Business
Black Women in Technology You Need to Follow On Twitter
The Huffington Post recently put together an impressive list of Women in technology you Need to Follow on Twitter, showcasing some of the most dynamic women on the Web. We applaud their accomplishments and the doors they have opened for women, not only on the microblogosphere but also in boardrooms and in the minds of venture capitalists.
Unfortunately, of the 27 women listed, only two, —Jenny Deluxe and Ory Okolloh are Black. The reality is there are many exceptionally remarkable Black women advancing technology and forming networks where women of all races can be mentored to become digital media iconoclasts.
Noticing the oversight, please find compiled a list of Black Women in technology you need to Follow on Twitter. This list is by no means all-encompassing, but a step in giving credit where credit is rightfully due.
Angela Benton
Angela Benton is a force to be reckoned with. As founder and publisher of Black Web 2.0, she is responsible for one of the most informative news blogs on all things black and tech. The site publishes timely info on everything from general tech news and announcing tech startups to educational tips about becoming an entrepreneur. In addition, Benton is co-founder of the NewMe Accelerator, an incubator that invited the tech elite to train and mentor minority startups in Silicon Valley for nine weeks this summer. Footage from NewMe will be used in CNN’s Black in America 4 this fall.
Corvida Raven
An Atlanta transplant in New York City, Corvida Raven refers to herself as a “Tech-know” artist. The gadget guru, freelance writer, and social media coach created SheGeeks.net to help people understand the joys of technology. As a community catalyst for TED, a technology conference that spreads innovative ideas, she actively works to inform seniors, recent immigrants, low-income families, youth-at-risk and other under-serviced populations about TED resources.
Nnenna Ukuku
Attorney Nnena Ukuku, software engineer Hadiyah Mujhid, and Monique Woodard, marketing consultant, and all around girl geek about town are three fourths of the Black Founders team, an organization that aims to connect and equip Black entrepreneurs in the technical startup ecosystem. Together with co-founder Chris Bennett, the three each play a unique role in providing resources for aspiring techpreneurs. Ukuku is active within the San Francisco Bar Association and was one of four recipients of Barrister of the Year in 2010. Woodward worked in affiliate marketing and digital entertainment for more than ten years and worked with companies like Private Media Group, Gamelink, and Tony Robbins. Mujhid has two startup companies on the horizon and her blog, Engineers Don’t Blog provides readers with a mix of info for hackers, community service volunteers, and entrepreneurs.
Jamilah B. Creekmur
Jamilah B Creekmur, owner of JBC Consulting was once the hidden force behind AllHipHop.com. As COO, she helped to ink major deals and monetize the site. Now she provides Online/Digital Business Development advice to help other companies generate online revenue.
Samara Lynn
With over fifteen years experience in information technology, Samara Lynn is a networking analyst for PC Mag, where she does tech reviews on apps, gadgets, and provider services. Prior to that, she was the IT director at a major New York City healthcare facility and the tech editor for the CRN Test Center.
Arielle P. Scott
Arielle P. Scott is the chief executive officer and co-founder of GenJuice, a community for 20-something leaders and aspiring Gen Y entrepreneurs. While studying information technology and media at the University of California, Berkeley, she started several companies, including InternshipIN, to help college students land work experience, and GenJuice, which started off as her undergrad thesis. Now she is working on her newest project, The Coolhunt, a site where trendsetters inform brands on what’s in and what’s out in arts and entertainment.
Adria Richards
San Francisco, CA
Part time developer, professional speaker, video blogger, WordPress expert and all-around IT geeky girl, Adria Richards, is founder of AskAdria.com. For more than seven years this self-proclaimed “organic technology consultant” has taught a series of classes about WordPress, Joomla, SEO, and Google Apps at Freshworkshops.com.
Ananda Leeke
Yogi? Internet Geek? Lawyer? However you choose to describe her you have to include passionate tweeter. Leeke launched #digitalsisterhood Wednesdays on Twitter to drive engagement, extend social justice and awareness and grow relationships between women of all races who are paving a way in technology and social media. She is also writing a Digital Sisterhood book due for release in December.
Kiratiana Freelon.
This Chi-town-bred, global bound girl with a jet setting soul describes herself as 20% Tech + 30% Travel + 20% Olympics +30% Culture. Her travel blog has taken readers from Paris to Senegal and from London to Austin, Texas, where she was a speaker at South by Southwest Interactive. Her presentation 100% Viable, 1% Visible inspired a conversation between Blacks, Whites, Latinos, and others to consider why there are so few minority tech entrepreneurs. Aside from visiting 25 other countries, Kiratiana is most known for her blog, which turned into a book: Kiratiana’s Travel Guide to Black Paris: Get Lost and Get Found.
