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The Mouse is Mightier than the Sword
Including her own personal experiences, an easy-to-understand explanation of the Internet, other women's stories of how the Web influenced their lives as well as listing sites geared towards women, Aliza Sherman's Cybergrrl! A Woman's Guide to the World Wide Web is the first of it's kind. Discovering there was little to usher women online, outside of "trendy or academic" manuals, Sherman compiled inspirational and instructional stories to show women the relevance of the Web to their lives and where to begin their journey.
Sherman's own introduction to the Internet was a result of a one-hour HTML class taken while living in Santa Fe. By learning the basics, she created Cybergrrl, Inc. and went on to form Webgrrls, an international networking organization for women in new media. Although Sherman's education and work experience didn't directly relate to the Web--she attended three colleges, worked in the music business then ran a domestic violence, nonprofit organization--her eclectic background, flexibility and willingness to learn became her strongest assets. Since the beginning, Sherman's mission has been to empower women through technology by removing barriers that keep them from the Web. Indeed, her book knocks down more than a few walls. Cybergrrl's Editor, Lisa Gill, chatted with Aliza about her new book:
LISA: What do you find to be the most common obstacles women face in going online?
ALIZA: Most people think women fear the technology, but that's small compared to their fear they won't have enough time in the day to either learn how to get online and use the 'Net or that they'll spend too much time online and waste time.
Most obstacles women face are their own internal barriers to change, to learning something new, to the great unknown that the Internet presents to them, particularly because of what the media hype tells them. "It's dangerous." "It's too hard." "It's too expensive." "There's nothing for me personally or professionally." Excuses, excuses!
LISA: What are some ways you suggest to overcome those obstacles?
ALIZA: The first thing I do when a woman is resisting the Internet is to ask her what she likes or what is important to her. She may say her health, her family, her job or even gardening. I then tell her what is on the Internet for her based on what she wants or needs. Until women can genuinely see the relevance of the Internet to their lives, they won't feel compelled to get online.
LISA: What do you think are the biggest differences between women going online and men online? Are they looking for different things?
ALIZA: Never being one to generalize, I do, however, believe that men and women are different in many ways and it is natural they treat technology and respond to technology differently. While men may spend more time figuring everything out, women are more inclined to want it to work right now. Where men can view the 'Net as pure recreation, women want to make instant connections to information and people. Again, it's relevance to their every day lives.
LISA: Could you give us a few examples of women who have turned their lives around with their discovery of the Internet?
ALIZA: My favorite story is one I tell all the time, but is so amazing, about Eva Shaderowfsky, a woman who hosts weekly online live chats with America Online about women's issues. Here, she has a great place on the Internet that is providing women with valuable information. And she has Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. For years, she was confined to her home due to her illness. The Internet has been her window to the world, her connection to other people, particularly at times when she just couldn't do anything else, let alone leave her house.
There is a woman whose son had a very rare illness and the hospital who diagnosed her son could not, by policy, give her contact information for other families experiencing the same illness. So she went on the 'Net and found a handful of families worldwide. Now they act as a support system for each other, all through e-mail.
LISA: What are some of the things women, in particular, should be aware of in their travels along the 'Net?
ALIZA: I always say that the Internet is just the real world in electronic form. It is a digital city and you have to use the same common sense you use when you visit a big city in the real world. Don't give a stranger any identifying information such as your name, address, phone number or credit card. Unless you know the person or unless you have met them face to face, you should consider them a stranger. So many women feel emotional attachments to people they have e-mailed for a period of time, but ultimately, sight unseen means they are still an unknown.
A good tip is to choose a gender neutral name when signing up for your first online account. Use your last name or a nickname that describes your hobby or job rather than something that reveals you are a woman. It will save you some of the initial hassle women sometimes get when they use a female-sounding name. For example, on AOL, I'm "NYCwriter," so people ask me what I write or what NYC is like, not "Hey babe, want a date?"
LISA: As the number of women users equals men users, what do you see in the future for the Web?
ALIZA:I see women dominating the Internet in numbers. It only makes sense. This is a medium that truly fits into women's lives and can be helpful in many different ways. Once women overcome their own barriers, once they get online and connect to things that are important to them, there will be no stopping them!
by Lisa Gill,
Cybergrrl Webstation Editor
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