Digital Digest November 2005

The Monthly Newsletter of DigitalEveJapan. 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.

/:/:/:/:/ 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

................................................

1 November 2005

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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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IN THIS ISSUE
-> From the Editor
-> Upcoming Events
-> Rota Leader Report
-> Membership Team News
-> Recent Events
-> Interview with a DEVA

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FROM THE EDITOR
Louise Mackay, English Newsletter Editor.
<newsletter@digitalevejapan.org>

Hello and welcome to the November edition of the newsletter.
We seem to have a full newsletter this month, reporting the
success of our recent workshops in Design Basics and Excel
and Powerpoint - an encouragement to future workshop tutors
and attendees. We also have an interview from a new DEJ
member, Rochelle Kopp, a consultant specializing in
cross-cultural communications and our first tantalizing
announcement of the DEJ party (Christmas/end-of-year/holiday
party) on the 10th of December. Plus rota leader and
membership reports.

I will be stepping down as a newsletter editor this month,
on to pastures new, and hope to see many of you at the
December party to say a fond farewell.


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ANNOUNCEMENT OF UPCOMING EVENTS
by Chiharu Kawai
Media Coordinator
media-j@digitalevejapan.org

DigitalEve Japan Holiday Party in December!
===========================================

Yes, it's coming in a month! We are planning to have a
holiday party on Saturday, December 10th. This year we are
thinking about holding a talent show, in which any one of
you with something to perform in front of us is welcome. You
can play music, sing, dance, perform comedy or
impersonation, do magic tricks, or anything you can show us.
Prizes will beawarded to excellent talent. Performers,
please contact me! I will start organizing the party pretty
soon. Besides the talent show, we are also thinking about
inviting a few musicians for entertainment. If you have any
suggestions, please let us know!

Date: Saturday, December 10, 2005
Time: TBD
Venue: TBD
Talent show, music, prizes, etc.

Mark your calendar now!


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NOTES FROM THE STEERING COMMITTEE

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ROTA LEADER
Leader's Report
Misao Kajiro

Thank you for participating in the recent DigitalEve
Workshops. Our members' active participation will help to
shape the program better for the future. Many thanks to
Jennifer and Smita who tutored, and to all attendees must
have gained some new tips from their nice presentations.
(There is a recap in this issue.)

Thank you again for being part of DigitalEve Japan's
activities.

We want to plan more workshops for different levels, and
events for meeting with DEvas in different fields.

We need your involvement volunteering in our teams,
especially as follows:
- Workshop team
- Events team
- Sponsorship team
- Newsletter team
- Translation team

You can join SC meetings if you are interested in helping a
team so please contact us anytime by email at
info@digitalevejapan.org.

We owe what DigitalEve Japan is to all the assistance we
have received from members since our launch in 2001.

Looking forward to seeing you at our next event.


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

Total membership is 718 as of October 27th, 2005.

We are planning to hold a Meet the DEvas event in November.
It will be a short trip to see the changing autumn leaves
while having lunch together.

An announcement will be sent to the list soon.


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REPORT OF RECENT EVENTS

Excel and PowerPoint Workshop Recap by Justine Bower

On Saturday the 22nd of October from 18:00 to 21:00, 11
DEvas got together to take part in the Excel and Power Point
workshop tutored by Smita Deshpande at the Tokyo Women's
Plaza in Omontesando. People's skill-sets ranged from
absolute beginner to intermediate levels. Smita got us all
working on Excel charts, importing Excel files, and
inserting and working on tables. The workshop was run in a
very open style so that people could ask lots of questions
and no one was left behind.

Smita also provided helpful handouts which will surely come
in handy in the future should anything be forgotten. She
gave us a very good real-world case study so we could get
hands-on exposure to things that may be relevant to us in
our current day-to-day working and home environment or
potential business plans in the future. It must be said that
she is also an incredibly patient and helpful teacher! Every
one provided their own computer and it is probably useful to
note that anyone in the future should remember to bring
extension cords (we managed thanks to Heera bringing one).
People were working on both Mac OS and Microsoft OS so I
also got to learn some new stuff about my Mac that I didn't
know from others in the group.

As a new person to the DEva workshops I thoroughly recommend
them to anyone. It's a great way to learn new skills and
there are some very nice people taking part who will become
great friends and connections. I also noticed that everyone
was very helpful and if anyone got lost no one hesitated to
come over and demonstrate how to do things. I for one will
definitely be looking forward to the next ones that come up.

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Design Basics Workshop Recap by Louise Mackay

On Saturday the 22nd of October, DEJ held an Introduction to
Design workshop. The workshop ran in the afternoon, hosted
in our very own Misao Kajiro's bright and cheerful office in
Omotesando and expertly led by designer Jennifer Pack. 5
DEvas of varying design experience attended. The workshop
was designed to introduce the basics of design: the use of
design elements (composition, unity, colour) and the basics
of print design (resolution, file formats and appropriate
software). The attending DEvas were given expert advice on
the creative process and undertook an exercise in just that
by ascertaining the nature of the design problem,
brainstorming for solutions, and sketching thumbnail ideas;
for our specific design need we were given the task of
creating a suitable design for this years DEJ Christmas
party!

After an informal couple of hours where all questions were
gladly answered by our tutor, we all got the chance to have
a go with our own design using Photoshop software. Jennifer
provided us with a handout on her design basics talk (plus a
CD with example images) and additional information on design
references and example web pages. This was a great resource
for the attending DEvas to take away and review what we had
covered. Jennifer also provided us with a very imaginatively
designed business card for her own design studio in Tokyo -
Black Cat Studios http://homepage.mac.com/petitshoo/blackcatstudios/.

The day was a great success. Many participants expressed an
interested in an improvers session or web design session.
Thank you to Jennifer for her relaxed teaching style. Her
design experience impressed us all.

