DE-J's Monthly Newsletter, February 2004

IN THIS ISSUE -> From the Editor ->Team Reports -> Calendar -> Upcoming Events -> Feature Article -> Recent Events -> Q & A: Interview With A DEva

/:/:/:/:/:/ THE DIGITAL DIGEST /:/:/:/:/:/

The Monthly Newsletter of DigitalEVE Japan

Promoting women's digital lifestyles by
offering a supportive community and
programs tuned to women using IT in their
workplace and in their everyday lives.

http://www.digitalevejapan.org

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1 February 2004

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This monthly newsletter is a membership
benefit of DigitalEVE Japan and is sent
through our mailing list, de-japan. If
you wish to cancel your membership with
DigitalEve Japan, please follow the
unsubscribe instructions at the end
of this issue.


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FROM THE EDITOR
Stacey Ward
<newsletter@digitalevejapan.org>

Having recently discovered that 'kisaragi'
the ancient Japanese name for February
means 'the wearing of several kimono'
for warmth, I can believe that we may
have a little longer to wait for warm weather,
snuggled under the kotatsu heater with our
laptops, a mug of cocoa and a digital radio
station playing through our speakers...
Hey, that doesn't sound bad at all!
Pour yourself another hot beverage and
settle down to this month's newsletter.

Do you use email at work? Do you make
original work in image or audio or text
formats? Our feature article reviews
Christina Cavanagh's 'Managing Your
Email: Thinking Outside the Inbox',
and in our Recent Events section we
have a recap of the December 2003
Lawrence Lessig lecture about copyright
theory. I can recommend having a look at
his nicely designed Creative Commons
website and watching the cute animations!

If you haven't already, make it a new year's
resolution to sign up to the super-active
de-japan-discuss list and get all your
digital problems solved! (see Membership
News section). There have been all kinds
of topics this week, from the "viruses flying"
on Tuesday to advice about buying a
computer in Japan.

With spring and new beginnings almost
visible around the corner there is lots new
happening this month with DigitalEve.
Our web page is having a make-over and
being transferred to a new server. We also
welcome our new Web Content Coordinator,
Debbie Foster. I'm new to the newsletter
team too. As the days get longer (and
hopefully warmer!) towards the end of the
month, come out to Meet the DEvas
on the 21st of Feb, or our Microsoft Office
Publisher Workshop on the 28th. Looking
forward to meeting you there. Keep warm!


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NOTES FROM THE STEERING COMMITTEE

/../.....
Reiko Ohashi
Interium leader for February and March.

Reiko has been unwell and unable to
contribute a leader report this month.
It's the season for colds and flu,
take care everyone! We're looking
forward to hearing from Reiko in March. (Ed)


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Membership Team News
Misao Kajiro, Membership Coordinator
<de-japan-owner@yahoogroups.com>

Total membership is 562 as of 23 January 2004.

I recently received this message from one of our
volunteers. "My friends' first reaction when I say
they should join DigitalEve is "Oh, that's not for me,
it'll all be above my head". Is there a desired level
of tech ability needed to be an useful/ active member?"

I thought I should keep the members informed
about DE-J and we are happy to have you who
agreed with this mission.

Some of our members work in technology-related
jobs. Others are learning to use computers and
the Internet for the first time. In between, many are
comfortable using a personal computer but want to
learn more. All women of any skill level (from
beginners right through to professionals) and
language ability are welcome in our group to
help each other.

Have you joined de-japan-discuss,
which you may choose to join for open
discussion on technology and career topics?
If not yet, send a blank e-mail to
<de-japan-discuss-subscribe@yahoogroups.com>
to join.

If you would like to become a more active
member please consider joining one of our
volunteer teams:

* Workshops (hands on workshops)
* Events (monthly meetings, socials & speakers)
* Special Programs (mentoring, awards, library)
* Technology (database and web programming)
* Web Content (articles, resources and more)
* Membership (newsletter, member surveys)
* Media (media liaisons)
* Communications (promotions, print materials,
& photography)
* Business Development (grants, sponsors)

Contact us at <de-japan-owner@yahoogroups.com>
if you are interested in any team.

