GCB Shares, Part 2

Marita & Coty 1977 & 2010, Buenos Aires

Photographer Irina Werning made people reenact their past in a project entitled Back to the Future. For more of what happened on the blogs recently, just follow the jump like you did last time...

For German Readers: Linksammlung zu Guttenberg

Quelle

Wer mit mir auf Facebook befreundet ist, mag ein paar der folgenden Beiträge bereits kennen, es sind aber auch viele neue dabei. Nach dem Sprung gibt's meine Lieblingslinks zur Causa Guttenberg. Meine Damen und Herren, folgen Sie mir!

GCB Shares, Part 1

This is Sydney as seen by Schorlemädchen. For (the first bit of) more interesting stuff I've been wanting to share in the last couple of weeks, please follow the jump...

Magda of Mädchenmannschaft

Just like Helga and Nadine, Magda is part of the German group blog institution Mädchenmannschaft ["Girls Team"]. Her specialities are US politics and music.

Follow the jump to find out how Magda made it onto the mixed-gender "girls team", how she makes money from blogging every now and then, and which other blogs on sexism and gender she recommends...

Photo by Lara Gasparotto

Source

For German Readers: Am Kiosk... NOT!

Vor etwa einer Woche hat Ninia LaGrande nach geschätzten fünfzehn Jahren mal wieder eine Bravo Girl in die Hand bekommen -  zum Glück, denn sie lässt uns an ihrer Entdeckung teilhaben.

Menschen, die eine ähnliche Magazinkarriere hinter sich haben wie Ninia und ich [bei mir Wendy -> Spick -> Bravo -> Bravo Girl -> Young Miss -> die alte (!) Joy -> Elle und/ oder Vogue -> Marie Claire UK -> The Face], kriegen heutzutage nämlich Augenbluten ob all der gutgemeinten Ratschläge, mit denen Frauenzeitschriften uns zu Angepasstheit und dem Konsum diverser clever platzierter Güter animieren wollen. Wenn man sich, wie ich, praktisch gar nicht mehr am Kiosk aufhält, weil Zeitungen und Zeitschriften, die man mag, abonniert in den Briefkasten flattern, und  man alles andere, das einen publizistisch interessiert, früher oder später ohnehin online findet, blendet man verunsichernde Schleichwerbung in Magazinform im Alltag einfach aus. 

Umso erstaunter war ich, in der Märzausgabe der im Flugzeug kostenlos verteilten Glamour ein siebenseitiges Special zum Thema Feminismus zu entdecken, das, oh Freude, ganz unverhohlen die Vorteile der Frauenquote darlegt. Zwischen Ist es okay, für die Hochzeit von Freunden Stripper mit Schleier zu engagieren?, einer Frage, die mit meiner Lebenswelt etwa so wenig zu tun hat wie Crystal Meth, und einem Artikel über Blake Mycoskie, den Gründer des als "Hilfsprojekt" bezeichneten Unternehmens TOMS shoes - aber immerhin!

Bilder: Bravo Girl Cover mit den Titel- und Real Life-Stories "Ferien Flirt" und "Skandal! Beschneidung bei Mädchen" (1994, oben) und "So fällst Du Jungs auf - 100 Tipps" und "Mobbing Täter packen aus: Wir quälen unsere Mitschüler" (2010, unten)

GCB News

While my favorite GCB bag, Oliver and I were riding a basket sledge in Funchal many things happened in the rest of the world:

Susanne Klingner and Barabara Streidl of the Mädchenmannschaft gave a radio talk on men-friendly feminism and the necessity of a women's quota in German corporations. Such a quota has been debated here for a couple of weeks now, but has been dismissed by politicians for no comprehensible reason: Surely, there must be female candidates with equal professional and personal qualifications for executive positions - why should they not be allocated 40% of senior job posts? Susanne and Barbara's link recommendations: Antje Schrupp and GCB - many thanks!

Tasya van Ree, the woman I named my favorite GCB bag Tasya after (yes, the one pictured above), has started a T-shirt line named Saint vs. Sinner. The first shirt is white with a print of two topless female fire fighters kissing, and it's available for $25.

