GCB Shares: Bavarian Beats, Gender Roles in Yoga, Slutwalks and Facebook-Marketing

Patience Steltzer ponders gender roles in Yoga: Does marketing Yoga to men reinforce gender stereotypes? She comes to the conclusion that despite differences in our physical bodies, there is an understanding that we all ultimately share the exact same energetic potential.

Katharina Brunner discovered the Beat Conducta Bavaria, an attempt by famous German hip hop DJ Sepalot of Blumentopf to mix Bavarian music with beats. While in theory, this sounded interesting, in practice it drove me up the wall!

Source: Design*Sponge

Design*Sponge shares a recipe for grilled vegetarian Portobello burgers that just look to good to be true.

Die Klappentexterin hat es tatsächlich geschafft: Simone Finkenwirth ist Online-Autorin des Jahres 2011 geworden! Kein Wunder bei so charmanten und originellen Berichten wie diesem hier über Kurzsichtigkeit, wie ich finde. Ich platze vor Stolz auf meine Re:publica-Kollegin!

Leonie vom Mädchenblog stellt sich eine Frage, die mir auch schon kam: Sind Slutwalks wirklich sinnvoll? Wir kommen zum selben Ergebnis - mitlaufen ja, aber nicht mit dem besten Gefühl. 

Elke Brüns stellt den Kunstband Armut in der Kunst der Moderne vor.

Franziska Schmid hat Patrick Bolk interviewt, Macher des bekannten Öko-Blogs Berlin is(s)t Bio.

Boy's Corner

Source

Absolutely crazy story about a homeless man stealing (and returning!) a $100 bill from a bank who was sentenced to 15 years and an ex-mortgage CEO who stole around $3 billion dollars from people and only got 40 months prison time.

Stefan Laurin sprach mit Philip Ostrop, dem Lokalchef der Ruhr-Nachrichten. Diese verlinkt nämlich seit wenigen Tagen in ihren Berichten direkt auf Blogs und Twitter. Ostrop, der privat auf Ostroplog bloggt, fordert: Mehr beta für den Journalismus!

Falls Ihr schon immer mal auf Facebook werben wolltet, aber Euch die Vorgänge zu kompliziert erschienen: Jens Wiese weist darauf hin, dass es die offiziellen Whitepaper zu Marketing und gesponserten Meldungen auf Facebook jetzt auch auf Deutsch gibt.

Annina @ Ruhrbarone.de

Berlin City Parliament elections are coming up in September this year, and Stefan Laurin kindly invited me to comment on all things related on his team blog Ruhrbarone. Not that I wouldn't enjoy social media-related topics anymore, but... here's my first guest post: Gestatten, Bezirksverordnetenversammlung!

What do Vegans Eat?

Mneme, editor of German blog consume. be silent. die. has listed her favorite vegan foods and beverages and has encouraged her readers to do the same. I'm not a full vegan, but a vegetarian who has, besides meat, stopped buying eggs, milk and cheese for home-use - so I thought I might still be eligible to participate. The list you'll find after the jump is obviously incomplete (I do not only eat that!) and has not been sponsored in any way.

For German Readers: Blogs als Mittel zum Zweck?

Auf meinem Facebook-Account habe ich mich gestern mit der Frage "Produkttests auf GCB - ja oder nein?" beschäftigt - und heute früh passend zum Thema das untenstehende Interview mit Vasco Sommer gefunden. Zufällig flatterte mir eben auch noch ein Rant von Luciana Schmidt in den RSS-Reader: Unter der herzig daherkommenden Überschrift Ein bisschen Kritik ♥ lässt die Beauty-Bloggerin ordentlich Dampf ab. Sie beschwert sich über den "Ich will, ich will"-Grundsatz der Bettelblogger, die alle Nase lang inhaltsleere Schrottblogs erschaffen, um Gratiskosmetik abzustauben. Für alle, die denken, dass ein guter Blog durchaus in fünf Minuten gewuppt werden kann, beschreibt Lu noch einmal, wieviel Arbeit hinter ihrem steckt - satte zehn Stunden am Tag! - und was ihrer Meinung nach guten Content ausmacht: Thematische Abwechslung, ehrliche Statements und eine zugrundeliegende Motivation, die über "Leser- und Produktgeilheit" hinausgeht. 

Photo: Lu zieht an

Da ich mir der Problematik, die Lu da benennt, durchaus bewusst bin, hat es mich umso mehr überrascht, dass mich fast alle von Euch, die sich gestern auf meiner Wall in die Diskussion eingebracht haben, dazu ermutigt haben, bei Gelegenheit ruhig auch Produkte zu besprechen, die mich interessieren. Unter anderem wurde darauf hingewiesen, dass kluge Vermarktung meines Mediums mein gutes Recht sei, und sogar darauf, dass ich im Grunde mit meinen Linkempfehlungen ebendies bereits mache, bloß unentgeltlich.

