Kathy Sierra gave a very funny and informative keynote speech at SXSW this year; it was the first time I have heard her speak and was impressed with her knowledge and ability to make techy concepts easy for non-techys. Via WMST-L, an academic women’s studies listserv, my attention was directed to a recent article in The Guardian by Jessica Valenti, editor of Feministing.com, about online sexual harassment of Ms. Sierra that resulted in her cancelling appearances. Though this is not directly related to media production, I’m pointing to this article as it effects all of us who have created an online presence for ourselves.”Last week, Kathy Sierra, a well-known software programmer and Java expert, announced that she had cancelled her speaking engagements and was ‘afraid to leave my yard’ after being threatened with suffocation, rape and hanging. The threats didn’t come from a stalker or a jilted lover and they weren’t responses to a controversial book or speech. Sierra’s harassers were largely anonymous, and all the threats had been made online.” Read the entire article>>

[Update: Additional coverage on this topic in today’s Times, A Call for Manners in the World of Nasty Blogs]