Women in Technology: Building a Support System

The following is a Guest Post by Aly Chiman @ Alychidesigns

We need more women in technology, but it isn't easily done without help. Here is a list of organizations in Atlanta, Georgia US that proactively support women in technology.

A Many successful people accredit some of their accomplishments to learning from others who've walked the path before them. Someone to speak for their strengths and offer support. For many, this is a mentor, supervisor, or experienced friend who can challenge them daily. Where can one find and build such a relationship? Check out this list of organizations that exist to encourage and support the next generation of women in tech.

Women in Technology (WIT)

For aspiring leaders, WIT offers access to some of Atlanta's most successful leaders in technology through its networking events. Their monthly forums offer young professionals an opportunity to hear and learn from forerunners in the industry. WIT's Girls Get IT program is designed to expose girls in middle and high school to careers in technology, and encourage them to pursue STEM majors. WIT on Campus then encourages college students in STEM majors to stay their course, post-education

Launchpad2X

Founded by Bernie Dixon, the Chairman of the Atlanta Technology Angels, Launchpad2X is a program to foster the success of female entrepreneurs and business leaders. The program is set up to expose women to some of the challenges and opportunities they will come across in running a business. Participants in the program are given the chance to interact with investors, successful entrepreneurs, and professional service companies to build a network and grow their chances of success. Most importantly, the women receive individual coaching not only on starting a business, but also on becoming a strong and successful CEO.

Startup Chicks

Startup Chicks exists to inspire and encourage female entrepreneurs of varying levels to be confident in building their businesses. Members are exposed to invaluable mentoring relationships and potential investors, while meeting on a regular basis in small groups to support and learn from each other. Quarterly networking events allow members to introduce their companies to some of Atlanta's top technology and business leaders. Startup Chicks also offers an intensive accelerator program known as Hatch for promising entrepreneurs to learn the basics of pitching and financing.

Women Who Code

Women who are interested in developing the skills they need for advancing in a technology career will find a wealth of resources with Women Who Code. The organization holds socials and hack nights that are ideal for women looking to be part of a community that codes. They also offer technical study groups and workshops on career development in the tech industry. Meetings are a chance to expand your network of professional coders and learn from each other.

Rails Girls Atlanta

Rails Girls creates an intentional and inclusive community for women who code. They offer a safe and fun environment for women of varying skill levels to pursue their interests in programming. With a diverse set of coaches and speakers, Rails Girls meetings offers participants a chance to expand their skill sets, professional networks and community of coders.

Your journey in technology doesn't have to be a lonely one. Venture out and get connected with individuals and organizations to help you thrive in the field. As you have read, there are communities out there rooting for you. Get plugged in, because when you do, you will find that you are not alone after all.

Meet Christy Renier, Consultant in Change Management

Christy Renier is a change management and communications professional. In March 2016, she left the corporate world to go to work as a change management consultant. In January of this year, she launched Renier Consulting, LLC which is her very own Change Management and Communications consulting business.

Christy is just putting the finishing touches on her new website, so keep an eye on www.renierconsulting.org. You can also learn more about her by visiting her LinkedIn page.

1. What made you decide to leave the corporate world?

There were many factors that went into my decision to leave the corporate world. When I was young, I dreamed of starting my own business some day. My dad was a business owner, so you can say it is in my blood. I also saw how hard he worked his whole life and knew my timing was critical. So, instead of going into business for myself, I went to work for a global Fortune 500 company, knowing that my dream would come true one day. Now, here we are nearly 17 years later, and I've been working with the same Fortune 500 company. Throughout the years I've gained a wide range of global business experience and honed my industry knowledge, so I was feeling confident that if I were on my own, I could deliver expert services with a professional experience for my clients.

Next, I had a fantastic support system:
- a business mentor who encouraged me,
- a family that supported me, and
- a strong professional network.

The time was right; the time was now...!

2. How did you come to focus on change management in your work?

For me, there really was no other choice. Change management is my passion because I care about people. And, at the heart of change management, it is all about people. Over the past 17 years, I've worked in a variety of the "softer sides" of IT which tend to fall under the change category: training, technical documentation, project management, resource management, organizational design, executive communications, and strategic planning.

So, when I combine my passion with my skills and experience, I invoke what I like to call the "trifecta for success." Passion(Skills + Experience) = Trifecta Success. So, choosing my focus was as simple as P(S+E).

3. What exactly does change management mean?

Change management, simply stated, is the act of managing the "people side" of an organizational change. An organizational change is when a company takes action to make an improvement in some way, such as reduce costs, improve revenues, solve problems, align work and strategy, or improve efficiency/effectiveness within the company. People can have a reaction as a result of this change, both internally and externally. Having a robust change management strategy and a rock star change manager on your project team will is improve the likelihood of success and the overall return on investment for the project.

4. Why does communication have such an important role in change management?

The majority of the communications roles I have had over the past 17 years were related to change management activities... and at the heart of every great change management strategy is a solid communications plan. Managing the human side of change is heavily based on communications. It is extremely important for leaders to be authentic and honest when communicating with people who will be impacted by any company changes. Employees should feel respected and well informed every step of the way.

Thanks, Christy!

Meet Rich Marcello, Author

Rich Marcello is the author of three novels, The Color of Home, The Big Wide Calm, and, most recently, The Beauty of the Fall. He also writes poems and songs, and teaches writing at Seven Bridges' Writer Collaborative. He previously had a long and successful career as a technology executive, managing several multi-billion dollar businesses for Fortune 500 companies.

Learn more by visiting http://richmarcello.com. You can also find the author on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and SoundCloud.

1. What gave you the idea to write The Beauty of the Fall?

When I started the novel three years ago, I was interested in writing about technology as a healer and a community builder. There are many good novels out there about the evils of technology, but few, if any, about technology companies that bring about positive social change. The idea of using technology to enable true democracy, as opposed to the slew of representative democracies in existence today, intrigued me. The events in the world this last year­­–--the rise of fake news, populism, racism, and sexism--confirmed that I was one the right track. However, as my protagonist, Dan Underlight, emerged, I realized I was actually writing a redemption story. Once I was clear on that point, the themes broadened out to include non-violence, trust, honor, forgiveness, and simplicity.