Mich freut das natürlich, denn obwohl derzeit nichts Konkretes ansteht, ist gut zu wissen, dass Ihr für derartige Experimente offen wärt. Ich kann Euch auch beruhigen: Schminke gehört definitiv nicht zu meinen Hauptinteressen. Ich hatte eher an geschlechtsneutrale Produkte und technische Geräte gedacht. Mal sehen, ob und was daraus wird, in Lus Risikogruppe der gierigen Null-Reflektion-Blogger dürfte ich mich mit GCB ja eigentlich nicht bewegen. ;)

For German Readers: 40% der deutschen User lesen Blogs!

Via: Robert Basic

Ein spannendes Interview zur Rettung des Blogaggregators Rivva und der Rolle, die Blogs in der deutschen Werbelandschaft spielen (sollten), findet Ihr bei Robert Basic. Er hat sich mit Vasco Sommer von Mokono unterhalten, einer Berliner Firma, die nach wie vor BloggerInnen sucht, die sich für die Monetarisierung ihrer Inhalte interessieren. Wichtiger Fakt: Über 20 Mio. deutsche Internetnutzer lesen regelmäßig Blogs - das sind mehr als 40% der Menschen, die sich hierzulande im Netz bewegen. Wow, das sind viele! ;)

GCB Archives: June 2010

In June 2010, I introduced to you Anna, who cycles the world one city at a time, Pharmama, a Swiss pharmacist and mother, philosopher and linguist Lara Ghazal, famous Japanese chef Makiko Itoh, media scientist Daniela Reimann, fashion blog-icon Blica, and "Gespenst der Armut" Elke Brüns.

June was also a pretty good month music-wise, with, for example, Swedish-Ugandian artist Jaqee performing one of my favorite songs on here ever: Pink Drunken Elephant in an acoustic version. What a cool summer tune! If you're interested, please find all of June 2010's posts here.

Simone Fust of Pferdemaedchen

Today, please meet Simone Fust of Pferdemaedchen - the first horseback riding blog for urban grown-ups I've come across.

If you'd like to find out more about the pro's and con's of content management system Drupal, what blogging and making movies have in common, and what future plans Simone has for her blog, please follow the jump!

As a Woman in My 40s...

Photo: Source

Back in 2007 I felt almost proud when Britney, apparently on the verge of a nervous breakdown, shaved her head bald. Finally, she was doing her own thing - if only for five minutes.

The Grand Girls Anthology

Image: Sabine Delafone

Munich-based publisher Sabine Magnet is the initiator of a cool project called The Grand Girls Anthology, an almanac of women's views on various topics. The anthology is an independent compilation of works by women of all ages and nationalities, and all of its proceeds will be donated to charity organisations supporting girls. Currently, The Grand Girls Anthology is looking for submissions in English or German for the upcoming "Revolution" issue. For more detailed bi-lingual information and submission guidelines please check out the project's homepage.

GCB Shares

Image: Daniel Kornrumpf. (Via)

Annina-Amina #1:  Last week, Stuart Tiffen of Deutsche Welle gave me the opportunity to comment on the Amina hoax in English in his article Bloggers face credibility struggle.

Annina-Amina #2: Marcus Richter hat mir ebenfalls die Gelegenheit gegeben, etwas zu Amina zu sagen - dieses Mal auf Deutsch bei Radio Fritz ab Minute 28.

"Geht Ihnen Ihre Protagonistin beim Schreiben eigentlich auch manchmal auf die Nerven?" Diese und andere freche Fragen hat Krimi-Bloggerin Nantik dem Autor Oliver Bottini gestellt.

Gloria Magnifico berichtet über die immer noch bestehende Lohnungleichheit zwischen den Geschlechtern in der Schweiz.

Nachdem ich neulich eine Dokumentation über die super-coole Präsidentin der Frauenfußball WM Steffi Jones gesehen habe, hat mich die Vorfreude endlich gepackt - vielleicht ist ja sogar mal ein Stadionbesuch drin? Tickets gibt es je nach Spielort schon ab 15€. Wer den Anpfiff nicht erwarten kann: Nicole von der Mädchenmannschaft hat einen Artikel über Frauenfußball in Brasilien geschrieben: Superweiblichkeit und hartgekochte Bälle. Darüber hinaus bietet das MM-Team eine brandaktuelle Linksammlung zum Thema.

Photo:  stadtkind FFM

Boy's Corner

Leo wrote a personal post on what happens when being who you are challenges the norms.

Feierabendyogi shares 11 reasons why you should drink more green tea.  

Kai Müller, aka der Stylespion, hat am Fotomarathon Berlin teilgenommen. Was das ist, wie das geht und was dabei rausgekommen ist, zeigt er hier. Klingt nach einer guten Sache - trotz der Teilnahmegebühr von knapp 30€!

The Perfect Vagina

What an important documentary by Heather Leach! The clip is comprised of three parts, so when you come to the black bits, just fast forward until it continues. (Via Selbstdarstellungssucht)

There are 3 Billion Women Who don't Look like Supermodels and Only 8 Who do.

