Tech Forward:

OK, OK. I’ve been promising the results from the Communitelligence Social Media Resistance survey, which were released at the Executing Social Media Conference in Pasadena, California, with the help of USC’s Marshall School of Business.

Here they are. Don’t say I never gave you anything (opens in PPT)

I think the results are interesting and telling. I love how the larger a company is, the more it thinks podcasting isn’t useful for its branding. Nope, bigger companies think RSS feeds are all the rage for branding. (Are they serious?)

However, the scrappy small businesses know that online video is where it’s at. For all the small business owners reading this, don’t feel bad–you “get it” more than corporate at this point. Good on ya’!

And of all the respondents, a full 89 percent of companies think their social media adoption is below average or average. Whooty whoot! That means more business for my company!

What are your thoughts about the results?

This is a group photo op with the speakers and some of the NEW committee and board members. Shon Gables is the one in the fabulous yellow dress (but you can’t really see it because she’s in the back row).

I was also able to snatch a few quick audio interviews with Gables, host of the Black Enterprise Business Report; Judy Spires of Acme Markets; and a downright shameful interview with Amazon.com’s Tom Furphy — who was absolutely gracious when I made a bit of a complete fool of myself. (I won’t be posting that audio!)

Click here to hear Shon Gables talk about the challenges that leaders have trying to manage people using virtual tools. (4:32)

Click here to learn what leadership in a virtual means to Judy Spires and Acme. (2:24)

Amazon. It doesn’t have a problem with adoption. Part of the reason that people want to work at Amazon.com is technical.

Acme Markets. Judy Spires says that if you’re having a problem with adoption, the technology isn’t as great as you think it is. Adoption isn’t really your problem.

Deloitte. Robin Matza helps those who are comfortable with technology to engage those who aren’t.

And we’re at the end of the event. Post-event follow-up later.

1. Typing the wrong response to the wrong person when using instant messaging.

2. Digitally siloing yourself.

3. Not making the most of face time when you have it.

Robin Matza of Deloitte mentions that working virtually allows your schedule to be more organized. She cautions not to lose the “conversation in the hallway” when you are in the office–especially as a leader. She also just noted that Deloitte has launched/is launching “D Street”–basically Deloitte’s internal version of Facebook. She mentioned that she is working with a project manager whom she has never met and was able to develop a deeper level of rapport with the PM once she saw her picture on Facebook.

Sheila Stanziale of PepsiCo agreed that working virtually should not replace appropriate context and engaging with the political structure within companies.

Judy Spires mentioned that her company asked the staff what they wanted more of and what they wanted less of. Invariably everyone said less e-mail and fewer meetings. And the answer to the “more” question? More communication! Say what?! To which Spires suggests that you ask yourself, “How effective am I?”

The biggest benefit for PepsiCo? Speed of communication. Stanziale mentioned that leaders today get disproportionate credit for face time–she thinks this is just the way things are trending with the growing virtual world.

She also thinks that its virtual strategy has not given PepsiCo a competitive edge, but adoption of virtual tools has kept it competitive.

A big pro for Deloitte is that it has increased its talent pool–especially working with teams in India.

Shon lobbed a dunk to Spires when she asked about people who have a tendency to get caught up in their own world. Stanziale mentioned that a person would not be able to survive in Pepsico’s culture if he or she maintained a digital silo.

Tom Furphy just mentioned that he regularly gets 800 e-mails a day. He started the e-mail overload conversation by saying: “E-mail is out of control.”

Thus began the talk about e-mail and digital overload.

Spires mentioned that one thing she’s learned about working virtually is to respect your team’s privacy. She realized that when she replies to e-mail on the weekend, many team members feel the need to respond back when they hear the e-mail “ding.” She encourages members of her team to think about their responses first and reply later. She also mentioned that she is sending less and less e-mail now.

Spires suggests that you learn the communication styles of your team members so you can make sure they receive information in the way they need it. Do your team members need one-on-one communication? Or do they prefer to get cut and dry e-mail so they can get back to work?

I just got a photo op of and an interview with Black Enterprise’s Shon Gables. I’ll be posting the photos via Flickr and the audio interview soon.

She shared some information about what Black Enterprise is up to in terms of leading the pack in an increasingly virtual world. I didn’t realize how diversified it is as an organization–it’s grown since I was on the cover in January 2001.

And, yes, Shon is just as smart in person as she appears on TV. Someone might be writing her content for the show (although she might write it herself, I don’t know) . . . even still, she’s the real deal, folks.

I’m going to be introduced in a minute, so I have to dash. I’ll be back . . .

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.

One of the things I like about small conferences is that they give you the opportunity to have real conversations with people. I mean really connect.

Today we had an awesome keynote from George Wright of Blendtec. You know . . . the brains behind willitblend? He actually blended a garden rake–live in front of us! It was the coolest thing!

But seriously, we are working here. I spoke with one attendee about social media for the Harley Davidson brand; we talked about the benefit in calculating your NetPromoter Score; we heard from Brian Solis, author of Now is Gone (well, I didn’t hear him because I had my own session to lead); and I also led a roundtable about getting social media projects approved by upper management and legal.

We also got a first look at the results of the social media resistance survey, and I’ll be sharing that information later. I can tell you that the results show that larger companies find online video and podcasts particularly helpful. What does that mean to you? If your market consists of large companies, you might want to consider launching a podcast or videocast.

More later. . .

