Jessica Faye Carter has posted an excellent article on Mashable about women using social media. I personally found a lot of women are using social media effectively in their career, promoting their own brand, effecting social change and connecting to others.

Jessica gives some impressive numbers:

. The level of female involvement struck me: of the 87 million women active on the Internet , an estimated 67.5 million women are engaged with social media. And by now you’ve probably heard that women are now the majority of social media users on sites like Facebook , Twitter , and MySpace . This level of engagement indicates that there’s more to the story than just simple enjoyment of social interaction.

She also lists reason why women are using social media:

Today, women are continuing this linguistic innovation by adopting social media, a sort of hybrid of written and spoken language, and a perfect example of the kind of new linguistic form that women flock toward. One reason for women’s interest in social media has to do with its symbolic capital, and what it represents in our culture. As language changes often signify underlying social change (think tutoiement in the French Revolution), people adopting emerging forms of communication like social media, are also embracing the consonant social identities. Social media represents an identity that is modern, connected, and a little bit daring. It’s an identity that is understood to be comfortable with a certain amount of transparency, promotes information, and has a global outlook, as technology crosses geographic boundaries. It is participative in nature, and this opportunity to add new layers to their identities is part of what makes social media so attractive to women.

The other reason is more pragmatic: social media offers benefits and improvements to a woman’s quality of life.

Read the full article which gives key insight and observations.

The Root continued their multi-city series, Young, Fabulous and Female event in NYC last week Wednesday with a night of conversation about black women and they challenges that their are facing. Sponsored by Pepsi We Inspire, the event was held at the Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theater and was attended by over 200 women (and a few men). Jacque Reid, co-host of KISS-FM’s The D.L. Hughley Morning show, moderated the panel discussion with a great panel line-up: Tracey Ferguson, editor-in-chief of Jones Magazine and star of Centric TV’s reality show, Keeping Up with the Joneses; Lois Samuels, model and fashion designer; Edwina Findley, actress (Tremé); Donna Byrd, publisher of The Root; Raina Kelley, Newsweek staff writer; and Harriette Cole, president of Harriett Cole Media.

The conversation start off with a bang with what women and men really thought about rapper Slim Thug’s recent comments of black women in an interview. The rest of the discussion focused on theme of sisterhood, mentorship, balancing work/life issues, learning more about yourself and ways of how we can grow as women. The overall take away message was that the being fabulous is not about the clothes you wear or the shoes you rock but about being yourself. We have to love who we are and don’t letting anyone stop our goals. It’s okay to be scared, used that fear to start a plan where you want to be. A good tip about going after new opportunities was that you have to be willing to volunteer. Not everyone has the time to be a mentor. Avoid asking someone to go to lunch, ask to have coffee. There was tons of discussion going on online via the Twitter hashtag #youngfab.

All women can apply the advice given that night. It was such an empowering experience and would love to attend one again. Final words to remember: “We are responsible for the image we put out. We can change the way media see us.” and “Believe in the power of speaking things into existence”. I would like to thank The Root and Pepsi We Inspire for a great evening, Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theater for a beautiful venue and all of the successful and fabulous ladies of the panel.

Photo by LaVelle Finerson

This is an except from a blog post written by Adelaide Lancaster, co-founder of In Good Company.

clipped from www.huffingtonpost.com

In short, I am being asked: “How can we get female entrepreneurs to start those blockbuster businesses that are so often started by men?”

And I get very frustrated, because in my mind this is the wrong conversation.

These questions are problematic because they reinforce the strong dichotomy that exists in the mind of the general public between businesses that are fast-growing, capital-rich, and highly-visible (and undeniably mostly male) and businesses that grow more organically, remain closely held, have greater longevity, have less capital, and stay smaller.

The first group gets deemed the legitimate “real” entrepreneurs, while the latter group, especially if they are run by women, gets passed off as “lifestyle” or “lipstick” entrepreneurs. While in reality businesses in the latter group are run by both men and women, I’ve yet to see a man’s business pejoratively referred to as a “lifestyle” business.

When it comes to professional degrees, women don’t pursue MBAs. According to the article on Women’s eNews, “Women clearly view business school as a more challenging and less welcoming atmosphere, however.”They more often go into law or medicine. NYU and other business schools are trying to change that by offering cooking classes and  private parties at Dylan’s Candy Bar.

Women-owned businesses are growing, so the rise of women pursuing MBAs should follow. However, it doesn’t to seem the case.  A lot of women who have started businesses in the past couple of years have done so out of necessity or passion. It is often a second career. The idea of being an entrepreneur may have not been in their career goals when they were in college.  Hopefully more women will pursue MBAs and build great businesses first.

From Small Biz Daily, there’s a nice article about women entrepreneurs bringing more jobs for the economy.  Here’s a snippet.

Writing on ForbesWoman.com, she notes, data from the Center for Women’s Business Ownership show that the 8 million women-owned businesses in the U.S. account for more than 23 million jobs—16 percent of all U.S. employment. But only one in five women-owned firms has revenues over $1 million. “If women entrepreneurs in the U.S. started with the same capital as men entrepreneurs, for instance, they would add a whopping 6 million jobs to the economy within five years–2 million of those in the first year alone, according to Babson College research,” Pinelli writes.

Pinelli believes the key to helping women business owners create jobs is helping them in three key areas: access to capital, business networks to help them scale their businesses, and global supply networks.