2. How did your past experience as a technology executive come into play in shaping some of the aspects of the novel?

I spent many years in tech running different kinds of hardware and software businesses. Even though the technology used in the company Dan starts, Conversationworks, is beyond the industry's current capabilities, I wanted the feel of CW to be as real as possible. I spent a lot of time speaking with technology executives, many of them friends, to make sure the business scenes were authentic. And yes, I drew on my experience, especially around the norms of a healthy company.

3. What are some of the challenges you experienced in writing about grief?

The Beauty of the Fall is, at its core, about grief. That's why it was important for me to spend so much time developing Dan's inner life. I wanted to show, through his actions and his thoughts, what he was going through as descended further into his grief. At the same time, I wanted to show Dan ascending through his work at CW. Getting the balance right between the ascent and the descent was the hardest part of writing the book.

4. How does being a poet inform or enrich your prose writing?

I think it mostly informs at the sentence and phrase level. There are days when the poet in me takes over in a given scene, and I spend hours making sure the words I'm using have the right level of poetry in them. A number of my writer friends are also poets, and we seem to all agree that our best writing happens when poetry and prose meld together.

5. Do you see the fictional companies in your novel, RadioRadio and Conversationworks, as offering a commentary on the social media and/or tech climate of the moment?

Yes. I think many companies, particularly in America, have lost their focus. They're too focused on profit and quarterly results and have lost their way when it comes to the customers, communities, and employees they should serve. RadioRadio is the composite of many of these broken companies. On the other hand, I tried to show Conversationworks as a company of the future, one that better balances customer needs, communities, employees, and profits. I'm a firm believer that a revolution in business is coming, and it will be leaders like Dan Underlight, and companies like Conversationworks that lead the way.

Thanks, Rich!

Meet Leon Barnard, Inventor and Designer

The inventor and designer of ATRE Power Stations is Leon Barnard, who resides in Surrey, BC, Canada. Leon was a mechanical engineering technician who moved up the ranks to Commodity Manager for a Fortune 500 corporation.

His interests in development of the ATRE Power Station started after a purchase of solar panels which did not perform under short and dark winter days in BC, Canada. He wanted something that delivers power in all weather, 24 hours a day.

Leon is just launching an IndieGogo campaign to fund the production of an Earth Ambient Temperature Resistant Power Station. Learn more at https://www.indiegogo.com/at/ATRE.

Leon also has several videos posted on YouTube to give you more of an idea of how this green technology works.

1. For laypeople, could you tell us what Earth Ambient Temperature Resistant Electricity (ATRE) means?

If one to watch the video here at http://igg.me/at/ATRE, the crowdfunding campaign site, you can see how the ATRE Power Station uses earth metals shaped by design into an antenna-like array which is then brought into contact with the earth to "electrify" the small galvanic cells at the rate per surrounding temperature. If the temperature increases, the flow of electricity increases, and if temperatures drop, the opposing electron charges in the crystals increase. In each panel, we use batteries to control the resistance of voltage buildup, and from there we derived the name Earth Ambient Temperature Resistant Electricity.

2. What are the benefits of ATRE compared to the green energy sources of sun and wind power?

ATRE Power Stations use water as input source, a relatively free energy source. ATRE Panels produce an electrical current 24 hours a day, independent from sun, wind, or other energy inputs. ATRE Panels do not use oxidation as a process to charge electrons, making this a natural and emission-free source of power.

Since water is relatively "free," and the ATRE Power Station does not need "clean" water, this form of electricity is considered continuous and free.

3. How did you first come up with the idea for creating your battery design?

My experience with solar panels in BC, Canada on many short and dark rainy days during the long months of winter was disappointing, and it triggered my research to find an electrical source where sun and wind does not matter. I also had the criteria of emission-free power, and a natural and clean form of energy.

4. How big will the power station be, and do you know where it will be located?

The technology is absolutely scaleable, which means that laptop computers, cell phones, and other small equipment could potentially become self-powered with tiny ATRE Power Stations. For the purpose of the campaign fundraiser, the model proposed will be as large as a medium fridge that one would purchase at your local appliance store, but at least at half the cost of your fridge due to the simplicity of the technology used.

My plan is that the initial commercial unit will be purchased like a fridge, installed in a corner of a room, and plugged into the grid--and then you can immediately save on your energy bill. It's a plug and play type of technology.

5. Why did you decide to pursue a crowdfunding campaign for your project, and is there anything else you'd like readers to know about it?

The Indiegogo.com platform requires us to explain the use of the funds and the reasons for the crowdfunding campaign, so you can learn a lot more about it by visiting our page there. Anyone interested in this project can visit the site and watch the videos and visit links to other sites that display prototypes in action and illustrate the design progress for the commercial unit.

Thanks, Leon!

Meet Jack Rochel, President at Epsilon Electronics

Epsilon Electronics Inc is a company that specializes in automotive technology. They sell products like sub woofers, speakers, turntables, and even lighting products. They have been in the industry for over 30 years now. Learn more at epsilon-pro.com.

1. How has Epsilon Electronics grown since it was founded in 1983?

I have been at Epsilon for almost 18 years now and have seen how much we have grown over the years. In 1996, Epsilon Electronics was the second manufacturer in the United States in the automotive video industry. Now, in 2015 we are a top brand in our industry and we sell our products internationally.

2. When I think of car audio equipment, I think of car stereos, but I'm sure that's just the tip of the iceberg. What are some popular products that customers buy to enhance the audio experience in their cars?

The head unit is one of the simplest and cheapest ways to improve a car's sound system. But there are several other options to upgrade your system. For example, changing the speakers in your car is an option that doesn't cost much but can make a huge difference to the sound quality. Adding amplifiers is another option, especially if you like to listen to music at high volumes. An amplifier will allow you to listen to music loud without the sound getting distorted. If you have an amplifier, you can also add subwoofers to listen to lower frequencies. If you like listening to music with heavy-bass, subwoofers are the best option.

