The National Society of Collegiate Scholars (NSCS) is a nonprofit that recognizes and elevates high achieving college students across the United States. They have over 1 million millenial members, are recognized at 300 college campuses, and provide career support, service opportunities, and programs dedicated to the ideals of scholarship, leadership, and service.
As NSCS’s primary audience is college-aged millenials, they wanted their digital presence to reflect the youthful energy and vibrancy of their membership. They needed to provide a large amount of information while maintaining an intuitive navigation. Additionally, the website had to be mobile accessible.
Before
After
Over the past several months, Social Driver has worked with NSCS to completely redesign their website. In the process we learned a few things and we want to share with you some of the top-level considerations we focused on to make this website a success.
It’s easy to talk about yourself, but it’s far more effective to talk about your customers. To tell the story of your company or organization, be sure to show the people you help and lift their stories. NSCS’s mission is to elevate high achievers, but their old website focused more on the organization than on the students they supported.
For the new design, we wanted to share stories and images of NSCS’s members. The website now features large splash images of their members as well as an entire section dedicated to recognizing great alumni stories.
Determining navigation starts with having a clear understanding of your audience, the actions you want them to take, and a clear content architecture that supports those goals. Menu structures that are too shallow rely on a massive list of unrelated information which is confusing to the visitor. Conversely, menu structures that are too deep end up burying relevant information under excessive layers of menus.
For a complex website, we use information hierarchies that keep all of the content within two to three layers of the homepage. To accommodate for the large amount of information, we used multiple navigation bars that slide onto the page giving the visitor the ability to explore the different areas of the site more freely.
Every site’s architecture will be different, but keep in mind who you are targeting and what action you want them to take.
We’ve said it again, and again, and again. Designing your website responsively is an absolute necessity in today’s digital arena. NSCS’s primary audience is college students, who access the web through their mobile devices at an increasingly high rate. (TeensAndTechnology2013.pdf)
For NSCS, we divided the information into breakpoints that condenses the navigation into two expandable menus, leaving access to the entire site content while not overwhelming the visitor with a laundry list of menu options.
Congratulations to NSCS on a successful new launch!
Most likely, when you think of “weekly staff meetings” you don’t think happy thoughts. But it doesn’t have to be that way! We’ve decided to share a few of our winning tips for staff meeting excellence. We call our weekly meeting “Recharge,” because we want it to be a time when we can come together, take a step back from the day-to-day, and focus on why we do what we do.
Brace yourself and “retrain your brain,” the contents proceeding defy normal logic of successful staff meetings:
This might seem counterintuitive. A staff meeting with non-staff members? While this might not work for all meetings, particularly ones where you discuss confidential information, opening up staff meetings to outsiders can be a great way to build relationships with clients, contractors, and mentors. If your employees see that non-staff members are excited to attend your meetings, they’ll be more likely to want to attend themselves. Plus, having non-staff members helps give a fresh perspective to your discussions. Try inviting a remote employees or subcontractors to your next meeting via Google Hangout and/or Skype.
Now that you have everyone all in, thank them. Companies that practice appreciation far outperform those that don’t.
To make the appreciation meaningful, have peers recognize other peers for specific behaviors or actions and then tie those recognitions back to company values. At Social Driver, we call our team member recognition the “Victory Lap.” Each week we request all employees to nominate someone they feel should be recognized for his or her outstanding performance and/or effort. And then… you guessed it! We play our favorite victory-themed song, “Chariots of Fire,” as our victory lap winner runs around the room in slow motion, giving everyone a high five—even giving virtual high fives to remote employees.
Give Air Time to Everybody
Staff meetings should allow for team members to share, not just listen. Make sure you allot time for staff meeting attendees to share and comment. These moments do not always have to be work-related.
Having something as simple as a “Hot Topics” discussion where everyone on the team can share the latest trends or personal interests they’ve been pursuing is a great way to build morale.
