Aliza Sherman: She Knows Social and Mobile

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Speaking at BizJam Seattle or How Social Media Saved My Life

I've been trying to get back on the speaking circuit over the last year. I used to speak at no less than a conference a month "back in the day" when I was "in the biz" and was flown all over the world to speak about the Web, online community, Internet marketing, and women and technology, to name a few of my topics. The new media industry, that is. Back when I started Cybergrrl, Inc. and Webgrrls International and was living in NYC and was single and was considered a "Web Pioneer."

Fast forward to 2000 when I left Manhattan in an old RV and drove around the country for over a year, at first aimlessly, and then as the vehicle for two book tours (for "Cybergrrl@Work" and "PowerTools for Women in Business"). I did a few speaking gigs during that time - like a women's executive conference in Orlando for the then Arthur Anderson. But I was fleeing from the Internet bubble burst and was hard to find.

Fast forward to 2001. I was on my way back to NYC to start another book tour on September 11th. Put a little wrench in my plans as well as all the conferences we all held, spoke at or attended. I did end up speaking at a few including a major Hispanic business conference.

Fast forward to 2004. I start getting pregnant and losing each pregnancy. Nobody told me about miscarriage and none of the pregnancy books have more than a page or two on the topic. I start blogging about it. I'm also living in Wyoming, having run away from NYC to what I hoped was the most remote place in the USA that I could find and afford to get to (which left out Alaska at the time). I took a job and taught Internet workshops around the state of Wyoming, but that's a far cry from being "on the circuit." Everybody thinks I live in Montana. Nobody in the industry thinks of calling me for their conference anymore.

Fast forward to 2006, post-baby, struggling with motherhood and all the things that go along with it (physical, mental, emotional, spiritual) that they don't tell you about in the books, and I'm unable to do anything - like attend conferences much less speak a coherent sentence which makes public speaking a little impossible.

In 2007, I began putting out the word that I'm trying to get back on the speaking circuit. I submitted topics, offered to speak on any panel where there was a slot, groveled, cajoled, begged. The first person to respond after months was Elisa Camahort at BlogHer. I don't even know if she realizes how much she saved my life by allowing me to speak at BlogHer last year.

I was still reeling from post partum depression and attended literally a mere month after my doctor finally put me on medication. The fact that I made it through that event is a testament to the amazing positive power of the women at that event as well as my dear friend Tery Spataro.

Since then, my overtures to all the major new media conferences have either been rejected or ignored (i.e. no response at all) or they've instead sent me information on how to register and attend rather than speak. Even BlogHer cannot book me this year because they have a policy to book 80% new speakers each conference - which is a great thing for other women speakers but I guess this year I'm not in that 20% of repeat speakers. They also scheduled a topic I submitted verbatim as a session on their Second Life schedule to be led (The Intersection of Blogging and Second LIfe), I guess, by someone else. (UPDATE: Elisa emailed me after reading this to say she thinks I am moderating that session. Maybe it was just some communication breakdown which is understandable with so many moving parts. It would be awesome if I am. Waiting to hear the final decision on that).

Not to be deterred, I still reach out and network and Twitter and blog about my desire to be out there speaking again. My topics have branched out to social media development (content, community, marketing, branding) and virtual world events and marketing (currently focused on Second Life but expanding).

Then a month or so ago, I joined yet another social network - BizNik - and one day decided to spruce up my profile and added an article I had written about business. That day, the co-founder of the service, Dan McComb, messaged me through BizNik asking if I'd speak at his conference BizJam Seattle. Talk about the power of social networking! Of course, I figured out a way to make it work, provided him with a topic, dusted off my bio, found a relatively recent photo, and I was on the agenda.

Surviving Social Media: How to Manage and Leverage Your Multiple Social Media Accounts

Now I'm prepping my itinerary for the conference as well as my presentation. I'm already connecting through Twitter with people I can't wait to meet while I'm there. I'm inspired, motivated, excited. And grateful to social media and BizNik for kickstarting things for me again.

I'm not giving up. I'm here, I'm healthy, I'm alive, I'm ready. And I have a lot of things to share. Can't wait to do it.

And hey, you should register for the BizJam! If you do, I hope to see you there.

Where The Hell Is Matt?

Where The Hell Is Matt?.

This is THE tool to bring Peace on Earth.

Matt is the harbinger of World Peace.

You must pass his video along to everyone. That is an imperitive. I kid you not.

And can you believe I've never heard of Stride Gum before? Guess the "ad campaign" is working.

Web Worker Daily - Archive Broadcasting to Your Social Networks

Web Worker Daily - Archive Broadcasting to Your Social Networks

There are tools out there that help you aggregate your social networking sites for the purpose of broadcasting a message to more places with fewer steps hence Social Aggregation Broadcasting Tools.

On the flip side, Social Aggregation Broadcasting Tools are different from Social Aggregation Listening Tools that are sites like FriendFeed that pull together your feeds and the feeds of your “friends” so you can hear what they are Twittering about, Facebook statusing (?!), ad nauseum.

I'm going to continue my discussion and exploration of SABTs and SALTs (I know, I hate acronyms, too) and even create a diagram to explain my theories on social aggregation tools.

I think this could be my next lecture topic!

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Cybergrrl's Writing: Girl Geeks

Cybergrrl's Writing: Girl Geeks.

@Pistachio on Twitter brought this 90s nugget to my attention. I wrote a regular online column as Cybergrrl for Lycos back in the day when they were toying with being a content and community site.