3. What options are available when it comes to car video equipment?

Here at Epsilon, we have products with mobile video technology for the passengers and for the driver as well. The products we offer for the passenger are video screens that can be mounted on either the headrest or on the ceiling of the car. For the driver, we have screens that can be used for reverse-parking and some screens that can be mounted on your rear-view mirror as well.

4. Are there other electronic products you carry in addition to those meant for automobiles?

We have a great variety of products. We run as an umbrella company for many brands like Soundstream, PowerAcoustik, Farenheit, and EpsilonPro. With these brands we have products outside the automotive industry including lighting products, DJ products, and video products.

5. How do you hope to see Epsilon Electronics continue to grow over the next few years?

Right now, Epsilon Electronics sells in 55 countries around the globe. We hope to continue expanding our business around the world and to provide the newest technology in our industry.

Thanks, Jack!

Meet Jason Mainella of Teeny Drones

Jason Mainella is the co-founder of Teeny Drones, a company based in Montreal, Canada which builds nano drones that are so small that you can hold them in the palm of your hand. Learn more at www.teenydrones.com.

1. Why do you think that more and more people are interested in drones?

I think it's the combination of people's desire to fly, and advances in technology that have made remote-control aircraft more affordable and stable.

2. What inspired you to start your company?

We noticed that people are buying remote-control helicopters that were falling apart too quickly on consumers. You crash them once, they blow up, they fall to pieces, and people are disappointed. We wanted to sell something that is a bit higher in quality along with being fast and affordable--something that wouldn't break easily.

3. How would you describe your goal with Teeny Drones?

We would love to see mini drones in the hands of one million people. I enjoy introducing people to the fun and art of droning. Drones are a great nexus for combining the power of games and technology, and the power of having fun. We hope to bring as much fun to as many people as possible with our Teeny Drones.

4. Why did you choose the quadcopter as the drone to launch your company?

I love gadgets and the fun of taking things apart and putting them back together. Drones are so interesting to me for their technology, and especially the quadcopter. With the quadcopter, there are four motors going on, plus the gyro system to calibrate. I think everyone will enjoy giving it a try.

5. How do you see Teeny Drones expanding over the next couple years?

We plan to sell accessories for the quadcopter as well as other drones. Our idea is to expand from the starter drone to a medium drone and then to a larger drone. I also would love to create and sell a small drone integrated with a virtual reality headset.

Thanks, Jason!

Introducing Owl Time Clock, Time Clock Supplier

When it comes to punching a time clock, there are many different options for business owners to simplify the process of keeping track of their employees' work hours. If you're looking for a time clock supplier, Owl Time Clock is a company which specializes in innovative time clocks, as well as other related products including security access systems.

Owners of small and medium businesses will find a variety of solutions for managing and tracking employee attendance from Owl Time Clock. Some systems rely on swipe cards or time and date stamps (which can also be used to record the time and date on other documents).

Other systems utilize technology to avoid common problems such as "buddy punching," where employees clock in for each other. Biometric hand punches can be used for up to 500 employees and measure the size and shape of employees' hands, matching their hands to the templates stored in the system for each employee. Businesses with up to 250 employees can utilize facial recognition technology, where employees clock in with a touchless face scan.

These are just a few examples of the products offered by Owl Time Clock. Companies with employees at remote work sites will find wireless work clock solutions. And businesses with existing time clocks will find all the supplies they need. Owl also stocks synchronized wall clocks and dependable security systems. Check out their website for a lot more information.

A Kickstarter for a Cool New iPhone Case

You know I love an interesting crowdfunding campaign, so here's a Kickstarter for a product called CasePlug. It's an iPhone case which has built-in mounting, charging, syncing, and a kickstand, all in one. It's a compact and easy to use product.

As someone who is apt to lose things like plugs, adapters, and so on, I like the convenience of having everything in one case. It has great appeal for minimalists who want something that looks sleek and is highly functional. In short, it's a "plug & play" replacement for all the accessories you need for your phone. It works by having an integrated USB plug that you can plug into an outlet, car radio, or laptop computer. It has wireless capability as well. And it allows you to use your phone to control the device you're connecting to.

Through the Kickstarter, you can buy CasePlug for $25, which is the introductory price. Check out the Kickstarter link for more info. Today (July 31, 2014) marks the official launch of the Kickstarter campaign, which is cool if you're someone who likes to be one of the first to sign up for a new product!

Introducing Wireless Stereo Speakers, a Practical Website on Wireless Sound Systems

As someone whose car still has a cassette deck, I have to admit that I'm not exactly a resource when it comes to sound systems. However, I know a useful resource when I see one, so if you're looking for tips on wireless sound systems, check out Wireless Stereo Speakers, a website with a wealth of product reviews and how-to information on installing wireless speakers.

Maybe you want a home theater system with great sound? Or maybe you want to listen to music on wireless speakers while you relax in your garden? You can find information on these and many other setups for all areas of your home or office or any other space where you want high-quality sound as you listen to music and/or watch movies. Also, if you want better sound with your portable devices like smartphones, the site will walk you through everything from how bluetooth works to choosing the best products for your needs.

The front page of Wireless Stereo Speakers gives a really straightforward overview of how wireless sound systems work. It's a great starting point for setting up your own system. I also like the installation guides as a source of practical information.

It's great to find a blog that's been put together by someone with a strong interest in the topic, and this is a useful site created by an enthusiast who wants to share the benefits of wireless speakers with other people who want to upgrade their home theater or stereo for the best viewing and listening experiences.

Introducing Yugster, a Site Featuring Daily Deals

Who doesn't like a website which passes along deals to online shoppers? Yugster Daily Deals is a daily deals website whose name comes from the words, "Yours Until Gone." They post a new product every morning at 6:00am eastern standard time, and it's available until it sells out.

