Digital Digest March 2005

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.

FROM THE EDITOR

Ko Iwata, English Newsletter Editor

Signs of spring are in the air and in a few days it will be Hinamatsuri, a day specially made for girls. Hope you all enjoy this festival!

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NOTES FROM THE STEERING COMMITTEE

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ROTA LEADER

Leader Report Chiharu Kawai Interim leader for March

Spring is just around the corner, but it's still cold, isn't it? In Japan, as the new school year and the new fiscal year begin in April, March is the month for finishing things. How are you all doing? It is said that flu is still going on a rampage. Please take care.

Well, the news about Livedoor's TOB (take-over bid) for Fuji TV Network/Nippon Broadcast shares is causing a lot of commotion in the media. It seems that finally the time has come even in Japan. While some leading IT companies such as Softbank and Rakuten have been successful in stepping into the baseball business, Livedoor has put down a challenge to the old-fashioned Japanese corporations and business customs. As seen in recent changes in management - in with the new, out with the old - and in work values, the Japanese system is changing slowly but surely. Cheers to all the hard-working women out there!

This month we are planning to have an interesting workshop. It is about how to write effective English business emails and is offered by Ms. Lynn Fujino. Nowadays, English and computer skills may be essential at work. Please take advantage of this opportunity and participate in the workshop. For more details, please see the description in the Workshop section of this newsletter.

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MEMBERSHIP TEAM NEWS

Misao Kajiro, Membership Coordinator

Total membership is 502 as of February 27th, 2005.

Our new mailing list is now working. Thanks for all the help - timely information and support - that you provide on the DEJ mailing list. All members can share your advice and ideas via this online forum.

We had a nice meeting (Meet the DEvas) on February 19th, in spite of weather that was not so good. Thanks to those who attended and kindly agreed to help us as a tutor and as volunteers. Please see the recap in this issue. The next meeting will be held in April.

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WEB CONTENT TEAM NEWS

Debra B. Foster, Web Content Coordinator

Nothing to report.

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TECH TEAM NEWS

Nothing to report.

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MEDIA TEAM NEWS

Chiharu Kawai, Media Coordinator

Nothing to report.

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DETAILS OF UPCOMING EVENTS

DigitalEve Japan's March Workshop

Title: Email Writer's Workout

Get your business writing muscles in shape.

In today's international business world, it's important to know how to write email messages in English. Email can be a fast and efficient communication tool, but it can also cause confusion and chaos when your message misses its mark. How effective is your business email writing? Do you need to stretch your vocabulary, flex your grammar, or tone up your sentences? Do you wish your writing had a little more punch?

Join us on March 26th from 9am-12pm for an email writer¡Çs workout. We¡Çll give you good solid exercise routines that will help you build those writing muscles. Our interactive writing activities and skill development routines will show you how easy email writing can be, once you know the drill. Our method will help you develop good solid messages that are clear and to the point. Learn how to make your writing casual, but professional; direct, but polite. And all the while, have fun doing it!

About the facilitator: Lynn Fujino

A long-time resident of Japan, Lynn has been involved in writing and editing for over 15 years. She began her career as a technical editor, and then moved into business writing while living in Vancouver, Canada. Her teaching career, which began at Fukuoka International School, has spanned all age levels - from elementary school through to adult learners - in both Japan and Canada. Recently, she has been a visiting lecturer in the International Corporate Strategy program's intensive writing course at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo.

Date & Time: Saturday, March 26, 2005 9:00 a.m. -¡¡12:00 noon Venue: Women's Plaza (Omotesando, next to the UN University) http://www.tokyo-womens-plaza.metro.tokyo.jp/ Fee: 2000 yen (Please pay at the entrance.) What to bring: writing pad/notebook and pen

To make a reservation to secure your seat, please email .

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You're all invited to a free book reading of "Sweet Daruma, a Japan satire," by Janice Valerie Young on Saturday March 19 from 7-9pm, at the wonderfully cosy Caravan Used Bookstore in Ikebukuro.

Janice will introduce the ideas behind the book, read selected excerpts, and answer your questions. "Sweet Daruma" will also be on sale for a special discounted price!

There will be a cash bar, plenty of time to connect and chat with other book lovers and to browse and buy some of Caravan's fantastic selection of books.

Click here for a map and directions: http://www.booksatcaravan.com/map.html

Hope to see some of you there!

Janice Valerie Young Author, "Sweet Daruma, a Japan satire" available now from www.amazon.com. Visit www.sweetdaruma.com.

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RECENT EVENTS

Recap of Meet the DEvas February 19, 2005

By Tomoyo Muratani

It was my first time to joining a DigitalEve event. Unfortunately, because of the poor weather we were not a big group, but it was very interesting to be able to meet people from different fields. We could get to know each other and talk about what we do in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere.

We have discussed what kind of events might be attractive for our members. We hope that we'll be able to get together more often for socialising, and also to offer support or share our knowledge in different fields.

I would love to join some workshops in the future as I believe it helps to build knowledge for my career.

Also I think that it would be nice if anyone who subscribes to the newsletter but has never joined an event could try coming to meet the people who are organising this group, as it would be more fun and we could create fun events if there are many people.

