5 Women Who Changed the Internet

Many people have changed the Internet. More net-changers will come as the days roll by. It's not fair to single out five people for such special recognition, but if I tried to write a longer article I would never finish it. So maybe I should this is about "5 randomly chosen women who helped change the Internet" and leave it at that.

Women entrepreneurs are nothing new. Women have been starting their own businesses for thousands of years. But we make a big deal out of women who start businesses because -- maybe for a few centuries -- they were prevented from fully engaging in commerce in the western nations. In the late 20th century the feminist movement celebrated the achievements of women by pointing out especially successful entrepreneurs.

But when the Internet became the Next Big Thing, it was widely perceived as "a boy's world", run by "the guys", and women were largely shut out of the recognition that was accorded to the various founders and "fathers" of the Internet. So it's only fair that we give the ladies some recognition. But before I get down to brass tacks, let me say something about two very special ladies, without either of whom we would have no Internet.

Ada Byron, Lady Lovelace lived in the 1800s. She was the world's first algorithm writer. She worked with Charles Babbage's mechanical calculating machine and proved that lists of organized instructions could be written for machines. She is often hailed as the first computer programmer in history. Without Ada's insightful research, modern computer science would have had to invent itself completely from scratch.

Rear Admiral Grace Brewster Murray Hopper wrote the first compiler program. A compiler is a computer program that takes a set of instructions written in non-machine language and translates (or "compiles") them into machine language. Without Admiral Hopper's pioneering work in computer programming in the 1940s and 1950s, we would have no Internet today. She was one of the US Navy's longest serving officers, and yet her entire career was spent in the Navy Reserve. She was also the first recipient of the "Man of the Year" for computer science presented by the Data Processing Management Association in 1969.

Were it not for those two brilliant ladies, all the guys who later came along to make programming, computers, and the Internet a "boy's world" would have had nothing to work with. So I nominate Ada and Grace as the Mothers of Modern Computing and the Internet.

Alexa Andrzejewsk founded the Foodspotting Website and smart phone app. People use Foodspotting to help each other find specific dishes, like "where can I eat a bologna cheeseburger pizza?". Alexa has been recognized as a culinary genius by people who can now find their favorite oddball foods.

Elyse Petersen is a simple food scientist who recognized a need to bring tea farmers into direct communication with their western customers. Not only can you now buy some of the most exotic teas in the world online, you can save money while buying direct.

Julia Hartz co-founded Eventbrite, one of the most successful online event scheduling services ever. People not only use Eventbrite to schedule events, but also to sell tickets.

Marissa Mayer is one of the most widely recognized women in technology. She worked at Google for over 10 years, managing the search engine's famous Spartan home page design; Marissa left Google in 2012 to run Yahoo!.

Ruth Parasol proved that online gambling businesses could be run by anyone with the brains and the determination to be successful. She founded Partygaming in 2001 and hasn't looked back since.

As I mentioned above it's impossible to honor all the people who have made the Internet what it is today. Women have played their part and I think you'll agree it's a very significant part. What is most sad about the need to recognize the contributions of women is that we have to single them out for being women. The Internet (and women) deserve better than that.

Eclectia is a personal Website with no connection to any of the other sites linked here. All links are provided for reference. This page is Copyright © Eclectia. All Rights Reserved. No unauthorized use is permitted. Please respect intellectual property rights.


5 Women Who Changed the Internet Many people have changed the Internet. More net-changers will come as the days roll by. It's not fair to single out five people for such special recognition, but if I tried to write a longer article I would never finish it. So maybe I should this is about "5 randomly chosen women who helped change the Internet" and leave it at that. Women entrepreneurs are nothing new. Women have been starting their own businesses for thousands of years. But we make a big deal out of women who start businesses because -- maybe for a few centuries -- they were prevented from fully engaging in commerce in the western nations. In the late 20th century the feminist movement celebrated the achievements of women by pointing out especially successful entrepreneurs. But when the Internet became the Next Big Thing, it was widely perceived as "a boy's world", run by "the guys", and women were largely shut out of the recognition that was accorded to the various founders and "fathers" of the Internet. So it's only fair that we give the ladies some recognition. But before I get down to brass tacks, let me say something about two very special ladies, without either of whom we would have no Internet. Ada Byron, Lady Lovelace lived in the 1800s. She was the world's first algorithm writer. She worked with Charles Babbage's mechanical calculating machine and proved that lists of organized instructions could be written for machines. She is often hailed as the first computer programmer in history. Without Ada's insightful research, modern computer science would have had to invent itself completely from scratch. Rear Admiral Grace Brewster Murray Hopper wrote the first compiler program. A compiler is a computer program that takes a set of instructions written in non-machine language and translates (or "compiles") them into machine language. Without Admiral Hopper's pioneering work in computer programming in the 1940s and 1950s, we would have no Internet today. She was one of the US Navy's longest serving officers, and yet her entire career was spent in the Navy Reserve. She was also the first recipient of the "Man of the Year" for computer science presented by the Data Processing Management Association in 1969. Were it not for those two brilliant ladies, all the guys who later came along to make programming, computers, and the Internet a "boy's world" would have had nothing to work with. So I nominate Ada and Grace as the Mothers of Modern Computing and the Internet. Alexa Andrzejewsk founded the Foodspotting Website and smart phone app. People use Foodspotting to help each other find specific dishes, like "where can I eat a bologna cheeseburger pizza?". Alexa has been recognized as a culinary genius by people who can now find their favorite oddball foods. Elyse Petersen is a simple food scientist who recognized a need to bring tea farmers into direct communication with their western customers. Not only can you now buy some of the most exotic teas in the world online, you can save money while buying direct. Julia Hartz co-founded Eventbrite, one of the most successful online event scheduling services ever. People not only use Eventbrite to schedule events, but also to sell tickets. Marissa Mayer is one of the most widely recognized women in technology. She worked at Google for over 10 years, managing the search engine's famous Spartan home page design; Marissa left Google in 2012 to run Yahoo!. Ruth Parasol proved that online gambling businesses could be run by anyone with the brains and the determination to be successful. She founded Partygaming in 2001 and hasn't looked back since. As I mentioned above it's impossible to honor all the people who have made the Internet what it is today. Women have played their part and I think you'll agree it's a very significant part. What is most sad about the need to recognize the contributions of women is that we have to single them out for being women. The Internet (and women) deserve better than that. Eclectia is a personal Website with no connection to any of the other sites linked here. All links are provided for reference. This page is Copyright © Eclectia. All Rights Reserved. No unauthorized use is permitted. Please respect intellectual property rights.		MENU HOME GAMES BLOGS PUB RCDS SEARCH KAZAKHS THE WEB DIRECTORIES ENGAGEMENT 5 WOMEN ABOUT PRIVACY OTHERS

5 Women Who Changed the Internet

MENU