This was also back in the day when we all linked to any web site we could link to within our text, not for improved Google ratings (Google did not exist back then), but because we were so damned excited to find a web site on a relevant topic. Plus the spirit of the Internet back then was all about linking, not for profit, but to truly share traffic and be linked to one another.

Remember those days?

If you have an old essay, article or column from the early to mid-1990s about the Internet or Web, please link to it here. I can't wait to read it!

Independent Street : Women Business Owners -- Afraid of Web Marketing?

Independent Street : Women Business Owners -- Afraid of Web Marketing?.

A survey released today from Microsoft Live Small Business, finds that 61% of female respondents who were small-business owners say they do no online marketing, and nearly 40% say they don’t have a Web site. These women attended Microsoft’s Vision to Venture conference held recently in five U.S. cities.

...That nearly two-thirds engaged in no online marketing might give pause: Are women uncomfortable navigating the fast-changing world of online marketing? Or do women simply not have time because they are so busy struggling to balance a busy life?

This Microsoft Live Small Business survey is SCARY in terms of what it says about women business owners.

But I also find it a bit scary that the concept that women are struggling to balance a busy life is reason why they are not engaging in online marketing. They can HIRE someone to build their web site, perform online marketing tasks, even create and keep up with their social networks.

Women business owners saying they don't have a web site in this day and age is akin to them saying they don't have a business card. If they can find the time or money to get a business card created, they can do the same to have a small Web presence.

I hate to say that my contacts with women business owners who don't have a Web site have very little to do with their busy-ness. It has to do with an underlying fear that some women - some - still have about the Internet in general that creates a feeling of being overwhelmed even by the thought of a Web site because they are still just getting a feel for email.

Yes, people out there still are loathe to use email much less get a Web site so it is not just women.

What I want to know of the sample of 600 from this survey is: Where are these women based? And how big are their businesses?

I'd venture to guess that they are in less urban areas and/or are very small businesses, more likely a Company of One. I met these business owners all the time in Wyoming and now meet them all the time in Alaska.

What do you think?

Independent Street : The Benefits of a 'Feminine' Leadership Style

Independent Street : The Benefits of a 'Feminine' Leadership Style.
by Simona Covel

A feminine leadership style –- one that emphasizes on sensitivity to employees and openness — can give women an advantage as business owners.

Or so says Sung-Joo Kim, chairman and chief executive of luxury-goods company MCM Worldwide...

Women are more sensitive, she says, and that’s advantage, because they understand employees’ needs.

I think it is a pipedream to think that sensitivity will fly in any major multinational corporation, particularly in "high-powered" industries like my own - technology - but for small and maybe even midsized companies, I think it can be a benefit.

As a woman business owner who has spent years interviewing women business owners for Entrepreneur magazine and other publications, web sites and blogs, I know that some women WANT to bring something to the business table that is different, that is more "feminine," but that many get beaten down and the only way to "fight back" is to "cowboy up" as they say in Wyoming. To be more "masculine" in manner, attitude and approach.

Hey, it sucks. But while we've come a long way baby, the reality is that fundamentally we really haven't come a very long way.

What do you think?

BizJam Seattle 08 » Surviving Social Media: How to Manage and Leverage Your Multiple Social Media Accounts

BizJam Seattle 08 - Surviving Social Media: How to Manage and Leverage Your Multiple Social Media Accounts.

I'm easing back into the speaking circuit this year. Here's my first appearance for 2008! I'll be speaking about gaining control over your multiple social networking sites - geared toward businesses but also helpful for individuals.

Hope to see you in Seattle!

In Juneau, Firm Resistance to a Road Out of Isolation - NYTimes.com

In Juneau, Firm Resistance to a Road Out of Isolation - NYTimes.com.

If you are curious about my politics, here is my opinion on a road to Juneau. I wrote this in response to a PR guy who asked out of curiosity. And I then realized my thoughts on this topic encapsulate my thoughts on broader issues of the world.

Excerpt...

JUNEAU, Alaska — The proposed 51-mile Juneau Access Road would provide something this remote capital city has never had: an overland route to the rest of North America. No longer would people have to take a ferry or a flight.

Yet beyond the political and environmental fight that will determine whether the nearly $400 million road will ever be built, there is a central question: What would the improved access change the most, Juneau or outsiders' perceptions of it?

"There is an insularity here," Mayor Bruce Botelho said, "that I think is a net positive."

Would the road rouse Juneau residents to emerge from their rainforest isolation and engage the rest of Alaska?

Would it help people in Anchorage, the state's economic and population center, finally accept Juneau as the state capital, because they would be able to drive there — even if it took two days?

And is there such a thing as too much access? Caravans of recreational vehicles clogging Juneau's steep and narrow streets might add more tension in a town already uncomfortable with its dependence on the million or so cruise ship passengers who drop in for a few hours each summer.

READ MORE...

My gut reaction:

This is an age-long struggle since man (not woman - haha) has wanted to expand their territories and reach and strengthen their power and economic position.

I have nothing invested in a road or no road in Juneau but suspect that if I lived there, I would not want one. Living in Anchorage, I wouldn't mind an easier route to Juneau but that is just a selfish convenience thought and I am not planning to be here in Alaska long so my opinion on that really doesn't matter.

On a personal note, I think everything should be left as it is and that we all look for ways to improve each of our situations without having to build more roads and destroy more land and natural habitat. We are destroying the earth and one more road is just another path to that ultimate destruction.