Techvibes posted a year-starting list of Vancouver tech-industry insiders to watch in 2008 - from those whose wild ideas are finally coming to fruition to others whose ship is coasting gently into port ~ if you catch my meaning.
The whole Raincity Studios clan was pleased to see three of us on the list of 10. The compact team of Scales and me (Dave calls us the Jagger and Richards of tech) share a slot and uber-evangelist Boris Mann gets his own line to stir up commotion about whats happening in his skunk-works. Thanks to Rob and the crew for the kind nods.
The list also includes many RCS pals plus some more folks we'd like to see more of around here for a bar-b-q of meet-up/camp of some kind (or stop by for a beverage and a podcast with Dave like Pacific IT's Robert Sanzalone did last week).
Glaringly missing from the list however was a mention of a single woman on the list of all gents. Are the women judged differently? Are there no techie women doing exemplary work in Vangroovy? Are there women working in tech who are more deserving of placement then the fellas populating the list?
These are big questions i daren't tackle here but suffice to say, {old man voice} I've been around this industry long enough to know that ... {/old man voice} collaboration with smart, inspired women increases the range of thought when making strategic decisions particularly on (in my experience) within information and communication focused-projects. Especially contrasted with the (ugh) prototypical "dude-fest" atmosphere of some tech companies, I find when women are involved, the conversation get better and the quality of work ultimately increases.
Along with the women we work with who have incredible communication skills (who'd have thunk it? ;-)), there are women working in Vancouver with the coding chops to roll with anyone and (like their geekboy counterparts) are passionate, informed and enthused about the nuances of code and the politics of open source.
So before I put my foot in my mouth ;-), here are our humble suggestions for some techie women we're watching and, of course, we'd love to hear your additions.
Vancouver Tech Women to Watch in 2008
Alexandra Samuel - The hactivism PhD at Social Signal is strategically planning award winning for some big clients and spurning positive global change while doing it.
Susannah Gardner - Author of several "Dummies" books, she's a journalist, artist and writer, who also makes websites for Hop Studios and and regularly appears on Lab with Leo.
Megan Cole - Our old pal has grown into a "new media" public relations wiz as well as brewing up all sorts of social media across Canada and scored great exposure for Kinzin's Are you Normal app.
Lynda Brown - Recently handed over the reigns of New Media BC, she is now jumping into the burgeoning Vancouver start-up scene she helped nurture - with her savvy and connections, look for something special to emerge.
Sarah Pullman - This social activist just moved back to Vancouver, she's the Yoga for Geeks woman, part of the Web of Change movement, and a web community ringleader now working with the consciousness focused Communicopia.
Karen Fung - An up and coming community activist, this SFU communications major whipped up Vancouver's first TransitCamp to great public response and is researching ways to get Internet to remote BC communities
Linda Bustos - Now blogging about emerging tech for ecommerce software makers Elastic Path, she's an SEO pro and social media evangelist consistently sharing knowledge at camps and meet-ups.
Julie Szabo - Despite living in Malta, and now Morocco, she still basically works in Techcouver, and (along with 'the blogfather'), is setting a new high standard for public and media outreach. Check out her new book on Social Media and Online Marketing.
Rebecca Bollwitt - Podcaster, hyper-local blogger, new media outreach wiz, mainstream media pundit ~ Vancouver's new 'blogebrity,' Miss604 now uses her skills professionally to the great benefit of e-Xact Transactions.
Lauren Wood - An organizer of Northern Voice, member of the W3C Advisory Board and standards standard-bearer, with her solid tech chops Lauren now focuses on identity management projects Sun Microsystems.
Rochelle Grayson - With experience ranging from TV/radio production to software promotion to financial planning, she's using her business development moxie her moxie now at Donat Group.