This morning I walked into the NCLR meeting facility to the announcement that the building had no power. There was talk of canceling the conference, but everyone who showed up wanted to go ahead. We pulled out two large construction type flashlights to give us a “camp fire” and we had a small gas burner to heat up water for coffee and tea. Everyone pulled together to make the necessary adjustments to the room and bring the session indicators into the lobby which has a glass front. Thus was born a technical conference without technology. It was wonderful! Our own She’s Geeky camping trip.

Camp Breakfast

Today was offered as a day to bring young girls and daughters to the conference and we had two wonderful young ladies join us. “J” was 9 and “M” was 12 and they fully participated in the unconference, including posting their own session entitled “How girls can get into technology.” They set up an area in which they video taped interviews of willing attendees in order to produce their own movie to post on You Tube. When they have it posted they will share the link on the She’s Geeky website.

J and M

Today’s sessions

“J” and “M” conducted a very interesting session. They offered many ideas on how to engage young girls and present them with opportunities to explore technology. The main idea that came out of this wonderful session was having a contest in which kids create something by using technology. Some examples given by these amazing young ladies were; web pages, documentaries, robots, or anything else the children were interested in creating. There was discussion on having technical companies sponsor the event and having a celebrity host and support the event. Most of the women in the session have exchanged information and committed to work on creating this event.

Another session I went to was “Facebook is forever; Eternal aspects of Digital Identity” where we discussed the question “what happens to your information when you pass?” The conversation ranged from how to put your digital affairs in order to how your digital identity from years past can affect your life in present day…WOW, I hadn’t even thought about what that could look like! I can tell you this, I’m glad that when I was a teenager, the internet wasn’t around! ?

Other sessions I participated in were: “Leadership, Women helping Women,” “How to talk to Guys about Women/Tech/Social Media,” and one on how to get women into public speaking. All the conversations were stimulating and informative. Many new connections were made and SO many ideas were presented. It will be interesting to see what wonderful things come from this weekend. I encourage all those who attended to get back to She’s Geeky with actions and events that were a direct result of this unconference.

Thank you’s to the sponsors: For our meeting space – National Council of La Raza (NCLR), for our wi-fi – Jumpstart Lab, for our recycling – a clean life and Organic Agriculture Recycling, and on a personal note, Con-Techie for sending me to the conference…I had a BLAST! And to all the rest, thank you for contributing to such a great event!

She’s Geeky Sponsors

Ok, so, on a fun side note…
On day one of the conference, the side conversation at the event was about NCLR’s too cool for school bathroom sink! When people walked into the ladies room, there were exclamations of “OMG! What a great sink!” and “I want that sink when I grow up!” So…I thought that I would share this wonderful sink with you all:



I’m Geeky because…I love the NCLR bathroom sink!

I hope to see everyone at the next She’s Geeky Bay Area, January 29 – 31, 2010 in California!