1998 Body Shop ad, rediscovered at Eco Yogini.

I remember using this postcard as a bookmark, taking it with me everywhere I went. I must have been fourteen or fifteen at the time that advertisement was running, but its slogan has stuck with me ever since.

So, in spite of your being sold to L'Oréal back in 2006, and even though I know that all that glitters ain't gold:

Thank you, The Body Shop, for your values, your campaigns, your mostly eco- and animal-friendly products and your principle of self-respect.

People on Social Networks are More Willing to Trust Others

Image: Source

...finds a recent study by the Pew Research Center entitled Social Networking and Our Lives. 

AP has a summary.

Humanity in Fashion Award

Heads up, budding designers! German eco-fashion brand hessnatur once again invites applications for their Humanity in Fashion Award - an award honoring stylish green fashion. Quality directives are strict (the only downer being that leather is allowed as material), but with a cash prize of 25.000€, an own women's capsule collection and lots of PR for the winner, participation is lucrative.

More info on the running competition in both German and English is available here, more on last year's winner Janosch Mallwitz on hessnatur's German company blog. Submission deadline is 15 September 2011, so sharpen your pencils and get drawing!

Amina is a Man, and He's Sorry - so am I!

I have shared the news on my Facebook yesterday already: Alleged gay Syrian blogger Amina is in fact a male American student whose imagination ran riot. While I wouldn't normally waste precious blog space on hoaxes like this one, I feel obliged to comment on this case as only a week ago I urged you, my readers, to sign a petition... for nothing! For that I would like to apologize. 

Rest assured that before writing posts, I double-check my facts with international news organizations like CNN. And albeit I'm "just a blogger", like any professional journalist, I aim at finding two independent sources to confirm a story before I suggest anyone undertake action of whatever kind. This time around, due to the uncertain situation of the media in Syria, established journalists and bloggers alike were forced to take at face value what "Amina's cousin" wrote on "Amina's abduction". Unfortunately, people the world over fell for a notorious liar who claims to be sorry but probably really enjoys his five minutes of fame - or shall I say his five minutes of shame?

While I have some sympathy for the false estimation of his that he would bring forward the issue of homosexuals living in Syria, I have great doubt that this is the case. What I do know, though, is that the author jeopardized the reputation of people like myself: bloggers and social media activists whose right to exist pretty much consists in the credibility of their causes. If we are no longer seen as dependable by our audience, we might as well pack up our profiles and weblogs and go. 

While to a fictional character like Amina Arraf that poses no problem, things look different for social media professionals who are dependent on the reliability of information shared online. And while some of us, like translator Katy Derbyshire, see certain scientific benefit that might spring from Amina's case, others like Helga warn of the increasingly dangerous situation real bloggers see themselves in in countries like Syria. Thanks to a confused member of our (democratically privileged) Western society they might no longer be taken as seriously as they need be.

As to my own involvement in this, I can only say that I'd rather sign one petition too many than one too few. I hope you agree.

For German Readers: Andosina

Ein kurzer Hinweis in eigener Sache: Seit einigen Wochen ist meine Novelle Andosina als eBook auf Amazon erhältlich. Sie kostet dort 2,35€ und ist dank der kostenlosen Kindle-App, die man hier downloaden kann, nicht nur auf PCs und Macs, sondern auch auf fast allen Smartphones lesbar.

Die Geschichte handelt von zwei jungen Frauen, einer namenlosen Ich-Erzählerin und Marlene aus Andorra, die in London Gefahr laufen, am Leben an sich, der Fremde und ihren Tücken zu scheitern. Die Klappentexterin hat Andosina Ende Februar rezensiert: Wie laut Stille sein kann.

Und falls jemand mag: Über weitere Besprechungen, Kommentare und Empfehlungen aller Art würde ich mich sehr freuen!

Wer über Amazon keine Geschäfte abwickeln möchte, weil es böse ist, kann mir auch einfach nach wie vor  unter Angabe einer Email-Adresse 2€ überweisen, ich checke das Konto regelmäßig und schicke dann die PDF-Datei direkt: Annina Schmid, Deutsche Bank, Konto 2586147, BLZ 100 700 24. 

GCB Shares: Happy Blogging!

TeilnehmerInnen eines Fashion Blog Workshops. Photo: Mary Scherpe

Chelsea Roff has written an interesting article on how conversations really affect us: Sticks and Stones May Break Some Bones But Words Are Breaking Bodies.

Nadine Fawell has put together a very helpful list of stuff you should know before practicing Yoga at home.

Jule, die Stinkesocke, hat nicht nur ihre Eignungsprüfung für's Medizinstudium bestanden (juhu!), sondern ärgert sich über neuerdings beklebte gläserne Aufzugwände und findet heraus, warum in den fahrenden Räumen Hamburgs Penner künftig nicht mehr am Pullern gehindert werden können.

Melanie Niethammer hat sich anhand ihres eigenen Nicknames Gedanken zum Thema "weibliche Selbstbezeichnung im Netz" gemacht: Fräulein Pfefferminz.

