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A few months back I found myself at a tech event listening to a discussion about women in technology. It struck me how bloody tired I was – and still am – of the topic. I fail to see what complaining why there are not enough women entering the technology field really accomplishes beyond female bonding and commiseration. Perhaps it’s due to my immigrant-influenced roots, but I don’t believe in excuses. I believe in…just doing.

Part of the “problem” in my eyes has always been that there are not enough women who make themselves visible in the industry, especially without feeling the need to overcompensate by pushing their “geekery” on everyone.

So, with my personal video blogging winding down, I dreamed up an idea of a video blog on SF-area technology entrepreneurs, dreamers and movers-and-shakers hosted by thoughtful, fun, intelligent hosts…who happen to be women. The video blog would be quirky yet educational, professional yet personal. I have to give a lot of props to my friend and UI designer Lindsay Tabas, who really helped hone the initial tone from the get go, was very encouraging of the idea, and brought her trademark gusto to make this project happen.

Without further ado, meet wildwest, hosted by Lindsay, myself and Camille Ricketts from VentureBeat.

Sad to say, Lindsay has decided to leave San Francisco to embark on an epic, 6-month tour of the world. This means that wildwest will be a one-off project, and I’m out a great friend to hang out with!

Still, I have an inkling – a large one – that you will really enjoy what we’ve done. For the video, we interviewed Sprout community managing, brand evangelizing, fanny-pack wearing, skeeball loving Joey Mucha. Joey’s one of my best friends here in town and an all-around great guy.

Please visit the site, wildwestshow.tv,  for the full scoop on Joey and all three of your hosts.

Sit back. Watch. And I hope you enjoy what we’ve done.

UPDATE: You should really head over to Lindsay’s blog to read her synopsis on the project. She has captured her (as well as my) thoughts on being a “girl in tech” so poignantly, masterfully drawing an analogy back to our beloved Bayside High cast of characters. She also delves deeper into why felt it was so necessary to make wildwest a reality.

Six months ago, my 2-door sedan and I merged onto I-5 South and never looked back.

Now that it’s six months down the road (har), I thought it would be a good time for some reflection:

6 Secrets of San Francisco from aziari on Vimeo.

Sometimes, non-tech companies find themselves the source of geek obsession. In San Francisco, one of these companies is Samovar Tea Lounge.

The question is: how to embrace it?

In the case of Samovar, they put a personal appeal to the tech community in their actual menu, called “Tea and Technology.”  It’s a simple gesture but one that communicates Samovar’s technology philosophy and also how fans can extend their Samovar experience outside of the cafe through digital mediums, such as their e-newsletter, Twitter and videos on their site.

It’s amazingly smart and a good example of a company that is really tuning into who its customers are beside the obvious (in this case, tea enthusiasts).

Check out the video, which also includes an ode to summer at the end that I made for all of my wonderful viewers.

Tea and Technology from aziari on Vimeo.

Know any other non-tech companies that are using some innovative methods to connect with their tech-y customer base? Please share!