International Women’s Day: With Shout Outs To Techie Women!

I took alittle blogging break to focus on family but thought International Women’s Day is a great time to jump back in! As moms across the world have done, I took some time to help my tween get settled in middle school, my twins settled with new twists and turns of 2nd grade and some very dear relatives with Cancer.

I had to put some professional opportunities on hold for the last few months, and while that may not be easy – I would not have it any other way (family is of course most important of all!). This of all days is a great time to share my story since women around the world have not only been influencers in business, but support to their families and communities around the world. Most recently the Women of Egypt stood up for what they believe in and hope that they will maintain a role in the building of a new Egypt.

I enjoyed reading Cool Mom Tech’s post called “International Women’s Day gives three multilingual cheers to women in tech”. That post called out some women in tech so I thought I would add on my WomenTech Twitter List and my techmoms and techmom2 twitter lists. My mom tech twitter lists are not as much technical moms as it is a way to capture the interesting mix of moms that share their updates on Twitter.

In honor of Women’s International Day, here is a post from April 21 2006 that captured my transition from techie to blogger mom. I hope to read many other stories today about Women and their transitions, accomplishments and dreams. For now, I am just happy to be blogging again. Best of all, I have a website redesign in the works so I will be sharing more news about TechMamas.com soon!

from April 21, 2006
From Techie to Blogger Mom

Does Parenting put some in a technology freeze? How do you stay up to date on technology while staying up to date with your children? What is the next step for Silicon Valley techies after becoming parents? And what is a blog?

Here in Silicon Valley we experience constantly changing technology trends. If you count pregnancy and the first year of parenting (which is a blur), techies that become parents can be out of touch for at least 21 months. By then, technology will have totally changed.

The first technology change I participated in was the shift away from punch cards while programming in college.For those of you who are not familiar with punch cards, check your history books.  Then as a Financial Analyst, I suggested using computer spreadsheets to perform some analyses that were manual (using pencil and paper, you can also check your history books on that, too). As an Application Developer I witnessed the move from big mainframe computers to desktop/ servers. I was also part of the lucky group of Y2K programmers who replaced two-digit logic with four-digit logic as a fix for the year 2000 (‘99’ was changed to ‘1999’).  Next, as a Senior Manager (Computer Process Integrity) I saw desktop computing expand to the Internet.

After we had our first son in 1999, I started working part-time in Management Training. I then experienced the growth of the Internet as the main technology for email, product sales, corporate communications and news/general information. A small but passionate Blogger community was thriving, but I had not yet become part of it….

In 2002, it all stopped. No more time for Internet updates on all the newest technologies, reading trade journals or discussing techie issues with co-workers. I became a Stay at Home Mom and immersed myself in taking care of my three wonderful boys (twin boys joined their older brother in 2003). The only technology I used was spreadsheets for parent volunteer organizations or home management, and also the occasional creation of email groups for classroom management. I could not even bring myself to transfer the thousands of pictures I have on my digital camera to my PC. I was in a technology freeze.

In 2005, it all started again. I am happy to be riding the hottest, coolest trend: Blogging. So, what is a Blog?  Wikipedia (a free encyclopedia) defines it as: “A blog (or weblog) is a website that is used in the manner of an online journal. Like other media, blogs often focus on a particular subject, such as food, politics, or local news. Some blogs function as online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic.”

I saw friends who were using Blogs to update friends and family with pictures and stories about their children. I found opinion oriented news blogs, technology blogs, fashion and niche blogs. Now I share my own opinion online as well – I have joined in the blogging revolution!