Also, the new Missy Magazine came out last week: Complete with a music CD featuring 11 cool tracks by international artists and a brief article on female comic artists by myself. Available for the next three months at your favorite newspaper kiosk for around 6€ (other selling points here) or online via subscription. Whoever can't get a hold of a copy should listen into the songs on the CD nevertheless - they're good! Try Jeannel's They Come and Change it All for a start.

Mara of Mauerblumen

"Gartenmädchen" of Mauerblumen is probably the most patient girl I have ever met. Due to my mistake, her filled-in questionnaire sat in my inbox for a full six months before I even noticed it was there!
What a shame that was you will notice as soon as you follow the jump to read an interview on gardening in urban areas, planting and harvesting your own veggies, and on why imitating other blogs when starting your own probably won't do much good.

Express Yourselves!

 

Ari Seth Cohen of 50+ fashion blog Advanced Style on how his grandmother inspired him to start a blog celebrating the elderly of New York City.

For German Readers: Listen

Anna Niestroj hat Anfang des Monats eine Pro und Contra-Liste über die Stadt Zürich angelegt. Voller Stereotypen, aber für mich als Exilzürcherin super spannend! Überhaupt bin ich ja eine große Freundin von Listen - sie helfen enorm bei der Organisation (z.B. Doodle oder Piratepad), beim Beschenktwerden (z.B. die Wunschzettel auf Amazon) und beim Freunde finden (auf Facebook oder auch Listography). Auch Google Tasks ist für die schnelle Notiz zwischendurch zu empfehlen. Bei so viel Auswahl heisst es nur noch: Überblick behalten! Am besten also gleich eine Liste anlegen, auf der steht, auf welcher Liste jetzt was steht... ;)

Boobs or Bald

Soure: Postsecret

For German Readers: Vietnams "Heldenmutter"

Catrhin Karras portrays Vietnam's oldest woman: Trần Thị Viết, 118 years old, also known as "Mother of Heroes".

Catrhin Karras portraitiert die älteste Frau Vietnams: Trần Thị Viết, 118 Jahre alt, auch "Heldenmutter" genannt.

Cornelia Hülmbauer of Consens

Today, I'm very excited to introduce to you Cornelia Hülmbauer and her blog Consens. Why? Because it's a poetry blog, and I love poetry blogs!

Follow the jump below for an extensive interview on Cornelia's 'treasure chest', her photography, and her contentment with the niche product she offers.

For German Readers: Das Gendercamp 2011

Nadine Lantzsch weist auf das diesjährige Gendercamp in Hüll bei Hamburg hin: Vom 13. bis zum 15. Mai dürfen sich für 45€ alle Interessierten Menschen drei Tage lang über Geschlechterrollen und Netzkultur unterhalten, sich gut amüsieren und den Bauch voll schlagen. Verbindlich anmelden kann man sich seit drei Tagen hier, es gibt 60 Plätze. Letztes Jahr hat das angeblich richtig Spaß gemacht!

Shawn Colvin & Alison Krauss - Shotgun Down The Avalanche

Calls for Papers, Stipends, Enloe Award 2011

Here's another set of requests for proposals, this time including calls for submissions for the Enloe Award 2011 and a bunch of PhD stipends. I've sorted them by submission date (starting with the earliest), German and English ones mixed, and have newly underlined the respective topics for easier reading. You'll find more open advertisements under the label Call for Papers.

NEXT11: Data Love

Nach der Re:publica 2011 im April folgt schon im Mai die Next11 mit dem sexy Thema DATA LOVE. Die Teilnahme ist ein eher teurer Spaß, aber die Veranstalter waren so nett und haben ein paar Eintrittskarten für uns Netzgestalten reserviert: Es gibt kostenlose Blogger-Tickets, für die man sich hier bewerben kann. Wer selbst nicht möchte oder keine Zeit hat, darf auch KollegInnen vorschlagen - sogar internationale. 

