Social Platform Wars

I can't resist a good Venn diagram -- especially about the current participants in the social networking market.

From: dmc500hats, 10 months ago

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own.

SlideShare Link

Sequoia Capital’s 56 Slide Presentation Of Doom

Why my husband isn't quitting his day job and I'm looking for one . . .

Sequoia Venture Capital Warning to CEOs

I am not a fembot

Or a spambot. I think I triggered blogger's automatic spam filter a couple days ago by copying one of my LifeJournal posts over here.

In other news, my son is able to sort numbers from small to large and to round numbers to tens. My daughter is becoming quite accomplished with playdough.

wage stagnation

My husband just told me that when he started as a programmer about seven years ago he was making what I made, ahem, a long time ago, just out of college. That sure puts my recent job hunting in perspective.

flexible work

In addition to planning a business, I am also looking for a part-time job, preferably telecommute. We don't need the money yet, thank goodness, but I would like to be a back-up for my husband. I am worried that the longer I am unemployed the less employable I become.

I found a local job placement firm which specializes in flexible work arrangements but they are looking for people with a bachelors degree and 10 years of experience. So doing the math, they want women who have waited into their thirties to have children.

One potential positive outcome of the larger economic woes would be increased flexible work options. I think it would be a great deal for an employer to pay me to work part-time, get my most productive hours, and save money by not paying me benefits. I'm sure someone will fall for this eventually . . .

breastfeeding and work

First wave feminism was supported by paid domestic help. Second wave feminism was fueled by baby formula. I believe that we are the first generation of women to combine breastfeeding and industrial/post-industrial work outside of the home.

While breastfeeding is good for our babies, it is a drag on our careers. Breastfed babies need more night feedings than formula fed babies. Pumping eats up lunch breaks and watercooler time. I also believe nursing is a physical energy drain similar to pregnancy. Many previously productive women are surprised to find that they are unable to combine nursing with their jobs. Career gaps to stay at home with children, while supposedly increasingly common, typically decrease earning potentials.

How have you seen this issue addressed by employers other than by offering designated pumping rooms?

my husband's persuasive arguments

My husband has just about persuaded me to give up looking for a job outside the home. He wants our family to retain all of the value I create, not just get some of it in salary while the rest goes as profit to shareholders.

We have two small children so not losing most of my would-be salary to child care expenses is a powerful argument.

Also, no one else is going to let me run their company unless I go to business school.

I'll be blogging here in Mompreneur 2.0 about my attempts to multitask building an online business while raising two bright children.