I was recently quoted in Computerworld for an article about Blacks in the Information Technology sector in Canada. How’s that for a niche?

I typically don’t offer myself as an interview subject for this topic because I want to be known more than just a Black person working in technology. However, I made an exception for this because I was the founding president of an organization called BITePRO back in 2000 and the journalist wanted to talk to me about the reasons why it no longer exists today.

As I read the article online, I read one of my quotes. I said that in order for young Black kids to look at technology as a career option, those who are currently working in IT need to mentor these young kids.

You know what? It’s been YEARS since I mentored anyone. Ever since BITePRO went under, I’ve had no interest in mentoring anyone about pursuing careers in technology. Here I am doling out advice and I’m not even doing it. Shame on me.

So, part of my re-branding effort is to incorporate some aspect of community work into my new direction. Do I launch something on my own or do I join an existing organization and create a program for them? Whichever I decide, I must heed my own advice. Doing so will bring more joy to what I’m doing.

Any of you volunteering as a mentor? If so or if not, share your opinions with me about the importance (or not) of volunteering your time.

It’s been quiet on this blog for a few months. I know. I’m working on a few projects:

• I’m filling my Camtasia Made Simple course.
• I’m preparing my presentation for the only new media event that I MUST attend - New Media Expo.
• I’m getting ready to post a call for speakers for a video marketing summit to be held in Toronto in November.
• And, I’m in the final stretch of my Social Media Mastery coaching group.

DISCOVERING MY PATH

Aside from the projects above, I’m working on something behind the scenes that is consuming alot of my attention. You see, the reason I’ve been quiet is because I’m trying to define my path.

When you don’t know where you’re going, it can be so frustrating. But, as soon as you get clarity on the path you’re supposed to take, it’s the most freeing experience EVER.

It’s not to say that I’ve haven’t done good work, or that my clients haven’t achieved results working with me. Not at all. However, every business must go through a change and mine is no different.

CAN I PUNCH MY COACH?

Over the past 30 days, my coach has been challenging me to find my unique wisdom, to be a big fish in a small pond and to define my persona.

What a difficult thing to do. I’ve had to dig deep down and recall my flaws, triumphs, disappointments and successes from my entire life. Did you hear me? I said my ENTIRE life.

That means documenting:

• My first day at school and how I hung to my mom’s leg so she wouldn’t leave me.
• Or, the time I tore a ligament in my knee that resulted in me losing a basketball scholarship to a Division 1 school in the United States.
• Or, the joy I felt finally skiing down a Black Diamond without landing on my butt once.

More on I’ve Been Quiet and Here’s Why

Two years ago this month, I officially opened the doors to my business, Caprica Interactive Marketing Inc.

I’ve had to make many sacrifices over the past 2 years to make my business work, however, I’m pleased as a pumpkin that this month marks the second year that I celebrate being gainfully self-employed as a podcasting consultant.

March is almost over, but I  can’t let it go by without celebrating this milestone. I’ve been trying to think how can I do this and include you. Any ideas on how I include you in my celebration? Sure, a launch party comes to mind, but that would exclude those who aren’t in the Toronto area.

Any other ideas?

So, today’s another day I grow one year older.

Who cares, right? Well, here’s a statistic you’ll probably care about - I’m 5 years away from living half my life span (women in North America live until they’re 78, 6 years more than men). Yet, the people in my family tend to live into their late 90s, so you’re stuck with me for a while. In any case, I tend to get reflective around this time of year.

A year ago, I listed the 33 people who have influenced my life. I can’t link to that blog post as 6 months worth of blog postings from podonomics.com didn’t export to leesabarnes.com. So, I’ve got to get someone to do this on the db layer, as well as clean up my categories so that Podcasting Tips & Tricks stops appearing 3 dozen times in my sidebar.

But I digress…

This year, I’m going to share with you the 34 things I really like. Here goes:

More on 34 Things I Really Like

By way of Rob’s blog, I found out about CNET’s Top 10 Girl Geeks list.

(**sigh**) What can I say? It’s as silly as Adam Curry’s 7 Hottest Women in Podcasting.

No wonder women aren’t taken seriously in the technology field. Because of silly, dumb lists like the one by CNET and Curry. You gotta be half naked (see Adam’s list), half crazed (Daryl Hannah on CNET’s), not real (Lisa Simpson?), mostly expired (Mary Shelley) or all ditsy (Paris Hilton) to be considered a force in technology as a woman.

