HAPPY 40th B-DAY WOMEN'S EQUALITY DAY!

HAPPY B-DAY to you!

Friday, August 26, 2011
The League of Women Voters celebrates the fortieth birthday of "Women's Equality Day."

To think that almost a century ago, exactly 91 years ago, the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitutional was passed and prohibits any United States citizen to be denied the right to vote based on sex. It was ratified on August 18, 1920.

Happy 91st Anniversary Nineteenth Amendment!

The Amendment was drafted by prominent civil rights leader, Susan B. Anthony (pictured left) with assistant, American social activist, Elizabeth Cady Stanton (pictured below).

It took another 51 years to form Women's Equality Day - at the urgent request of Rep. Bella Abzug (D-NY) -- in 1971 the U.S. Congress designated August 26 as “Women’s Equality Day.”

For more information visit "League of Women voters recognizes anniverary of 19th Amendment" article by Christine Kneidinger.

In 1869, Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton founded the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) an organization dedicated to gaining women's suffrage. Anthony insisted that Stanton become president as long as possible; Anthony served as vice-president-at-large until 1892 when she became president. (pictured right, Anthony and Stanton in later years - Stanton seated)

HAPPY 60th B-DAY TO Iconic photo "American Girl in Italy" by Ruth Orkin

Sixty years ago today, Ruth Orkin captured the imaginations across the globe with this iconic photo titled "American Girl in Italy." According to Ninalee Craig (also known at that time as Jinx Allen) , subject woman in the photo, 23 years old at the time, the photo was not a symbol of harassment as many assumed, but an honest portrayal of an American woman having a wonderful time in Italy and enjoying the moment of being admired by 15 Italian men. Ninalee Craig is now a great-grandmother living in Canada. The photographer, Ruth Orkin, who passed away in 1985, also co-wrote and co-directed the 1956 Oscar-nominated film "Little Fugitive." In a telephone interview Craig confirmed on NBC that the photo was not staged and "symbolizes independence and fearlessness not harassment," see Today People article by Laura T. Coffey. More photos by Ruth Orkin at Bulger Gallery.
For more information visit "American Girl in Italy: 60 years later" by Mike Kromboltz of The Lookout.

Did you know that August 6, 2011 the WWW turned 20?

Twenty years ago on August 6th, Tim Berners-Lee, created the most innovative invention in only 3 months and called it the "world-wide-web" (WWW). So congratulations to Tim Berners-Lee and a BIG Happy BELATED B-Day WWW - 20th B-Day! I'm a big fan of all things digital and just had to share the WWW 20th B-DAY was 8/6th in case you didn't know it. More info including video at this link:

http://www.linkedin.com/share?viewLink=&sid=s516986078&url=http%3A%2F%2Ft%2Eco%2FI9Gtlu7&urlhash=h6be&pk=member-home&pp=4&poster=4656978&uid=5506749028785721344&trk=NUS_UNIU_SHARE-title

Thank you Sarah ElBatanouny for sharing and spreading the news!

Why Are Corporate Blogs By Women Not Supported By Their Constituents?

"I do not think “real” leaders are the kind of paranoid people that get to the top quickly but fall quickly"
-- Grace Bosworth, President of Global 2 Local Language Solutions

"It's cool to get back up if you fall! But don't let the threatened and insecure -- males and females -- pull you down!" -- Gloria Buono-Daly

Whenever I begin another consulting assignment at a major corporation I observe and research the respective environment and Web site and end up with the same question -- “Why are the leading women's corporate blogs not being supported by women?”

This absence of commentary is a red flag and illustrates a much bigger problem at the company in the form of ineffective communication, counter-productivity, negativity and low morale. It only takes a few minutes to read a corporate blog and write a comment -- especially when the blogs are so interesting, informative and worthy of comments. For the past few years I have noticed that women at major corporations are not supporting fellow corporate women’s blogs.

Recently I contracted at a corporation with over 200,000 employees as a senior product marketing consultant and noticed that there were less than a dozen comments from one of their business unit's blogs yet there was a wealth of blogs on that corporate Web site. This lack of support is mind-boggling and serves no purpose but to breed negativity. How long can employees continue destroying what employers are paying them to build up?

Does this start from the top and trickle down to the bottom? Watch out, your company's stock may be headed for another plummet. I am always so positive and impressed by professionals when I work at a new corporation and learn about the company, especially by reading blogs from the corporate leaders, attending seminars, and navigating the corporate Web site. Yet, I do not understand why these major corporate blogs with the potential of having so many visits and views, do not receive the adequate feedback from fellow employees.

It ceases to amaze me of how the threatened and insecure employees intentionally thwart and insult the professional consultants -- the basis is obviously these employees are afraid that the new consultants will get noticed for their cost saving, productive contributions, and showing interest and support for corporate initiatives including blogs. Unfortunately, the productivity and business success is compromised because of these essentially useless and insecure employees. Yet, senior department heads are in the sand and corporations allow this to go on -- the familiar, AIG-ish, corporate status quo -- "Our government's bail-out money will pay our salaries; we're too big to fail," etc.