(Danke, Helga, für den Hinweis!)

Fräulein Julia

Fräulein Julia is a one woman arts and entertainment section. And as such, her blog belongs into the RSS-feeds of all culturally interested inhabitants of the cities Berlin and Cologne.

Follow the jump below to find out how the idea for her niche blog was born, how Twitter helps attract new readers, and which is her own favorite blog of all time.

Facebook Now in HTTPS

Image: Alejandra Villasmil

Finally, Facebook has made its services available in HTTPS (a secure and tap-proof transfer protocol - as opposed to HTTP). To change your settings accordingly, go to Account -> Account Settings -> Account Security (right on the first page, somewhat further down) -> Change -> Check the 'Secure Browsing' box. While at it, you might also want to check your account activity. If you see any unfamiliar login location, better click 'end activity' for now. 

Facebook ist endlich auch dauerhaft und per Grundeinstellung über HTTPS aufrufbar (ein abhörsicheres Übertragungsprotokoll - anders als das bekanntere HTTP). Um Eure Einstellungen  anzupassen, was ich empfehlen würde, geht über Kontoeinstellungen -> Kontosicherheit (gleich auf der ersten Seite etwas weiter unten) -> Ändern -> Häkchen setzen. Wenn Ihr schon mal da seid, könntet  Ihr auch gleich einen Blick auf die neuste Kontoaktivität darunter werfen und die  Euch unerklärlichen Ortsangaben ggf. löschen. ;)

GCB Likes This!

Mitchell Baker, president of the Mozilla Foundation, and Harvard scientist Jillian C. York are already confirmed speakers at the upcoming Re:publica.

40 Years of Women's Suffrage in Switzerland

"True Democracy Mustn't Exclude Women!" Photo: NZZ

Only forty years ago today, Swiss men granted the women of their country the right to vote - making Switzerland the second to last European country to accept women as full-fledged citizens in all cantons in 1971.* (Last in Europe came Liechtenstein in 1984.) Considering that Switzerland always prides itself on its exemplary democratic structures and understanding neutrality, that might come as a big surprise to those of you who weren't aware of this fact. (Via Mädchenmannschaft.)

* In a few cantons, women were already allowed to cast their vote previously, but there was also the case of Appenzell-Innerrhoden, a very small canton in the northeast of Switzerland, which had to be forced to accept women as politically equal in local matters as well by the Federal Supreme Court.

For German Readers: A World Made of Words

Lara Ghazal vom Palimpsest erklärt die Welt so, dass ich sie verstehe. ;)

Barbara Russ of Im Nahtschatten

Today, I would like to introduce to you Barbara, a friend of mine, who runs Im Nahtschatten [Sink-Stitch] - a fashion blog quite different from the rest!

Follow the jump below for an interesting and extensive interview on Barbara's professional experience as a fashion blogger, her thoughts on paid content, and how an image of Walt Disney's Little Mermaid would bestow upon her blog more readers in a day than any ordinary month...

For German Readers: Volunteer @ #rp11

Kein bezahlbares Ticket mehr für die Re:publica 2011 bekommen? Dann versucht es doch mal als freiwillige/r Helfer/in! Geld gibt's zwar keins, dafür aber Schnittchen, Shirts und Zutritt zu Veranstaltungen in der arbeitsfreien Zeit.

Klingt gut? Hier geht's lang zum Bewerbungsformular.

Photo: Source

Scholarships and Calls for Papers: LSE, IPES & Others

Another list of scholarships after the jump - this time including offers by the LSE, amongst others. There are also similar older posts here and here that feature calls for submissions with deadlines that are still open...

Pictures of my Mother

Photo: pictures of my mother

Earlier this year, I discovered the absolutely lovely blog pictures of my mother. It invites readers to mail in pictures of their mothers and explain why they love them. Of course I couldn't help myself but send its editor Karen an interview request... So Karen, if you're reading this, please say yes! And mom, if you're watching, I love you, too! :)

English Exec Summary of the Previous Post

Rasha H. Khayat is unhappy with German media coverage of the demonstrations in Cairo: "Too late, too slow, misinformed correspondents." She much prefers watching CNN and Al Jazeera or reading the Guardian's live blog. According to Rasha, Egypt needs not fear the Muslim Brotherhood's coming into power.