When you register with the site, they'll send you an email to give you a heads-up about the deal of the day. A cool thing about the site is that when browsing, I found several items available, in addition to today's deal. The site has special offers and other promos to keep visitors interested.

Some of the Yugster deals are members-only, and there are other features for members, too, such as the YugPoints you earn with each purchase and can apply to future purchases. In other words, they make it worth your while to sign up!

The site will appeal to shoppers who like Woot and other tech-friendly daily deal websites. They regularly feature tech products, so it's a good site to check out if you're checking for tech deals on the net.

Introducing Gangly Sister

Who is Gangly Sister, and why did they declare 2014 the Year of the Girl? The company put out a video called 2014: The Year of the Girl, where they interview girls about their new year's wishes.

"It's just obvious to us. Everyone is so fed up with the media's bombardment of girls with pink unicorns and high-heels for toddlers," says Miriam Lottner, co-founder of Gangly Sister. "It was just a matter of time before we ladies took things into our own hands."

Taking things into their own hands is precisely what Gangly Sister is doing. The founders are parents, and they realized that they could simply produce their own content rather than wait for Hollywood to come around.

"It’s just like any startup," said Lottner. "We saw a problem and set out to solve it."

Gangly Sister will be coming out with the pilot for their animated series, Purple and Nine, later in January.

The Gangly Sister team is setting out to provide clean and funny entertainment for girls, and at the same time expose them to different types of technology. Co-founder Rebecca Rachmany says that there is nothing scary about technology, and that it's not just about coding.

"My favorite example of technology is the coating on chocolate-covered ice cream pops. When I was a kid, that coating used to crack into pieces, but thanks to technological developments, now you can enjoy that chocolate on the more expensive ice cream pops," explains Rachmany.

While that seems like a trivial example, it illustrates how conservative we are in our ideas of "technology." In fact, technology has made it possible to grow food in arid climates, treat diseases, recycle plastic, and even run faster. When you think about it, technology influences everything.

Gangly Sister emerged from the founders' frustration at having so few women in startups. While programs abound to encourage women at later stages in their live to learn to code or to get into technology companies, that's a fairly late stage in life.

The idea behind Gangly Sister is to catch kids at ages 8-12, when they are imagining what they would like to be when they grow up. In the Purple and Nine series, there are no bad guys or mean girls. It's all about two kids who just want to help out their friends, get along with their families, and have a great time. They just happen to use technological inventions to fix those problems.

To learn more, check out http://www.ganglysister.com.

Introducing LED Clothing

Just when you think you've seen it all, you click around on the internet and realize there's always something new and interesting. Today's discovery? LED clothing.

LED clothing marries technology and fashion to produce a variety of clothing items which also create unique lighting effects. Based in Seoul, South Korea, the LED Clothing Co, Ltd creates clothing for purposes ranging from clubbing to advertising. They specialize in handmade garments customized to the specific needs of each buyer. On the company's website, they explain that they can make costumes of "any complexity and design," and their client list includes a number of top international companies such as Samsung, Volvo, and CitiBank. They also work with a number of pop singers and other creative artists.

Check out some examples of the LED suits that can be custom-made. And when you look at this mirror man outfit, you'll wonder how they did it.

You can also try out LED clothing by making a smaller purchase such as a t-shirt or cap. In short, with the creative work of a designer who knows just how to arrange light-emitting diodes, you can have a very unique article of clothing, be it for everyday wear or for a showstopper to wear in the clubs or on stage.

Meet Kenneth Liao of Trade In Happy

Our interview below is with Kenneth Liao, founder of Trade In Happy, a company which allows you to sell your iPhone or other smartphone for cash. The company prides itself on its reputation as a reputable buyer for used phones, offering top dollar for trade ins.

Kenneth provided the following description of the company: "We, at Trade In Happy Inc., are devoted to providing innovative solutions for electronics recycling and to make our world greener and cleaner. We believe that by making recycling easier and more rewarding for everyone we can involve more people and get more used electronics recycled. We look forward to your participation in making our dreams come true."

1. Why did you decide to start a business to allow people to sell their used phones?

Recycling used phones and other electronics is going to help our environment by saving those old electronics from going to the landfill, and also reduce the demands to manufacture more new devices that will cause pollution for our environment. Recycling some of the high end smart phones can also be financially rewarding. Under the currently depressed job market, an extra $100-$300 cash is a nice supplementary income for everybody.

2. You are based in Ohio and have walk-in service there, but is most of your service via mail-in?

Yes, it is more convenient to just mail it in. The customer can save time and gasoline, and we will give them a free INSURED shipping label. All they need to do is go to our website: www.tradeinhappy.com, follow the on-screen instructions to choose their device and preferred payment method (check or PayPal), we will generate a free INSURED shipping label with their order. After they mail it in through FedEx, we will inspect the device and send out the payment. Instead of coming to our office and spending an hour or so on the road, a lot of our local customers would even like to mail their devices to us.

3. What happens to the phones that are recycled through Trade In Happy?

We believe reselling them to somebody that can use them is the best way to recycle old electronics because it will not only extend the life of the existing devices but also reduce the demands for manufacturing new devices that will consume more resources and energy and cause more environmental pollution.

4. What happens to phones that aren't recycled, and what are the environmental costs of not recycling phones?

A lot of them are dumped into landfills and even shipped overseas to other countries where they are scrapped into components and metals. Most of these devices contain contaminants such as lead, cadmium, beryllium, or brominated flame retardants. Even in developed countries, recycling and disposal of e-waste may involve significant risk to workers and communities, and great care must be taken to avoid unsafe exposure in recycling operations and leaching of material such as heavy metals from landfills and incinerator ashes.

5. Could you share an example or two of the feedback you've been receiving from your customers?

Sure. Here are two recent examples of feedback we received.

Tom from Miami, FL said: "TradeInHappy had the highest payout for my iPhone 5. Shipping and customer service was excellent. I would rate them A+."

