Early last week, I saw this page on the Fast Company website announcing their search for the 100 Most Influential Women in Tech, a feature they have run since 2009. Over the course of the week, they changed the text to include the image above of Chloe Sladden of Twitter, who will be featured on their next issue, as well as added a link to the Poynter chat I did on 11/12. I was so encouraged by their response, that I bought a subscription to their magazine. It’s only $12.97 and you can do it quickly online. I subscribed on Wednesday last week, and received my first issue, with Lance Armstrong (yay Austinite) on the cover on Saturday, so they really mean it when they say they will rush you the first issue. Plus, there was a quick spotlight on Gary Vaynerchuk as a social media influencer. I interviewed @GaryVee at TX State’s Mass Comm Week last year, so I was happy to see him on their pages.  I’m quite pleased with my first issue and appreciate their track record with covering women like Sheryl Sandberg of Facebook, Gina Bianchini who was the CEO of Ning, and Morgan Romine of the gaming group Frag Dolls, among many others.  Please help Fast Company with their 100 Most Influential Women in Tech issue.

Fast Company and Wired are somewhat different magazines. Fast Company focuses mainly on business and marketing issues, while Wired has an emphasis on innovation, new ideas, the next big thing. They aren’t always right about these things, but Wired’s articles are usually interesting and insightful, which is why I was a longtime subscriber, fan and enthusiastic endorser for years. There is an overlap, however, in that both publications seek to cover the technology industry. Fast Company obviously has a different approach to women, which makes it a much better publication for me to recommend to students at this time. It shows women on the cover and inside the magazine, and doesn’t pander to stereotypes that objectify them. Women can look at Fast Company and feel welcome, that they have a place in the tech world. Editor Robert Safian did a nice interview about their commitment to covering women at Poynter.org. This definitely shows that there is an alternative to Wired’s boys’ club mentality, and refutes this idea that there aren’t women in tech worthy of the spotlight.

I’m looking forward to receiving my Dec/Jan issue of Fast Company. And I am still hopeful that the discourse created around this topic will influence some change at Wired.