Cathrin Karras introduces Vietnamese singer/ songwriter Lê Cát Trọng Lý, including  audio samples. 

The Bavarian Newspaper Publisher's Association disses bloggers in a new brochure that has been distributed to elementary school students. It claims that online journalism is never as trustworthy as "quality print journalism". The German working group Social Media (AG Social Media) is  pissed off., and understandably so. (Source: Turi2)

For German Readers: Einmal Blogs und zurück!

Photo: Adeline

Die West-Östliche Diva beschwert sich in einem mit vielen interessanten Links hinterlegten Post über die deutsche Berichterstattung aus Kairo. Ihrer Meinung nach muss das Land Ägypten keine politische Machtübernahme durch die "Muslimbrüder" befürchten.

Kathrin von DRUEBERLEBEN bedankt sich für den Bloggermädchen 2010-Titel und beantwortet ein paar ihr des Öfteren gestellte Fragen.

Während alle von der Frauenquote reden, diskutiert Magda von der Mädchenmannschaft lieber die Männerquote in der deutschen Wirtschaft.

Cathrin Karras stellt die vietnamesische Singer/ Songwriterin Lê Cát Trọng Lý vor, inklusive Hörproben.

Der Bayerische Zeitungsverlegerverband disst BloggerInnen in einer Bröschüre, die Grundschülern im Rahmen einer Initiative mit dem Titel "Medienführerschein" erklärt, dass Journalismus im Netz niemals mit "Qualitätsjournalismus in Printmedien" gleichwertig ist. Die AG Social Media wehrt sich zu Recht. (Quelle: Turi2)

Und zu guter Letzt läutet die Klappentexterin drei Wochen "Junge Literatur" ein.

Kathrin of DRUEBERLEBEN

Before voting for your favorite female blogger closes at 6 pm today (check out the little image to the right ->), let me seize the opportunity to introduce to you another contestant: Kathrin of DRUEBERLEBEN, a blog on surviving depression.

Follow the jump below to find out why blogging turns Kathrin on, why she believes that every blogger cares about the number of her readers (even those who claim otherwise), and why reaching many people through your writing isn't always nice...

**UPDATE Kathrin just won the Mädchenmannschaft's Female Blogger of the Year 2010 Award! Antje Schrupp, who has been introduced on GCB last year as well, and Anke Gröner came second. Congratulations to all winners and participants! **

Photo Source

Saturday Thoughts

Photo Source

Presently, there are a number of topics I'd like to blog about: 

The fact that, with the help of Vodafone and Orange/France Telecom, the (now resigned) Egyptian government shut down the country's Internet and cut the phone lines. [Access Now has a petition for you to sign!]

The ongoing debate amongst German bloggers whether it is OK to accept money for links from SEO companies - by guaranteeing discretion to their contractors and without labelling those links as sponsored. [Please find a long and informative German article on the subject here.]

Proxy servers and proxy clouds. I have only a very vague understanding of how they work, which is pretty much based on a Wikipedia article [in German or English] on the topic and the image shown above. (Of all people, by the way, it was my mother who inquired with me about this!)

A photo series by photographer Gabriela Herman that portrays bloggers from New York City - after all both female and male - in settings that are, well, unrealistic to say the least. While Gabriela's photos might be atmospheric, I can hardly imagine people blogging standing up in front of their open fridges or naked on the sofa. It bothers me, really, that series like these still portray bloggers as people who are, in spite of their respective expertise and voluntary, unpaid night-shifts, nothing more than convenient hobbyists.

BUT I have other things on my list for this afternoon and will have to see how I get ahead with them before immersing in any of the above mentioned topics. Hope my little summary was better than nothing, though.

What Happens When You Read Fashion Blogs for Work...

