ReinventingErica.com » Netsquared

Technology Bytes, Kudos, & More

Erica — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 23:54:01 +0000

I’ll be a guest on Technology Bytes this evening – Tune into KPFT 90.1 tonight from 8-10 PM. We’ll be talking about BarCamp, StartupWeekend, & more Thanks to Dwight Silverman for the invite

About Last Night…

I’ve always wanted to start a sentence that way Anywho – Ed Schipul from Schipul The Web Marketing Company did an amazing job last night presenting on the iPhone. The good news is – if you’re already a standardista – and you know a thing or two about unobtrusive DOM Scripting – you’re in a good position to develop sites that work flawlessly on an iPhone.

I’d also like to give a shout out to Robert Brackenridge for his commitment to the Houston Tech Community. Robert recently founded a new company called Konstruction Zone – expect big things from him very soon!

The thing I really love about NetSquared is that meetings like this offer the community a chance to really give back. But in order to really effect change – we need your help! At last month’s NetSquared our guest speaker was Reggie Bibbs. Reggie has Neurofibromatosis – and is on a mission to raise awareness about his condition. Later this month we will be helping him launch the Social Media portion of his Just Ask campaign in association with stanandlou. I’ll blog more about this soon – but if you are interested in helping us spread Reggie’s message – please email me at: ericaogrady at gmail.com.

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What’s Coming Up…

Erica — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 06:41:25 +0000

This coming Sunday I’ll be flying out to SF to interview New York Times Best Selling Author Tim Ferriss for The Business Makers Radio show. For those of you who haven’t picked up the 4-Hour Work Week yet — it’s definitely a “must” read! Tim’s not only a great writer – but as Lester Buck informed me – he also hold’s the Guinness Book of world record for Tango spins See the Video Here.

I’m super excited to be heading out to interview Tim — but also sad that I’m going to be missing so many great events that are happening this week in Houston.

Tomorrow afternoon is the 2nd edition of Houston OpenCoffeeClub, hosted by the incomparable Marc Nathan. You can find out more details here: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/195457/

On Monday June 11th, we’re doing our first Refresh Houston meeting for the month of June (we’re actually doing two meetups this month to make up for last month’s lack of presentation space). Kelsey Ruger will be presenting on Grid Based Design – so be sure to mark your calendars – this is a Refresh you won’t want to miss!!!

Tuesday June 12th is NetTuesday – and this month Reggie Bibbs and the Texas Neurofibromatosis Foundation will be giving a presentation on promoting awareness of Neurofibromatosis and growing a strong support community through Web, viral and public service projects. You can RSVP for NetSquared here: http://netsquared.meetup.com/3/calendar/5757637/

That’s all for now folks — see you when I get back

P.S. – What’s going on with Google — my ranking just went from #3 for the word Erica – to #2 — and now I’m the #7 Erica. Anyone have any ideas?

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What’s Your Agenda?

Erica — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 08:09:01 +0000

My close friends know that I have a habit of taking on a lot of projects. But what they probably don’t know, is that I always have an agenda (wait…it’s not as bad as it sounds).

When I look into a new project, I always ask 3 questions:

At the end of this project, will I look back and be proud of the goal I have achieved? Will it bring more joy and value to my life and to those around me?
Will I have the opportunity to learn something, to teach something, to champion a cause, or to bring awareness to an important (but overlooked) issue? Will I grow? Will I help others to grow?
Can I bring all of myself to the table? Can I give 100%? Will this project insight my passions?

You probably noticed that I never mentioned anything about money or compensation. That’s not because I don’t like money. On the contrary…I love it. Plus…I really like having a roof over my head and food to eat.

But I have a “Life Rule” that says: “Find what you love. Do it well. And the money will follow.” Sometimes this is true, sometimes it’s not. Do I take on projects for less than I am worth? Definitely. Have I ever regretted it? Never.

I also have a “Rule” that says: “Knowledge should be shared.” This is the rule that allows me to meet with great minds, and share amazing ideas without worrying about signing NDA’s, or losing my idea to someone else. Could someone steal “my idea”? Sure. But, I think it’s worth the risk. I’ve Open Sourced My Mind.

I thought I would end this post by pushing some of the “Agenda’s” near and dear to my heart. I’m really lucky to know some of THE GREATEST PEOPLE ON EARTH…and I just wanted to mention some of the world changing things that they are spending their time (often without pay) doing.

My Friend Ed Schipul (who owns a web design firm here in Houston), spends his free time organizing community groups like Netsquared. Netsquared’s mission is to help non-profit organizations understand, use, and expand the social web. Pairing Non-Profits and Technology, Netsquared is an open-forum for discussion as well as a call to action. Additionally, Ed leverages the power and influence of his design firm and internet marketing savvy to help non-profit organizations find a voice on the web, without breaking the bank.

My Friend whurley (aka William Hurley) is currently the CTO of Qlusters. A relentless Open Source Champion and defender of the common man (LOL), Whurley is currently helping to define the future of Open Systems Management. He’s co-founder of the Open Management Consortium, OpenSIMS Project, OpenQRM, and OpenNXT. Additionally, he’s breaking ground on Co-Working Austin, and helping to develop community with a conscience in Austin, Texas.

Speaking of Co-Working, my friend Chris recently broke ground on a new co-working space in San Francisco (also home to Citizen Space/Citizen Agency). “Coworking is cafe-like community/collaboration space for developers, writers and independents. Or, it’s like this: start with a shared office and add cafe culture. Which is the opposite of most modern cafes.” You might remember Chris as one of the founders of BarCamp (the technology un-conference that is sweeping the world). And we all know how much I Love BarCamp!

But, when it comes to making a difference, my hat is off to Sharron Rush (Executive Director of Knowbility). Sharron and I recently had lunch in Austin, and I was amazed by the passion and energy she puts into what she does. Knowbility’s mission is to make technology accessible to people with disabilities, and increase their independence. Through training (AIR, Access U), consulting, and even Gala’s you can attend in your Pajama’s — Sharron is helping make the internet a nicer place for everyone.

So do me a favor. Go out today and GET INVOLVED. Do something that makes a difference. Help support one (or all) of the organizations above.