It’s inevitable to have a few “not so” interesting pieces of information that must be shared in weekly staff meetings. When choosing the content for your staff meeting, be sure to plan segments that your entire staff will enjoy, not just one or two teams. Sometimes we start out meetings with an impromptu dance party. Other times we introduce new members of the team by having everyone else tell a funny fact about themselves. It doesn’t take a lot of effort, but be creative. Your metric for success should be number of smiles and bursts of laughter.
What does your team do to liven staff meetings? Share with us in the comments below.
At Social Driver we pride ourselves on getting with the future through engaging, fun, and fulfilling work that is accomplished by a group of people all pulling for the same team. If you’d like to learn more about joining us, visit: http://socialdriver.com/jobs/
Mobile technology is finding its way into every aspect of our lives. Say goodbye to guesstimating the impact of fitness activity and all those funky calorie-counting equations. Whether your cycling, running, sleeping, or exercising with a group, these fitness apps can help you track calories intake and create an exercise plans. We’re all about technology improving our lives, so we’ve selected the 10 Best Health and Fitness Apps available today on the iOS or Google Play store.
What it is: Leading fitness App that provides an easy method to track food intake and exercise activity.
Why We Like It: In addition to being able to set goals, log calorie intake and physical activity, MyFitnessPal let’s you share your weight loss journey with friends—allowing motivation for more success.
Cost: Free
What it is: A weight loss app and online service aimed at motivating you to get to your goal.
Why We Like it: Feel free to Lose It! To start, the app allows you to create a weight loss plan equipped with helpful tools such as a food calorie tracker, suggested challenges and forums.
Cost: Free
What it is: A PocketSports app equipped with a comprehensive pose dictionary for any aspiring yogi.
Why We Like it: If you’ve ever wished for yoga on the go, Pocket Yoga does just that. Downloadable for both phones and iPads, the app lets you engage in full yoga classes or for a specific duration. You can also choose your environment for practicing yoga. We like ocean.
Cost: $2.99-$4.99
What it is: Advanced iPhone application for cycling, running, and more.
Why We Like it: Not only can users track, visualize, and share cycling and/or running experiences, but they can also hear. By configuring (up to 25) announcements users can be updated on variables such as time, speed, distance and elevation.
Cost: $4.99, iOS Only
What it is: Personal training app for to tracking workouts and improving fitness.
Why We Like it: RunKeeper lets users measure heart rate, keep track of calorie count, and measure distance (using GPS). You can use the app for a variety of activities (not just running), and the app also lets you regulate music and take pictures during exercise.
Cost: Free
6. FitocracyWhat it is: Social network geared towards making weight loss fun through gamification.
Why We Like it: Fitocracy was created with the idea of mixing the excitement of weight loss with the thrill of gaming. The community-based network lets users interact with others striving to beat each level of their weight loss goal.
Cost: Free
What it is: Nike’s premier training fitness app for women.
Why We Like it: Featuring over 100+ workouts, fitness rewards & bonuses and audio trainer guidance, Nike Training Club (NTC) provides the exclusivity of having a personal trainer right at your fingertips.
Cost: Free
What it is: Premier fitness app, which can be enhanced with a wearable device.
Why We Like it: Fitbit helps users active, eat better, manage weight, and sleep better with a mobile app and synch-able website. Fitbit accessories The One, Flex, and Zip offer a more accurate snap-shot of fitness and sleep activity—ultimately enhancing chances of weight loss success!
Cost: Free, Device $100
9. RuntasticWhat it is: App that tracks routes and data during exercise activity for a maximized fitness experience.
Why We Like it: Runtastic improves the running experience by offering mobile, online tracking, and live cheering. More in depth tracking can be achieved when paired with the Runtastic GPS Watch.
Cost: Free, Pro $4.99
What it is: Inspiring fitness app allowing users to map their fitness strategies and achievements.
Why We Like it: Unlike the usual fitness app tracker, MapMyFitness+ creates a visual map of exercise and activity. Users can track calorie intake with a food log and connect and share with friends.