Oh, and P.S. I got to have dinner with my WomanEntrepreneur.com editor, Eve, last night. She’s even cooler in person.

Today’s post is an article written by Nina Burokas of Digerati Branding.

This article is based on the results of a recent survey, Solutions and Sophistication, done by the Center for Women’s Business Research and IBM.

It really shows how women entrepreneurs are embracing technology in record numbers - and there’s also room for growth. Check it out…

* * * * * * * * * *

Women Entrepreneurs & Technology: A New Study Sheds a Bright Light

Every minute five women start a business in this country.

Are your perceptions of the American women business owner accurate? Given that women-owned firms are generating $1.9 trillion in revenues, providing employment for 12.8 million people and growing at twice the rate of all firms, you may want to find out.

A Center for Women’s Business Research study released in June provides insight into this vibrant market segment. The study, Solutions and Sophistication: Comparing Women and Men Business Owners’ Use of Technology, provides demographic and psychographic perspective on women business owners nationwide and in four geographic regions. This summary level perspective on the survey findings is based on my interview with CWBR Executive Director Dr. Sharon G. Hadary and Advisory Council Member and xynoMedia Technology CEO Lena L. West.

The good news is, perhaps, not news at all to women in technology: women business owners are on par with men business owners overall in their use of technology. Specifically, 70% of the women business owners surveyed leverage technology to achieve profit, innovation, quality and efficiency goals. What may be less of a given is that women business owners are “hands on� technologists: 83% of women are personally involved in the evaluation and selection of technology. A side note: women business owners are more likely (24% vs. 18%) than women in general to be willing to adopt new technology.

Graphically represented, the technology adoption continuum is a classic bell curve, with 51% of women business owners rating themselves as “average� in terms of their rate of technology adoption, 25% falling behind the curve and 24% at the leading edge. The key insight – and opportunity – is the finding that there is a direct correlation between technology adoption rates and revenue. Net-net, as Lena noted in her Women & Technology Battlecry post on the Lip-Sticking blog, there is an opportunity for 76% of women business owners to improve their business performance through better use of technology.

In general, women are very strategic in their use of technology, focusing on achieving customer service, scalability and efficiency objectives versus the wow factor of speeds and feeds. What is particularly intriguing from a leadership trend standpoint is the finding that the majority of women business owners are using technology to achieve quality of life as well as business performance objectives. For example, 61% use technology to integrate business and personal responsibilities and 44% use technology to enable remote offices and flexible work schedules.

What may be limiting further progress on the technology adoption and deployment front is women’s concern about the protection and security of data, including issues of Internet security, computer viruses, data protection and system failure. Although approximately three-quarters of women-owned businesses rated security their primary technology concern, less than a quarter had a plan to address these issues. This gap represents a significant educational and consulting opportunity for women’s associations and businesses.

Perceiving women-owned business as being less viable, trend- or technology-forward as men-owned businesses or businesses in general is a strategic error that organizations can’t afford to make. To quote Executive Director Sharon Hadary: “Women-owned business is good business. This is a point we can’t afford to miss!� If you consider a tech-savvy, economically vital, entrepreneurial market an attractive demographic from a sourcing, career, community or revenue standpoint, the Solutions and Sophistication survey provides critical market insight.

The Solutions and Sophistication: Comparing Women and Men Business Owners’ Use of Technology survey was conducted by the Center for Women’s Business Research and underwritten by IBM. The Center for Women’s Business Research provides data-driven knowledge that advances the economic, social and political impact of women business owners and their enterprises.

While traditional press has not disappeared, it’s safe to say that businessowners need to learn how to effectively engage bloggers and podcasters to generate interest and increase buzz/word of mouth about their products and services.

Back on September 18th, I helped coordinate and was a guest speaker on a webinar given by ShowStoppers. The webinar was called How to Engage Bloggers & Podcasters to Boost Buzz and Generate Coverage.

We shared some great information during the webinar and I even wrote an e-book to share some additional tips and tricks.

The e-book is called “The Blogosphere Cluebook: How PR Agents & Publicists Can Effectively Engage Blogosphere Influencers Instead of Ticking Them Off”.

The good news is, you don’t have to be a PR agent or publicist in order to benefit from the insider tips in this e-book.

The better news is, it’s free and you can share it with as many people as you want.

Grab your copy: http://www.xynomedia.com/showstoppers/

Tatiana Apandi at O’Reilly has scored big points with me.

It’s not because she’s a great person who has an awesome world view. Although, she is and she does.

It’s because she’s the editor of the new real-life Women in Technology series by O’Reilly. Think reality TV goes virtual and gets a human soul.

I’m most impressed with:

1. It’s not the same old women in tech rehashing the same old stories. You’ll find fresh stories and perspectives from women who walk the talk every day of their lives.
2. It’s not a ‘whine and cheese’ free-for-all. The essays are well-written from a powerful and reflective point of view. No victims here.
3. No one’s holding virtual hands and singing “Kumbaya”. Not everyone agrees with what’s written in the eassays, but everyone is respectful and open to new viewpoints.  It’s amazing how a subtle shift in energy can free up space for true dialogue.
4. All the women are women are women of substance. They’ve got strong track records, know their stuff and definitely have something to say.

Stop by the series: http://www.oreillynet.com/womenintech/ and support the efforts of Tatiana and the women writing the essays.

Bottomline: Read an essay or two and add to the conversation by leaving a thoughtful comment. It’s not just about what’s in it for you, but what’s in it for us all if we bring this kind of dialogue to the forefront.