A workshop such as this is great way to be introduced to a
new skill area in an informal setting, with the added
benefit of meeting fellow DEVAs. So please give it a try!


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INTEVIEW WITH A DEVA
Interview conducted by Mayumi Tanimoto

Rochelle Kopp of Japan Intercultural Consulting is our
interviewee this month.

Rochelle is an authority on Japanese culture and business.
As a consultant specializing in cross-cultural
communications, she has extensive experience working with
Japanese organizations and their non-Japanese suppliers and
partners. A veteran facilitator experienced in delivering
training and consulting to both Japanese and non-Japanese,
Rochelle has a particular specialty in facilitating
cross-cultural teambuildings and other programs for
executives.

Rochelle gained firsthand experience of Japanese corporate
culture when she lived in Japan and worked at the Tokyo
headquarters of a major Japanese financial institution. She
speaks, reads, and writes Japanese fluently, and has passed
Level 1 of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test and Level
A of the JETRO Test of Business Japanese.
Rochelle@japanintercultural.com
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1) If you are not from Tokyo, where are you from originally
and when and why did you relocate to Tokyo?

I am a native of Chicago, and have been going back and forth
between Chicago and Tokyo for quite some time. Recently due
to the growth of my firm's Japan Branch I am spending more
time in Japan. I haven't completely relocated here but you
will be seeing me around here more.

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

I just joined a couple of weeks ago!

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

I found it on the internet in a list of networking groups.
It sounded very vibrant.

4) What DE-J activities/resources have you participated in?
Of these, which do you find the most advantageous and why?

I have not participated in anything yet, but am looking
forward to!

5) Are there any other activities and resources you would
like to see offered by DigitalEve Japan?

Too soon to tell!

6) What are your interests in digital technology?

Apart from being a heavy user thereof, many of my firm's
clients are in high tech fields, including computers. So
it's important for me to keep up on industry trends.

7) What kind of computer do you use?

I have a Dell Latitude Laptop, D600. (I apologize to any
clients who are reading this that it's not one of yours!
I'll blame the choice on my IT supplier.)

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 am Managing Principal of Japan Intercultural Consulting, a
training and consulting firm that helps clients improve
working relationships in multicultural environments. We
provide training, teambuilding, and executive coaching
services. Our headquarters is in Chicago, and we have an
active Japan Branch with sixteen Japan-based facilitators.
In addition to delivering training and consulting to
clients, I also manage our overall strategy and operations,
and consult with the heads of our branches in Tokyo,
New York, and London. I also act as a thought leader,
designing our programs and writing books as well as columns
for a variety of publications in both English and Japanese.

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

I recently switched to a PC with an English-language
operating system. I have been very impressed with Windows'
Japanese-language capabilities. It means that I no longer
need to have a Japanese language operating system computer,
which I had for many years. This has made my life a lot
easier.

11) What is your favorite computer-related activity? (for
example, games, email, surfing the net, etc.) Do you have
any other hobbies?

Well, I suppose this is true for many members of DigitalEve,
but I am absolutely addicted to my email. I must spend 2-3
hours a day at a very minimum emailing. I am not sure if I
can say this is necessarily my "favorite" activity, but
definitely the one I spend the most time on. I've also been
having fun recently with Microsoft Messenger, it's great for
a real-time quick hello via IM to friends who are also
signed up.

As for other hobbies, when I am in Chicago I do a lot of
kayaking on Lake Michigan. I'm currently looking for a way
to kayak on Tokyo Bay, or on one of the canals near my place
here in Shinagawa - they look perfect for kayaking! (If
anyone reading this has any suggestions or knows of any
kayaking groups, please let me know!)

12) What is your favorite website and why?

Well, if you want me to answer honestly, I'd have to say my
firm's website, www.japanintercultural.com. It's fully
bilingual and a lot of work went into it, I'm very proud of
it. And as long as I'm at it I might as well mention the
Business English page on Amazon Japan, which has my book
"Business Meeting no Eigo Hyogen" as #9 on their ranking
(thank you Amazon!):
http://www.amazon.co.jp/exec/obidos/ASIN/4789010546/
ref=pd_rhf_p_1/250-0025485-8345842.
As for others, I like the shareable calendar at
http://www.trumba.com; it makes keeping my colleagues up to
date on my schedule much easier. Also, it may seem a bit
prosaic, but I am a fan of Yahoo's Rosen Joho site for
navigating the trains here in Tokyo,
http://transit.yahoo.co.jp/; I think it's brilliant. And the
WA-EI/EI-WA dictionary on ALC's homepage
http://www.alc.co.jp/ is handy.

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

1. I bought a terrific mousepad at Itoya recently that
promised "your mouse will slide just like playing air
hockey" - and it really does! 2. The phone that connects to
my Vonage VOIP account. I couldn't go with a soft phone, I
need the physical feel of a keypad. 3. A pile of a million
notes and things to do! No matter how hard I work, can't
seem to get it to disappear!

14) Could you describe your upcoming seminars?

The next two seminars that I am teaching are as follows:
The first is at the HQ of a Japanese computer manufacturer.
It will be a joint teambuilding seminar between a group of
American employees from their U.S. subsidiary who will be
visiting Japan, and their Japanese counterparts. The second
will be a cross-cultural seminar on American culture and
business practices, at the HQ of a Japanese auto parts
manufacturer, for their Japanese staff who deal with the
Americans at their U.S. operation.


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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 Digital Digest is brought to you by the Newsletter Team:
Lynn Fujino, Noriko Hasegawa, Koko Iwata, Misao Kajiro, Yoko
Kawabe, Louise Mackay, Mayumi Tanimoto, and Ailsa Wylie.




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