Ellen from Philadelphia, PA also wrote us this: "You (TradeInHappy) are hands down the best trade experience I could have ever imagined. You have a customer for life."

Thanks, Kenneth!

Meet Don Daszkowski, Founder of Comunitee

Don Daszkowski is a serial internet entrepreneur and current CEO and founder of Comunitee, Inc. Previously, Don founded Business Mart, Inc., which was acquired by Internet Brands, Inc. in 2009 and Daszign.com which was acquired by CoutureCandy, Inc. in 2006

Don's last business was acquired by Internet Brands, Inc. (formally Cars Direct) less than three years from its launch. It was completely bootstrapped: Don used credit cards, had only two employees, had no investors, and experienced great positive cash flow. This business was the first website in Internet Brands Money and Business vertical.

1. What prompted you to start Comunitee?

I have been obsessed with making news more social. Online news today is very fragmented; there should be one central area that can deliver top breaking news that is relevant to each user and can be delivered to multiple devices.

2. Why are social/sharing aspects important parts of a news-based site?

The most common way of hearing about news events is by talking to family and friends either in person or over the phone. According to data from the Pew Research Center, 75% of adults get their news via word of mouth. Then, the majority of these individuals go to other sources, typically online, to learn more. Social networking is another way people (15%) are finding out about news. Of the people using social sites, 77% will click on links to read the full news article. This means that friends are already a driving force in the way you obtain your news.

3. What are the benefits to the end user of utilizing Comunitee rather than sharing stories from other news feeds/sites?

Everything is done for the user. Comunitee allows you to read your favorite news stories with your friends. Your friends news discovery becomes your news because you are able to see everything that your friends are reading. So if your friend reads the latest news on Barack Obama and you also have interest in stories pertaining to Barack Obama, then you will discover this news story as well.

4. In your experience as an internet entrepreneur, what makes a company valuable as an acquisition--or to put it another way, what are some things an entrepreneur needs to do online to make a site desirable to potential buyers?

Create an asset. If you are building a web property or an app, stay focused on that one product or service. If you have a popular website, continue to build on that success with SEO and other valuable services you can offer. Potential buyers will be looking for super-engaged audiences and/or a revenue model that is clearly scalable.

5. How do you think technology will evolve in the next five years?

With so many new devices and so many apps in the App Store, I couldn't even imagine where we will be. Now with Google Glass, 3D printing, and other wearable technology it will be a fun next few years to see all this amazing technology.

Thanks, Don!

Meet David VanDyke, Author

David VanDyke is a former US Army Airborne enlisted Soldier and US Air Force officer. He served in and out of combat zones all over the world in the 1980s through the 2000s. He lives on the East Coast with his wife and three dogs.

To get a taste of David's writing style, check out his blog, and keep up with him on Facebook and Twitter. He's the author of several novels, his latest being The Eden Plague, described on Amazon as a "science-fiction military techno-thriller."

1. What inspired you to begin writing your Plague Wars series?

Frankly it was all a bit hazy at the start. I began with an exercise where I just imagined what would happen if a guy something like me came home and found armed intruders in his house. After about twenty recastings and false starts I had half a plot and some pretty good characters, backed up by a lot of knowledge from my time in the military, and it all went from there to the middle of the first book, The Eden Plague.

Another idea I'd always liked was the concept of extraterrestrial meddling in human affairs. I introduced this as the end of book one and it becomes an important theme in the rest of the series, even while most of the story revolves around the people on Earth and how they deal with plagues, nuclear holocaust, and their personal and political problems.

2. How much did you plan out early on in terms of how your characters and plots would develop over the course of the series, and how much has evolved over time during the process of actually writing the books?

I often write some scenes before I ever write an outline. I don't want to lose the muse if I am inspired. But once I get that out of the way I usually outline the novel very roughly. Later on I may fill in those pieces. Then I start writing threads--storylines. For example, if I have three threads--protagonist, antagonist, side plot--I will write one until I am written out, then pick up another, and so on, writing in parallel. Then I will start fitting the pieces together like a puzzle, often based on the chronology of the events.

3. How has your experience in the military informed your work as a writer?

Very much so. In fact, sometimes too much for some genres. Along with thrillers with a strong military element, I write military science fiction, for example. In that genre my real-world military knowledge can get in the way of the expectations of the genre. For example, the real world specifies certain roles for certain ranks of the military, but often those roles are warped in the genre--yet they are expected. That's how you get oddities. Let's use Stargate for example. Colonel O'Neil, at that rank, would never be just leading a handful of guys. He'd be promoted to something in charge of more but getting in the action less.

On the other hand, I get the details right, as far as I can, on weapons, tactics, etc. Sometimes I read thrillers by people that don't know some obvious things--like modern soldiers don't use M16s any more, or that a 5.56mm rifle isn't something that snipers would use, or they have their heroes charging straight into a hostile room instead of using proper breaching and entry procedures. If I have my heroes doing something crazy or non-standard, there has to be a reason, or I just can't write it.

The final answer to that question is more general--living overseas for 12 cumulative years has given me a breadth of experience that others simply might not have. The settings in my books already range from the US to Central America to Africa and Europe, and because I have been there, I can write with some authenticity. I will use more settings of places I have been in the future, I am sure.

4. In addition to your Plague Wars books, would you tell us about some of your other published writing--and what you're working on now?

Right now, and this is very exciting to me, I am finishing up a novella that will launch a new military sci-fi series. This is what I was referring to above. While my first series, Plague Wars, is really a mixture of the thriller and sci-fi genres with lots of action, these will be more straightforward combat sci-fi. The first piece is called First Conquest, and the new series is titled Stellar Conquest.

The novella is set a century after Plague Wars but continues the storyline. Earth is under constant attack by aliens, and they have sent out a task force to attack the enemy in a star system nearby--well, in interstellar terms, nearby. It takes 40 years to get there, and there is no warp travel or anything like that--just good old-fashioned physics. The people use the "coldsleep" technique that many people know from movies like the Alien series or Avatar, and they wake up on getting to their destination.

