Some tips for finding your inner geek
Do you want to learn how to use an iPod so you don't have to bother your 14-year-old son again? Would you like to know how to use Facebook for business? Do you want to learn how to follow others on Twitter and not get arrested?
Leslie Fishlock wants to help women overcome their IT phobias.
Fishlock, chief officer of the Cataumet-based Web-development firm Genevate, last year launched the Geek Girl Camp as a side project. She was frustrated that she couldn't communicate her passion for technology with the women in her life, and was even more infuriated that they procrastinated over getting on the tech bandwagon.
"Technology, computers, iPods, wireless, the Internet - they're all here to stay, and you have two choices," said Fishlock. "You can either help yourself and learn, or you can be left behind.
"Geek Girl Camp is designed to not leave anyone behind, but you have to want it."
With the help of friends Janel Kesten, a graphic designer at West Yarmouth-based digital print provider New England Reprographics; Reiko Beach, founder of Norwell-based Web-publishing company TRB Design; and the men in their lives, Fishlock gave birth to her venture as a way of empowering women.
Geek Girl Camp is aimed at women who want to enter the world of computers and Internet, but aren't "techy" enough to attend conventional workshops. As Fishlock put it, the camps are for the "average wannabe geek girl."
At first, the group drew together businesswomen and housewives to discuss specific IT topics, such as how to use a Mac or craft a professional profile on Facebook. Last April in Hyannis, it held the first Geek Girl Camp, a three-hour festival of mentoring, networking, and presentations about technology for women. The event was so successful that Geek Girls organized two "Tech Boot Camps" for this spring.
Each will be a full-day event, running from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The first will be March 7 at the Cape Cod Community College Adult Learning Center in Hyannis; the second March 12 at Lombardo's in Randolph.
Each camp can accommodate 300 people, at a cost of $135 per person. More information is available at geekgirlcamp.com. 