Photo Sources:  Mode Junkie,  Picked Pics, Sea of Shoes

Like I Said: Girls Can Blog

Susanna Lau of British fashion blog Style Bubble. (Photo source.)

Anne Feldkamp weist auf BLICA auf eine neue Artikelserie mit dem Titel The Business of Blogging hin und fasst zusammen, was man wissen muss, um von der Fashionbloggerin zur Modejournalistin mit  Gehaltsscheck aufzusteigen (kleiner Tipp: alles!).

Katharina Brunner ist aus den Staaten zurück und schreibt seit dieser Woche wieder aus Deutschland.  

Anna Niestroj hat ihren Perlwebrahmen rausgekramt und Steffi Schubert verweist auf "grafisch unanstrengende" Desktophintergründe.

Ninia LaGrande

One of the most recent additions to my feed reader is Ninia Binias's blog Ninia LaGrande. A woman who, with her charming self-description on Twitter - "Short. Puberty. Still short." - quite obviously sells herself... short.

Follow the jump below to find out how Ninia's nick came about (if you can't guess at this point), what easy way she recommends to come up with a concept for your own blog, and why commuting might turn anyone of us into a news junkie.

For German Readers: Nachwuchsförderung in Politik- und Sozialwissenschaft

Heute wird in Osnabrück (das liegt hier zwischen Enschede und Hannover) die Deutsche Nachwuchsgesellschaft für Politik- und Sozialwissenschaft gegründet. Sie soll Studierenden dabei helfen, sich sowohl untereinander als auch mit möglichen späteren Arbeitgebern zu vernetzen.  Bisher existiert von dieser Organisation meines Wissens nur eine Email-Adresse, die sich gemeinsam mit weiteren Informationen zum Projekt hier findet. 

Award-Reminder: Grimme Online und Mädchenmannschaft

Nominiert hier noch bis zum 15. März Eure Lieblingsseiten für den berühmten Grimme Online Award. (Via Nikola Richter.) 

Außerdem nicht vergessen: Die Wahl zum Bloggermädchen des Jahres geht in den Endspurt! Per Klick könnt Ihr noch bis zum 31. Januar um 18.00 Uhr Eure Liebe bekennen...

For German Readers: Volunteer @ TakingITGlobal

Die kanadische NGO TakingITGlobal sucht deutschsprachige Freiwillige, die bereit sind, sie bei der Übersetzung ihrer Website zu unterstützen. Willkommen sind Studierende der Geisteswissenschaften, aber auch aller anderen Fachrichtungen, die Interesse an globalen Themen haben. Bewerbungen, die ein kurzes Anschreiben in englischer Sprache sowie einen aktuellen Lebenslauf in deutscher Sprache beinhalten sollten, sind per E-Mail zu richten an [Kontakt auf Wunsch entfernt]. Weitere Informationen zu TakingITGlobal sind hier verfügbar.

Stipends, Calls for Papers & Summer Schools

Again, I've collected quite a long list of interesting stipends, CFPs and summer schools. Follow the jump below for more information on programmes encouraging cultural dialogue between Germany and Africa and Eastern Europe respectively, and also for a CFP in Cultural Studies. If this sounds interesting, do also check my last collection of funded programmes - some of the deadlines mentioned then are still open and inviting applications. 

Painting by Kelly Reemtsen

Source

WikiLeaks Article Competition

Sharpen your pencils: ResearchNexus.org, an Australian social networking site for academics, is currently inviting submissions for an essay competition on WikiLeaks. With a cash prize of $1000 privately sponsored Australian Dollars, writing between 500 and 750 words on Julian Assange's recent treatment and WikiLeaks' widespread political condemnation shouldn't come all too hard. Exact essay question and more info here. (No mention of a deadline so far, but I've inquired and will keep you posted.)

Charlott Schönwetter of Afrika Wissen Schaft

Another nominee for the Female Blogger of the Year Awards is Charlott Schönwetter, formerly known as Ebert ( ;) ). As a student of both African Studies and Sociology, she has plenty of knowledge at hand to share on her blog Afrika Wissen Schaft. Follow the jump to find out why Charlott really took up blogging, why she posts in German instead of in English, and why she hasn't  mustered up the courage to post images yet.