As a professional marketing executive who has been contracting for many Fortune 100 corporations and trust me, I get the big picture relatively quickly, I see many issues including lack of support, particularly among women executives. This is compromising the financial health of the corporation on a national and global level.

Negativity of this nature results in not only low employee morale and little or no ROI but dissatisfied customers.

Are professional women still living in the 1980’s when one women has to be thwarted in order for another women to succeed? Why is this sentiment common for women and not men? Could this be why professional women have not advanced as much as men? Have women turned competition into a game of back-stabbing tactics that do nothing but destroy the morale of a corporation? And what about corporate diversity and multi-culturalism -- is it destroying what women are working to achieve?

I believe corporate diversity is indeed compromised. Many top consultants have experienced their work thwarted and being intimidated by corporate employees. Whenever the consultants report the issue, their contract ends. A very common tactic, is when employees use inappropriate language in the form of misleading adjectives towards the consultant to make the consultant feel insignificant and themselves feel powerful and important. And we wonder why so few women make it to the top?

According to Grace Bosworth, President of Global 2 Local Language Solutions, “We wonder why women have not advanced as much as they should, but, when a women gets some kind of control, she acts as if she did it all by herself, and tries to push down anyone that comes near her level. We don’t try to help each other; we make it more difficult for each other. …The only thing I can control in this world is me, and I know that to change the world, I must first change myself. Do I look at a woman who has done well for herself with suspicion? Do I hesitate to spend time on a project that may not put me or my company in the limelight?… I do not think “real” leaders are the kind of paranoid people that get to the top quickly but fall quickly. We as women have to do better. Most of all, I vow to not say negative things about people I really don’t know. If we could all vow just that little thing, I see women taking great strides.”

So tell me do you believe corporate blogs by women are or are not being supported by their constituents? What are your favorite blogs? I’d be delighted to take a read, share my perspective and add them to this list.

Below is a listing of my latest favorite blogs by and about women:

► Women in Business Don’t Support Each Other, and We Are Here to Change That
► Is Eight Enough When It Comes to Success
► Got Me Thinking: Is the Model of Masculinity Changing in America?
► 25 Things a Professional Woman Should Never Wear     (I’ll admit my biggest faux pas was putting my then, waist-long-hair back with a schrunchie)
► Women Who Make Us Laugh
► Google Made Her Rich, Facebook Made Her A Legend
► 100 Must Read Blogs by Women
► Why You Should Stop Being A Wimp
► Employers Feel A Talent Shortage
► ClassyCareerGirl Blog
► Making Sure Your Employees Succeed
► Top 100 Websites for Women 2011
► The Importance of Earnest Service, Thoughts from JM Byington & Associates, Inc.

PS This list will change but only with your help. So do send me your favorite blogs, bookmark this one and visit frequently. Thanks!

Do We Really Need One More Social Network?

According to one of Facebook’s investors, Reid Hoffman, the answer -- yes!

So far, Facebook has more than 500 million users yet FB has limitations which do not enable users to separate friends into different groups (e.g., friends, family, business, acquaintances, etc.) More information at this Forbes.com Tech article by Oliver Chiang.


Many companies are working on social networks including Google’s, Google+ project, a program still in beta testing which will have a lot more bells and whistles than FB and will be ready soon. More information can be found at Google's Official Blog. Isn't this what we've been looking for? Could Google+ (Plus) be the one and only, social media network we need?

*Top 15 Social Networking sites listed in ranking order as of August 2011 are listed as follows:
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIN
My Space
Ning
TAGGED
orkut
hi5
myyearbook
meetup
badoo
mylife
friendster
multiply

*For more information regarding these rankings visit eBizMBA.com



Facebook, social networking, networking, media, reid hoffman, investors, Forbes, Oliver Chiang
For more information, visit http://blogs.forbes.com/oliverchiang/2010/09/27/facebook-investor-reid-hoffman-says-one-social-network-is-not-enough-launches-20m-fund/

Did You Know Today is International Museum Day? Happy 34th B Day!

Today, marks the 34th celebration of International Museum Day, a date originally established by International Council of Museums (ICOM).
Every year International Museum Day is organized worldwide around May 18th. Recently, International Museum Day has been experiencing its highest involvement with almost 30,000 museums with organized activities in more than 100 countries. First celebrated in 1977, the International Museum Day takes in each year a specific theme or a slogan, and purports to give universal meaning in different countries and raise awareness on how important museums are in the development of society. The theme for 2011 is "Museum and memory: the objects tell your story." Many prestigious museums participate in this worldy event including the New York's Metropolitan Museum, the Royal Palace Museum, Luang Prabang, Laos in Asia and the Louvre in Paris, France, Europe.