Cost: .99 Cents
If you’ve used any of the fitness & nutrition apps on our list, leave a comment below and let us know how you enjoy them. If your favorite fitness app isn’t on the list, share it with us!
There have been quite a lot of headlines lately highlighting the tech and STEM gender gap and the programs that are helping tackle this issue. Just a few weeks ago we at Social Driver highlighted the issue in our post, The Tech Gender Gap.
A lot of publicity has gone to nonprofits and organizations tackling the issue, but how can individual companies and females themselves make a difference in the gender gap? As an aspiring female developer at Social Driver my experience has been none other than positive. Here are some first-hand tips for females and companies to successfully integrate diversity into your tech teams.
If you don’t take risks on yourself others will not take a risk on you
Taking risks goes both ways. If you are a female wanting to break into any new field (not just STEM), take a risk, try something new. If you are really passionate, quit your job and take the plunge! The more risks you take, the more passion it shows, and the more likely others will be to take a risk on hiring you because they will see your passion. Enthusiasm and passion will go a long way to overcome doubts about breaking into a male dominated field. When you can focus on your passion and what you need to do to achieve your goals it is easy to ignore worries such as potential gender bias.
If you are a company, take risks on diversifying your team. It is always a big decision bringing new people into your team, but look for those who have taken risks to pursue their passion. Social Driver took a risk on me as I had no prior tech experience, but they saw my passion and saw the potential for my new development skills. Diversifying your team will not only benefit your office culture, but will also benefit your companies bottom line.
Women don’t need hugs and daisies, recognition for a job well done will do
A big reason the risks Social Driver and myself took have worked out as a great experience, is because of the supportive environment within the company. Women – if you are interviewing with a new company or team and aren’t feeling the support right away, RUN! Support is not referring to a hug at the end of your interview, it means finding people that are confident in your skills and see your potential.
As women, we often undersell our abilities and accomplishments. Having professional supporters that recognize these accomplishments and talents helps provide the confidence we as females need to keep giving our best. Social Driver recognizes a star employee every week at a company wide meeting. Having this public announcement of achievement for employees makes it easier for employees to feel accomplished and supported. It also provides an equal opportunity for all to be recognized, not just males or females.
Do your job with intent and success is inevitable
This piece of advice is for everyone, not just women. When working on a project, it is critical to understand the users, desired outcomes, and purpose. Understanding these pieces of the puzzle and being mindful to always be in line with them better ensures successful products.
Social Driver is constantly re-evaluating company and project goals to make sure project deliverables are inline with the project mission. As a company, holding yourself to these standards allows for more personal satisfaction for employees. If everyone is on the same page with company and project goals and missions, it allows employees to feel like their contributions are making a difference. If employees feel like their contributions make a difference it creates a more collaborative and open working environment for all employees regardless of individual differences.
You cannot be anyone else better than yourself
The last piece of advice is to be bold and be yourself! Women – don’t be embarrassed to discuss how your friend from book club disliked a new website because she felt it was too masculine and couldn’t relate. Men – don’t hold back from your stories of epic video game battles and how elements of the game may better your product. Or vice versa! Don’t shy away from your experiences and opinions that may be gender specific or gender nonconformist.
One of the best things about the Social Driver team is that everyone is an individual and feels comfortable relating their individual experiences and opinions to help better the products. This not only leads to a more empathetic product but it also hits that “more diverse team equals better results” research that has recently come to the surface. Don’t relate every suggestion to being a female or male, but also don’t let yourself second guess those thoughts just because you think it’s only due to your gender. Chances are other people are thinking those same thoughts, they just might not be bold enough to express them (or there might be no other females on the team to think those thoughts).
As long as you remember to take risks, be supportive, be conscious, be bold, and be yourself you can never be unhappy with the work you or your company is doing. If you are looking for a new position in a diverse workplace, you are in luck because Social Driver is hiring! Now get out there and chase your passions!
Social Driver is thrilled to present our 38 Best Nonprofit Websites of 2013! One year ago, we showed you our favorite examples of 2012 and we were excited to see many of those websites have redesigned their look and feel. Through extensive research and evaluation we chose the best nonprofit websites on the web today.
