the Hilton Hotel downtown Montreal for the 2009 PHP Quebec Conference.
The Seventh Annual Conference PHP Quebec will start very soon. This event - the largest of its kind in North America – will last three days and will include some 55 conferences and workshops, a job fair, a cocktail and many informal ways for “networking”. Topics discussed include security, databases, project management, best practices, and special presentations on frameworks and CMS to name just a few.
One of the featured speakers of the Conference in 2009 is Zeev Suraski, co-founder of Zend Technologies. In his presentation entitled “Why PHP Wins”, he will explain how PHP became the programming language of choice for web developement. Recall that Zeev Suraski had contributed to develop PHP 3 with Andi Gutmans in 1997 and PHP 4 in 1999. Sign up today for this unqiue chance to meet him in person.
Several workshops – the PHPLabs – will be “interactive”. Speakers and attendees will discuss about solutions based on real life experience. That is why it’s suggested that you bring your laptop.
Please note that only a handful of places remain, so don’t wait. Register online before February 28 and to secure your presence at the conference.
For more information visit the conference website: http://conf.phpquebec.org/
February 25, 2009
Canada, Locations, Montreal
Comments Off
Station C, Montreal’s co-working spot is looking to diversify their space and are hoping to encourage more women to take advantage of their services.
From February 4th through to March 24th (
Ada Lovelace Day), they are offering a $100 discount for women who sign up for a 6 month Lite or Resident membership.
Station C is a space that fosters community, collaboration, innovation. People come here to work and connect. We are a hub for creators and innovators: entrepreneurs, geeks, artists, social activists.
We here at the Montreal Girl Geeks thank Station C for this initiative as well as for their support of the thriving community we have here in Montreal. Do check them out. It’s a great way to network and meet cool folks.
Please spread the word about this offer and show that you support Station C in their efforts to bring more ladies into their space.
February 19, 2009
Canada, Locations, Montreal
Comments Off
We were so thrilled to have Jennifer Bell from
Visible Government speak to our group this past January and deliver a very thorough presentation relating to how online tools can be used to encourage transparency within government.
Jennifer had taken us through the current state of information as it is available to citizens and discussed how difficult it is to find any data within the current systems that exist. The limitations for searching, sharing and collaborating with these materials do little to encourage citizen participation in our current system. With a view towards how Web 2.0 has empowered society, Jennifer presented the principles of Government 2.0, the reasons for its effectiveness and demonstrated examples of successes achieved by embracing this new model of participation.
Visible Government is an amazing initiative and is looking for folks who wish to help out in any way possible. Areas where you can lend a hand include promoting Visible Government in the community, engaging in fundraising activities, starting a campus chapter in the school environment, hosting coding weekends for open government projects and helping to organize a
Change Camp in your town.
Feel free to check out Jennifer’s slides via
this link and if you’d like to review a paper that Jennifer had written on the subject, please visit
this link to The Open Source Business Resource.
Many thanks to
Caffe Della Posta for the smashing Italian food. The geeks were well-fed!
February 2, 2009
Canada, Locations, Montreal
Comments Off
If you didn’t already know it, mommy-based businesses and blogs are becoming a louder voice of influence online and it’s this very rise in ‘mommy-power’ which brought to life our lastest Girl Geek Dinner.
We are happy to announce our next dinner will take place on February 17 with proud mother of three and super entrepreneur Naomi Goldapple.
Naomi is the Founder and President of
Maman Bébé et Café Inc.; a sophisticated center where parents can relax, get in shape, shop or be pampered in the mini-spa while their young children happily play on site. The bustling café offers healthy choices for parents and kids.
Naomi’s hard work earned her first place in the Concours entrepreniat québecois et au défi de l’entrepreneuriat au feminin in 2007 and she was also a finalist at the Prix Femmes d’Affaires du Québec this past October.
Naomi’s topic will cover mom-based-businesses and the power they are harnessing. Specifically how they are using the social media (i.e., Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc.) to propel their businesses, from idea generation to customer relationship management.
So whether, you are a mommy, a mommy-to-be or plan to be a mommy in the future, you must not miss this one-of-a-kind Girl Geek Dinner.
~ Date ~Tuesday, February 17, 2009
~ Time ~6 to 8 p.m.
~ Presentation Start time ~7 p.m.
~ Location ~
Maman, Bébé et Café5814 Sherbrooke West, Montréal, Québec H4A 1X3
514.509.7494
January 14, 2009
Canada, Locations, Montreal
Comments Off
A BIG thanks to Evelyne Morin-Uhl and her team at Artv for making a great Dinner even better.
The interview was done in French and took place during the November Montreal Girl Geek Dinner with Janina Szkut.
(click on image to link to video)
January 7, 2009
Canada, Locations, Montreal
Comments Off
What if you could:
- Know what was happening inside government?
- Know what people were working on?- Know how money was being spent?
- Help people inside government do their jobs?
Jennifer Bell from VisibleGovernment.ca is our speaker for January and will be presenting on the topic of online tools for government transparency.
This presentation will demonstrate examples from around the world of how government data, published in open, structured formats, can improve the quality of society. Insight into VisibleGovernment.ca’s pilot projects in Canada will be covered and details provided on how you get involved.
Jennifer has a background in launching software start-ups. She was recently on the seed management team of Tungle Corp., named one of Canada’s top web 2.0 startups to watch. Prior to that she was a software developer, architect and product manager for Nimcat Networks, which was sold in 2004 for $43M.
Details for January’s Montreal Girl Geek Dinner are as follows:
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
6:00pm – 8:00pm
Caffe Della Posta
361 rue Bernard Ouest
