DE-J's Monthly Newsletter, July 2004

IN THIS ISSUE -> Team reports. -> Announcements -> Upcoming Events. -> Recent Events. -> Q & A: Interview With A DEva.

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Words from June Leader
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It's getting hot. Well, I hope you are taking good care of yourselves to
survive the hot and sticky summer in Japan. We are trying to host as
many
fun events as possible to have more members participate in the events so
that they can bring more talent, information and energy out to
contribute to
this wonderful group in various ways.

I think it is time for us to rethink the very basis for the existence of
an
organization like ours. Yes, we need more volunteers! I know many of
you
are too busy, but, if you can, please just contribute even a little bit
of
your time and make our group more active and visible. And you can list
the
experience even in your resume!

Currently, we need help in the following areas: event coordination,
translation, web contents administration, steering committee members,
regional coordination, business development, media coordination/PR,
newsletter.

Some of the upcoming events include: Workshop (Illustrator) in July,
Beer
Party in August, Meet The DEVas in September, maybe another Workshop in
September also. Plus we are thinking about participating in Fall Design
Festa in November by having our booth and promoting our digital artists.
(Please see the details below.) So please join us. We help you in your
success, and you help us make DigitalEve Japan a unique and socially
meaningful organization!

Chiharu Kawai
June Leader/Media Coordinator

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TEAM REPORTS

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WORKSHOP TEAM REPORT
Reiko Ohashi, Workshop Coordinator
<workshops@digitalevejapan.org>

As some of you may imagine, organizing a group like DE-J
is not an easy job. I admit that I sometimes feel stressed...
but I am still a member and even on the SC. Why? I joined this
group because I wanted to do something positive rather than
complaining about this society that sometimes can still be
discriminatory against women.

From this point of view ,the power of this group is still very
small...but when I think about how I am energized by DEVas,
being a DEVa gives me more than I have expected. My stress
and worry are blown away when I have good time with SC
members and other DEVas.

We always welcome your proposal of help.
Please e-mail any of SC members when you find even a small
amount of time that you can devote to DE-J.

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MEMBERSHIP TEAM NEWS
Misao Kajiro
Membership Coordinator
<membership@digitalevejapan.org>

Total membership is 527 as of the 28th of June, 2004.

Meet the DEvas was held in Kamiitabashi this month
and 6 people had a nice time talking together.

The ext Meet the DEvas will be jointly held with the Beer Party
in August. The details will be coming soon.

We are still looking for team volunteers so please
send us an email if you have any questions.

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

Fall Design Festa

This is a suggestion made by one of our members: that DigitalEve Japan
have
a booth or two at the Fall Design Festa at the Tokyo Big Sight on
November
13 & 14 this year to represent not only our group but also some of our
members who are digital artists (i.e. web designers, graphic designers,
painters, photographers, multimedia artists, etc.). Those who live far
away from the Tokyo area can also take advantage of this opportunity to
promote their masterpieces. Part of the cost will be funded by DEJ, and
the rest chipped in by the participating artists. If you are interested
in
being promoted there, organizing this event, or volunteering as a booth
attendant, please reply to Media Coordinator, Chiharu Kawai, at
Chikawai@aol.com, ASAP.

What we can do at Design Festa are:
- display DEJ info, T-shirts, and postcards.
- display the masterpieces, portfolios, promotional postcards, business
cards of participating DEJ member artists. If you live far away from
Tokyo,
we can promote your artwork on behalf of you. (Nothing too big, though,
as
the space is limited.) These could include hardcopies, websites on the
Internet or on CDs,
movies, etc.

The more members participate, the less the per-person cost will be. The
total cost will be expected to be 50,000 to 60,000 yen altogether
(including
one regular sized space, table and chair rentals and electricity, for 2
days).

We have to apply by August to secure a space. So please hurry and make
your
commitment. Your comments and suggestions are also welcome.

Chiharu Kawai
June Leader/Media Coordinator


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UPCOMING EVENTS

Illustrator Workshop

Please join the next workshop in July.
We will learn Illustrator which many of you may want to try.

Software: Illustrator, English ver. for Windows
Tutor: Debbie Foster
Level: Beginner/Introduction
Date: July 18th (Sunday)
Duration: 3-hour workshop (14:00 to 17:00)
Language: English
Fee: JPY4,000-
Venue: Step Support Ebisu
Seat: 14
Reservation: e-mail to the Workshop Coordinator　<reita@j-wave.net>
Remarks:- The room is equipped with 14 PCs
　　and you don't need to bring your own.
- The fee has been raised to JPY4,000 from JPY3,000
　　in order to prevent a financial loss to DE-J.
　　Your understanding is appreciated.
- DE-J members have priority for reservation.


