Ever dreamed of one day owning your own business? Have a great idea for a product or service that you think could be super successful but don’t know whether you’ve got what it takes to quit your job and start out on your own?

Well the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) offers an online self-assessment tool you can use to find your “entrepreneurial potential”. Yes that’s right. In just 15 minutes (or less) you can discover if you’ve got what it takes to start your own business! Read more »

Mark Blevis, one of the organizers of the Podcamp Ottawa event held this past weekend, has been contacted by Alan Neal from the CBC.

Alan hosts CBC’s Bandwidth, a music and pop culture program which airs on Radio 1, Saturdays from 5:05 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Alan is thinking about doing a segment on music podcasters for the show.

So…

If you’re a music podcaster, contact Mark at markblevis(at)gmail(dot)com about getting profiled on Bandwidth.

- Melany Gallant
Women 2.0 Ottawa Co-founder

For those of you interested, we have created a Women 2.0 Ottawa Group on LinkedIn. Joining will allow you to find and contact other Women 2.0 Ottawa members to further enhance networking opportunities beyond our monthly face-to-face meetups.

Monika and I would like to point out that joining our LinkedIn group is completely optional.

But if you’d like to join, here’s the invite link:
http://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/42524/1E9FDB74909A

Note: Monika and I are also investigating the idea of starting a listserv (e.g. via Yahoo or Google Groups) to better manage communications with our members. If you have suggestions or preferences about a particular technology to support this idea, please let us know.

- Melany Gallant
Women 2.0 Ottawa Co-founder

Here are some notes from the sessions I attended at BarCamp Ottawa4…

Session: Social Media Fundamentals

Joe Thornley of Thornley-Fallis (blog: propr.ca)

- Social media is breaking into channels (blogs, Twitter, YouTube, Flikr, etc) - a fragmentation by purpose or specialization (blogging, micro-blogging, photo sharing, etc)

- Blogs are communities of interest that transcend geographies

- Social media takes a lot of effort and there is real pressure to say something of consequence, yet it feeds into the desire to connect Read more »

I attended a very fun get together at the Toronto Girl Geek Dinner this past Wednesday, where blogger and online marketing guru Kate Trgovac of Reinvent Communications lead a lively discussion about virtual worlds.

Kate moderated a discussion about new users’ varying comfort levels in these spaces, since entering a 3D virtual world requires a bit of time investment to sort out some basic navigation skills, without which the whole experience can be frustrating and less than engaging. Some are also finding such open spaces, where anyone can approach you and start a conversation, somewhat intimidating. Read more »

I love this lead paragraph from a November 1st article by the New York Times describing how women should act in the workplace:

DON’T get angry. But do take charge. Be nice. But not too nice. Speak up. But don’t seem like you talk too much. Never, ever dress sexy. Make sure to inspire your colleagues — unless you work in Norway, in which case, focus on delegating instead.

Ohmygosh that makes me laugh! The excerpt says it all when it comes to describing the balancing act many women face when pursuing leadership roles within organizations. Read more »

At the next Women 2.0 Event — scheduled for Wednesday, December 5 — Jen Hunter of The Learning Catalyst will guide us through a discussion on leadership.

During the session Jen will lead us through a collaborative discussion on the qualities of an effective leader, how to develop those skills from within and how to identify the leadership skills you already have (but may not be aware of).

The details…

When: Wednesday, December 5 at 6:30 p.m.
Where: Starbucks in the Pinecrest Chapters, Pinecrest Shopping Centre - 2735 Iris St. at Pinecrest
What: A networking mixer for women in technology and related fields
Why: To swap energy, ideas, and experiences with each other

A Google map of the location is available here.

RSVP and/or ask us a question!

Although this event is open to anyone who wishes to drop by, it’s always nice to have a rough idea of numbers so please let us know if you plan to attend. Further, don’t hesitate to ask us a question about the event or Women 2.0 Ottawa in general. We’d love to hear from you!

RSVP and post your questions to the comments area below, or e-mail Melany and Monika (your Ottawa organizers) at ottawa@women2.ca .

Pssst…tell a friend!

Feel free to forward this message on to any women you know that might be interested in Women 2.0. The more the merrier!

- Melany Gallant
Women 2.0 Ottawa Co-founder

Aside from BarCamp Ottawa4 taking place at Bitheads on November 17th, there are a few other cool events taking place in the Nation’s Capital and in Toronto that Monika and I want to share with you…

Launch of PodCamp Ottawa

The first ever PodCamp Ottawa is being organized by a slew of podcasters in the Ottawa area. You are invited to register for this one day event — Sunday, November 25, 2007 from 10:00am to 4:00pm at the NAC — on the PodCamp Ottawa wiki page.

Having met Jeff Parks (one of the PodCamp Ottawa organizers) last year at several Ottawa BarCamp and DemoCamp events (and having participated in one of his podcasts), the event should be informative, fun and of real value. Like all ‘camps’, the focus is on conversations not presentations.

So if you’re interested in learning about podcasting and mingling with like-minded folk, register soon. The organizers are capping the number of attendees to 80 to “offer greater opportunities to listen and be heard, and meet everyone.”

Ottawa Weblogger Meetup

Also on the horizon this month is the Ottawa Weblogger Meetup on Thursday, November 22, 2007 at 7:30 PM at the Clock Tower Brew Pub - 75 Bank Street. This monthly meetup is for bloggers and those of you interested in blogging but not sure where to start.

Toronto Girl Geek Dinner

On a related note, Monika will be attending the next Toronto Girl Geek Dinner (GGD) on Wednesday, November 14th at 6:30 p.m. Kate Trgovac of Reinvent Communications will be speaking to the group about Virtual Worlds…how cool is that?

Check out the event ‘deets’ on the GGD blog and on Kate’s blog, then register for the event on the GGD wiki.

Have fun…!

- Melany Gallant
Women 2.0 Ottawa Co-founder