So now it's do or die time. Without some fancy high-tech way to escape, they have to beat the enemy defenders and conquer the planet, and for the readers who like the combat sci-fi genre, I think I've written a damn fine story that will get their hearts racing: action, cool tech, creepy aliens, self-sacrifice, and the warrior ethos.

This novella will be published in an anthology alongside stories from bestselling authors BV Larson and Vaughn Heppner. These guys are childhood friends of mine who genuinely make a living by writing, and so they are doing me a great favor by allowing me to join them, and hopefully it will help some of their fans discover me and like my work. Look for that sometime in April, or perhaps early May.

To capitalize on this release, I have already finished book 2 of the series. Called Desolator, its story takes place three years after the first, and according to my beta readers who have seen it, may be my best work yet.

5. What advice would you give to authors who want to break into writing science fiction / techno-thriller novels?

The best advice is something I did not do. I wrote a cross-genre book--a thriller that morphs as the series goes on into a science fiction technothriller series. Imagine if Michael Crichton has written a sequel to Jurassic Park. How well would that work out?

Oh wait--he DID write a sequel, and you know what? It did not do well. Because the first one was a thriller, and the second one settled into science fiction. It just seems to be part of the landscape that if you have one techno-twist in your story--a disease, a nuke, gene splicing (like Bourne 4)--it's a thriller, but if you do a sequel that incorporates that sci-fi element into it, it's viewed as sci-fi.

So I'd say, pick your genre and stick with it. Cross-genre books are great when they work but they are very risky, so for the new author, establish yourself in a genre and stick to the conventions of the genre until you get some experience under your belt. I didn't do that and have had perhaps a slower start on success than I had hoped. People read Eden Plague and they don't exactly know what to make of it. The reviews have been good but it's hard to build a fan base out of such diversity--I feel like it's very broad and shallow.

Thanks, David!

Meet Brad Jung of CalabasasRealEstateAgents.com

Brad Jung is the marketing manager at CalabasasRealEstateAgents.com, a website designed to assist consumers looking for Calabasas real estate. With a background in real estate and technology applications, Brad is a vital component for CalabasasRealEstateAgents.com. With a degree in marketing and computer science, Brad was the perfect candidate to be the new marketing manager.

1. What inspired you to do marketing work within the real estate industry?

Both my parents were involved in real estate. Whereas most kids went to church, I grew up going to open houses on Sundays. I was never really pushed to join the family business, but it was always on the back of my mind. When I went to college, I majored in marketing and every time we had an assignment, I would always relate it to real estate marketing.

2. Based on your experience working with Calabasas Real Estate Agents, what do you find to be the features that make Calabasas a desirable place to live?

Calabasas is a beautiful place to live. Many actors and actresses live in Calabasas for its safety, beauty, and proximity to Los Angeles. The school system is also great and the school district has won many awards, which makes Calabasas a desirable place for families with children.

3. How would you describe the current real estate market in Calabasas?

The real estate market has been up and down, but we are seeing a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. Prices are starting to rise and demand is definitely growing. We are experiencing an increase in traffic to our site and more people are looking to buy homes in Calabasas.

4. What does your background in marketing as well as computer science bring to your current position?

My background in computer science allows me to embrace new technology, something most real estate agents do not want to embrace. My marketing background gives me insight to best practices in digital and out of home marketing for real estate agents.

5. How can individual consumers utilize technology to help themselves on the path to either buying or selling a home?

Consumers can use the web to research real estate agents and evaluate which agent will most likely get the best deal for them. People used to rely on bus bench ads and home mailers, but more and more people are searching the web for real estate agents these days. This trend will continue and we anticipate smarter and more knowledgeable consumers.

Thanks, Brad!

Meet Aaron Sherman, Founder of Storyboard That

Storyboard That, founded by Aaron Sherman, is an innovative technology to rapidly and easily create storyboards online. Storyboards have countless applications in the business and educational world. They are also a lot of fun! Aaron has a BS in management, and an MS in Computer Science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). He worked for 9+ years in both technology and marketing across the globe in Boston, Barcelona, and Sydney and brings to the table a powerful vantage point of common problems regardless of location and an astute understanding of communication opportunities.

1. What is it about the combination of words and pictures used in storyboards that encourages creativity?

Research has long shown that most people learn and remember better with a visual aspect. At their core, people are storytellers, and we best communicate and engage in that fashion. Combing pictures and words gives you storyboards.

2. How have you found storyboards helpful in your own personal and professional work?

Having spent a fair amount of time in the corporate world, both as a technologist and a marketer, I have witnessed more times than I can count the two sides unable to easily communicate. For marketers, the 'problem" and therefore "solution" is so obvious they don't understand why the developers "don't get it." Meanwhile, on the technology side, the developers are juggling so many activities, they don't understand why a marketing request is important or how it fits into the bigger picture. By breaking down an idea into a very simple story, it lets both sides look at the same problem together, and I apologize for the pun, but be "on the same page" and then work together towards a joint solution.

On a personal side storyboards are just fun. I get tremendous pleasure reading and looking at the creativity of Storyboard That's global audience. It also gives me an excuse to practice my Spanish trying to understand some of my audience.

3. What makes storyboards useful in schools as well as in business settings?

Effective communication and communication via storytelling are critical skills in today's workplace. In order to be effective, authors need to figure out what they want to say, why they want to say it, and how they are going to say it. Storyboards are a very powerful framework for this because they force the author to be concise (3-6 cells), think in a linear fashion (storyboards force the questions of "what's next"), and clearly show context of who, when, and where.

When students create book reports via storyboards, they are practicing these critical skills without realizing it. As students mature and their storyboards become more sophisticated, again and again they are breaking down their thoughts into bite-sized, easily consumable chunks.

4. What are the benefits of using the tools on your website to share storyboards with other people, rather than just making storyboards for brainstorming (etc) and not sharing them?

