In a meeting last week, I was talking about social media (surprise!) and urging those present to listen to the social networks. We often say that — when it comes to social networks — participation is optional, but listening is critical. I promised that if we had five minutes to spare at the end of the meeting I'd show them how to monitor Twitter for their brand and URLs. (I did go over my five minutes, but only because their wireless connection was painfully slow!)

A few days later, I tweeted about my lesson and was barraged with requests to post instructions. So, with that, here is my five-minute Twitter monitoring guide.

When we launched the Geek Girls Guide, we didn't realize that we'd be talking so much about social media. But, at this point, it's the topic that everyone wants to discuss. Recently, someone referred to Nancy and I as "social media experts." That label makes me shudder.

Here's the thing: the web has always been social. AOL, chatrooms, the BBSes of yore, all of these were ways for people to use technology to connect with other people. So none of this is really "new" — it's just that the tools and technology are more accessible than they've ever been.

Back in the day, it was just us geeks talking to each other. Now our moms and grandmas are here, too! And because of that — because more people than ever are using these tools — this is all new. No one has really figured out how to do social media "right" as a company or business. What's the right mix? What kind of investment is needed? How can companies engage effectively? Who is in "charge" of social media within a given company? How can it be measured? We're all learning. So as far as I'm concerned, there are no social media "experts."

A few weeks ago, I blogged about my amazing experience with GTD because of a tweet. That post led to conversations with Kelly Forrister, a coach with the David Allen company and, ultimately, an invitation to be interviewed by David Allen for the In Conversation series on GTDConnect. I KNOW, RIGHT?!

One of the things that came up in talking with both Kelly and David was how much of the dialogue online about GTD is led by men. And yet, there are plenty of women who use it with great success. So, I figured — why not blog about it? It's not directly related to technology, but I think it's a relevant topic for busy people. And everyone I know is busy people.

We had the pleasure of appearing on FM107.1's Kevyn Burger show this morning to talk about this site, and our upcoming Social Media 101: A Beginner Bootcamp seminar on June 22.

If you missed the show, you can listen to our segment online here!

The Geek Girls are going to be on FM 107.1 again — this time, on the Kevyn Burger show.

Tune in this Thursday, June 18 at 9:15am to hear us talk with Kevyn and her co-host, Sheletta about...well, we don't know. But, seeing as social media remains the hot topic of the day, we're gonna bet that Twitter or Facebook will get a mention. We'll also be giving away one free pass to Social Media Bootcamp on June 22. You can listen online at their web site, and we'll also post an audio clip here when we're done.

In other news, we're hard at work on new blog posts and podcasts. Stay tuned and, as always, let us know if you have any questions.

Dave and Hoss sent us the following letters this morning. We hope that everyone who has been involved thus far takes the time to read them.

There is one important note that we feel compelled to add to the discussion at this point: We do not condone or endorse the negative, vitriolic and, in some cases, violent direction that many of the tweets and comments in this discussion have taken. Our intention was to start a public conversation, not to threaten anyone or make them fearful.

There has been lots of ugliness in this conversation. We don't support that, but we can't control the conversation. We've tried to do what we can to keep it productive and positive. The good news is that a vocal discussion is taking place that indicates that there may be a positive impact beyond just the Minneapolis community. Thanks to everyone who has contributed constructively to the discussion.

Read Dave's letter >

I feel compelled to say something that may not make sense to some people. In my heart I know I have to say this. I suppose it's PR suicide.

I try to be a person of integrity, and accept responsibility for my actions. I can't live with myself if I don't act accountably to everyone involved in this situation. And that means some accountability to Hoss as well.  I'm very distressed by the degree of demonization being aimed at Hoss as a result of his presentation at Flashbelt.  Again, I do not condone offensive content and I don't want it presented to my attendees.  The content was inappropriate. I knew enough about his presentation style to be held accountable for booking him.  I take full responsibility for this.  I exercised poor judgment.  I admit to my mistakes. read more >

Read Hoss's Letter >

On Tuesday 9th June I gave a presentation at the Flashbelt conference that contained some content that some of the audience found offensive. It was wrong for those people to have been exposed to this content without their consent. For this, I take full responsibility and offer my sincere apologies to the audience members that were affected. read more >

View Courtney's letter
Well. My letter-turned-blog entry sparked some responses. A lot of them. I’m heartened that so many people have been so overwhelmingly supportive -- but I also knew there might be some disagreement and debate. This is a normal part of any serious conversation about complex and important issues, though, and should be expected – and encouraged. By sharing my experience, I hoped to make space for this conversation, to open a dialogue, to help give voice to an issue worth speaking about. read more >

View Dave's letter
I want to assure you that I'm deeply upset about the presentation given recently at the Flashbelt Conference by Hoss Gifford. I'm disappointed in myself for allowing it to happen and I accept responsibility for it. I apologize for it.

His presentation included several offensive and misogynistic elements that I do not condone. I realize as the creator and producer of this conference I have the sole responsibility for the content presented and in this instance I have clearly failed to live up to my own standards, and the standards expected of me by the attendees, our industry and the general public. read more >

View Meghan and Nancy's letter
This is not a crusade against Flashbelt, an attack on Dave Schroeder or an attempt to lump all men into a tongue-waggling wolf-whistling boy's club. This isn't about anyone's delicate lady ears not being able to handle the word f-ck.
This is a specific account of a presentation at an event that — sadly —  is an example of behavior and attitudes toward women that are not as uncommon as you might think. read more >

Today we received the following email from a respected colleague outlining her experience at a recent Flash developer conference in Minneapolis.  We asked for her permission to post it here in the hopes of sending a very strong message to the conference organizers and sponsors, but also to the Interactive community at large.  It's hard enough for women to be taken seriously in the technology space.  Certainly, there are plenty of successful, celebrated women here.  But when we hear about situations like this we realize that, in spite of all the progress we've made, we still have such a huge fight ahead of us.

The Geek Girls were recently asked "Is it safe to log into my mint.com account from work?  I never have time to work on the budget at home, but during lunch is the perfect time." This question, along with its sister query "Can my employer read my personal email if I am accessing it from my work computer?" and twice-removed-illegitimate cousin question "Is it OK to surf porn at work?", is one many of us never had to consider when beginning our careers. Placing whispered personal phone calls to a date or a doctor, sure. Surreptitiously reading City Pages under the desk, of course. But only in the last decade has personal usage of company technology become such a serious issue – one often resulting in employee termination, lawsuits, identity theft and more.

The purpose of this article is to outline the answer to this question on four levels: rules, reputation, ruin and reality. Let's get started!

This is just a brief follow-up post to my previous essay about Keeping Your Kids Safe Online.  I've had several people send emails asking for links to additional online resources that they can consult for ongoing support in this area.  I dug around a little and I found the following websites that might be of interest.  If you know of others that I haven't included, please feel free to add them to the list via the comments on this post.