G ‘n’ G Women in Tech Week – Meaghan Fitzgerald, Spoonfed

A Silicon Valley Girl Getting Spoonfed in London

I sit staring at source code in an empty computer lab, trying to embed a flash animation of a fish into a website for my sixth grade science project. If I could go back and speak to my eleven-year old self now, the message would be clear: don’t fight it, Meg, you’re destined to be a geek.

Growing up in Palo Alto, California, now famously home to Google and Facebook, I had not encountered “women in technology” as a debate topic – it was an expectation, especially at the all-girl’s school I attended where speakers like Carly Fiorina and Melinda Gates were common. As far
as I could tell, the industry was so full of women, they’d be my main competition on my future career path – an optimistic world view brought
about by my unique upbringing.

Although I studied biology and English at university in New England, my interest in tech led me to internships back in the Valley, with PageOne PR, a tech-focused PR firm; then with IMVU , a 3D chat service. I even briefly directed my own company, DormWise, while I was at school, something which caused no end of bemusement amongst my friends as I coded, designed, wrote for and promoted my website myself.

It wasn’t until moving to London after graduating last May, however, that I really felt I could begin to call myself a woman of technology. Shortly after arriving, I joined the team at Spoonfed , the definitive guide to things to do in London, and haven’t looked back. Spoonfed is a web startup that uses innovative technology to help Londoners find events throughout the city with localised search functions, online planning features, and an upcoming range of mobile support for finding what’s on in London.

While I’m officially doing marketing for Spoonfed, one of the benefits of working with a startup is the opportunity to affect a virtually limitless range of projects and aspects of the company. My current projects with Spoonfed focus most heavily on SEO, promoting our iPhone application and building the Spoonfed online community but I am also involved in creating editorial content for the site, bug testing, reaching out to bloggers, assessing site analytics and many more day to day tasks to keep Spoonfed growing.

I am consistently impressed with the social and friendly nature of the tech community in London and now, armed with a guide to the best events in the city through Spoonfed and a drive to meet and share knowledge with other London women in tech, I look forward to recreating my youthful vision of a tech world full of intelligent, empowered women working on the forefront of a tech  evolution.

Meaghan Fitzgerald is a 22 year old woman from Palo Alto, California working for www.spoonfed.co.uk, in London. Her personal blog can be found at http://www.thetopfloorflat.com/ .