Verena von der Mädchenmannschaft hat einen Pornodreh journalistisch begleitet und daraufhin ein paar Fakten zusammengetragen: Schuldig im Sinne des Sex. Der Mädchenblog fragt sich unterdessen: Wie jetzt, erzwungener Oralsex ist keine Vergewaltigung?

Anna Wegelein hat ein Rezept für Okroshka, eine kalte russische Suppe, gepostet - ist zwar weder vegan noch vegetarisch, sieht aber trotzdem gut aus (und vielleicht kann man das Fleisch ja einfach weglassen, den Kefir durch gesalzene Sojamilch ersetzen und wenigstens die Eier aus Bio-Freilandhaltung kaufen? ... Ich merke schon, aus der Nummer komme ich nicht mehr raus... ;) ) Für EinsteigerInnen empfehle ich diese Übersicht über die zehn besten Milchersatzprodukte. Eine weitere hilfreiche Liste mit vielen Hinweisen hat auch Mneme zusammengestellt: Tipps für vegane Einsteiger. Und für wissenschaftlich Interessierte gibt es demnächst in Hamburg eine Tagung über die Bedeutung von Fleisch.*

Wer sich mit obigen Fragen nicht lange aufhalten will, sollte Franziska Schmids Tipp beherzigen: Die kostenlose Berlin Vegan App zeigt, wo es in der Hauptstadt tierleidfreie Essensmöglichkeiten gibt - inklusive Produkttipps und Entfernungsangaben. Unbedingt ausprobieren!

Photo: Derek K. Miller and kids

Boy's Corner

I haven't cried so hard reading anything online, ever: Derek K. Miller wrote a blog post that was published by a friend after his death of cancer in May. Keep your tissues ready for The last post.

On a happier note, Tarek Amr finds that the United Kingdom has got Internet.

Leo tells us the Truth About Soy (I had no idea some people in the US were suspicious about it?).

Und Rene Rübner hat die 10 wichtigsten Regeln im Umgang mit Kritik auf Facebook zusammengefasst. Ein Artikel, der zwar für Unternehmen gedacht ist, sich aber auch für den Privatgebrauch eignet - ähnlich wie das offizielle Facebook Whitepaper Social Media Crisis Response Guidelines.

* Das wäre eigentlich ein Beitrag für den Boy's Corner gewesen.

Typewriter Art by Keira Rathbone

Images by Keira Rathbone.

Check out British artist Keira Rathbone's cool Typewriter Art.
She's also on Facebook. (Via.)

"Bloggers Aren't Competitors" - Would you Agree?

Source: Blica

Model-turned-stylist Hanneli Mustaparta was recently quoted saying "Bloggers aren't competitors in the way magazines are. We stick together." Anne Feldkamp didn't quite agree and put Hanneli's statement up for discussion. Personally, I find that (at least amongst most bloggers I know) a certain sense of community overlies competitiveness. Save a couple exceptions, mutual support has been the rule rather than envy and malevolence. Would you agree? Or would you think that team spirit in the blogosphere might be issue-driven, i.e. fashion bloggers compete over samples and clothes while political bloggers see themselves as different parts of one movement? 

Who is Amina?

Tarek Amr has kindly informed me that questions about Syrian blogger Amina's identity surfaced - as of yet, no one could get hold of any of her relatives or even confirm her being born in the United States. The photo of "Amina" used by news agencies so far turned out to be one of a British citizen who must now fear extremist attacks on the assumption that she was a high-profile lesbian. The Free Amina Abdalla page on Facebook has issued the following statement:

Amina's story has raised awareness about the human rights abuses occurring every day in Syria.  It is important that people continue to voice support for the many, many political prisoners held by the Syrian authorities. Their stories need to be told and remembered. Over 10,000 people have been detained by authorities within the last few months.Questions about Amina's identity have surfaced on the internet. Reporters and the US Embassy have been unable to verify her identity. At the time this site was created, there was no reason to doubt the authenticity of the story. We want to be clear that the administrators of this site cannot verify her identity.However, we think it is possible that the writer of the blog is indeed in custody, in which case, it is important to continue to support her.  Many people in Syria are forced to use alternative virtual identities to protect themselves.We hope she is safe and that we will read her words again soon.

Free Syrian Blogger Amina Abdalla!

Image: CNN

Amina Abdalla, also known as Gay Girl in Damascus, was kidnapped yesterday and has been missing since. (Full story here.) Sign the Avaaz petition and join the Facebook campaign to help as much as you can at this point.

Kreayshawn & Enkelschreck

I just came across this song by Californian artist Kreayshawn (whose mom was the guitarist of all-female punk band The Trashwomen) and am kinda torn whether to like it or not. On the one hand, I appreciate her originality*, on the other I still can't get used to girls calling each other 'bitches' - even in a satirical context that criticizes brainless buying habits. What do you guys think? Yay or nay?  *...which just might lie in an original interpretation of the works of Missy Elliott, Amy Winehouse and Gangsta Rap.