Rob said I should be added to a Top 10 Geek Girl list (thanks Rob). And no, not because I’m half naked, half crazed, not real, mostly expired and somewhat ditsy I’m just half crazed.

Technorati: paris hilton, lisa simpson, daryl hannah, adam curry, women, women in technology

Jason Van Orden, author of Promoting Your Podcast, put together a list of his Top 7 Recommended Blogs for Podcasting Tips. My friend, Scott Bourne, made Jason’s list twice, along with yours truly.

What I like about Jason’s list is that each of the blogs he selected focus on something unique. For example, I focus on podcast as a lead generating tool for businesses. You will infrequently find gear reviews on my blog. For that, head on over to Scott’s blog.

Scott will hardly focus on promoting tips for your podcast, for that, you can go to Jason’s blog. And if you want monetization tips, head on over to Paul’s blog. And if you’re looking for corporate podcasting tips, or for an insider’s look into the goings-on at Gigavox, head on over to Mike’s blog.

What I would improve with Jason’s list is to call it a Top 8 and include Jason’s. His blog is excellent and any would-be or experienced podcaster will find valuable tips on his. So, Jason, you have my thumbs up to add your own.

Any others you would add?

Technorati: scott bourne, jason van orden, paul colligan, Leesa Barnes, Michael Geoghegan, john c havens

Amber MacArthur, who has done a wonderful job of using her video podcasting background to segue into an on air host job at City-TV, is doing a segment tonight for Remembrance Day.

Yours truly was interviewed about my Keep the Poppy On campaign, an effort to encourage everyone to wear their red poppies after November 11th. Why am I doing this? You can find the answers in the FAQ section of the wiki.

There’s 3 ways to watch the segment.

More on Keep the Poppy On

I have followed a comic book theme this week on this blog (see here and here). Judging from the title of this post, it seems that the super hero theme continues.

Yet, instead of super heros, I want to draw your attention to Scott Bourne’s list of unsung heros in podcasting. Yours truly is one of them. Ah shucks, thanks for the nod, Scott.

Some of you may be wondering, “Great job Leesa, but who’s Scott Bourne?” Well, he’s just the author of a few dozen technology books, host of a few podcasts on Leo Laporte’s monster podcasting network called TWIT, has a few blogs on technology and podcasting (namely, this one, this one & this one) and is one of the coolest people I met at the Podcast & Portable Media Expo in September.

Who else can you nominate as an unsung hero in podcasting? Let’s contribute to this list.

Gotta love Sean Moffitt, Canada’s Word of Mouth Expert, especially if you make it into his good books.

Not only did he select Podonomics as one of his Top 20 Canadian Word of Mouth blogs last month, but he just expanded his list and selected The Power 50: Canada’s 50 Brilliantly Crazy & Enlightened Marketing / Media Bloggers, of which Podonomics made that list.

Some notable additions:

• One of my oldest pals, Dave Forde (who’s never afraid to tell me like it is), made the list with his blog, Profectio
• A few blogs in French, which is nice to see since I’m pretty clueless when it comes to french blogosphere
• Amber Mac, who’s lighting it up with her video podcasts and with her new gig over at City-TV
• The ever so humble (and way too smart) Tod Maffin for giving us an inside look at CBC, the state sponsored broadcaster
• Donna Papacosta, who’s one of the savviest communicators out there and a woman I’ve had the pleasure to interact with online (we’ll meet in person very soon Donna)

Check out the rest of the list compiled by Canada’s Word of Mouth expert. Do you agree with his list? Any others you would add? What could I improve here at Podonomics so I can make even more lists?

And yes Sean, please add your blog to the list.

Technorati: blogging, Blogs, canada, sean moffitt, word of mouth, eli singer, canadian bloggers, marketing

Sean Moffitt, Canada’s Word of Mouth Expert, put together a list of his Top 11 20 Canadian Word of Mouth Blogs.

My blog, Podonomics, made this esteemed list. What an honour. It means that my obsessive blogging has finally paid off. You can view the complete list of blogs here.

Any tips on how I can make this an even better blog so I can make it on more lists (and yes, I know I need to leave blogger)?

Technorati Tags: Blogging, podcasting, sean moffitt