Interesting Themes of the Past:
2010 - "Museums for social harmony"
2009 - "Museums and tourism"
2008 - "Museums as agents of social change and development"
2007 - "Museums and Universal Heritage"
2006 - "Museums and young people"
2005 - "Museums bridging cultures"
2004 - "Museums and Intangible Heritage"
2003 - "Museums and Friends"
2002 - "Museums and Globalisation"
2001 - "Museums: building community"
2000 - "Museums for Peace and Harmony in Society"
1999 - "Pleasures of discovery"
1998-1997 - "The fight against illicit traffic of cultural property"
1996 - "Collecting today for tomorrow"
1995 - "Response and responsibility"
1994 - "Behind the Scenes in Museums"
1993 - "Museums and Indigenous Peoples"
1992 - "Museums and Environment"


For more information, visit these resources:
http://icom.museum/what-we-do/activities/international-museum-day.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Museum_Day
http://www.facebook.com/pages/International-Museum-Day-2011/178953758817864
http://art.broadwayworld.com/article/Frist-Center-Offers-Free-Admission-to-Celebrate-Museum-Day-518-20110517
Twitter hashtag: #musmem




MUSEUM, NYC, INTERNATIONAL MUSEUM DAY, ICOM, CULTURE, GL

Anginette Cookies Easy 1-2-3 Recipe

Happy Mother's Day

Mother's Day, this year is Sunday, May 8th and always a great day to celebrate love, friendship and moms. Did you know that yellow roses indicate joy, gladness, friendship and "I Care?" I wanted to celebrate ahead of time with a beautiful bouquet of 2 dozen yellow roses and share a special recipe from mom. As a child my mother would often bake all sorts of foods, pies, desserts, cakes and cookies. One of my favorite, all time cookies is a famous Italian cookie called "Anginette" (aka Anginetti), in the USA popularly called "Lemon Drop Cookies." The great thing about this cookie is that it is popular all year round and with just a few ingredients, anyone can prepare and bake this great cookie in less than 30 minutes. I use to always enjoy rolling the dough into extra long cigar shapes and coiling the cookie into 2 and 3 tiers high. The sky is the limit in regards to creativity; although anginettes are delightful plain they are lovely and appetizing garnished with frosting and sprinkles. The prep time including rolling the dough into cigar shapes was slightly less than 15 minutes and it baked in 8 minutes. I try to bake these as much as I can. I once baked Anginettes and decided to bring in a tray for an early meeting where I was leading a direct marketing presentation to a group of about 30 people. The cookies were a big hit as was my presentation. Besides adding a personal touch, they were a surprise breakfast treat especially for those sipping coffee and tea.

INGREDIENTS:
► Eggs 6
► Baking Powder 4 - 6 teaspoons max
► Baking Soda 1/2 teaspoon
► Flour 6 cups
► Vanilla 1 - 2 teaspoons
► Sugar 1 - 2 cups (can substitute with alteratives, e.g., splenda, equal, etc.)
► Butter 4 sticks (can substitute with vegetable oil)

OPTIONAL ICING:
► Powdered Sugar (aka Confectioners Sugar) 3 tablespoons
► Milk, Lemon Juice or Water (just a dash, about 1/2 teaspoon)

OPTIONAL OTHER:
► Lemon or Orange Skin (grated or peeled, optional with flour mix)
► Caraway seeds, almonds, walnuts, cream cheese, etc.
► Be Creative

Step 1 : Make Dough (5 min)
► Prepare oven at 375°; In large bowl combine ingredients
► Eggs
► Baking Powder
► Flour (put about half and add the remaining flour while mixing in bowl)
► Vanilla
► Sugar (or alternative, e.g., splenda, equal, etc.)
► Butter

Step 2 : Knead, Cut & Shape Dough (10 min)
► Knead dough when ready divide into amounts enough to roll into long cigars (about 6" to 8 inches); Then create circular coil shapes. Place in baking tray. Makes about 36 cookies or so depending on shape and size of cookies. You can make many more if you use a simple flat, round conventional shape cookie, but then again, it won't have the look and feel as a true, anginette.

Step 3 : Place tray in 375° oven (8 - 18 min)
► Depending on your oven, bake anywhere from 10to 20 minutes, keep watching and when the cookies are golden brown color on the bottom it is done. If you want to have frosting, mix the powdered sugar and water and stir until paste like. Wait at least 10 minutes for baked cookies to cool and dip cookies into frosting mix, or simply pour a little on each. Should set within 15 minutes. Can serve plain or with the traditional sugar frosting. Be creative, try cutting a few plain ones and adding cream cheese in the middle.
► Don't forget to wait at least 10 minutes before adding the icing and sprinkles or serving without icing.


Total time - 23 - 33 Minutes

These cookies are great plain or with icing. There are different textures and styles. The neutral-colored frosting was made using lemon instead of milk with powdered sugar.



“The sweetest sounds to mortals given. Are heard in Mother, Home, and Heaven” -- William Goldsmith Brown (1902-1982);
Survivor of the sinking of the RMS Titanic. Later he wrote a book about his experiences on the ship, and had his story featured in the documentary, Titanic: The Legend Lives On, as well as a children's book about the disaster, Inside the Titanic.