The Dead Never Sleep

...is an English language article written by myself in today's D E R Z E I T. Download the whole magazine for free here.

Gender Equality in Poetry Publishing

Photo: Source

Poet Katharina Schultens wrote an interesting article on the role of female lyricists in German publishing. In the case study she provides, it's supportive at best: 

Since 2001, were there really only two female poets that matched the publisher's program? Should there be something made of the fact that the two female poets that did get published aren't primarily known as lyricists, while all published men are? And, without becoming too pettish, why is it that the women's works are 'love poems' and the men's 'poems'?

Last Minute Info

Source

 The Department of Politics and International Studies at SOAS awards a scholarship for the pursuit of an MPhil/PhD degree there which covers full tuition fees for three years. Unfortunately, application deadline for this particular stipend is 31 January 2011 already. More info on it here, general information regarding other scholarships  at SOAS there.

And then there's the BPB's Youth Democracy Award that carries a value of 3000€ and honors young people engaged in European Democracy. Apply before 1 February 2011.

Und auf Deutsch: Noch bis zum 1. Feburar 2011 kann man sich für den Jugenddemokratiepreis der Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung bewerben: Junge Menschen zwischen 14 und 27 Jahren haben die Möglichkeit, 3.000€ für ihr Engagement für Demokratie in Europa abzustauben. Bewerbungsunterlagen und weitere Informationen hier.

Reading Through a Power Failure

Due to a district-wide, half-hour power outage on Saturday afternoon I have been unable to access the Internet from home since then. This, of course, makes blogging somewhat difficult. So on Sunday, I read Alison Bechdel's surprisingly well-written graphic novel Fun Home in one go, consciously listened to music, re-arranged furniture and cleaned out my closet. Pretty much the stuff  I used to do before the Net came around. And, wow, I quite enjoyed it. I was really surprised at how high the pile of books I have been meaning to read for a long time has gotten. [Apropos reading: I had one last week in Neukölln. For more  info on how it went and a photo of me slumped over my manuscript,  feel free to check out my other blog.] On top of that pile lies songwriter Patti Smith's autobiography Just Kids which was given to me as a Christmas present by my dad. I'm really looking forward to this and will start reading it as soon as I finished We Need to Talk About Kevin, which, as I learned after I started, won the British Orange Prize - an award especially designed for female fiction writers. And like every year in January, I have resolved to read more books this year than last in 2011 as well. If you'd like to join me in my pledge, add a Read the Printed Word button to your blog or join The 50 Books Challenge.

Boxed

Source

How To: Sell Your Products on Your Blog

Some of you might have noticed that since December, I have been selling Girls Can Blog bags (pictured to the left is bag 'Magda'). So far, you could buy and pay only via  direct bank transfer to me. Now, thanks to my brand new Etsy shop, you may also shop via PayPal. Listing my items there cost me about 3€ so far, which I think is fair enough. BUT I'll immediately shut down my accounts there if the system doesn't help you guys in any way - PayPal cutting of WikiLeaks from all financing was an anti-democratic move and their fees are very high. So basically, what I am trying to say: I'd still much prefer you emailing me your bag requests directly.

Just drop me a message with your order or questions to girlscanblog [at] googlemail [dot] com and I'll happily provide you with all necessary further information.

For everyone else toying with the idea of selling stuff via your blog, try Design*Sponge's article on How to sell your products on your blog for starters.

Eva Ricarda Lautsch of Stadtpiratin

With her blog Stadtpiratin, Eva Ricarda Lautsch has also made it onto the list of nominees for the Mädchenmannschaft's Female Blogger of the Year awards - congratulations! To vote for your personal favorite before 31 January, click on the little drawing to the right ->

With a powerful mix of political, feminist and web issues, the 20 year old managed to gather a faithful readership around her writing. Now if you like, follow the jump to find out more about her blog for "independent people of all sexes"...