Oops! I see that. I’ll delete it. I thought the story sounded familiar, but it had been a while since I’ve visited this post. Sorry!

T

Happened to see that bit of theft because I’m subscribed to the comments for this post.

I can’t wait for you to be up on the podium!

Being known as the first woman to start a full-service Internet company back in '95 and a "pioneer" of the Web, I'm frankly freaked out that we are still having the EXACT same conversations – and facing the same situations in our industry – as women faced back in 1995.

I repeat: 1995. (I won't even go back further than that because we all know it was far more dismal.)

Every woman – and many men – wish that this conversation was over but not because it is boring but because we really do want to see women in highly visible and powered places as a given, not a token. But that just ain't gonna happen anytime soon, most likely not in our lifetime, at least not to the point where we have nothing left to be boring about.

I was one of the very first women to speak at SXSW. I was asked by the organizers to put together the very first woman-only panel for the very first SXSW Interactive (panel was about women and the Internet). Since then, I can't get a speaking slot at SXSW to save my life so I go as press instead. But it is getting better, more diverse, and women now clamor to go there.

Things do get better, in tiny increments. Those of us who may finally get a foot in the door to speak at the biggie conferences can feel the door open just a sliver, a mere crack. But we're going to wedge our feet in there, our whole bodies if we have to, in order to throw the doors open to other women. That is our DUTY. That is our GIFT.

Personally, I found the Ignite format *insanely* challenging. I did two. Sucked at both. Unfortunately, I’m dead certain my problems were lack of skill/practice, not gender-related.

I do, however, HUGELY applaud any attempt to help ANYONE get better at public speaking, in a comfortable environment. Toastmasters is one of the best resources for this, and widely available.

I’m equally concerned, though, that all of this still sends at least two messages I’m less than thrilled with: first, that women NEED “extra special care and attention” in learning to do these things… more so than men, and second… that public speaking is something women MUST or SHOULD do to further their career. Whenever these topics come up, the implicit assumption is that public speaking at events is implicitly THE path to increased success. I don’t fully buy that, and think we put WAY too much emphasis on the Importance Of Being On That Stage. (I can think of so many other far better ways to increase one’s exposure or chances for success)

However, like you, Elisa, Mike, and everyone else here — I do believe more diversity on stage is a big win for the *attendees*–whoever they are–and they’re who I care most about. Too often in these discussions, the emphasis is all on providing opportunities for people to increase their own exposure and “enhance their personal brand.” There are no short-cuts, and most people willing to lay a foundation and put in the time to participate fully in their profession find it less daunting than the picture I see painted about how “excluded” some of us are.

Nobody “deserves” to be a presenter/speaker any more than one “deserves” to have paying customers. People pay to attend these events and learn, not provide opportunities for exposure. The people who “deserve” something are the paying attendees, and in that — many of your ideas would go a long way toward helping improve their overall experience and growth.

Did the conference organizers investigate the possibility that the unfamiliar five-minute rapid presentation format might be a barrier to entry?

The reason I brought this up is that Gov 2.0 organizer Jessica Pahlka had commented “I’ve long meant to start a Women’s Ignite series, designed to let women practice public speaking … more women who feel comfortable on stage will help with the left side of that equation.” Computers, Freedom, and Privacy has introduced five-minute talks over the last couple of years and while they’re very popular, a lot of people (of all genders) have told me that it’s a new format to them and they’re not ready to try it in a conference setting. This year, we’ll try to arrange mentoring for people who would like to participate but are concerned about their lack of experience. This might be helpful for Gov 2.0 as well.

However, I certainly didn’t say it well. Apologies again. And if there are other bad word choices in my essay, I’d certainly appreciate hearing about them.

jon