Tech Forward:

Tonight I’ll be live blogging from the networking reception hosted by the Network of Executive Women. Very appropriately, the theme of the evening is “Leadership in a Virtual World.”

The moderator is Shon Gables, host of the Black Enterprise Business Report.

The room is packed, and there’s a buzz of networking, forks clanking and laughter.

I’ve been to a NEW event before and, just as sure as these ladies (and some men) are chatting now, they’ll deep dive into the agenda shortly.

At the last NEW event I attended, Lisa Gersh of Oxygen Networks was the keynote, and she bought a high level of approachability and realism to women who work hard every day. She talked about how there really is no such thing as balance and how women should embrace the imbalance.

I agree. People often tell me that they see me everywhere, and they askwhether I ever take a break. Believe you me, I know how to cut the cords and let my hair down.

Anyway, we’re about to get started . . . I’ll be back.

Well, I arrived safely here in Los Angeles to speak at the Executing Social Media conference tomorrow. I could have done without the toddler who screamed all the way from Kansas to Los Angeles, though. Someone should have told her that’s not the kind of social media we mean.

I read on Peter Shankman’s Twitter feed that he’s arrived here, as well. If you don’t know who Peter Shankman is, find out by subscribing to his Help A Reporter Out (HARO) service. It’s real, legitimate, free leads for media coverage. My company has received some great coverage by responding to some of the queries that come through his mailing list–and no, it’s not just tech stuff.

I took a nice walk around Old Town Pasadena today and I really like it. I can live here, but lately I’ve been saying that a lot about everyplace but New York. Hmmm . . . maybe there’s a small change brewing?

Pasadena is great, relaxed and the peeps are really friendly. You can wear flip-flops in just about every fancy restaurant. I collect art and I try to pick up pieces from my travels, so I asked a few local Pasadenans what Pasadena is famous for and they all said the Rose Parade. Soooooo . . . since I missed that, I’ll take a few pictures of the gorgeous architecture and leave it at that. Maybe I’ll have a fewshots framed.

Anyway . . . the conference starts tomorrow. I’ll try to do some live blogging, but I have a session to lead and a roundtable to orchestrate, so I’ll do what I can to keep you informed of what’s going on here.

Stay tuned…

Sometimes you just gotta go with counterculture brands.

And in the game of social media, the counterculture brand du jour would be NOSO. Although not for long. This anti-social social media movement is quietly becoming all the rage.

The intro video, in a Hal-ish voiceover, explains NOSO as a “. . . real-world platform for temporary disengagement from your social networking environment . . .”

And, though I love social media and all that it offers, I must admit that the whole concept is very attractive. No agenda, no texting, no Twit’ing . . . just existing and navel gazing. What’s not to like about that?

However, I’m one of the fortunate ones. Although I write for several blogs and have a monthly column at WomenEntrepreneur.com, blogging and social networking activities have not taken over my life. That is due, in large part, to how I manage my schedule. I really do like writing, so it would be pretty easy for me to get caught up in the rapture of needing to post pithy blog post after pithy blog post. I avoid that by dedicating one day for writing blog content and a portion of two other days to blog management and social media/networking activities (i.e. reviewing friend requests on Facebook, responding to LinkedIn requests, making sure my blog has my most recent speaking schedule, etc.)

I know that not everyone has the same work style or approach that I do. Many people don’t know when enough is enough. They blog and blog and blog until they have nothing left–their content is all spent, then they suffer from burnout and die. Those types need a virtual chill pill. Permission and a means to disconnect momentarily–and NOSO offers that.

NOSO is not right for everyone. Ask your doctor if NOSO is right for you.

My blogosphere buddy and internet marketer supreme, Jim Kukral, is doing a really nice thing for everyone who wants to experiment with web video but really doesn’t know where to start.

He’s just launched a website, Online Video Toolkit, that tells you all the things you need to know to make professional-quality videos on a shoestring–and how to use them to market your business.

Here’s why I say Jim’s nice (other than that I know him and know he really is a good guy): It’s all free. No cost. Nada. Zilchorina. There’s no catch, and you can win a FlipVideo camera.

I’ve gotten an advance peek at all the goodies he’s going to be giving away, and he really does go into the nitty gritty details, from lighting (which lights you need and where to buy them–he actually videos himself in the store making selections) to apparel (types of clothes to wear and which to avoid). Jim, where do you find the time?

