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ChatGPT - Women & the .com Boom

The .com boom, which occurred in the late 1990s and early 2000s, was a time of incredible growth and innovation in the technology industry. As the internet became more widely accessible, companies scrambled to establish an online presence, and investors poured money into internet-based startups. However, the story of the .com boom is often told from a male perspective, and the contributions of women in this era are often overlooked. In this blog post, we will explore the history of the .com boom from a female perspective.

During the .com boom, women played a variety of important roles in the development of the internet and the technology industry. 

Here are some specific examples:

Susan Wojcicki: Wojcicki was one of Google's first employees and played a key role in the company's growth. She oversaw the development of Google AdSense, a program that allows website owners to earn money by displaying ads on their sites. Wojcicki later became the CEO of YouTube and has been instrumental in the video-sharing platform's success.

Meg Whitman: Whitman was the CEO of eBay during the .com boom and oversaw the company's incredible growth. Under her leadership, eBay became one of the most popular and successful e-commerce platforms in the world.

Caterina Fake co-founded Flickr, a photo-sharing website that was one of the earliest examples of Web 2.0. Flickr was a huge success and was eventually acquired by Yahoo.

Tina Sharkey: Sharkey co-founded iVillage, a website that provided online content and community for women. iVillage was one of the most successful websites of the .com boom, and it was eventually acquired by NBCUniversal.

Stephanie Hannon: Hannon was the first Director of Product Management at Google and helped develop some of the company's earliest products, including Google Maps.

In addition to these high-profile examples, many women founded their own startups during the .com boom. For example, Christina Jones and Stephanie Jernigan co-founded TheGlobe.com, a social networking website that was popular in the late 1990s. TheGlobe.com was one of the first social networking sites to go public, and it raised over $100 million in its IPO.

However, despite their contributions, women faced significant barriers in the male-dominated tech industry. Women were often excluded from the "boys' club" of venture capital firms, and many were not taken seriously by investors. Women entrepreneurs struggled to secure funding for their startups, and when they did, they often received less than their male counterparts. For example, only 2% of venture capital funding went to female founders in 1999.

Despite these challenges, women continued to make their mark on the industry. Women-led companies like Zipcar and Rent the Runway have become household names, and women continue to be at the forefront of innovation in technology.

Today, the .com boom is often remembered as a time of excess and speculation, and the dot-com bubble eventually burst. However, the legacy of the .com boom lives on. The technology industry has transformed the way we live, work, and communicate, and women continue to play a vital role in shaping the future of the industry.

The history of the .com boom from a female perspective reveals a complex and nuanced story. Women played a variety of important roles in the development of the internet and the technology industry, but they also faced significant barriers and discrimination. By acknowledging the specific contributions of women in this era, we can gain a deeper understanding of the past and a clearer vision of the future.

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Caterina Fake

“The most important thing is to build, build, build” – Caterina Fake 

Caterina Fake is the coolest. She is a founder, venture capitalist, Renaissance aficionado and a self proclaimed accidental technologist. I learned about Caterina during the halcyon days of Flickr, an online community I was very involved in back in 2004. 

Quoted as one of the most accomplished and respected women in Silicon Valley. Caterina started her career on the internet in positions at Netscape (managing communities) and Salon (leading the web design team). Those lead her to the partnership at Ludicorp which is where she founded Flickr. 

This recent Gimlet - Without Fail podcast is an excellent interview for hearing more about Caterina in her own voice:

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Survey

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Women in Tech 1995 vs. 2022

In 1995 roughly 31% of computer and math jobs were held by women. According to the WomenTechNetwork Women hold 28% of all jobs in computer and mathematical occupations

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Tara Hernandez

I have been searching high and low for a female developer who spent time at Netscape. Not Netflix, Netscape - the browser. Low and behold, I came across Tara Hernandez. Her background is incredible and inspiring. 

Hernandez was the first build engineer hired to provide build support and installer development for the Windows version Netscape Navigator. This must have been a complex role to navigate with Internet Explorer released in 1995. During her tenure she grew to lead engineers for all platforms. 

Tara has forged a career in engineering and has spent time at Blue Martini, Mozilla, Pixar and MongoDDB. She is on the board of Women Who Code and a mentor with many women focused technology organizations. 

You can hear from Tara on thoughts related to collaborative engineering and the gamification of the development process in her talk for CTO connection here

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Ann Winblad

Ann Winblad is a software entrepreneur and venture capitalist. In 1989 she co-founded Hummer Winblad Venture Partners. Since its inception HWVP has launched over 100 new startups. 

Winblad’s undergraduate degree is a dual degree (BA) in Mathematics and Business Administration. After graduating she pursued a  Masters in International Economics with a focus on Education.

At 26 she founded her startup Open Systems Inc. focused entirely on software development, unprecedented at the time. After the sale of Open Systems Ann pursued a consulting career (at Microsoft and other Silicon Valley companies) and later went on to found Hummer Winblad. She has received numerous awards for achievements in Technology and in 2000 she was inducted into the Fortune Small Business Hall of Fame. 

In her 2012 TedTalk Winblad references a few key points for young tech talent to remember in forging a career:

Resilience over Strength 

Practice Over Theory 

Pull Over Push 

Disobedience Over Obedience (sorry parents) 

Additionally:

Risk Over Safety 

Emergence Over Authority 

Systems Over Objects (Apple mastered this) 

Compass over Map

Learning Over Education

View Ann’s TedTalk here

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Boom

I’m writing about the women of the .com boom (1995 - 2000). So far my list of profiles includes: Pets.com Julie Wainwright EdVenture Esther Dyson Google Marissa Mayer Gotham Gal Joanne Wilson Blogger Meg Hourihan Television Without Pity Tara Ariano, Sarah D. Bunting Boo.com Kajsa Leander Uproar     Christina Koukkos Netscape Tara Hernandez

I’m looking for women who were at #Netflix, #Digg or #Delicious #AltaVista #Netscape and more

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Wearable Regulation!

The FDA will regulate wearables making health claims

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It's like a dream come true.