DE-J's Newsletter, March 2004

IN THIS ISSUE -> From the Editor. -> Notes from the Steering Committee. -> Team reports. -> Calendar. -> Upcoming Events. -> Feature Article. -> Recent Events. -> Q & A: Interview With A DEva.

FROM THE EDITOR
Stacey Ward
<newsletter@d...>

So did you give the chocolates or receive
them in February? I guess it is a little
early for White Day treats, but we have
quite a goody-bag of a newsletter for you
today. There seems to be so much to do
and get involved in, in the next two months.

Our feature article talks about the Career
Strategies Seminar to be held by FEW in
Tokyo in April. A friend told me how the
last CSS was a very friendly and encouraging
event, as well as being inspirational. I'm
looking forward to it already, will I see you
there? I'm sure some of you have heard
from the DigitalEve discussion list the
exciting news that the gorgeous new Apple
Macintosh Computer Store in Ginza, Tokyo,
is to hold digital media workshops in English!
Please look at the 'Upcoming Events' section
to learn more.

We have our own event on the 26th of March,
the DigitalEVEning. You only have to read
Sayako Fukao's insightful event recap of our
January DigitalEVEning in the 'Recent
Events' section to see how interesting and
fun it can be. Come along and get your
photo on the website! If you are thinking
'sounds great, but it would take me four hours
to get to Tokyo!', have you thought about
organizing a DigitalEVEning or other event in
your area? Contact the Steering Committee at
<sc@d...> if you want to talk
more about it.

Do you want a different way to get involved?
We are currently looking for a Librarian and
for people to run workshops. Please see the
'Announcements' and the 'Workshop Team
News' sections for more information.


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NOTES FROM THE STEERING COMMITTEE

/../.....
Leader Report.

I am very happy to have good news to give
you at the beginning of this newsletter.
Two new members have joined the Steering
Committee! Yoshiko Toge accepted the
responsibility of Event Coordinator. This
position has been vacant for a long time
but has now been filled by a wonderful
new member! Debbie Foster now takes over
as Web Content Coordinator. She will maintain
the contents of our new website which Junko
has worked hard on. Here is the address,
have a look! http://www.digitalevejapan.org
Each SC member is going to learn how to
update the website, so that the website will
be more useful and handy for all DEVas.
I hope you can join future events and say
hello to our new SC members.

Reiko Ohashi
Interim leader for March.
<sc@d...>

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

Total membership is 550 as of the 22nd
of February, 2004.

6 members (5 new members) came to
the Meet the DEvas on the 21st.
Unfortunately for us, the cafe closed a
week earlier, but we found a place
nearby. We had a wonderful meeting
and promised to meet again at some of
our events.

Emmanuelle who is a Media producer
came from Osaka. Yuriko, Shiho, Nicole
and Kazuyo, thanks for coming to the
meeting! Please see their recap in this
issue.

I'm delighted to announce again that we
have a new Events Coordinator, Yoshiko
Toge, who is a system network engineer.
She'll be joining the SC and planning
DEJ events. She'll often be at the events
so please say "Hello!' when you can make
it.


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Events Team News.
Yoshiko Toge, Event Coordinator.
<events@d...>

Hello Everyone!
Let me introduce myself. My name is
Yoshiko Toge and I have recently joined
the SC as the Event Coordinator. I am an
engineer. I configure network infrastructure
and servers, and troubleshoot the problems.
There are many interesting women in
DigitalEve. I am excited to meet people
and exchange information.


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Workshop Team News.
Reiko Ohashi, Workshop Coordinator.
<workshops@d...>

We are looking for someone who can
teach creating and editing music CDs.
I guess you might be using your
CD-R/RW drive only to back up your data
but probably had dreamt of creating a
CD with your favorite songs. I have also
tried, but it is not simple as it seems to be...
Do you know some tricks and useful
software? E-mail me!
<workshops@d...>


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

At the same time as our website was moved
to the new server, I moved jobs. Do you
think you're too busy to volunteer? So did I.
It is often said "If you try, you can make it".
Now I realize the meaning of that.

Have you visited DE-J's new web site?
The site is now running on Zope, an open
source web application server. I'd like to
introduce the benefits of using Zope one step
at a time.

Let's start with web content manageability.
Zope is designed to make it easy to create a
website for non-techies. We can add, edit and
delete contents on the server via the web
browser. Once you learn how to manage
contents on Zope, you'll be able to manage
other sites running on Zope soon. Yes,
volunteering with DE-J comes with learning
new skills!

