Welcome to The IT Girl’s Guides

Like lots of other professional women my age (30), I grew up secure in the knowledge, passed on by my mother, that I could do or be anything I wanted. I wasn’t confined to the home and the hearth. No need to learn to cook or sew. Why would I take home economics classes when I could be studying Russian literature, Physics, or Computer Science? No daughter of Shirley’s was going to don the pearls and bake a chocolate soufflé for dessert every night, tend the baby and finish the new slipcover for the sofa while waiting for her man to come home. I’ve got better things to do. I’ve got a life to live and a career to build!

Except it would be kind of fun to occasionally make that chocolate soufflé for myself and my friends. It turns out that convenience foods, while tasty, are mostly bad for one’s health and the environment, so if you care about limiting fuel consumption, not contributing more than necessary to landfills, and living to enjoy your retirement, you’ve got to learn to cook something– maybe even garden. Nice curtains are really expensive, and I can’t find anything I like at the mall, so it would be really great if I could pick out my own fabric and sew my own. I still don’t want or need a man, but I’d like to be a mom someday, and it turns out that I need some medical assistance to make that happen. I want to make sound medical decisions, so that’s going to take research. Where’s a girl (who wants it all) to turn?

Ah, women of the Internet–  Mom taught me to value my independence, develop my critical thinking skills, and to be resourceful. You taught me to make my own shortcake biscuits, when and where to plant Little Marvel garden peas, how to turn wool into a beautiful lace scarf, and how to choose a competent Reproductive Endocrinologist. You also introduced me to technologies like 30 Boxes and OneNote– both tools that have helped me organize my colliding personal and professional lives and become a more efficient worker.

Women’s shared experiences have the power to open doors for other women. I know because they’ve opened doors for me. By sharing what we know, we can help each other become more successful, more self-confident, and more independent. That’s why I’m so excited to be working on the It Girl’s Guides, the first-ever technology series written for women by women. If you’re trying to break into the boy’s club, win over a Web design client, create an amortization worksheet to help you shop for your next mortgage, or build a blog to support your business, we’re working to get you the information you need. We know where you’re coming from because we want it all, too.

Posted by Melody