This from a ClickZ article I came across, while sitting in a NY hotel lobby -

Online communications and spending is up in Canada, according to data from Statistics Canada.

In 2007 81 percent of private sector businesses used e-mail, up from 78 percent the previous year, and 74 percent in 2003 when the study began. Use of the Internet is slightly higher: 87 percent of businesses have access, and 41 percent maintain a Web site.

Really - only 41%. On a serious note, I find that shocking.

Beverly Crandon | women 2.0 | Toronto Co-founder

The 2^nd Skin opening night was Friday April 25^th in San Francisco and it opened up with a launch party of designers toting digital and analogue clothing. To give you an idea of the types of things seen at the party, one of the outfits adorned that evening was worn by a woman and every time she walked, her clothing would generate power.

Will this be the fashion of tomorrow? Will it become the uniform required for ‘Camp’ entry? Who knows, but it sure is interesting to read about.

Beverly Crandon | women 2.0 | Toronto Co-founder

Women 2.0 Ottawa invites you to join us at Vineyards in The Market on Wednesday, May 7th.

For this event we have no set topic for discussion. Instead, we’ll get together for a casual conversation about whatever topics come to mind!

Event deets…

When: Wednesday, May 7 at 6:30 p.m.
Where: Vineyards, 54 York Street (In the Cellar) website
What: Super casual networking mixer for women in technology and related fields
Why: To swap energy, ideas, and experiences with each other

Please RSVP

Please RSVP for this event on the Women 2.0 Ottawa event wiki.

You can also email ottawa [at] women2 [dot] ca to to join our mailing list for upcoming Women 2.0 events in Ottawa.

Melany Gallant | Women 2.0 Canada | Ottawa Co-founder

Geekspeakr - ‘We help you find technical women to speak at your events’

A wonderful resource for event organizers and the tech community in general. It’s incredibly important that women in technology step out of the shadows and start embracing the limelight. So ladies, if you have the tech knowledge and flair for public speaking, stop by geekspearkr.com and sign up. 

ana.g | women 2.0 | Toronto Co-founder

Shane Schick of ITWorldCanada has taken the time to recognize 10 Canadian tech bloggers worthy of following. Shane lists some great bloggers to check out, including two well-known female tech bloggers you may have heard of before.

Shane promises the list is in no particular order so I’ll put the two female bloggers first…just because I like them so much:

Maggie Fox - Longtime W20′ers know of our great respect for Maggie of Social Media Group. A guest speaker at our February Pass the Torch event, Maggie is a leader in the social media industry with great insights on how to leverage social media as an engagement tool.

Kate Trgovac - Of My Name Is Kate - Kate is a Internet marketing expert. She blogs about marketing and technology in a funny and engaging way that makes you want to read more.

Jevon McDonald - StartUp North - I started following Jevon on Twitter (@startupnorth) because he gives really great overviews of companies that have pitched or demo’ed products at BarCamps, DemoCamps and other Canadian tech events. If you’re interested in following tech happenings in Canada, follow this blog.

ITWorldCanada bloggers - http://blogs.itworldcanada.com - Because they deserve to promote their own talent!

Alec Saunders - http://saunderslog.com - Alec is an Ottawa blogger and co-founder of Iotum, an Ottawa-startup focused on communication technologies. He discusses a lot of different topics related to technology. Check out his list of Ottawa blogs.

Michael Geist - http://www.michaelgeist.ca - a law professor at the University of Ottawa, Geist is also a columnist for the Toronto Star, Ottawa Citizen, Vancouver Sun, and BBC. Writing about technology law, Geist covers topics such as digital copyright, net neutrality, Internet governance and user-generated content.

Mark H. Goldberg - http://www.mhgoldberg.com/blog - Goldberg covers the telecommunications industry including issues, news, trends and so much more.

Stephan Ibaraki - http://blogs.technet.com/cdnitmanagers - Ibaraki is a key contributor to this blog. As ITWorldCanada states, he “interviews countless executives (such as General Motors of Canada’s CIO) and turns them into easy-to-download podcasts. He also serves as a sort of online liaison between the vendor community and associations like the Canadian Information Processing Society (CIPS), giving him a good understanding of issues across the board.”

Mark Evans - http://markevanstech.com - Evans is a technology journalist with The Globe & Mail and The Financial Post. He’s also the co-founder of the mesh Conference - Canada’s only Web 2.0 conference. He covers a range of technology topics including telco and emerging technologies and startups.

Rob Hyndman - http://www.robhyndman.com - Another mesh Conference co-founder, Hyndman describes himself as “a lifelong student of technology, and a geek at heart.” His blog covers topics related to business law and technology, as well as developments in business, media and politics.

Melany Gallant | Women 2.0 Canada | Ottawa Co-founder

A chance to pull out the Jessica Simpson flats I purchased last spring.

Friends you haven’t seen all winter, outside of Facebook & Twitter, come out to play

A chance to have my morning smoothie and read my RSS feeds on my patio.

An excuse to walk everywhere (within reason).

A reason to power up the BBQ.

An excuse to find a martini lounge with an open patio.

A reason to open every window in the house.

It means it’s time to start planning my summer trips.

An excuse to purchase a couple of pieces appropriate for the season ( –like I don’t already have some).

The periodic peace and quiet, as my clients on retainer begin their vacations!

Bust most of all, the perfect excuse to work only 8 hour days!!!

Beverly Crandon | women 2.0 | Toronto Co-founder

I couldn’t help but have a little chuckle when I came across the QWERTY HAIRBAND by Secco

ana.g | women 2.0 | Toronto Co-founder

I love, love, love finding new blogs and women of interest via the net. Which is why I’m so excited to promote the 96 Bloggers to Watch For in Spring 2008 post by Virtual Women’s Day Celebrations.

Authored by Heidi Richards - author, business coach and entrepreneur - the Virtual Women’s Day Celebrations blog links to some pretty cool blogs and info related to women in business and women entrepreneurs.

Its mission:

The Mission of the Virtual Woman’s Day™ is to bring together women from around the globe to network together, learn together and grow together. We plan to do this by encouraging one another to share resources, promote our products and services, increase our circle of influence and have some fun in the process.

Check out the post I mentioned. There are a ton of different blogs listed (including this one - thanks Heidi!) that may just catch your interest.

Melany Gallant | Women 2.0 Canada | Ottawa Co-founder