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Q&A with a DEva

Interview by Ko Iwata

Mayumi Tanimoto, who is a DEva living and working for the FAO in Italy is another great prototype for all of hard-working DEvas in IT. And she is also a long-distance volunteer for DEJ. Read all about her in this month's interview.

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

I am from Ebina City, Kanagawa Prefecture. Currently I am based in Rome, Italy.

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

For 3 years.

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

I knew the activities of DigitalEve International and decided to join when I found there is one in Japan. The agenda of DigitalEve Japan is same as what I hope to achieve in the future: to help improve the lives of female professonals by providing a supportive community.

I believe the activities of DigitalEve Japan are very important because of the constraints that Japanese women face; the relatively strong biases against women who are interested in IT or engaged in the IT industry.

After I studied and worked in the United States, I came back to Japan due to family sickness. I started working for Softbank Corp, an IT/business strategy consulting firm. When I was in the United States, roughly 70% of my classmates were female, and I could see a variety of talented female professionals in the IT industry at my work place. However, in Japan, it was very rare to see female professionals in the industry. Nor did my female friends try to undertake anything involving IT. When I realized this, I started thinking that I would like to change the situation.

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

It would be interesting if there were events or projects to involving different DigitalEve chapters as members would be able to network with each other and exchange opinions across borders.

5) How long have you been a volunteer with DE-J?

1. months.

6) Why did you decide to become a volunteer?

After I relocated to Rome, Italy, to work as a network manager for one of the United Nations' agencies, I had more spare time than when I was in Japan. As I wanted to contribute to the activities of DigitalEve Japan, I decided to work as a volunteer.

7) What DE-J volunteer activities have you been involved in?

Translating newsletter articles.

8) What ideas do you have for the future of DigitalEve Japan?

Education-related: - Provide weekend IT tutorials to local schools with sponsors. - Provide scholarships to students or female professionals with sponsors. - Provide career seminers to female university students with sponsors.

Media-related: - Provide articles based on the experiences of members in women's magazines, free newspapers, etc.

Career-related: - Arrange overseas internships through DEva chapter networks. - Set up online project coordination through DEva chapter networks.

9) What are your interests in digital technology?

I am interested in: the merging of consumer electronics products and computers; the future of copyrights; the future of Peer-to-Peer technology; and computer network security.

10) What kind of computer do you use?

At work: Several HP and Sun servers and workstations at work to monitor LAN and WAN, a Dell notebook for UN missions, Dell desktops(WinNT and Linux), and LAN network-check devices.

At home: A SONY VAIO notebook and IBM Thinkpad at home, plus a PDA and the first version of iPod. I plan to buy an Apple Mini this year.

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

None.

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

I am a communications officer for the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. The FAO is a special agency in the United Nations system that provides food and agricultural aid to developing countries, as well as conducting research and policy cordination among member countries. Japan provides approximately 23% of the budget and is one of the most important members. Staff members are from approximately 180 countries.

I work as a sub-manager of Local Area Network (LAN) and Wide Area Network (WAN) for the FAO headquarters in Rome, and the decentralized offices which are scattered through more than 80 countries, mostly in Africa and Latin America. The work I deal with varies from setting up networks in areas of conflict such as Rwanda, to solving technical problems, planning new network infrastructure, making and implementing operational schemes, negotiating with vendors and telecom companies, training local staff, and so on.

The FAO is a government-like organization but the work atmosphere is closer to an Internet start-up company as the majority our staff are in their 20s or early 30s. Many used to work for the private sector, but decided to work for the UN to gain experience in a multicultural environment.

The challenging issues at work are communicating effectively with people of different backgrounds, and overcoming underlying sensitive and political issues, as well as providing stable connections under physical and budgetary constraints. What is different from Japan or any other G8 member countries is that in most developing countries is that telecom services are very expensive and utilities in general are not stable. Not only is it difficult to find well-trained local staff to run the network, but devices and lines are often stolen.

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

In terms of work, I like MRTG. This is a license-free software that can monitor LAN and WAN and is easy to use. As it is free and modifiable, SMEs and individuals can use this software to monitor network performance.

I myself am a big fan of iTunes. I usually listen to hardrock/heavy metal on the radio at work, which adds a little bit of fun during my working hours.

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

Recently I've been enjoying surfing the Web and reading blogs written by ordinary people. In general, I find that it is much better to read a variety of information rather than just relying on print media.

My other hobbies are visiting hot springs in different countries, cooking salsa and listening to music. I am looking foward to the Judas Priest concert in March and the Iron Maiden concert in June.

15) What is your favorite website and why?

I like "Lessig Blog" (http://www.lessig.org/blog/) as it is well-updated and I agree with his opinions. I often look at "MIT's OpenCourseWare" to educate myself for free. (http://ocw.mit.edu/index.html)

"Bellissimo" is a website by a small e-commerce company that provides Italian food to Japanese consumers. The blog written by the owner is impressive. (http://www.bellissimo.jp/)

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

A cup of tea, speakers, and "Weekly ACII" (Japanese computer magazine)

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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: Debra B. Foster, Noriko Hasegawa, Koko Iwata, Misao Kajiro, Louise Mackay, Sugiko Obata and Ailsa Wylie.