Another female rapper I'd like to introduce to you to is Enkelschreck, Grand Child's Horror, "Germany's oldest female rap artist" - also known as a very well marketed fake* 86-year old who is also on Twitter. *Just guessing.

Mici of talkasia

Everyone, please meet Mici of talkasia - a German blog between beauty, fashion and Asian pop culture.

If you'd like to find out (amongst other things) why to Mici running a blog feels like being a talk show guest and why good blogs are those whose authors you get to meet in real life, please follow the jump!

Cucumbers

Image: Source

Rise, Dark Girls!

I found this documentary preview on Starrene Rhett's blog Gangstarr Girl. In her post No Pity Parties Please: A Dark Girl’s Manifesto, she takes a clear stand against self-hate and White worship in the Black community:

I am a dark skinned woman. I am not a victim. (...) I cringed when I watched the trailer for Dark Girls because of the self-loathing and the pain that these women are still dealing with as a result of lingering post-colonial psychology. No one should hate them selves that much, especially because of someone else. (...) 

I want whoever reads this (...) to know that not all “dark girls” hate themselves and that some of us are tired of being the victim of your perceived ugliness, stupidity and low self-esteem. But for those who are still victim to this repugnant train of thought: Like the documentary’s narrator said, it is time that we rise up and be confident because self-love is contagious.

To read Starrene's full post, click here. Bradinn French's documentary Dark Girls will be released in the US this coming fall.

For German Readers: Textil Festival

Diejenigen unter Euch, die mir auf Twitter oder Facebook folgen, haben die frohe Kunde vielleicht schon vernommen: Ich darf am übernächsten Wochenende, also zwischen dem 10. und dem 12. Juni 2011, im Rahmen des Textil Festivals einen Kurzgeschichten-Workshop in Erfurt leiten. Juhu! Und das beste: Anmeldung und Teilnahme sind kostenlos. Doppel-juhu!

Weitere, ebenfalls kostenfreie Workshops, werden darüber hinaus zu den Themen Slam-Poetry, Lyrik, Minidrama, Remix und Poetry-Clip angeboten. Wer Lust bekommen hat, kann sich ganz einfach per Kontaktformular bei den Organisatoren melden, da gibt es weitere Infos. Und wer sowas scheiße findet: Einfach die LieblingsfeindInnen hinschicken. Hauptsache: Weitersagen! ;)

GCB Archives: May 2010

In May 2010 I introduced the blogs of Gudrun, web-famous member of Germany's Pirate Party, acclaimed movie stylist Smilla Dankert, visual connoisseur Liisa, and graphic artist Aurora. 

I myself also happened to get interviewed about the GCB project by the Mädchenmannschaft only a couple of days after I discovered The Bechdel Test for Women in Movies. If you haven't heard of that yet, click the link provided or jump right into the subject matter below:

GCB Shares: There's No Such Thing as a Bikini Body

Photo: Alba Yruela (via)

An article that has been making the blog rounds lately and that I wouldn't want to keep from you in light of all those swimwear adverts on display is There Is No Such Thing As A Bikini Body. 

Alba Yruela, who was born in Spain in 1989, doesn't only take her own pictures (see above), but also runs her own tumblr: it wasn't enough. 

Spoiled Yogi shares the 5 things Yoga poses have taught her about life. My favorite: You are capable of more than you ever thought possible.

Die Klappentexterin stellt das neue Bloggerkollektiv Jüdische Lebenswelten in Form eines spannenden Interviews vor.

Die "Stinkesocke" Jule beantwortet ganze 80 LeserInnen-Fragen rund um ihr Leben mit Querschnittslähmung. 

Anne Feldkamp stellt die Bauhaus-Teppichkünstlerin Anni Albers vor: anni, königin des diy. Bei Interesse: Weitere Bauhaus-Frauen hat Ulrike Müller in ihrem Band Bauhaus-Frauen - Meisterinnen in Kunst, Handwerk und Design versammelt.

Laura vom Missy Blog zählt die gesundheitlichen Vorteile des Bierkonsums auf: Hopfen und Malz, ab in den Hals! Aber in welchen genau?

The Greatest Pleasure in Life

Photo: Source

Lynn Casper

After a long wait, please let me introduce to you today another achieved female blogger: Lynn Casper. Amongst other projects, Lynn produces Homoground, a weekly queer music podcast, and runs a personal tumblr called scantron.

If you'd like to find out how blogging helps us strengthen our personalities, why dead blogs are part of the process, and what unfortunate umbrellas have to do with Lynn's work, just follow the jump! :)

Bunny Boys?