In my entire life I cannot think of one example where I shared work with someone and did not leave with new ideas and a different perspective. I constantly share my own storyboards with my fiancé to get her opinion on dialog and imagery or even find out if I missed the point completely. People are social: we like to talk, and we love to criticize and give feedback. Every storyboard has its own URL, so it is easy to send it to a friend.

That being said there is nothing wrong with making a few storyboards just to privately organize your thoughts.

5. How do you see Storyboard That growing over the next few years?

Storyboard That and its parent company Clever Prototypes are at their infancy right now. Clever Prototypes' stated mission is to help develop solutions to make people enjoy their days more by improving communication, ideation, and looking for ways to take old tasks and make them more fun. The focus right now is on continuously making our storyboard creator the best technology out there and making it easier for people to access it.

Thanks, Aaron!

Bryan Fiese on Educating "Generation Next"

Bryan Fiese is an educational expert who has been working with both students and educators for over 14 years. His thesis states that modern youth's (Generation Next) dependence on technology is causing a widespread lack of interpersonal communication skills. Bryan's insights are helpful toward educators' and parents' understanding of this generation; through understanding, we work together and clear and effective methods of communication and motivation can be determined. Learn more about these methods at the Motivated Teacher website.

Bryan's strategies and methods have been adopted by schools across the United States. He has appeared on radio broadcasts and national television and presented to countless types of audiences across this great nation through a continual calendar of conferences, training sessions and workshops. Visit Bryan's personal website for more about his writing, speaking, and training work.

He is also an author, with his latest book, No Teacher Left Behind: Keeping Up With and Captivating "Generation Next" in the Classroom, available now in its second edition on Amazon.com.

Bryan has uploaded a series of videos to YouTube as an introduction to his work. The video below is the first in his "No Teacher Left Behind" sequence.

Meet Patrick of On Learning Point

On Learning Point is a website with free and useful information about online teaching and learning and the use of technology in online education. The training technology manager who runs On Learning Point, Patrick has a passion for training and training technology and has implemented and migrated several enterprise systems as well as small start-up sites; he specializes in creating cloud-based learning solutions that give the best training impact to the business.

1. What motivated you to start On Learning Point?

Our Learning Point is primarily an informational site about learning and e-learning and e-learning technology. I realized after being in the industry for 10 years that I had a lot of information and tribal knowledge that would be good to share and put out there to help others. And so, I created the site primarily as a resource site for people who are actually practitioners of implementing a learning solution, as well as to offer suggestions for solving everyday problems that people face.  

A lot of times, people face the same exact problems and ask me the same types of questions. Usually once a year, I get the same set of questions. These include: How do I set up a certification exam, if the requirements are "x"? Or, how many people can be included in this audience? What audience should be set up? It can be even simpler than that. Other questions include: How do I define my audience?  How do I build a training platform that I can use to deliver all kinds of different things?  

Some of the other things that I try to explore on the site are more the complexity of building an entire software stack, such as a platform as a service. This means that you'd have several different platforms all working together to provide a seamless experience. For example, with learning solutions, you may have a video delivery platform, a document delivery platform, as well as the LMS (learning management system), which does the tracking and the backend functions.  

That's primarily the focus of the site. It was an idea that I had been toying around with for many years, dating all the way back to 2003 when I was starting to get really heavy into the learning process.  

Back then, Moodle and some of the other open source LMSs were very immature. They had a multitude of issues. The issues were not being addressed particularly well. They were being addressed in a community manner, obviously, since this was sort of a side project for a lot of people. However, all of that changed in 2011 when they adopted a more formal development and a break fix model where people could actually pay for commercial support, as well as getting commercial grade fixes for the LMS when something broke. And this was a paradigm shift in the open source LMS market.  

There are other companies who did something similar, and they may have said that they were open source, but if you tried to access their code, you wouldn't have been able to do so. I think that's one of the major differences between an open source LMS provider and someone who's not. Technically, that's not part of the GPL license, that you have to provide the code on your website, but it really seems to be an indicator of whether the product is open source or not.

Some of those other products claim that they are open source, but if you were to go to their website, you can't find one piece of code. To me, that's not really an open source product when even though technically you are licensed, as you can't get a hold of the code, which means you can't fork it. It means you can't own it. It means you can't support it. You can't create derivative works from it. It's not an open source. It is a completely a whole different area of philosophy.  

The other thing that is really neat about the way learning management systems have come and the direction that they're going nowadays is the whole introduction of the cloud systems. Now you can create, without actually having to purchase a lot of heavy end equipment, products that are located right in the cloud and they can come and go and may have very short shelf life--maybe only one hour.  

You can spin up one instance and then deliver your training and then spin it back down. It'd be a strange scenario where you would want to do that, but there may be specific reasons for it, so it's a very interesting paramount change in the way things are now being done.  

2. What's the current role of technology when it comes to education/training programs?

The role of technology in training is ever-changing and ever-evolving. Right now, we're at a paradigm shift in the way training is being taught to everyone: everyone from high schools, preschoolers, and all the way up through post-secondary education, as well as corporate training as well. The ability to create video and deliver it anywhere ambiguously on any device is changing everything. Pretty soon, and you're already starting to see this, you will be able to do a little search for content and, on the spot, you will be able to learn anything that you need to know about anything, whether it is air conditioning repair, how to diagnose your car trouble, or how to apply for college credits.

It doesn't matter what it is. A lot of the institutions are realizing that as well, and so they've gone to a global learning reach where they've defined their audience as everybody in the world. Obviously, there are some language barriers with doing it this way, but the fact that you can actually deliver your learning content to any corner of the globe at any time, at any instance, is completely changing the way we do business.

Now, the similar technology needs to catch up and be able to track these types of delivering mechanisms, but at its simplest form. If you were to click on this website, I can track that you've launched the content. I don’t know if you finished the content, but I know that you clicked onto it and so I can track that click. The other thing I can do from a technology standpoint is that I can assess your knowledge very easily as well by creating quizzes after the fact.