I'm delighted to announce that we have a new
Web Content Coordinator, Debbie Foster who
is a graphic designer with a background in
photography. She'll be joining as a SC member
and I hope that she will enjoy this experience.
Please read her message on this issue.

Hello Everyone!
Allow me to introduce myself. My name is
Debbie Foster and I have just recently joined
the Steering Committee as the Web Content
Coordinator (English). A little about myself;
I am from the US, and have a background in
Photography. I am currently working for the
US Navys MWR Marketing Department as
a Graphic Designer/Web Designer. My
husband and I have been in Japan for just
over a year. Before moving here we lived
in Germany.

I am excited to be getting more involved with
DigitalEve, and I am looking forward to the
year ahead. Although I have only been an
active member of DigitalEve for a short time now,
I have already met many interesting women.
Im looking forward to meeting and knowing
many more of you. As I get started, I want to
hear your ideas for what youd like to see
on the website.


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Tech Team News
Junko Matsuo, Tech Coordinator
<tech@digitalevejapan.org>

Late last month, the DEJ Website was
moved to a new server. Our website has
also been updated.

The contents have remained mostly the
same as before. However, some parts
like the member registration function are
not completed yet and will be released
next time. Please be patient with us and
wait a little longer.

The Web board is to be closed temporarily
due to moving the site, but a forum is being
created at the new site. Please look forward
to participating in it! Thank you for your
understanding and cooperation.


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CALENDAR

21 Feb (Saturday) meet the DEvas.
28 Feb (Saturday) Workshop:
Microsoft Office Publisher.


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UPCOMING EVENTS

Do you want to talk with other volunteers?
If so, why not come to the Meet the DEvas
event? The DE-J Membership team regularly
holds these information meetings to allow
prospective members to learn about DE-J.

If you know anyone who is interested in
joining DE-J or who is new to Tokyo,
encourage her to attend the meeting.
Of course current members are welcome too.
At least one of the SC members will be
attending. Please join us if only just to chat,
especially those who can't attend the
evening meetings.

Reservations are not required but if you
send an e-mail to
<de-japan-owner@yahoogroups.com>
it would be helpful in estimating the
number who plan to attend.

Social: Meet the DEvas
Date: 21 February 2004 (Saturday)
Time: 3 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Fee: 580 yen (includes tea or coffee +
1 cake/tart chiffon, tiramisu or daily special cake)
Venue: Bio organic cafe
1-6-3, Shibuya, Shibuya-ku
03-3407-7808
shop: http://www.orgabio.jp
map (in Japanese)
http://www.mapion.co.jp/here/all/040122/mapi2415529040122175253.html

Directions:
About 6 minutes walk from Shibuya Station
(by JR Yamanote and Saikyo Lines, Tokyu
Toyoko and Den-en-toshi Lines, Keio
Inokashira Line, Subway: Hanzomon and
Ginza Lines), or 10 minutes walk from
Omotesando Station (by Subway: Hanzomon,
Chiyoda, or Ginza Lines, Exit B2).
[from Shibuya Station]
Go up to the top of Miyamasuzaka (street)
from the East exit, turn left at the signal.
Turn right at the first corner before "am-pm"
convenience store. Bio will be on your left.
[from Omotesando Station]
Walk past the Children's Castle on Aoyama
Dori and turn right at the hat shop. Turn left at
the first corner, you will see Bio on your right.

/../.....Upcoming workshops
There will be a workshop about the program
'Microsoft Office Publisher' on 28 February 2004.
Venue, time and cost: TBA
-watch out for an announcement soon!

/../.....
There will be a DigitalEVEning in March.
Please watch the mailing list for more details!

/../.....
More info on DigitalEVEnts:
http://www.digitalevejapan.org/page.php/en/Events
To register for a DigitalEVEnt
send an email to: <events@digitalevejapan.org>


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FEATURE ARTICLE:

BOOK REVIEW

'Managing Your E-mail: Thinking Outside the Inbox'
by Christina Cavanagh
ISBN: 0-471-45738-8
Paperback
208 pages
September 2003

Reviewed by Leila Kayali

From the cover:
"Managing Your E-mail is a simple, accessible
reference for workers and organizations that
want to get the most out of this ubiquitous and
sometimes overwhelming method of
communication. With new strategies for dealing
with e-mail inefficiencies and practical tips on
getting and staying organized, it will free up
hours of time each week for what's really
important. It examines the categories and
patterns of e-mail misuse and presents
practical, research-based explanations,
solutions,and quick tips".