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Q & A: INTERVIEW WITH A DEVA
Interview conducted by Sugiko Obata
Newsletter Team.
newsletter@digitalevejapan.org

This month we interviewed DigitalEve member Nicole Fall.

1) If you are not from Tokyo, where are you from originally and when and
why?

I am a born and raised Londoner who moved to Asia at 24 years old. After
a year in Hong Kong and mainland China the next logical place to try was
Tokyo and six years later I am still trying this city out. The longer I
stay the more difficult it seems to leave because Tokyo offers more than
most cities around the world put together.

2) How long have you been a member of DigitalEve Japan?

I joined about three or four months ago.

3) How did you find out about DigitalEve Japan and why did you decide to
join?

I learned about the activities of DigitalEve from IWIC mailouts which I
also signed up for about a year ago. Despite spending my life chained to
my keyboard I seem to know very little about my computer other than the
basics. By joining DigitalEve I thought I could improve my knowledge on
what is usually considered a nerdy topic.

4) What DE-J activities/resources have you participated in?

I have taken a Desktop Publishing Course and been to one social event. I
like the idea behind DE-J but the group could benefit from a little more
organisation - difficult since most people are too busy to devote
themselves for free to groups like this. For example the Desktop
Publishing Course was on paper very appealing yet I learned very little
from the day itself because of time constraints and the wide range of
participants' knowledge of computer expertise. Next time it would be
beneficial to work on a small project, perhaps get the class to design
something together rather than letting people do what they like and
learn nothing at all. I may criticise but I am sure I could not organise
anything better!

5) Are there any other activities and resources you would like to see
offered.

I would like to see more seminars held in the evening, whether aimed at
beginners or more advanced users, perhaps even a course that includes
five - 10 lessons with each session covering a different aspect. One
week could be how to utilise free downloads to combat viruses, another
week learning how to translate documents into pdfs. It could be any
subject, even if it's just Microsoft Word shortcuts and little-known
things but one evening a week would be best rather than weekends. Oh,
and differentiate between Mac and PC users, of which I am sadly the
former. There's a strange divide between the two users and Mac addicts
usually have more knowledge of their computers than their PC
counterparts. Unfortunately for me I still know very little about my Mac
which probably puts me somewhere in the middle of the two groups.

6) What are your interests in digital technology?

I use a digital camera and iPhoto to edit my numerous photographs. Other
than that I am learning how to use my digital video camera with little
success. My days of producing a movie are way off yet.

7) What kind of computer do you use?

I use an iMac with Panther 10.3.4. It looks great on my desk and matches
my filing cabinet!

8) Are you a member of any other technology-related groups and if so,
which ones?

No.

9) Please tell me a little bit about where you work and what your
responsibilities are.

I was Asia Editor for four years for an online fashion trend forecasting
and news service for the style industries before I decided to
concentrate on freelance journalism and consulting last year. I divide
my time between writing style and travel stories for the South China
Morning Post, The Australian, Asian Wall Street Journal and ACCJ among
other publications and working on projects that interest me. These can
include trend spotting, inspiring companies by giving them different
ideas to think about and my latest project is editing the first LUXE
travel guide to Tokyo. LUXE are easily the coolest city guides in the
world and what's so great about them is they list only stylish, relevant
destinations without the usual rubbish you have to wade through in other
guidebooks. More than that they are extremely fun to read and bitchy
too. The perfect job for me to get my teeth into then! Expect to see
LUXE Tokyo at the end of this summer in a cool outlet near you!

10) Do you have any favourite software programs? If so, why?

Using iTunes to listen to music while I work.

11) What is your favourite computer-related activity? (for example,
games, email, surfing the net, etc.)

I am an email addict. I check my mail the moment I wake up and it's the
last thing I do before going to bed. How sad is that?

12) Do you have any other hobbies?

My favourite hobby is trying to balance career, social life and spending
quality time my two beautiful children, Eden and Raffy. If anyone has
the answer please let me know.

13) What is your favourite website and why?

Aside from reading entertainment news (the serious stuff makes me want
to cry) I am obsessed with checking how many airmiles I have in my
various accounts. I really need to get out more!

14) Do you have any advice for women just starting to learn about
digital technology?

Don't be afraid to ask.

15) Name three things you will always find near your computer.

A pile of research, a very long TO DO list which never seems to shorten
and a glass of water.


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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 August newsletter is
July 15.