Welcome to a World of Extremely Wired Woman

It’s a crazy tough world out there and women networkers in the technology field in Canada now have a new group to network with. Called Wired Women, the organization is a new networking group that focuses in on helping women in the technology field grow their business, their networks or their careers and it has now has branches open now in Toronto and Vancouver.

Network, educate and mentor are three words that have guided the volunteer networking group Wired Woman since its inception and symbolize and remain the pillars of the organization.

Wired Woman’s mission is to create an environment that encourages women to explore opportunities in technology, science and new media and to build successful careers that will allow them to become a driving force in these expanding sectors.

If you are finding it a challenge to meet people in the technology, science and new media sector then Wired Women helps you network. The group’s intention is to attract as many talented, interesting women in technology as possible, to grow our community and to provide forums for everyone to interact without the barrier of an annual fee.

At regular events, seminars and social functions Wired Women provides members and volunteers with real opportunities to gain exposure to an industry that otherwise can seem intimidating and confusing. It helps women to grow their network, meet interesting people and make lifelong connections.

Wired Woman also runs regular workshops, seminars and events to educate and empower women in the technology sector. We also provide training, support and resources to help our members learn more about the many opportunities available. Volunteering for Wired Woman also provides an opportunity for members to gain hands on experience, add to their resumes and to learn more about their industry.

The mentoring comes in when you need help crafting your career path or for someone to talk to who is in the industry? Wired Woman members are invited to apply to join a 6-month mentorship program. Aimed at women entering or re-entering the work-force, it is designed to help women who need career guidance.

Mentors meet with mentees at least one hour, monthly, for the duration of the mentoring relationship. This career mentorship experience is enhanced with networking events and education workshops.

You can follow Wired Women on Twitter, and join the Wired Woman groups on Facebook (Wired Woman Society) and LinkedIn (Wired Woman).For more information on Wired Women check out their website at www.wiredwomen.com
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Kensel Tracy is the Marketing Coach with the Corporate Coachworkz Inc. in Chelsea Quebec and is President of Business Over Breakfast Clubs (BoB Clubs) of North America. If you have an interesting story contact him at Kenselt@sympatico.ca

The Beginning of the Personal Brand

Well over the past few months I have been doing a lot of research on social network marketing and I am finding that things are changing quite fast. For example, a couple articles this week showed that traditional media buys are on the decline while web marketing and personal brand marketing are on the increase. Personal brand marketing is using the Internet to promote your products and build your brand. An example is the " Just Start a Business" campaign promoted by http://www.meetups.com/ which promotes getting a group together to just start talking about starting a business. The sponsor, Quicken Get Started, small business accounting software promotes the events, helps to offset the cost of the Meetups site and offers a free starter accounting software to those attending the event. In the past these dollars would have gone into mainstream media advertising.

Another examples is last year, Johnson & Johnson decided to boycott the so-called upfronts, an annual event when advertisers get together with television executives to negotiate for commercial time. In August, General Motors said that 2008 would be the last year for its longtime sponsorship of the Olympics. In May, A. G. Lafley, the chief executive of Procter & Gamble, told financial analysts that the company would spend less on traditional media and more on its Web site, in-store advertising and promotional events.

Another example is to take Nike's marketing pitch. Today,many Nike ads are shown only on the Internet. Wayne Rooney, the British soccer player, is currently featured in a series of online videos for Nike. In 2005, Nike placed a 2-minute, 46-second clip of the Brazilian soccer player Ronaldinho online, instead of on TV. The video has had more than 17 million views on YouTube and became so well known that some television networks like Sky Sports and the BBC showed it in their news coverage — free. I would like to thank Louise Story for her October 14, 2007 story, The New Advertising Outlet: Your Life. in which she give the details above and a whole lot more interesting reasons why Internet and personal brand marketing will become even bigger in the years to come. I hope to cover this topic more fully in my next up coming blogs. In the meantime think about how you are building your own personal brand. I will give you some tips in the days and weeks to come.

Kensel Tracy is the Marketing Coach and is Senior Partner with the Corporate Coachworkz Inc. located in Chelsea, Quebec, Canada. He is currently writing a new book called: Building Your Personal Brand, Finding Your Way in the Real World. see his website as http://www.corporatecoachworkz.com/ or at kenselt@sympatico.ca