It was a tough job but somebody had to do it! Social Driver evaluated hundreds of websites based on the following criteria: clarity of call-to-action, mission portrayal through photography, vibrant and engaging website design, and responsive site layout. We’ve defined our criteria below and highlighted the nonprofit website from our list that does an exceptional job showcasing the criteria.
Want to see if your favorite nonprofit made the cut? Check it out!
With any successful campaign, whether online or off, an organization must have a clear call to action. A clear call to action provides users and members with a purpose and easy way to carry out that purpose.
LiveStrong does an excellent job displaying calls to action prominently on the site. Visitors are greeted with instructions to “Join Our Team,” “Wear Yellow,” or “Donate” giving visitors an easy and quick way to begin their fight for the cause.
Successfully defining problems and developing solutions among the cancer community has contributed to LiveStrong’s wide-reaching impact. The site’s clear calls to action help their supporters make an impact as well!
Photographs are a powerful tool in telling your organization’s story. A single stunning photograph can pull in visitors and compel them to get involved.
Kiva made the cut as one our 38 Best Nonprofit Websites because of the compelling use of photography to tell their members’ stories. As a nonprofit that utilizes crowdfunding to promote entrepreneurship globally, potential donors must be able to connect with the individual projects showcased by Kiva. Inspiring descriptions of the need for funding accompany each “borrower” photo, better assisting lenders in their quest to give.
Along with photography, vibrant and unique website design is key to attracting your target audience and pulling them into the site to ensure your audience commits to your organization’s calls to action.
Sesame Workshop’s vibrant design, easy to ready typography, and simple color scheme bring visitors at all levels into the site. Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street? With Sesame Workshop’s fun to navigate website you will cheerfully and easily find the nonprofit’s mission and calls to action. Not only do we enjoy Sesame Workshop for all they do educationally to help children in 150 countries, but also for their visually stimulating site!
Web traffic is increasingly becoming more and more mobile. Your users are viewing and sharing your nonprofit website on a variety of devices, whether you want them to or not. Having a website that can adapt to different technologies and screen sizes is essential for connecting with your audience.
Boot Campaign helps raise awareness of the challenges American solders face upon returning home from war and raises money to provide assistance to programs helping our heroes on the front lines. Boot Campaign knew their target audience was heavily concentrated with mobile users. Creating a fully responsive site that looks and functions great on desktops, tablets, and smartphones allows Boot Campaign’s supporters to make a difference wherever they may be.
Want to see if your favorite nonprofit made the cut? Check it out!
Do you know of other nonprofit websites that we didn’t choose that could be contenders based on the criteria? You can let us know in the comments below.
Creating a company culture has become a topic of interest among organizations seeking to brand themselves internally. The traditional office space has reached a plateau and companies are taking advantage of digital tools to create a virtual workspace enabling them to connect with clients across the country and employ people who work remotely.
In this respect it becomes all the more important that an organization creates a strong work environment, promoting a cohesive culture that supports and encourages an organization’s greatest asset – its employees.
Below are 4 tips on how to increase interactivity, boost communication, and cultivate a positive culture with insight from our own Thomas Sanchez, founder of Social Driver, on his experience building the character and culture of a start-up.
Gone are the days of corner offices enforcing professional hierarchy. Knock down the walls that divide a workplace! “When we were looking for a new office space, we intentionally chose a location that was more open so everyone could sit together,” says Thomas Sanchez.
Leaders must set the tone of intimacy and inclusiveness to help increase workplace interactivity. Doing so can allow relationships between employees and fellow executives to be more genuine, trusting, and comfortable. Having an open space is a simple way to make executives more accessible to employees, facilitating the flow of communication by making everyone feel included and equally valued.