Photo: Tasya van Ree

Not too long ago, "news" broke in Germany that a bunch of insurance brokers were celebrating lucrative deals by taking advantage of prostitutes and snorting cocaine in an open air brothel. Sibylle Berg, a Swiss author who describes herself on her Twitter with the words "buys nothing, fucks no one", has dedicated her weekly SPIEGEL ONLINE column to the issue. In "I've had it, Men!" (in German "Männer, ich habe es satt!") she wonders, amongst other things, how the world would react if suddenly women were to become pimps, make men walk the streets in strings and so forth. Quite a fun read, indeed - if it weren't for Berg's inherent stereotyping of all men as horny, black men as slaves, veiled women as oppressed, and naked ones as desperate. Good on the German blogosphere for offering an alternate perspective! For a worthwhile counterstatement, please read Nadia Shehadeh's comment entitled "I've had it, Ms. Berg!" (in German: "Frau Berg, ich habe es satt!").

OKCon 2011

On 30th June and the 1st of July, the 6th Annual Open Knowledge Conference will take place in Berlin. The event aims at bringing together individuals and organizations interested in all things open knowledge. If you've been following GCB, you know that I agree with the organizers' assumption that  

open knowledge promises significant social and economic benefits in a wide range of areas from governance to science, culture to technology. Opening up access to content and data can radically increase access and reuse, bridge gaps, improve transparency and thus foster innovation and increase societal welfare. 

The conference programme looks super interesting, and I'm keen to go! Let's hope my boss sees the necessity of me being there, too, since both conference days are weekdays... Tickets are available for one or two days respectively - there's still a chance to grab some at early bird rates before 31st May.

I Posted Naked Pictures of Myself...

Image: Source

GCB Shares: "I will only tell this story once."

Brave as any woman can be, CBS reporter Lara Logan recalls the February night on Tahrir Square in Egypt, when a mob tore off her clothes and violently sexually assaulted her in the middle of the road. She decided she would only tell this story once, hoping that this one telling is heard by as many people as possible. (Source)

Roseanne-cast in Season 1: Source

In another US TV-related story, Roseanne Barr, one of my childhood heroines, has written an essay on sexism in the media industry and her difficult rise to stardom: And I should know. I  loved the part where ABC sent her a cake to celebrate her show's one year anniversary in 1988; knowing what men were given for equal success, Roseanne and her co-star George Clooney took the cake outside where she snapped a picture of him hitting it with a baseball bat to send it to the producers. You go, girl! (Source)

Apparently, Yoga benefits breast cancer patients. Among affected women tested, those practicing Yoga while in treatment were of better general health, had lower stress hormone levels and saw improvement of their physical state altogether. Source and more information.

While I have recently stopped eating meat and have been very good at forgoing fish, too, I am aware that not all of us are willing to give up the tastes we grew up with for ecological reasons just yet. So I was happy to see that Canadian blogger Eco Yogini collected a bunch of eco-tips for eating fish.

Im Missy Blog analysiert das TeamBaselPop die Frauenfiguren in Tarantino-Filmen: Von Kampfmaschinen und Sexobjekten.

Das LaDIY-Fest, ein Mitmachfestival in Berlin, sucht noch Helferinnen. Freiwillige vor!

Cathrin Karras erklärt uns Nicht-VietnamesINNen die Geschichte der Phở, dem vermutlich bekanntesten vietnamesischen Gericht weltweit: Das Leben ist zu kurz für schlechte Suppe.

Blica gibt es zu: Manchmal macht Bloggen echt keinen Spaß!

Boy's Corner:

Leo has advice on how to deal with negative people. Can't we all use that sometimes?

Sascha Lobo beschreibt im Forschungs-Blog des Fraunhofer-Instituts, warum Frühwarnsysteme für Erdbeben am besten funktionieren, wenn sie aus der Luft kommen: Vor dem Beben ist vor dem Beben.

I Love You More Than the 90s Loved Grunge

Image: Source

Like GCB ? ... !

Better late than never: I added Facebook's LIKE button to my posts. As of now, you may finally like, share and recommend whatever tickles your fancy here. Especially installed for those who like to show appreciation in silence. ;) Or you may directly mail posts to your friends on Facebook via the SEND option. Definitely an improvement in service quality, innit?

Besser spät als nie: Ich habe den LIKE-Button unter meine Posts gesetzt. Ab heute könnt Ihr endlich mögen, teilen und empfehlen, was auch immer Euch hier gefällt. Extra für diejenigen unter Euch, die am liebsten ohne Worte Komplimente machen! ;) Oder Ihr mailt Eure Lieblingspost direkt an Eure  Facebook-Freunde über die SEND-Option. Auf jeden Fall eine Steigerung der hiesigen Servicequalität, oder?

The Black Weblog Awards

Yesterday, the Black Weblog Awards published this year's nominees for the prize in a bunch of categories: From 'Best Business Blog' to 'Best Comic Blog', over 150 people have been nominated in a total of 37 categories (!) for their social media work. Wow, that's a whole load of new information sources to explore!

Founded in 2005, the Black Weblog Awards give recognition to Black bloggers (and those of the African diaspora) which were largely overlooked by other Internet award events online. Participants of the contest come from over 90 countries which probably makes the award the most widespread Internet award event for Black bloggers. Please find more info on the contest and how to participate in the future here.

