Category Archives: technology

  • “Doing” digital technology

    December 30, 2012

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    By Editor of SocialBusiness.org

    “Digital technology” is something like a buzzword in social entrepreneurship communities. It’s a step up from “social media” (as a buzzword, not in reality) but it still carries some of the same resonances. Ok, but what exactly can digital technology really do for you? For your social business? For the world?

     Courtney E. Martin, author of Do It Anyway: The New Generation of Activists and Project Rebirth: Survival and the Strength of the Human Spirit from 9/11 Survivors, wrote a piece at the beginning of December for the Stanford Social Innovation Review called “Transforming Democracy Through Digital Technology: Five lessons from groundbreaking women,” which was essentially a delineation of what she learned from moderating a TEDxWomen conference panel called “Power of Technology to Transform Democracy.” Whether or not democracy can be “saved”  — and by technology no less — was the bigger question here. Martin broke it down into five easily digestible lessons from the panel: 1) “It’s not just you. No one’s got it quite right yet;” 2) “Don’t build it. They won’t come;” 3) “You are not the target user;” 4) “Data is where it’s at;” and last but certainly not least, 5) “Optimism is the technology we need most.” The point is that everyone is struggling and trying to negotiate digital technology with larger questions of democracy, civic action and citizenship. Martin’s last point, about promoting optimism, was echoed by the founder of Girls Who Code, Reshma Saujani. But the Girls Who Code ‘About’ page isn’t filled with optimism, really at all. Take a look at some of the stats:

    Today, just 3.6% of Fortune 500 companies are led by women, and less than 10% of venture capital-backed companies have female founders. Yet females use the internet 17% more than their male counterparts and represent the fastest growing demographic online and on mobile, creating more than two-thirds of content on social networking sites. Technology companies with more women on their management teams have a 34% higher return on investment, and companies with women on technical teams increases teams’ problem-solving ability and creativity. 

    The numbers speak for themselves. By 2018, there will be 1.4 million computer science-related job openings, yet U.S. universities are expected to produce enough computer science graduates to fill just 29% of these jobs. And while 57% of bachelor’s degrees are obtained by women, less than 14% of computer science degrees are awarded to women.

    And yet. “Forget the bells and whistles—a lot of these entrepreneurs voiced that the most difficult hurdle they face is getting people to believe in the political and democratic process again,” Martin wrote. “All the websites and apps in the world can’t substitute for the fundamental power of people believing that a) this nation is still ‘perfectible’ and b) they are part of the solution.” And so, maybe the reality of it all is that technology isn’t the place for answers but a place to create more questions about how to innovate, which means, how to fail and push forward in light of whatever it is you want to do with social entrepreneurship.

  • Productivity and social entrepreneurs

    December 26, 2012

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    By Editor of SocialBusiness.org

    As I’m on “vacation” in the Caribbean, I’m thinking about productivity. Maybe that’s a good sign, or maybe, it’s not. It’s here where I get my best work done—sometimes my fastest and sometimes not. I read about a dozen books, I write creatively (something I hardly ever have time to do) and I also get a little work in for my thesis and my job. Rest is needed in order to reboot and continue or recharge productivity. Some would say it’s a sin to “work” on my vacation but it gives me a bit of balance. Since I don’t work 9 to 5 anymore, I don’t have much of a schedule. But that doesn’t mean I have a lot of free time. In fact, it means I have to be a lot smarter about my scheduling and what I do with my time. I only have about eight hours of class time a week (usually a seminar), an hour or two of office hours with a professor, too many hours in the library to readily admit here. Then, I usually set in an amount of projects I want to complete in terms of work. And then there are errands, exercise, friends and family. Sometimes I try not to think about all of things I have to do, and sometimes, it’s exactly thinking (and writing) all the things that I have to do that makes me that much more motivated to tackle each and every thing on the list. My former editor, Marissa Brassfield, started the wonderful site Ridiculously Efficient that vows “helping solopreneurs pursue their passions and still have the time to live well.” There, I can go and lose myself (in un-productivity). But mostly, I get my advice from a tweet or from the efficient daily newsletter. Many of the tips she gives are apt for the entrepreneur or freelancer who creates his or her own schedule. Here are a recent few stress-free tips that she’s shared with her readers:

  • Three women-focused hubs

    November 29, 2012

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    By Editor of SocialBusiness.org

    As previously discussed at length in a few blog posts this month, for instance, in posts called “For us, buy us: women, consumerism and social change” and “Women in social entrepreneurship,” the role of women in business can be an interesting one. Here, I decided to shed light on a few organizations that focus on young women, technology and business. Here are three gender-focused business incubators, networks and support groups mainly directed at young women: 1) Girls Who Code Ah, “Girls Who Code.” Even the name in itself sounds a bit cutting-edge, right? And maybe that’s a sad thing to say in itself. Much like the trend today in social entreprises, non-profits alike, Girls Who Code describes itself as a “movement.” But if we look beyond the trendy buzz language prominent in the giving world, it’s a simple idea that works to counter the fact that a minuscule percentage of women head fortunate 500 companies. “Girls Who Code is a new organization working to educate, inspire and equip 13- to 17-year-old girls with the skills and resources to pursue opportunities in technology and engineering,” the website writes. 2) Young Female Entrepreneurs Young Female Entrepreneurs is similar to Girls Who Code but it’s for an older crowd, that is, twenty- and thirty-somethings. It’s also more comprehensive in that it’s like a social network for young women who are starting and have started businesses of their own. They offer support, Twitter chats, blog posts, podcasts and live streams. But they’re not only online; IRL meet-ups are also key to the collaborative feeling. Lately the organization has received a bunch of good press. “Everything that Young Female Entrepreneurs does online is utilizing technology that young women already use,” Director Jennifer Donogh told Fast Co Exist. “It’s not crazy to ask them to jump onto Twitter, they’re already there. We have a topic, the YFE Twitter handle moderates the questions, and people connect and say, ‘Hey, we have similar interests, similar goals, and our businesses are serving similar audiences, let’s do some sort of joint venture.’” 3) WESST Enterprise Center WESST occupies an interesting position because it’s been around for over twenty years (since 1988) and thus didn’t necessarily use the language of “social entrepreneurship” to define itself an its goals. Here’s how the non-profit organization describes some of its work:

    Over a period that spans two decades, WESST has assisted a diverse roster of clients at every stage of business. Historically, we have focused on transforming people’s lives and creating a pathway out of poverty by helping low-income women and minorities achieve financial self-sufficiency through sustained self-employment. WESST is distinguished in New Mexico as the only organization offering long-term, comprehensive training, technical assistance and loans specifically targeted to low-income women and minorities.

    According to CNN Money, entrepreneurship in New Mexico has flourished because of a lack of high paid jobs in the area. All three of these organizations—Girls Who Code, Young Women Entrepreneurs and Enterprise Center—are responding to a similar need even if they’re responding to it in creatively different ways.