::Zope Powerd Sites::
State of Hawaii
http://www.hawaii.gov/gov

Dev Shed
(move to Zope powered recently from php based.)
http://www.devshed.com/

FEEL Narita
http://www.nrtk.jp/

I'd like to express thanks to the Tech team
members. Kristen McQuillin and Tod McQuillin
have hosted a development environment on
their private server, and helped to backup data.
Miki Oyama tried many Zope products even
though she's busy with her pregnancy.
The new site owes much to their support.
Thank you very much!


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CALENDAR

(Non DigitalEve events)
13 March 'Final Cut Pro' studio.
20 March 'Digital Movie Making' studio.

(DigitalEve events)
26 March DigitalEVEning.


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UPCOMING EVENTS

We are planning our next DigitalEVEning at
GLOSS Cafe in Shibuya. The January event
was so much fun, let's get together and
enjoy meeting other members! Please let us
know if you would like to come by emailing
us before March 22nd. Members and friends
are welcome!

Date: 26 March (Friday), 2004.
Time: 19:00 - 21:00
Fee: 1400 yen (1food + 1drink + honorarium
for the speakers) you can order more on your
own.
Place: GLOSS Cafe /2F- 2-7-13, Shibuya,
Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Map (in Japanese):
http://www.mapion.co.jp/c/here?S=all&F=mapi2201835040109160346

Tel : 03-5464-0564
RSVP: <events@d...>
(by March 22nd)

/../.....
Digital media studio classes in English
are starting at the Apple Store Ginza!
Computers and video cameras are
provided. This is not a DigitalEve event
but has been mentioned on the DE-J
Discuss list in the last week. Please
contact the store directly at
<ginzastudio@a...>
for more information.

If you would like to join the DE Discuss
list simply send an email to
<de-japan-discuss-subscribe@yahoogroups.com>.

Studio Series:

- March 13th Saturday 10:30-6:30 p.m.
Final Cut Pro Series.

- March 20th Saturday 10:30-6:30 p.m.
Digital Movie Making Series.

Contact: Makiko Fujikawa,
Theater/Studio Coordinator.
<ginzastudio@a...>


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ANNOUNCEMENT

Volunteer position open!

DE-J librarian wanted.

Amanda Charlton our previous library
manager is withdrawing due to having
a baby! In this position you would manage
the DigitalEve library collection and loan
out the books to DigitalEve members.
We use 'taku hai bin' (door-to-door)
delivery service to loan out the books,
so the manager can be living anywhere
in Japan. Our collection includes
'Homepage Usability: 50 Websites
Deconstructed' and 'Design For
Community' amongst about 30 others.
If there is someone out there who wants
to fill this position please email the
Steering Comitee.
<de-japan-owner@yahoogroups.com>


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FEATURE ARTICLE:

FEW HOLDS 13TH CAREER STRATEGIES SEMINAR

Foreign Executive Women (FEW) will be
holding its 13th Career Strategies Seminar
(CSS) at the Temple University on Saturday
April 17, 2004. The Career Strategies
Seminar 2004 will be a perfect forum for
foreign women to network and gain knowledge
within their specialised fields. They will leave
motivated having been armed with techniques
to take action on their careers.

Presentations on career enhancement
tips and tricks especially relevant to the
Japanese market will be made by foreign
professional women. Three such speakers
who have made their mark in the Japanese
business world are Alison Pockett (Founder
& President of Magellan Tressider Tuohy),
and Caroline Pover (Founder of Being A
Broad, Alexandra Press, Go Girls and Broad
-Minded Business), as well as Debbie
Howard (President of Japan Market
Resource Network and President of the
American Chamber of Commerce, Japan).

A series of interactive workshops at the
one-day seminar will provide in-depth
information on fields such as Finance,
Marketing, Publishing / Writing, and IT
enabling participants to gain a deeper
understanding of the Japanese job market.
Reinforcing the depth of information shared
at this seminar, the Career Strategies
Seminar 2004 Career Guide - a
comprehensive guide of resources and
instructive information about working in
Japan - will be distributed at the seminar.

The FEW Career Strategies Seminar series
has had a long history of success, and
boasts a long list of credits. Since 1990,
the FEW Career Strategies Seminars have
inspired and guided women to leverage
their skills and experience to achieve the
career success they desire in Japan.
Created by foreign women, the CSS series
have worked with women who were looking
for career motivation, a new job, a change
in their career, or to start their own
businesses while living in Japan.

Career Strategies Seminar 2002 participants
had this to say about the seminar: "Great
seminar! Very informative and it really
helped me to get back on track and focus
on goals I had previously set". "Overall it
was a very good session. The seminar
was well organized & informative for all
different situations, for example, those
not working and looking, to those looking
and wanting a change in direction".
"I really enjoyed the seminar, and found
the motivational side of it the most helpful".