Brokelyn interviews the founder of LearnVest Alexa Von Tobel. I am a fan of LearnVest which is a personal finance site for women. Alexa talks about how she raised a million dollars for her startup. Congrats! BTW, I am also a fan of Brokelyn blog whose founder, Faye Penn, will be joining me on my SXSWi panel, The Broke Diaries.

Are you looking for a change from your 9-5? Are you debating about following your passion? Thinking about taking that leap into entrepreneurship? Last week I came across a very interesting video on this topic. The video was created by Caren Magill, the Founder & Chief Media Strategist of Digital Pink Media. Digital Pink is a website portal and consultancy dedicated to helping women entrepreneurs build brands and promote their small business online using affordable, repeatable strategies.

Here is what I learned: when starting out here are 4 tips you should keep in mind.

1. Consider what you’re good at and what you enjoy doing. If you don’t enjoy being in the kitchen cooking, then becoming a top chef might not be the right fit for you. Figure out another way to work your passion.

2. Brainstorm without restrictions. Don’t eliminate any ideas in the beginning. Your best ideas will stick while the other will fall to the side.

3. Explore your ideas exhaustively. Research! Research! Research! Talk to people already in that profession. Find out as much as you can: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

4. Surround yourself with like-minded people. Network both OFFLINE and ONLINE.

So don’t forget to learn about entrepreneurship. You can view the video here on the Digital Pink Media website.

clipped from news.bbc.co.uk

Tanzania has launched a bank aimed specifically at women in what officials say will be an empowering move.

The bank says women need only an ID card or passport to open an account, unlike other banks which require title deeds or other proofs of wealth.

And applicants need only 3,000 Tanzanian shillings ($2) in savings - much less than other banks.

Although the bank, which is based in Dar es Salaam, targets women with its services, men can also open accounts.

Tamra Malaga, founder and driving creative force behind Vera Plum, is a designer living in Los Angeles.  Her whimsical graphic designs for infant and child clothes are bright, original and appealing, and she is growing her company while continuing to create adorable designs.  The multi-talented Tamra is also a performer, writer and producer as part of the Josh and Tamra Show.

1.  How did you get started doing what you do?

 I started my career in 1999 as a graphic designer in New York City.  I designed graphics for the creative services and marketing departments of broadcast networks, on projects such as posters, postcards, media kits, branding, trade ads, web graphics, package design, and apparel promotional items. I had the privilege to work for many top shows like Saturday Night Live, and major networks including HBO, Food Network, A&E, History Channel, WNET  CourtTV, Comedy Central and Troma Films. 

As a designer, I wanted to expand my creativity, so I took a huge pay cut and landed in high fashion, at Aeropostale, in New York City. My boss, the creative director, became a huge mentor to me. He taught me the ins and outs of the fashion graphic world from trend shopping and designing to production. I fell in love with the process and found great success, moving up to senior graphic designer. A year later I had the opportunity to work for clothing companies such as Ecko Red, Abercrombie & Fitch, Hanes, Old Navy and the Gap, designing top seller graphics, trend shopping around the states, and loving every moment of it.

I had tons of great ideas for tshirts and accessories but,I was very limited as to what I designed for the corporate clients, since I had to design within the brand limits and their trend reports. So, in my spare time I had friends come over my Sunnyside, Queens apartment for “Craft Night.”  Everyone brought a fun craft project they wanted to work on like painting, sewing, or beading necklaces. During craft night, I designed a bunch of out-of-the-box style graphics and I applied them to baby tshirts and onesies.  I got great feedback from my friends and so, Vera Plum – my own company was born. I’ve been hooked ever since. 

2. What is your biggest joy and what is your biggest headache?

My biggest joy is when people express to me how much they love the items they purchase. I am happy that they are excited to buy them as a gift for someone special, or have their children wear a tshirt or onesie I designed.

My biggest headache is that I am a one-woman operation. I do everything from designing, PR, website maintenance etc.  I wish I could multiply myself. I also wish I had a bigger budget. The eceonomy is really bad right now.

3. Where do you spend most of your time online (business-wise)?

I spend it trend shopping, searching for trade shows, and filling orders.

4. What is the one thing, person, service or resource you can’t do without? 

I am very grateful for my web designer Nicole from 368 Design. My business would not be as successful if it wasn’t for her amazing talent. 

5. What do you wish someone had told you the day you started your business?

It’s going to be a long, long, long educational journey and enjoy the ride!

This is the first in a series of posts about one woman going out on her own, making money and bringing home the bacon. Enjoy!

Picture this: You are just months away from your college graduation and you get offered an opportunity of the lifetime. You seized said opportunity and feel that life couldn’t be better. Then the economy starts to tank and you are personally affected. What is a gal to do went she loses her job? The answer: Go out of her own.

This is exactly what happens to me about eight months ago. I landed a great internship, was able to stay on pass my college graduation but then the recession hit. So while looking for a job (and I am still looking) I thought why not make my own money. Being your own boss is not easy task. There is a lot of researching, time, and planning that goes into becoming successful. The only plan I had in place was to get a job before graduation. I had no back up plan. I kept putting off the idea of freelance on the side. It wasn’t until I was put into a situation where I had to start thinking on my feet and get my act together. So the past couple of months I been doing my homework and making a game plan.

So tip #1 to my fellow women who have found themselves in the same position, is have a game plan and at least two alternatives just in case plan A falls apart. Tip #2: network, network, network. No one would know that you are looking for a job and/or clients if you don’t get out there and tell them. And last but not least tip #3: believe in yourself. Believe that you can do anything that you set your mind to.

Until next time.