2. Meet Often.“Meeting often is very important. Social Driver team members meet daily. Once a week we have a group meeting as a whole (remote associates video chat in) where we recharge our motivations, whether on projects or simply motivating each other. That one hour of recharge is a chance to stop and assess our culture and impact,” says Thomas. Prioritizing meeting and fellowship time is a great way to build a culture and it’s relatively easy to achieve by implementing some continuous practices.
Team meetings are a given when it comes to accomplishing a goal or starting a project, but one on one meetings are just as essential. Encourage employees to meet with each other one on one, it’s the best way to really have a two way dialogue and to ensure that everyone is being heard. Outings are another great alternative and offer a twist to the usual group meeting. Try a new lunch spot or take advantage of a nice day with a walk and talk meeting.
Giving people the opportunity to stretch their legs and leave the confines of an office can have an enormous effect on boosting morale and energy. If someone cannot physically make a meeting, do whatever it takes to include them. There are no shortage of digital tools to connect people so make the extra effort to set up a video chat with Google Hangout or Skype whenever possible (even if a phone call might be more convenient).
This is a great way of making group communication more accessible and encouraging interactivity. Thomas confesses that “a lot of times, it’s not me challenging the team. There are people on the team who push me to do better by probing for answers to generate successful outcomes. We also have a private Facebook group which is an easy way for me see what topics and successes my teammates are sharing.”
More pull and less push; listen more and talk less. This is a golden rule for everyone on a team, but it’s especially pertinent to executives and supervisors who can get in the habit of excessively putting out information without taking the steps to balance that push with pull in the form of feedback from their team.
Ultimately, a culture is created by the people who contribute to it. Making sure employees needs are being met is the best way to ensure that they will be productive and happy at work. Give options so that people can figure out what works best for them. This might mean offering more flexible hours to ease a harsh schedule or clearing out the extra office to make a communal workspace when an employee needs a change of scenery.
We have a culture at Social Driver that values the quality of work and supports the employees behind it. Everyone has different habits and needs, especially when it comes to work, a willingness to accomodate goes a long way and sets the tone of a work environment that gives back to the people who make it great.
You should talk to us. Social Driver is now hiring both awesome part-time and full-time people to help bring our projects to life. We have free Nespresso and lots of fun!
Remember, a company culture is not created from the top-down. It must be lived and developed through all the employees at your company. Make sure you are hiring individuals who will fit into the culture you have fostered and who will continue to contribute to your culture. Culture can have a huge impact on the success of an organization; here at Social Driver we pride ourselves on getting with the future through engaging, fun, and fulfilling work that is accomplished by a group of people all pulling for the same team. If you’d like to learn more about joining us, visit: http://socialdriver.com/jobs/
Facebook recently announced a new design of the Facebook News Feed. The design reduces the left and right sidebars and expands the main News Feed to show full-size vibrant images, offering more real estate to visual content and a set of new sub-feeds.
According to Facebook, the same stories will appear as did before, meaning that Facebook has not adjusted Edgerank, the algorithm that determines what content is posted on your News Feed. However, the design will be much more vibrant and colorful, centering around larger images.
Facebook says that this change will provide a more seamless experience between mobile and desktop viewing, but we surmise that this is an attempt by Zuckerburg to position Facebook as the premiere advertising platform for digital marketers.
With the redesign, companies’ promoted posts and sponsored stories that use images will be given more real estate in individuals’ News Feeds. So what does that mean for marketers in charge of managing organizations’ Facebook page?
Up until now, many marketers have seen huge ROI in promoted posts and sponsored stories, partly because of Facebook’s lower-than-market-value advertising rates.
Advertising experts expect that Facebook’s shift in focus on visual content will allow them to gain higher ad prices in the future. This means that the days of cheap advertising on Facebook will likely be coming to an end. We expect ad costs on Facebook and other social networks to significantly rise in the future, so plan your budgets accordingly.
Facebook already favored visual content, but this News Feed redesign further reinforces that focus. When planning your editorial calendar, try to figure out how you can share your information visually, through a photo or photo album.
Infographics are a great way to share information (and have high virality), as are images with overlaid text (think memes). If you are using text in your images, make sure you follow the <20% rule!