Cee Cee

Nina Trippel, one of the editors of fashion magazine derze.it*, and her colleague Sven Hausherr started a newsletter project: Cee Cee is a bilingual, weekly service on all things hip and trendy in Berlin. Subscription is free and I recommend you English and/ or German speakers in the area give it a shot! :)

* Remember my essay The Dead Never Sleep in their INSOMNIA issue (page 17)?

GCB Shares: Girls Watch Porn, Too!

Girls watch porn, too - not sure why anyone thought they wouldn't? Nice video campaign in any case...

(Clip sources Mädchenmannschaft and Jezebel.)

Check out this free PDF-manual on Basic Internet Security. (Via.)

Erin recommends a different approach to to-do lists: Might they need a makeover?

Anne Feldkamp aka Blica points out an article in The Guardian explaining why cheap fashion is killing our planet.

Diese Woche in der Radiosendung Trackback zu Gast: Elke Brüns, die bundesweit erste Armutsbloggerin. Hier geht's lang zum Interview mit ihr (ab Minute 21) und da ist mein Küchengespräch mit Marcus Richter, dem Moderator der Sendung.

Birdie erklärt, wie grillen ohne Fleisch funktioniert und Franziska Schmid gibt eine praktische Übersicht vegetarischer und veganer Restaurants in München und veröffentlich ihre persönliche lokale Best-of-Liste von Brezn bis Yoga.

Und zu guter letzt gibt uns die Mädchenmannschaft eine kleine Lektion im BH-kaufen.

GCB Archives: April 2010

Source

In April 2010, the second month GCB existed, I introduced the following bloggers:  

Art historian Carola Muysers, journalist Kommander Kaufmann, gender studies expert Nadine Lantzsch, famous fashion photographer Mary Scherpe,  music journalist Ann-Kathrin Eickhoff, and pro-blogger Nikola Richter, who recently wrote a piece for a large German daily on what she called 'virtual workers': Digitale Arbeiter.

Leah Leslie of Fuck Yeah, Book Arts

tumblr, a comparatively new blog software, has caused quite a stir in the blogosphere since its launch in 2007. Albeit the multi-media possibilities the platform offers, it has mainly been used to quickly and easily share images - often anonymously. 

All the more happy I am to be able to introduce to you today Leah Leslie, editor of the wonderfully overflowing art collection Fuck Yeah, Book Arts. Please follow the jump below for an interesting interview with the mind behind this beautiful and super-successful project.

Sailing Rivers

 

Josephine, 27, is currently sailing from London to Istanbul with a bunch of other people. Check out her blog to follow their journey across Europe's rivers (!) on RiversideStories.

Abortion in the United States

Source: Mädchenblog.

For German Readers: McKinsey Technology Lab 2011

Die Unternehmensberatung McKinsey lädt StudentInnen und Young Professionals ein, zwischen dem 7. und 10. Juli am Zürichsee über die "globale Vernetzung von Gegenständen und Diensten" nachzudenken. Gemeinsam mit "Vordenkern aus Wissenschaft und Wirtschaft" sollen Ideen diskutiert und konkrete Lösungen erarbeitet werden: Von intelligenten Stromnetzen, sogenannten "Smart Grids", bis hin zu Kühlschränken, die selbst entscheiden, wann Nachschub in ihrem Inneren nötig ist, kann man sich in Teamarbeit und Vorträgen futuristische Anwendungsszenarien ausdenken. Klingt nach Spaß? Bewerbungen werden noch bis zum 22. Mai entgegengenommen, mehr Informationen gibt es hier.

Relief

Image: Source

Anne Roth

If it weren't for Anne Roth of annalist, perhaps there would be no GIRLS CAN BLOG today. It was Anne who, a little over a year ago, initiated a discussion on the invisibility of female bloggers: Where and who were they? Why would mainstream media only ever refer to our male colleagues? Inspired by Nadine Lantzsch (whose portrait is available here), I wrote my first post on the matter and created GCB... And wow, what a ride this blog has been! 

But back to Anne and her admirable pragmatism. Just ask yourself this: How would you react if your partner was mistaken for a terrorist and put into jail on the grounds of, well, nothing? 

More on Anne's story and her famous political blog after the jump... 

For German Readers: Blogger gegen Tierversuche

Zwischendurch mal wieder eine kleine Mitmach-Aktion: Die Pseudoerbse, die ich erst heute über den veganen Blog Food and Fotos entdeckte, ruft dazu auf, den links abgebildeten Button auf dem eigenen Blog einzubinden und damit ein Zeichen gegen Tierversuche zu setzen. Die Idee ist, hinter dem Icon auf http://bgt.pseudoerbse.de zu verlinken, wo Informationen rund um Tierschutz gesammelt und zur Verfügung gestellt werden sollen. Ganz nebenbei entsteht so eine Linksammlung von Blogs, die sich für das Thema interessieren. Clever!

GCB Shares Extra Long: More Than 40 Centimetres!

Blogger V. of Picked Pics posted this photo while standing at a traffic light in Seoul,
South Korea, amazed at what technology can do these days...