Review:
This cleverly-titled book consists of six chapters:
1. Email Quirks and Wonders:
Why email makes us work differently.

2. The legal Face of Email:
Navigate the pitfalls and stay out of the courthouse.

3. Using Email Judiciously:
It's okay to pick up the phone.

4. The Inbox:
How to manage your inbox like a pro and reduce
e-mail volume in your organization.

5. The Outbox:
A guide to good citizenry on the e-mail frontier

6. The Smoking Gun:
Take control and make e-mail work for you

In the beginning of the book, Cavanagh
attempts to debunk certain e-mail myths such
as 'E-mail saves time', 'E-mail creates a
paperless office', or 'Using E-mail is Profitable'.
Using her research data she explains that the
annual cost of 'e-mail overload' is around
$7,750 per employee. (This assumes that the
given employee is paid $32.05/h and receives
48 emails/day.) According to this formula, an
organization that employs 1,000 people can
potentially waste $7.7 million annually on
'excess, low-value e-mail traffic'. Thereafter,
the book addresses certain strategies to
reduce such costs. Other topics covered
include: legal pitfalls to avoid, best practices
for responding to email, and how to
implement usage guidelines.

I found reading this book akin to attending
an intro seminar on these same topics.
It was a quick read, well-written, and easy
to follow. It is unfortunate, however, that
proposed solutions to reduce the influx of
emails and optimize their processing are
sometimes simplistic or unhelpful. For
example, Cavanagh offers the following
tips to cut down on your email: "Ask to be
removed from distribution lists that you
don't want to be on". Or "Delete all the
low-value messages: Don't be curious
about that unrecognizable new address
that appears - chances are highly likely
that it is external spam". To suggest
deleting messages this way is not a real
solution and might result in the loss of
an important message.

As a final note, Managing Your E-Mail is
categorized as a "Business/Communications"
publication. So you won't find solutions to
things like SPAM within this book. What you
will find, however, is a starting point to
managing email from a business perspective
for those with a rudimentary knowledge of
the subject.

Leila Kayali

Article from IDEA IDEE
DigitalEve Canada webzine
http://www.ideaidee.com


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RECENT EVENTS:

Lawrence Lessig lecture
By Cornelia Kurz

Last year on December 2nd, in the middle of
the busiest season, I arranged a babysitter
and hurried off to an 'Open Meeting' organized
by Creative Commons from San Francisco.
I knew nothing, other than they were somehow
connected to copyright law and theory.
Trying to be creative in my spare time, and
publishing the http://www.japanwithkids.org
website, copyright issues are close to my heart;
though in reality I barely take time to nail
them down.

The big name speaker was Lawrence Lessig
(of Supreme Court fame). First L.L. spoke
about the new kinds of art being created
and the collaborations made possible due
to technical advances, and how it is
impossible to distribute the work widely,
even for enjoyment let alone for money,
because of the monumental copyright issues
involved. As an example we were treated to
a superb video of Bush Jr. and Tony Blair
singing a love song to each other done by
creative splicing (yes, the lips seemed to
match the lyrics!). The conclusion was that
though modern technology gives us
amazing new outlets for creativity the
copyright laws have not stayed in sync
with reality. This is where Creative
Commons fits in. We watched an
explanatory animation that you can also
watch, called Get Creative. It's located
under the 'learn more' section of their web
site http://www.creativecommons.org and
introduces how one can register one's
original songs, photographs, computer
graphics, and writings with Creative
Commons, making them accessible to the
rest of the world and defining how they can
be used by other artists. In other words the
creator defines the terms of the copyright,
inviting collaboration across space and
time, and cutting out the lawyers. It only
works for creations that can be put into
an electronic format and registered at
Creative Commons, a non-profit
organization funded by grants and
money from us!

