Women rule at technology. We live by this here at BitchBuzz. But, there are still things that I and many of the women I know, all tech savvy women still have a hard time with. Some of these things aren't particularly difficult. The barrier to knowing how to do these things is usually just good old fashioned fear: you think it's going to be the hard and insurmountable, but in reality, most of these things are simple and just take a little bit of research. But all of these skills will lead you to live a self reliant tech life.

1. Use BitTorrent

Know your seeds and leechers, girls. I'll let you discover the wealth that BitTorrent has to offer you, but don't be like Jim and Pam in the latest episode of The Office and be reliant on the one person who knows how to use the stuff.  You'll be watching videos on your laptop in no time at all.

2. Get over your hardware phobia

Unless you've got loads of cash with which to upgrade your computer every year, getting over your hardware phobia and learning how to install more memory is a skill that will save you a ton of money and grief in the long term. I recently added more memory to my 2 year old macbook and it's like I bought a whole new computer.  Check the tutorials for your computer's manufactor and check out video tutorials on YouTube which will walk you through the whole process. While you're at it, buy yourself a tool kit: I like IKEA's, which is inexpensive and will have what you need.

3. Know how to advocate for yourself in a tech setting

Don't let those assholes at the "Genius Bar" or Best Buy intimidate you. Most of these dudes think that because you're a girl or because you don't talk in jargon, that you don't know what you want or what you are talking about. Prove them wrong.

If you're buying a new computer or device, make a list of the things you want it to do, do your homework by reading reviews on all the major tech blogs, do not let them railroad you into buying installation services (unless you very truly feel like you are in over your head) but separate what is being intimidated by what you could probably learn on your own.

4. Use RSS

It's probably the trappings of my profession, but I can't imagine a life without RSS.  There is no excuse any blog reading tech savvy woman who loves the Internet doesn't use RSS. For an RSS reader, personally I don't think it gets any better than Google Reader. If you don't have to manage too many feeds, Firefox Live Bookmarks is also cool. Possibly my biggest wish for Bitchbuzz is that it gets RSS.

[Editors Note: Soon! We promise!]

5. Manage your own websites

I've heard this time and time again: women let their boyfriends register domain names and manage the back end of their websites for them, the relationship goes south and the men refuse to hand over the keys or leave such a mess behind that it's impossible for the woman to manage the site herself. It's cool to be partners in business and projects, but know as much as he does.

Don't let the fact that you're in a relationship now make you leave all the techier stuff to them.  Know how to manage a Wordpress install (or any other CMS), know how to manage your domains. You don't have to become an expert, but know enough so you can start managing your site yourself (and delete his admin priveleges if you need to!), especially if your site is tied to your profession. There's enough hosting companies now that make managing a website extremely easy and where you won't need to do anything manually.

Image via Wooledge