Elke Brüns discusses the question whether a poor childhood can make you a sick adult. She found an article entitled The Poverty Clinic in the New Yorker and sums it up in a German post whose title is borrowed from a professor working at Harvard Medical School: Neuronen und Nachbarschaften.

Micro-payment service Flattr is now open to all: No need to spend at least 2€ a month to participate anymore, and Flattr buttons will never turn inactive again. I like!

Katy Derbyshire discusses Anna Blumbach's erotica novel Kurze Nächte, wondering why there aren't many more female German novelists writing hot, explicit sex scenes: This Book turned me on!

The Mädchenmannschaft elaborates on an English-language interview with media activist Jaclyn Friedman. Amongst other things, Jaclyn is co-editor of an anthology entitled Yes Means Yes! Visions of Female Sexual Power and a World without Rape. She also spoke at this year's Re:publica.

Helga, also Mädchenmannschaft, adds this video to the discussion of how women are portrayed in mainstream media. In the clip, a very cool Anita Sarkeesian explains the so-called Smurfette Syndrome. (Source: Frauenbilder in Film und Fernsehen unter der Lupe)

 ...and on the other side of the world in Hamburg, Germany,
Lantzschi is amazed at what little girls can do these days.

Svenja of Synaesthetisch came across an interview with author Arno Geiger and philosopher Klaus Mainzer. I am linking to it in spite of their conversation being published in Chrismon, a christian/protestant magazine, because the word God is not mentioned once. Also, I recently finished Geiger's brilliant new novel Der alte König in seinem Exil which deals with his father's Alzheimer's. My friend Simone Finkenwirth has also read the book and published a German review here.

A brief peek behind the scenes for everyone interested in computing: Kathleen of the Official Gmail Blog introduces her colleague Petra, a software engineer.

Eva Ricarda Lautsch discusses the shortcomings of leftist political activism in Germany: Die unspezifische Revolution.

Nachdem ich sie vorletzte Woche vorgeschlagen hatte, durfte Ninia LaGrande am letzten Samstag ein Telefoninterview mit Marcus von Trackback führen. Es geht um den deutschen Werberat, Poetry Slams und DIE Blog. Yeah! Bei Minute 51:47 geht's los!

Nikola Richter hat einen Artikel für den Tagesspiegel geschrieben, der auf ihrem eigenen Blog in der Vollversion erhältlich ist. Darin geht es im weitesten Sinne um selbständige Arbeit zu Hause und die damit verbundenen Risiken. Der Nachrichtendienst Turi2 hat das aufgegriffen und mit folgenden Worten zusammengefasst: ‎"Nikola Richter beklagt die Lage der digitalen Arbeiter, die zwar vom Zwang der täglichen Anwesenheit in der Firma befreit sind, dafür aber den Preis der "Unsichtbarkeit" zahlen. Ihr Burnout finde unbemerkt im Home Office statt. Der krankmachende Stress treffe aber alle: Die "Festen" in Verlagen, Stiftungen, Firmen und Agenturen, sowie die "freien" Journalisten, Designer, Autoren und Berater." Chapeau, Nikola, das war ein Ritterinnenschlag! 

Simone Finkenwirth wurde nach unserem Vortrag auf der #rp11 vom Buchreport zur Seite genommen, dem sie den Unterschied zwischen Literaturblogs und dem Feuilleton erklärt: Das Internet erreicht mehr Leser. 

Das Missy Magazin verlost 20 Hörbücher über die Geschichte des Frauenfußballs. Alles, was es braucht, um mitzumachen, ist ne kurze Email. Interesse? Hier geht's lang!

Nadine Lantzsch hat vor einer Weile einen Vortrag zu queeren/ feministischen Blogs gehalten und ihre Folien und Links hier veröffentlicht. Außerdem hat sie mir obiges cooles Foto von sich und ihrer GCB Bag Tracey beschert, das  natürlich sofort in mein GCB Bags in Action!-Album auf Facebook gewandert ist.

Immer wieder lustig: Anderer Leute Lieblingstweets.

I am not sure where this one was taken, but all signs point at
in front of a brick wall. (Source) 

Boy's Corner

Leo turns 38 and shares 38 Life Lessons he has learned so far.

Markus Beckedahl lists and links to the 10 Tools of Online Suppressors.

Hakan erklärt seine Schwierigkeiten damit, die Staatsbürgerschaft seines Heimatlandes gegen die deutsche einzutauschen: Aufgeben? Ich kenne das Problem: Auch wenn ich als geborene Schweizerin nicht so weitreichenden Repressalien ausgesetzt war wie unsere türkischen Mitbürger es noch heute sind, musste ich doch zwanzig Jahre warten, bis Deutschland 2007  SchweizerInnen die doppelte Staatsbürgerschaft gewährte. (Wenn es Euch interessiert, schreibe ich zu dem Thema vielleicht ein anderes Mal mehr?)

Ofrin - Blankets

Via Gunnar @ Spreeblick