Salutations from IT Girl Katie F.

I was talking to my 18 year old niece Meg the other day (who without even realizing it is a technology diva). Meg was telling me that some of her high school classmates were in trouble for passing virtual notes – text messaging – and it made me think about how far I’ve come in technology since I was a kid. I passed hand-written paper notes. Now instead of detention for chewing gum it’s detention for not turning off a cell phone in class.  In any case, while I was not saturated with technology as a kid the same way Meg is (except for the Atari of course!) it’s now an indelible part of my life. Which is why I am so passionate about the books we are talking about on this blog – IT Girl’s Guides.  I have always had a love for books. When the discussions began about creating a technology series for women, I realized the reference books that I am drawn to, the books I love, the references that have meant the most to me are the ones that I can relate to or feel as if were written exactly for me.  For me it all started when I found a book called Dare to Repair: A Do-it-Herself Guide to Fixing (Almost) Anything in the Home. I was living by myself in a building that was built in 1896. The walls were plaster (and falling apart), and the plumbing and electricity outdated.  I needed to know how to do things without relying on my friends, and I detested the whole notion of needing a handyman around to fix stuff. I wanted to do it myself. How can I hang my beautiful (but heavy) mirror without removing huge chunks of said plaster wall? How can I rewire my outlets so I don’t blow fuses each time I blow dry my hair? How can I snake my sink drain to unclog it? I had been to the bookstore several times (unsuccessfully) trying to find a reference that was fun, enabling, and easy to navigate. This is going to sound way too girly but I also wanted a book that was attractive. I like to look at aesthetically pleasing books and well, most home improvement books are short on the pretty (and long in the tooth – I definitely did not need 1000 pages to wade through – I needed just the facts). That’s when I found Dare to Repair. The minute I opened it I felt this book had been written just for me! Dare to Repair gave me the confidence to fix my own clogged drains and provided the need-to-know, get-in, get-out information without saturating me with a bunch of unnecessary details which I most certainly in between work, mojitos, mani-pedis, yoga and long cycling rides did not have time for.  So that brings me to today and where I am now – honored to be part of an amazing team creating a unique product for women, authored by women on technology topics.  IT Girl’s Guides are for me, and every woman who wants to embrace her inner geek! If you would like to know more about me, please visit the section called “The Team” at the top of the page. And stay tuned – there will me more posts from the team and I’ll be posting another blog entry soon that will introduce supercharged IT Girl Camille McCue, the amazing author of IT Girl’s Guide to Becoming Web Goddess. For a few fun sneak peek facts, Camille was born in the UK and naturalized a Texan. Camille tried to cash in on the Miss Texas-to-Miss USA streak of the late eighties by entering local beauty pageants but could never beat brunettes to the crown. Realizing her talents were more geek than beauty (pageant), she earned her BA in mathematics and then went to work for IBM where she marketed computers and can say she actually say she knew Mark Cuban before he became a millionaire. Camille is currently working on her PhD and of course writing IT Girl’s Guide to Becoming a Web Goddess.  

Posted by: Katie F.

So, you wanna’ be an IT Girl?

That’s the question several of my coworkers and I had to ask ourselves last spring when we were asked to work on a new tech book series for Wiley Publishing. We came up with the idea of a series of tech guides that would be written exclusively by women for women on topics that would appeal to today’s smart, savvy, and very busy women…women that each of us in some way could identify with. No one could dispute that more and more women from all walks of life are using technology to improve and enhance their lifestyles, from on-the-go professionals to new moms to technology trendsetters. But, would women really be interested in a women-focused tech reference?

After months of research, brainstorming, and creative thinking, we believed the answer was yes.

And, as we looked closer at the women who might be interested in such a reference, we found a lot of similarities. Our IT Girls were intelligent, interested (and interesting), active, and educated. These women wanted to learn new skills or enhance existing ones, and were eager to meet their technology challenges head-on. But while technology had its place – an important place – in their lives, they didn’t intend to sacrifice time with their family and friends, their favorite yoga class, or the latest episode of Grey’s Anatomy to be a slave to the technology gods either.

Thus, we arrived at The IT Girl’s Guides, a series of books that truly believe that being a geek REALLY is chic! You’ll here more from the rest of the IT Girl’s team, our authors, and other IT Girls coming soon on The IT Girl’s Guides blog. Stay tuned.

So, you wanna’ be an IT Girl? Yep, I do.

Posted by: Kelly T.