With the new sub-feeds, Facebook users will now have the ability to choose to filter content more heavily. As with many of the changes to News Feed, this will positively affect some marketers view rates and negatively affect others. Among other options, users can now view content posted by only their friends, effectively opting out of content from organizations who they aren’t friends with but may follow.
Users can also see content posted by all the pages they follow, content just relating to Games or Music, as well as a variety of other filters. You’ll be able to advertise in any of these feeds, but you’ll want to be mindful of the context. For example, an advertisement that shows up in the “All Friends” feed may be viewed as more disruptive as one that shows up in the “Pages You Follow” feed.
Regardless of these changes, competition for space on Facebook’s News Feed is becoming more and more cutthroat. Not only do you have to compete with other organizations, you now have to compete with larger and more prominent ad spaces integrated into the main News Feed.
On average, about 15% of your followers will see the content you publish for any given post. That means that the chances of spamming your followers is nearly impossible, unless you are posting more than 10 times a day.
Digital campaigns have come a long way! Promoting up and coming products, services, and/or campaigns is now more readily available through Kickstarter—“a funding platform for creative projects.” At Social Driver, we help clients Get with the Future by supporting both entertaining and revolutionary social projects. Check out 6 of the best Kickstarter video campaigns that caught our attention:
Campaign #1: Kickstarter Open Source Death Star
Pledge: £20,000,000
The force is definitely with the team behind the Kickstarter Open Source Death Star campaign! Based in London, the project has received worldwide recognition & support. While creation of an actual Death Star may be bleak, the Kickstarter Open Source Death Star campaign is momentous. Steadily growing towards it’s goal to gain “more detailed plans and enough chicken wire to protect reactor exhaust ports.”
Campaign #2: Dog Days
Pledge: $30,000
Local directors Laura Waters Hinson and Kasey Kirby set out to document the successes and tribulations of two uncanny hotdog stand owners in the Washington, DC area. Coite, a former industrial engineer, and Siyone, a former East African refugee, join forces to keep street vending alive despite the new popularity of “food truck” vendors. The gain for pledging towards this campaign ranges from donating $5—which will allot you special thanks on the movie website, to $5,000 (or more)—which will grant you the credit of Contributing Associate Producer in the film and more perks. With under a month to go the campaign is almost halfway to their goal!
Campaign #3: LiveCode
Pledge: £350,000
“If you couldn’t code before, LiveCode is the answer.” The application—Live Code—is already available to a fourth of Secondary Schools in Scotland. Of those schools, students using the program for a year have shown a significant increase in computer science interest. LiveCode is produced by RunRev Ltd. (app developers) and is described as the “next generation hyper card” program. The Kickstarter campaign was created to help fund the program to run on every popular device and code in English. By mid-March the program will be available and free to schools and universities globally. The initiative of LiveCode is to encourage digital literacy by helping young minds write interactive software.
Campaign #4: /Crowdring
Pledge: $15,000
Through /Crowdring, Deepa Gupta, Adriana Valdez Young, Carina Molnar, and Leonardo Eloi planned to unite the world on social justice issues. In 2011, a movement in India gained 35 million petition phone calls from supporters to a local number. However, the supportive phone calls did not suffice because there was no system maintain and organize the data. /Crowdring is an application that is developed to allow those supporting any movement around the world to use their phone call as a petition signature. These “mobile signatures” will then be presented to politicians and lawmakers as encouragement for change. With developing partnerships in Rio, Nairobi, and Bangalore, /Crowdring is on it’s way to revolutionizing involvement in social movements.
Campaign #5: GPS Art Poster
Pledge: $500
This non-traditional art form has caught the attention of many. Although the campaign isn’t over the poster art exceeded its goal by over $7,000 dollars. Collected from thousands of impressions from GPS users around any city, each piece embodies layers of traveled routes. When finished the artistry shows a layout of a city with interconnected lines, some denser than others, which conveys areas highly traveled. The finished product, a frame-able poster, can be made from any area in the USA as well as the UK, Germany, Netherlands and Denmark.