My pals over at WME Books are thinking about creating a conference called Publishing 3.0: Books, Blogs and Beyond, but they want to make sure they develop a conference that people really want to attend.

If you’ve ever wanted to write a book, publish a book you’ve already written, write a blog or use a blog to market your book, then this is the conference for you.

To weigh in on exactly what you want to see, whom you want to speak and when you think the conference should be held, take two minutes and let them know.

Question: How many other conferences ask the participants before they schedule one single session?

Answer: Not many.

So, hop to it.

You know your events are popular when people don’t want to leave the room. That was the scene yesterday as we wrapped up the CfWBR Research to Roadmap symposium.

The facilities crew was literally taking the room down around us as we continued to share ideas and network.

Check out the Center’s live blog site (yes, CfWBR had its own freelance blogger!), which is sponsored by Verizon (had to plug the sponsors!)

I made a comment at the event that I’ll share with you here:

I thank the center for putting money, time and energy toward this research. No other organization had the gumption to nail down sponsors and commit to this process. And because of that, for the first time in 10 years as a business owner and as a woman of color, I feel heard. Thank you, CfWBR.

If you’re not involved with the center in some way, you should be. Reach out to the organization: 202-638-3060, tell  how you can help, ask for the help you need . . . just start talking.  Visit the website. Feel free to use my name or the name of this blog as an introductory point. Just do something . . .

I might be able to squeeze in one more blog later, but right now I need to get mic’d up to go on stage and talk about “Indicators of Progress,” Boy did they pick the right person to address that See ya in a few . . .

I promised to get back to some of the answers from the group from Part 2 of this live blogging series from the Center for Women’s Business Research’s symposium, Research to Roadmap here in Washington, D.C.

So here’s what some of the women had to say in answer to the question of what needs to happen to accelerate the growth of businesses owned by women of color:

• Continuing research on women of color who are entrepreneurs;
• Providing educational opportunities on strategic planning;
• Winning government contracts;
• Preparing and understanding financial statement analysis;
• Entrepreneurship itself;
• Changing our perception of ourselves from the inside out;
• Creating lending circles for women; and
• Providing more opportunities for women to interact, engage and get to know each other, as we’re doing at this symposium.

Amen to that.

So we’re in mini-breakout sessions before lunch, and the question we’re answering is:

What needs to happen to create fundamental change and accelerate the growth of businesses owned by women of color?

That’s a big question that I’m sure will have no small answers . . . I’ll share the group answers with you a little later, but I will tell you my answer:

The first thing that needs to change is getting rid of the word “minority” that’s used to describe people of color. I believe that how you address someone says a lot about how you feel about them as a person. Think about the last time someone repeatedly said or spelled your name incorrectly. How did that make you feel? Got it, right?

It used to be that using the word “minority” to describe people of color was reasoned away by hard numbers–you know, demographics–people of color comprised the minority of the population, ergo they were a “minority.” My question is, now that the demographics have changed–at least in the U.S.–why are people of color still referred to as a “minority”?

What do you think needs to change?

This year, I’m leading the Social Media Hot Seat Lab at the Marketing Profs’ Business-to-Business Forum in Boston on June 9and 10.

If you want to go and need a discount–and want to see my smiling face–here’s your code to save $350 on registration before May 19 and $250 after that date: ESPK08

Dillydally not.

The folks at Communitelligence want to know.

As part of its Executing Social Media conference series (where yours truly will be speaking), Communitelligence, in partnership with the USC Institute for Communication Technology Management (CTM), is conducting the first ongoing research to determine the degree, key sources and trends in resistance to new/social media technologies beginning to penetrate the business world.

Click here to participate…

If you couldn’t make it out to the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs & Excecutives’ Business Applications of Social Networking event in California, the videos and presentations from the event are available online.

Here’s some of what you’ll see:

• Wendy Beecham’s “Intro to Business Applications of Social Networking”;
• Ross Mayfield on “Leveraging Social Software for Business Value”;
• Jeremiah Owyang’s “Best Practices for Online Communities as a Marketing Tool”;
• The panel discussion, “Strategic & Tactical Implementation of Social Networks in Business,” featuring moderator Erika Brown and panelists Karen Appleton, Katie Jacobs Stanton, and Teresa Valdez Klein;
• Robin Wolaner on “Purposeful Networking”;
• Gina Bianchini’s “Launching and Growing Your Online Community.”

Happy watching! Enjoy!