Following the last CSS in 2002, participants
have gone on to enhance their careers,
found new jobs, or set up their own business.

FEW is a networking organisation whose aim is
to help foreign women in Japan achieve their
full professional and/or personal potential.
FEW welcomes foreign women from all
professional backgrounds and at all stages
of their careers. In addition to a focus on
networking and information exchange, FEW
also initiate educational and social activities
including community work and fund raisers.

For further information and to register online
visit http://www.fewjapan.com or email
<fewcss2004@y...>


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BOOK REVIEW

'Hisami o meguru Boken'
(The Adventure of Hisami) :
Enjoying living in San Francisco
(available in Japanese only)
'It's an Adventure - Hisami Lives in America'
Author: Hisami Oshiba
Publisher: Hitsuji Shobo

The author, Ms. Hisami Oshiba, after working
for a leading foreign advertising company in
Tokyo for 16 years, moved to California’s
Bay Area in 1995 at age 38, where she
worked for a large American advertising
company. In 1998, she started her own
marketing consulting company, JaM Japan
Marketing, http://www.jamjapan.com/jp/ in
Silicon Valley, proving she is an
entrepreneur as well.

Because she has been a great lover of
sports since her childhood, her writing
style can be described like this: Not
pitching too many breaking balls but single-
mindedly throwing straight fastballs right
on the inside corner. Hers is a very lively
style as Mr. Ko Matsumoto, who is the
owner of Hitsuji Shobo, says, "(she writes)
as if she were talking directly to me by
email." Most of the topics in this book relate
to the business scenes in America, the
ups and downs of corporations, religions
and races, baseball, differences in mentality
between men and women, stories about
the sea and yachting which she loves, and
they were all gathered and organized from
her own unique and sharp viewpoint.
Keeping in mind that it is not an adventure
story of herself sailing off on a yacht, I
thought that the title of this book 'Hisami o
meguru Boken (The Adventure of Hisami)'
was perfect in that, crossing the ocean all
the way to the strange land of America,
she experienced 'real America', looking at
it from her own perspective. In this sense,
readers of this book may build in their mind
a formula like "adventure (very American)
= extraordinary experience."

Throughout this book many of you can
detect a touch of journalism and appreciate
the quality information about America
conveyed through Ms. Oshiba's narrative
power, including the far more profound
aspects of trends and booms, distinct from
the superficial reporting by the mainstream
media. Ms. Oshiba’s conversations with her
American husband and their discussions
on various topics are also introduced, and
Japanese women, especially those living in
the U.S., will probably become energized by
her challenging spirit that is carried
throughout. (She calls herself an energizer
that feeds energy to other people.)
As for those Japanese women living in
Japan, I hope that she can become a familiar,
life-size mentor (or an excellent senior)
actively playing her role in America.
Furthermore, for those male readers out
there, her writing style and subjects are
rather masculine and make us sense
almost no gender gap at all. I strongly
hope that this book, as a quality
essay written by an outstanding journalist,
will help you understand true America better.

Ken Sakai
Pacific Dreams, Inc.


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RECENT EVENTS

First DigitalEVEning of 2004 -30 January.

In the DigitalEVEning there were two
guest speakers, Chizuko Nakamura Heyer
and Yuko Nagahara, talking about their
valuable experiences of their career paths.
It was a great opportunity for me to learn
that there are various options to choose
from when creating a career path, and
also to get to know other DEvas.

Ms. Chizuko Nakamura Heyer told us
about how she has built her career path
while relocating herself several times as
her academic and work situation changed
during the 12 year stay in the U.S.
She talked about the valuable things she
acquired from the experience as well as
difficulties. And the most impressing part
of the story was that, when she was job
searching, she had sent out so many
resumes but did not get an immediate
response from any of the companies.
Several months later she received an
offer and got a job in New York. I found
the story so encouraging. The message
seems to be that 'if you keep doing your
best, soon or later a chance will come
your way'.

Ms. Yuko Nagahara is a translation
coordinator, and she told us about how
she got her current job. Although she had
studied and worked in Australia, it was not
easy to find a new job when she wanted to
change her career in Japan. But, with the
help of DigitalEve members and her
experience as a member of the steering
committee lead her to this job. She also
talked about how to become a translator,
how it is required that you are highly skilled
and how she manages her job. I thought
it was a very interesting speech especially
for people who want to be translators.