Campaign #6: Embrace+
Pledge: $220,000
Say goodbye to interrupting meetings or movies with phone alerts! Described as a “fashion accessory with true functionality,” Embrace+ (for androids and Iphones) is a bracelet which alerts it’s wearer with color coded alerts. From incoming calls and texts to email, Facebook, or Twitter notifications, Embrace+ keeps you in sync without having the phone directly in your hand. Each notification has the possibility of being to be color coded letting you know exactly which type of notification your receiving. Even down to your girlfriend/boyfriend or boss calling you. The campaign for the sleek notification design is still underway to release the final product of the Embrace+ with the 5ATM waterproof grade.
Share in the comments below your favorite Kickstarter campaign!
To find out more how Social Driver can aid your upcoming campaign contact us at Info@SocialDriver.com.
Yesterday I had the pleasure of speaking on a panel at an event for the Public Relations Society of America – National Capital Chapter (@prsa, @prsa_ncc). We fielded some fantastic questions from the audience, and many asked how many social media channels, tools, or platforms is the right number to use.
I reused a very appropriate analogy I heard last year (more about that later). Have you ever been to a house party, where everyone ends up crowding around in the kitchen, while the host tries to herd folks out to the living room, where the cupcakes and comfy couches are? You have to decide what type of host you want to be – the ones who tries to interrupt good conversations and push people into the other room, or the one who goes with the flow and remembers that the point of the party is to have a good time, not to show off the new furniture.
When it comes to reaching your audience online, you need to figure out where they are, not where you want them to be. That probably means:
So what’s the right social media channel, tool or platform for your organization? The answer is, find out where and how your audience is spending time, and go to them. So go ahead, grab that tray of cupcakes and take it into the kitchen. Your audience, and your sanity, will thank you.
I’ve taken the liberty of appropriating and modifying the kitchen analogy from the very insightful Mary Nahorniak (@maryvale), Social Media Editor at USA Today, who spoke at the “Get It Online” lunch discussion group I host at The National Press Club (@pressclubdc). She probably tells it better than I do!
We know that women love using technology, but do they love creating the technology that they use? On average women tweet, like, share, and pin far more frequently than men and are quicker to adopt new digital products and services. Across all ages groups, women interact online more than men, yet only 5 to 20 percent of software developers in the US are women.
The ratio seems to remain the same, or even dwindle, as you look at other careers in tech. In 2010 only approximately 7 percent of investments backed by the successful incubator, Y Combinator, were led by women. Yet, statistics show that a more gender diverse company returns higher gains, up to 30%, from IPO. Startups led by females generate higher revenues per investment dollar than startups led by males.
Where is the disconnect? Is this trend changing?
In recent years, we’ve seen an emphasis on closing the gender gap in tech. In the early 2000s, the focus was closing the gender gap to create a better office culture, but now technology companies are realizing that having women in leadership roles actually benefits revenue. Shocking right? Who would’ve guessed that having women leaders in businesses whose largest population of engaged consumers is women would actually be financially beneficial.
Numerous groups have emerged to help provide resources and ammunition to the movement. Hackbright Academy is a 10 week programming fellowship in Silicon Valley exclusively for women. Rails Girls is an international movement promoting innovation with female entrepreneurs and developers through Ruby on Rails. Astia is an organization founded in 1999 whose mission is to propel women’s success as entrepreneurs and leaders.
Is the emphasis working? I think yes. We see a growing movement for women to contribute in the tech space. Female targeted groups are bringing access to technology and putting resources in front of female entrepreneurs and developers. Female leaders, like Marissa Mayer, are increasing visibility for women in tech. Female led startups like Popvox, Code for America, and CakeHealth are paving the way for women to create their own space in the tech industry while providing solutions that help everyone. But the fight is not over and we need to keep talking about women in tech.
Are you a female in tech? Do you think the gender gap is closing? What resources have you used to help launch your tech career? Let us know in the comments below.
