One day I will admit to the world that I am a techie, until then, I will continue denying it because I don’t want to be categorized, or placed in the box of ‘techie’ which has the negative connotation of being boring, not being able to speak to other people, programming all day, wearing jeans at work, smelling like yogurt and crayons from being in a carpeted room full of computers (that’s how the apple clusters at Carnegie Mellon smelled), or anything else that makes being ‘geeky’ not cool. So no, I’m not a techie damnit. I smell good, love my job, and am surrounded by tech which I love because I don’t need training to operate.

For those that don’t know, I went to Carnegie Mellon University, where I studied business administration. The business majors in my school were the most personable, the hottest were in the Drama school – I can’t even lie about that. Even though I was a business major, I was required (mandated/commanded/etc) to take a programming class. Randy Pausch was still at CMU when I attended it, and I had the honor of learning to program using Alice – which makes programming fun and super cool to make (my first/major project was having a couple dance salsa-very fun!). As a CMU alum, people always assume I’m a techie because of their extraordinary Computer Science program, or Robotics, or Electrical Engineering – but I wave my business degree with pride! I use tech but I can carry a conversation (it is a terrible stereotype – but I can’t change it overnight).

Photography – a class that I yearned to take as an elective is ‘tech’. There is so much ‘tech’ in it – the development, digital photography, graphic designs, etc. Being a director in the Drama school requires tech too. Being an editor for the school paper requires tech as well. Even if you were an English major – I’m sure you use tech to drive people to want to read you stuff.

Tech is everywhere and there are so many opportunities that women can pursue to join this industry. I pursued a career in consulting after college and now, as I try to figure out what certifications to get, I am seeing the greater value technology adds. I would’ve never dreamed to be in IT, or to have a site that focuses on women in tech/who use tech/who like tech – yet, here I am, almost admitting that I am a techie.

The day that the phrase ‘techie’ has all of the positive attributes that it actually has, will be the day that I wear my ‘I’m a techie and I’m proud’ cape…until then, I’m not a techie, I’m just a regular cute geek.

Thanks.

(btw – if any women in college, or even out of college want to learn about other opportunities in technology, or what working in technology mean, feel free to contact me, if I can’t answer your questions, I can find someone who can – RadirisD@cutegeek.com)

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Back in January when Mike and I were brainstorming about what this site should entail, we both agreed that it would be beneficial to showcase some of the brilliant women in technology. By showcasing extraordinary women in technology, who are making strides for all of us, we’d be highlighting non-traditional careers women can pursue, while at the same time motivating more females to pursue degrees/careers in technology.

The role of women can be debated upon for hours, maybe even weeks without end, across the whole wide world, using all forms of technology but something that we’re seeing, despite cultural differences is that this once called ‘role’ of women is being redefined.

This part of the site was in the works for quite some time now, but we couldn’t quite figure out how to incorporate it into our usual reviews so CNN.com did the trick for us. It’s enlightened us on what we need to do.

CNN.com brought a common issue to light, which are societal and cultural struggles that many of us face. I was emailed an article regarding Latinas and their suicide rates. It’s not a theme that is unique to us, by us, I mean Latinas, but it is a common theme to those that are either 1st generation in the US, or others (even men) that are in not-so-traditional places in their life. The theme is that there is a struggle between what society expects, what their families demand and what they want to do.

Ultimately, we don’t know what we don’t know. It may seem as if I’m going off on a tangent, because some of you may be wondering how the CNN article relates to women in technology, or CuteGeek.com – so here’s my train of thought:

If we show the world the many roles and jobs brilliant women have, more females will be motivated to pursue what they truly love. We read a lot of bad news, and even in our lives we complain about a lot of things; before always identifying the negative, lets try to find a solution or something to alleviate the issue.

This is our way of helping.

Stay tuned for interviews with Brilliant Women in Technology.

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Many of us rely on reviews to provide that ‘connection’ we seek when products spark an interest and we almost want to buy. A friend of mine sent me an article this morning highlighting just that. More and more women are depending on the internet to delve a little deeper into their shopping experience, meaning instead of only buying things online, they are actually researching and comparing opinions, prices, etc. before entering that credit card data. Women are using the internet to share tons of information (blogs, pictures, advice, etc.), and the research behind the article show that the participation in these social networking sites/activities are actually influencing the decisions these busy women make in their daily lives.

It’s great – this whole internet thing. We realize professional opinions (those certified in this, with a PhD in that) are not always the preferred source. We want the real deal. We want to hear opinions from the true source. We want the writers of the reviews to be like ‘us’, aka normal, everyday users, not necessarily a power user that knows every single specification.

Surprisingly enough, Palm is also striving to get to that ‘source’. If you’re interested in reading more about how Palm is recruiting real reviewers, and are interested in possibly playing with a Palm Pre (for free, with 6 months of data/voice service) click here.

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