a: I'd studied film at Queen's University, and when I graduated I couldn't get a job but I realized that whatever I wanted to do I'd need to know how to use a computer. First I got a computer, then I got an email account to keep in touch with friends in other cities. The very first time I logged onto the web I was hooked. I couldn't believe how you could reach anyone who had an email account and how I had access to all this information. There was such enormous potential!

In 1995 I co-founded the WebPool Syndicate, it was one of Canada's first Internet communication companies. My job seemed mainly to consist of educating clients on what the Internet was and why they'd want a website. When we started working on our first big project we realized there were no textbooks, no how-to's, no html editors. With my film background I'd done a lot of work in film pre-production and storyboarding, so I took what I'd learned there and created a process for developing multimedia pre-production.

I was only 25 when I began teaching Multimedia Pre-Production at the Vancouver Film School and my high school teacher from Elliot Lake, Ontario was one of my students. It was really a multimedia school, not an Internet school, and I was the only woman teacher. It wasn't clear where students would go with their degrees; I mean, there wasn't even such thing as a webmaster at this time.

q: What motivated you to start Wired Woman?

a: At VFS I started thinking about Wired Woman because there were so few women in the program and they all came to me for advice. First it was phone calls, then we progressed to having coffee, then meeting in people's living rooms. Everyone had lots of questions. All the user groups out there then were super techie and didn't cater to new graduates. We needed an opportunity for networking, we needed contacts, and we needed more basic information!

I didn't always know the answers to the questions I was being asked but often I'd know someone who did, so I'd introduce people to each other. One afternoon about five of us met for lunch at the Cordova Café in Gastown, and lunch became the whole afternoon and the idea for Wired Woman was born.

Wired Women is one of those things where if I'd really know what I was getting myself into I'd have never started it. I got the URL/domain name, ran it by my then boyfriend, now husband, and found out how to start a non-profit organization, and it grew from there. It's been the biggest pleasure and the most enormous challenge. It reminds me that as you start to get older you caution yourself more, but it's important to remember the value of jumping in and just doing things!

q: What about "Technology with Curves," - where did the idea for a book celebrating the women of the wired world originate?

a: It was the idea of a friend of mine who was one of the first students at VFS and was at the meeting where Wired Woman was born. She gave the "technology with curves" phrase to Wired Woman. In fact the trademark belongs to Wired Woman and is licensed to them, but they let us borrow it for the book!

a: The hardest part was deciding who we wanted and narrowing the list down. The list of women who could and should be in the book was enormous. JoAnn Napier was keen on doing the "Digital Dozen" and high profile women. My passion is, and ever shall be, telling all the other stories. To make sure there was a spread we set up a grid of cities, ages and jobs, thought of the ground we wanted to cover and then went out and found them. It was very six degrees of separation! Almost anyone who isn't Canadian was found by email or listserv and we always asked subjects for their recommendations. Of 55 women we approached, 52 of them said yes (Martha Stewart declined). The women we interviewed were amazing; they were not only patient with us and our learning, but now the book is out they're helping us to promote it by linking to it and talking about it. It's amazing because these are really busy people!

q: What are you studying at MIT?

a: I'm studying Internet Broadcasting Policy which is part of the Engineering Systems Division at MIT. It's 58 engineers and me. I don't have the same background as my classmates so I've had to really focus on it to make it happen. Part of coming to MIT was to see what I was capable of and to push myself.

q: How did you manage MIT and writing "Technology with Curves" at the same time?

a: It was a nightmare. I really, really, really, really wanted to write "Technology with Curves." Doing the market research and getting a publisher was the hardest part, then I was accepted into MIT on a Tuesday, and the book deal came through that Thursday! I couldn't say no to either one. The fall of 1999 was a very, very busy, crazy time. Barry, my husband, was a godsend, he just had to cope with me like this and it would have been so much harder on my own! Though I say I would never want relive August 1999 to March 2000, you know what? If you took me back in time I'd probably do the same thing all over again. MIT is a once in a lifetime experience, and writing the book was awesome!

But I've learned an important lesson - sometimes you have to give something up. I also learned how much I can do and that I have a limit, but if I really push myself I can get things done that I didn't think I could!

q: You must use the Internet a lot. How do you use it to make your everyday life easier?

Hmmm, I'm on the Internet all day, every day. If the grocery store wasn't next door I'd probably use it to buy groceries. I think online banking is one of the best things and we got a DVD player for Christmas, so I use this great site called Netflix - for $13.95 a month you get unlimited DVD rentals mailed to you in prepaid envelopes. You just watch it, pop it into the envelope and mail it back. I use Biztravel.com for all my travel; they're unbelievable because they have incredible real person online support. Email, of course and Napster and ICQ, and I do quite a bit of shopping. I listen to radio a lot online, especially CBC now that I'm not in Canada, and it's great for getting news from different places.

q: What do women want from the Internet?

a: The next big thing is not so much to do with services, as to do with where you can get them - it's mobility. You'll have internet access in your car, to your devices, to places that aren't your PC. It will transform who uses the Internet.

q: Of all your accomplishments, which are you most proud of?

a: Wired Woman. I'm really proud of "Technology with Curves" and would never have been able to write it if I hadn't done Wired Woman, they're intertwined. All the connections that happen are worth the time and effort I put in and it makes me incredibly proud. I was so happy that other people were excited enough about it to start chapters and put together events. I think I'm even more proud now that I'm less involved, because I can step back and see it properly. It's so rewarding for people to derive value from something I created.

Want to visit some of the sites mentioned in this story? See below:

Wired Woman Society
Technology with Curves
Vancouver Film School
Netflix
Biztravel.com
CBC

Thanks to Rob Kruyt for headshot of Emma.