Personally speaking, I had met Ms.Chizuko
Nakamura Heyer six or seven years ago in
the U.S., when we worked together for just a
short time, but we had lost touch with each
other soon after that. DigitalEVEning gave
me a chance to reunite with her, and I think it
shows part of what is so great about being
part of DigitalEve which has such a wide
variety of membership.

After the speeches we had a brief meeting,
and one member suggested that it would be
great if we could have this kind of gathering
in places other than the Tokyo Metropolitan
area. I totally agree, I think it would be nice
if people volunteered to organize
DigitalEVEnings and other events in areas
all over Japan.

Members continued to chat after the
meeting, and the gathering ended in a much
friendlier and more exciting mood compared
to the quiet start of the event. It was way
past the time that had been scheduled when
we all left the place and went home.

By Sayaka Fukao.

/../.....
Meet the DEvas 21 February 2004.

'Meet the DEvas' was a cozy and informal
get-together of five first-timers of different
professional backgrounds and nationalities,
but all of whom were equally interested in
learning more about the aims and activities of
DigitalEve Japan. Membership Coordinator
Misao Kajiro was on hand to patiently
answer the many questions we had about
the organization and its current
membership. One impression I took away
from our chat with Misao was that, while
the scope of the organization's activities
is very much work in progress, its
fundamental mission is to provide a
friendly, bilingual framework for Japanese
and foreign women interested in upgrading
their IT skills and, where possible, sharing
their expertise with other members
(actively contributing new members are
especially welcome!) All newcomers
showed interest in keeping in touch and/or
learning more about DigitalEve's future
networking events and workshops.

By Nicole Boyen-Yoneyama.

/../.....

I had a very nice time meeting with new
people at the small meet the DEvas
gathering. Thanks to Misao for explaning what
DigitalEve is about and answering all questions
we came up with. I reallly enjoyed talking with
Misao and other newcomers, Nicole, Shiho,
Kazuyo,and Emmanuelle. Hope we will meet
or talk again soon!

By Yuriko Miharu.


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

This month we interviewed Yoshiko Toge
who is the latest volunteer to join our team.
Welcome Yoshiko, let's find out some more
about you!

Q) How did you find out about DigitalEve
Japan and why did you decide to join?
A) I was surfing the web and found it. I
came to Tokyo two years ago from Nagoya
and have been working so hard! I have to
work overtime every day, so I do not have
the chance to meet many people. I thought
I can also exchange information with others
through DigitalEve Japan.

Q) How long have you been a member?
A) I just became a member and volunteer.
The DigitalEVEning on the 30 January 2004
was my first attendance.

Q) Why did you decide to become a volunteer?
A) I wanted to meet many interesting people
and increase my technical skills.

Q) What DE-J activities/resources have you
participated in? Of these, which do you find
the most advantageous and why?
A) The last meeting was the first meeting.
It was interesting to talk to people from
different fields. I enjoyed listening to the
guests’ speech.

Q) What DE-J volunteer activities have
you been involved in?
A) I volunteer as the Event coordinator,
looking for event venues and speakers.
I will be coordinating the next DigitalEve
meeting.

Q) What are your interests in digital
technology?
A) Digital broadcast (digital television).

Q) What kind of computer do you use?
A) IBM (Notebook S30)

Q) Please tell me a little bit about where
you work and what your responsibilities are.
A) I work for a system integration company.
My work includes troubleshooting for
Windows related problems and network
problems. I configure network equipment
such as routers, switches and firewalls,
and maintain and troubleshoot Windows
servers. I design and install Windows active
directory and also manage some projects
such as a new office relocation project,
or a redundant network project.

Q) What ideas do you have for the future of
DigitalEve Japan?
A) I think it would be interesting if we
can invite guests from many various fields
and exchange information. One of the
DigitalEve members recently introduced me
to an interesting woman, and I am thinking
to ask her to give us speech. It would also
be good to have more chances for members
to gather and chat.

Q) Are there any other activities and
resources that you would like to see offered
by DigitalEve Japan?
A) I would like to join workshops to
increase my knowledge. Also I would like
to join more events to meet many
interesting people.

Q) Do you have any favorite software
programs? If so, why?
A) I do not have any particular favorite
software.

Q) What is your favorite computer-related
activity? (for example, games, email,
surfing the net, etc.) Do you have any
other hobbies?
A) My favorite computer-related activity
is surfing the net. My hobbies are reading,
and practicing golf.

Q) What is your favorite website and why?
A) Google, it is good to get information.

Q) Name three things you will always find
near your computer.
A) Coffee, chocolate, my cell phone.


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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@d...>
The deadline for the April newsletter is
March 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.....