Why I’m Excited About Glassbreakers

I read Kathy Sierra’s post Trouble at the Koolaid Point on a long BART ride from SF to Berkeley.

When I read this line I knew I needed to text my friend Eileen, one of the founders of Glassbreakers.

But I do think we need more options for online spaces, and I hope one of those spaces allows the kind of public conversations and learning we had on Twitter but where women — or anyone — does not feel an undercurrent of fear watching her follower count increase.

Glassbreakers is a space where women can connect professionally without fear. It is an example of this new kind of online space that Kathy calls for.

When I moved to San Francisco and started working in tech I wanted to speak at conferences, get more Twitter followers, write more blog posts. I am an ambitious woman with a Computer Science degree from a top school and a job at a high profile company. Of course I wanted to be visible.

But recent events, like Kathy Sierra leaving Twitter, shook me. I haven’t received threats or been stalked — yet. I’m still trying to figure out how visible I want to be. Until online spaces improve dramatically I will have to delicately balance my fear and my ambition.

I hope for an outpouring of new online spaces that fulfill Kathy’s request.