So, whether or not you consume that content with me or you consume the content with some other provider, it doesn't really matter to me. The content most likely will be available to you, although maybe not always and then, by virtue of me assessing your knowledge and skill level, I can now say that indeed that you are certified. I can feel comfortable with certifying you remotely, without even having even seen you. This is great for me because I can charge you money to do so. And this is great for you because you may live in a rural area where these schools are not available except online.

The other thing that is quite revolutionary when it comes to learning is the use of video cameras and webcams. Through different services and virtual classrooms like Skype or Big Blue Button, you can now have a face-to-face meeting with one person or an entire class. And so you can take that traditional classroom environment and actually deliver it virtually anywhere in the world.

There are some technical limitations as far as bandwidth goes and you have to make sure that your video and audio is synced up, but that is becoming more and more ubiquitous. Some of the technology is going to need to catch up as far as tracking and recording as well.

But, at some point, there is no reason why anybody can't become an instructor. If you know something or you have a certain skill set or you have a certain knowledge area, you should be able to share that with the world and be able to resell that information. This is whether it's a recording or if it's actually a live class.

Some people start with doing a live class and, once they've done it a couple of times, and they feel like they've gotten good at it, they'll take that and actually record it. Once the recording is done, now you can sell that and repackage it as you want. Add a quiz and now you can certify someone: after someone reviews your content, heor she may be able to pass a quiz and now you have certification.

So, technology is changing everything by making everyone connected via the Internet.

3. How is mobile technology changing both learning and teaching?

To summarize, it's video and the ability to get that video anywhere. Anyone can learn and anyone can tach right from their mobile device, because let's not forget, they are all just little tiny computers. And they are perfect platforms to broadcast from.

It's an exciting time where things are really just spinning up and soon you will be able to learn things right at the point of needing to learn them. As an instructor taking a mobile device to the field will let you narrate and show the item being talked about. You can then wrap up the whole thing by making an assessment in the end and you will then have a full training module.

4. What is the cloud, and how is it affecting online learning?

Most people have heard of cloud computing by now, but just to reiterate, cloud computing is a shared computing platform that can be used to host and store learning content.

You can create a whole virtual machine or a server right in the cloud, using shared resources and you don't need to worry about any of the underlying infrastructure like:

Routers
Physical servers
Disks

All that stuff has been virtualized, so you just create an instance of your Moodle sites by going in through Amazon web services, create the server, and set it up, load your content and then you are in business. It can take as little as 5 minutes to get everything set up.  

This is incredible because this is a paramount shift in the way the speed of things can go to market in which you can bring things.  

Also, there is the ability to store items in the cloud, either as a student or as an instructor: if you have videos that you would like to store, if you have audio files, word documents, all your content can be stored up there on the servers, which are actually located in a secure location somewhere other than yours that can be accessed by any Internet-capable device.  

From a standpoint of creating content and hosting it and tracking it, it's never been an easier time in order to get that done.

It used to be, in the old days that you had to get a server.  

You had to size that server correctly, based on the amount of traffic that you were expecting.  

And then, perhaps you had to put a load balancer in front of it, and basically have to worry about a lot of different technical details such as:

What IP addresses you have.  
What are your DNS settings?  
How do you set all that stuff up?  
Do you run your own DNS server?  
Do you setup your own mail server?  

Anyway, all of that is not really an issue anymore thanks to cloud computing.  

There is one down side and thats privacy. You may lose the ability to have your items private--but anything that's out on the web, it's probably not going to be private anyway. So, unless it's secret content, it's probably going to be okay to have it on that server there in the cloud.  

5. What would you recommend to an entrepreneur without experience in new learning technologies who wants to start utilizing the online environment to offer trainings, seminars, and other interactive products?

I think, if you're an entrepreneur and you’re starting out today it's really a 3-step process.

1. The first thing you'd want to do is just create a base outline of the different courses that you're going to be offering.  

2. Next, you need to create that offering and start with the easiest thing you can start out with. So, whether it is a small, short PDF or a short video recording, you can start with that and get everything in place and start offering courses to people.

3. Set it up in the LMS, because it's so much easier to get started: you can be up and running the same day that the content is ready.

Often, it seems that people get stuck on the technology, and it becomes more and more this huge, great big thing.  

If you kind of have an outline of how you think it's going to look when it's done, start that vision and then break it down into little pieces and turn each one into an individual PDF.  

Sometimes people just get stuck on just creating that first PDF and when that happens, they find it hard to implement because it seems so massive.  

With each LMS that I've been involved with, they all started in the same place. They started with loading a single document, testing the ability to serve that document to other people and making sure that it was recorded and that the student had basic access to the content. It doesn't need to be any more complicated than that.  

The great thing is what you can do today:

You can very quickly create your content, and then very quickly set up in just an instance a learning site, and then launch it very quickly and get it out to the market, often within the same day of completing your content.  

So, there is no reason to make it overly complicated.  

One other problem area is that people will try to go through a whole LMS selection process trying to figure out which one is best. Most of the ones that are out there today generally do the same thing, just in slightly different ways, and so, depending upon what your goals are, it's probably pretty easy for you to achieve that goal.  

Get that content out there and start charging for it today. Validate that your business model is good and that the content is something that people would pay for before you invest many, many hours into the project.  

The other thing you can also do is you can use PLR content (Private Label Content), which is content that's already been written. You can take that content and rewrite it and put it up into your LMS immediately, making it a very fast turn-around.  

Depending on what area you're actually working in, you can get the LMS and the content pre-built for you and you can use that to turn-around your business model very quickly.  

Online webinars are also a great way to push content out quickly to the large groups of people. Software such as Big Blue Button and WebEx lets you talk and share your screen. Hold a monthly webinar, which is great for connecting to people and finding out exactly what the market needs.

To learn more about e-learning platforms, please visit On Learning Point. On Learning Point is a site dedicated to helping everyone learn about e-learning platforms and e-learning technology.

Thanks, Patrick!