I am extremely excited as I am currently in Paris, covering the fantastic LeWeb
conference for BitchBuzz Tech. Over the next two days I will be
covering all of the fantastic goings on at what is probably the
geekiest location in Paris, and will be trying to capture as much video
as possible. (Which we will then, of course, ,be putting up on Seesmic.)
Speaking of Seesmic, Cathy Brooks is here and has the glorious honor of interviewing Paulo Coelho, which is one of the many interviews, panels and talks that I’m looking forward to hearing.
Mike Butcher from TechCrunch UK
will be, I believe, giving an update on the state of the UK tech
scene, and I’m personally looking forward to hearing Helen Fisher from
Rutgers University talk about the nature of human love - as love is
this years theme for Leweb.
I can hear you gagging on your morning bagel, but I swear, the theme
make sense as they're not just talking about goo-goo-ga-ga love, but
the love of entrepreneurship, the love social media, and the love of
all things geek.
Geraldine & Loïc Le Meur will be giving their opening remarks
any moment now – and I’ll be sure to keep you up dated as best as I can
throughout the day. BitchBuzz will be a bit tech heavy the next couple
of days, but I feel it’s really important to cover LeWeb as thoroughly
and as honestly as I can. No need for us to tell you the exact same
thing over and over again, eh?
In our opinion, the “old boys club” attitude of the European and
London tech scene is getting a bit old –and that’s a big reason why I’m
so honoured to be here. LeWeb is one of the best and most exciting tech
conferences in the world, and the fact that I’m here to add a young,
female voice to the crowd of 30-something dudes hunched over Macs is
really exciting.
Dont’ get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with all the dudes and
their Macs - it’s just that there’s not enough young women at these
events that aren’t just standing in front of camera or are one of the
lucky (small) handful of women to be put on LeWeb’s bill of speakers
this year.
I don't believe that men aren’t the problem at conferences like
this, or in the tech industry in general - it’s the lack of women who
are either invited/accepted as Press/can actually afford the €1200+
ticket to be here. I love TechCrunch and Engadget and Gizmodo and all
those sites – but at the end of the day, with millions and millions of
women online and a huge number of those women being gadget/tech/social
media freaks, wouldn’t it be nice to hear more voices like yours
reporting on what goes on at these semi-exclusive events?