Much of what was in the presentation is
available for reading/ viewing via the
www.creativecommons.org web site.
They also have a Japanese presence at
http://www.creativecommons.jp/
Japan email is "Creative Commons Japan"
<ll2@creativecommons.jp>

Since starting, Creative Commons USA
had over a million licenses registered in
their first nine months, and they have
begun the project in Brazil, China, Finland,
France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Taiwan, and
the U.K.

My thought on the Creative Commons
solution to the current debacle, where
'copyright' dampens creativity, is that
C.C. is defining new copyright
alternatives within the heavy, complicated
and litigious framework we have inherited
from the big business/big government
models in U.S. economic culture.
We are participating under 'their' terms.
For example, it is not natural to see a
definition at the top of the blog message
window that says "by writing, you agree
to your comments being published here."
etc, because it is understood by the
person writing that this is how a blog is
defined! However, I see a progression
from here that will eventually lead to
changes in copyright legislation (though
Creative Commons claims that this is
not their goal) possibly leading towards
more artistic freedom, instead of
back into copyright hell.


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Q & A: INTERVIEW WITH A DEVA
Interview conducted by Stacey Ward
Newsletter Co-Editor
<newsletter@digitalevejapan.org>

This month we interviewed Jessica Cutrera
from the USA who was lucky enough to
win a DigitalEve T-shirt in the annual
meeting raffle!

Q. What do you think of your new
DigitalEve T-shirt?
A. I really like it! It's one of the few
T-shirts I won't wear to the gym because
I want it to last!

Q. If you are not from Tokyo, where are
you from originally and when and why
did you relocate to Tokyo?
A. I'm originally from the US and was
living in Austin Texas before moving
to Japan 1 year ago. I relocated here
to start a new job.

Q. How long have you been a member
of DigitalEveJapan?
A. Almost 1 year.

Q. How did you find out about DigitalEve
Japan and why did you decide to join?
A. I found out about DigitalEve in
Metropolis magazine. I use technology
increasing in my work and thought
DigitalEve would be a great way to
increase my skills and meet others.

Q. What DE-J activities/resources
have you participated in? Of these,
which do you find the most
advantageous and why?
A. Just the meetings so far, which have
been a great way to meet new people
and share ideas.

Q. Are there any other activities and
resources you would like to see offered
by DigitalEveJapan?
A. I hope to be able to attend more
social events and workshops in the future.

Q. What are your interests in digital technology?
A. Limited knowledge but would like
to know more.

Q. What kind of computer do you use?
A. IBM.

Q. Are you a member of any other
technology-related groups and if so, which ones?
A. None.

Q. Please tell me a little bit about where
you work and what your responsibilities are.
A. I work for Stirling Macguire Asset
Management, which is a financial planning
firm focusing on expatriates and their families.
I have clients of many nationalities do tax,
retirement, and education planning and use
financial planning software, online financial
calculators, and other software and internet
resources regularly. I specialize in American
retirement and tax planning.

Q. Do you have any favorite software programs?
If so, why?
A. Not at the moment.

Q. What is your favorite computer-related activity?
(for example,games, email, surfing the net, etc.)
Do you have any other hobbies?
A. I love email becuase it's a great way to keep in
touch with people at home. I also enjoy tennis,
cycling, hiking, and cooking.

Q. What is your favorite website and why?
A. www.google.com - because from there
I can find just about anything

Q. Name three things you will always find
near your computer.
A. cup of tea (or coffee), windows xp for
dummies, global clock (with times for
London, NY, LA, Hong Kong etc.)


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SUBMISSIONS TO THE NEWSLETTER

Have an announcement to make?
An article to submit for consideration?
(We can't pay you, but we'll give you a byline.)
Please send your submissions in plain text
format to <newsletter@digitalevejapan.org>
The deadline for the March newsletter is
February 15.

The Digital Digest is brought to you by the
Newsletter Team: Cara Dailey, Noriko Hasegawa,
Chizuko Heyer, Koko Iwata, Misao Kajiro, Sugiko
Obata, Audrey Oei, Meghan Shaw, Stacey Ward,
and Ailsa Wylie.

....Copyright 2004 DigitalEve Japan, All Rights Reserved.....