Jenna Wortham
Not your everyday Jenny from the block, Jenna Wortham is the New York Times tech reporter and Gadgetwise blogger. You can count on her for witty, concise news bites about general happenings, product releases and events in the tech world. She also contributes to a digital diary for the NYTimes.com where she poses and attempts to answer tech questions that we all sometimes ponder.
Maisha Walker
Maisha Walker is an Internet strategist at Inc. Magazine. She has 13 years of Internet industry experience working with hundreds of small businesses and major corporations like Unilever, Save the Children, Delia’s, AOL/Time Warner & the NYC Department of Education. In 2007, she published “Web Site Fundamentals for Entrepreneurs,” a book that helps small business owners unravel the world of online business (without needing a marketing or CS degree)
Lynne D Johnson
Lynne D Johnson is a senior social media strategist at a digital ad agency. Previously, she worked as the senior vice president, Social Media for R/GA, the senior editor & community director for Fast Company, and general manager of new media for VIBE, SPIN, and VIBE Vixen. She tweets regularly about Brooklyn, music, motorcycles, pop culture, kicks, Android phones, and social media.
Cheryl Contee
Cheryl Contee started Fission Strategy as a way to leverage social media for social good. She is also the co-founder of JackandJillPolitics.com, a black political blog where she blogs as Jill Tubman. Contee is included in The Root 100 list of established and emerging African American leaders, and Fast Company named her one of their Most Influential Women in Tech in 2010. She has served on several boards and advisory committees, including Netroots Nation, BlogHer, Blogging While Brown, Applied Research Center, and CommonGoods.Net.
Shireen Mitchell
Where media, technology, and politics intersect is where you will find Shireen Mitchell. She was one of the first women of color web designers in the early 90’s and has over 20 years of experience in IT. This speaker, trainer, and tech event organizer is founder of Digital Sisters Inc., a technology social services nonprofit agency that fights for women’s equality in technology.
LaShanda Henry
Web designer and work-at-home-mom (WAHM) LaShanda Henry is the creator of Black Business Women Online. She also hosts tweets, blogs, and holds events like The SistaSense Power Circle, a two day telesummit to teach Web entrepreneurs how to make money online using technology, ebooks, and internet marketing.
Lena West
Lena West is is an award-winning social media consultant, blogger, speaker, journalist, technologist and the founder of Real Women Do Social Media. She is passionate about helping women business leaders profit from the power of social media and the Internet. She is an American Express Open Forum contributor. Before founding her company XYNO Media she consulted for Fortune 500 companies such as IBM, Pitney Bowes, Philips Magnavox, Hyperion Software and MasterCard International.
Johnica Reed
If you think about technology and travel, Johnica Reed comes to mind. She describes herself as a “coolhunter” bringing you destination, design and digital inspiration from around the world. To do this, she’s racked up 200,000 frequent flyer miles. This travel and gadget junkie was named one of HP’s Tech Tastemakers and serves as the VP of Social Media at Buzz Marketing Group. She’s also one of BlackEnterprise.com’s 10 Young Entrepreneurs to Watch Out For.
Kris Cain
Aside from being the mother of two sets of twins, this Chicago native uses every opportunity at hand to blog about gadgets, web design, and social media. The creator of LittleTechGirl.com’s ramblings on life as a gadget addict and mom have been syndicated on other sites and landed her gigs with Mom Blog Magazine, Type-A Parent, Blogher.com and Examiner.com.
Sekai Farai
We all know you can dig up dirt on the Web, but anthropologist Sekai Farai takes the concept a step further. She is currently funded to study tech startups and entrepreneurial ecosystem. Farai is also the founder of @hackchange, which endeavors to make tech entrepreneurship accessible to marginalized populations and while teaching herself how to code, she is in the early stages of building Bandywagon.com, an alternative economy for startups. Her team at HackChange plans to open a school that trains underrepresented youth to become programmers.
Tanisha Robinson
Tanisha Robinson is a foodie, but not in the sense that you’re thinking. She founded Fudha, a deal-of-the-day website for local restaurant discounts in Columbus, Ohio. A portion of each purchase from Fudha was donated to the Mid-Ohio Food bank. Her goal was to feed people, those who could afford to eat, those who couldn’t, and those who needed a discount. The site was purchased by 614 Media Group last month for an undisclosed amount and merged into another site called Faveroo.com.
Source: Black Enterprise