More BPW Graphics and Net Tips

This is an addition to my page for BPW Illinois, the Illinois Federation of Business and Professional Women. It contains graphics for use in other local organizations, and discusses other areas of BPW. It also includes some tips about using the internet efficiently, and should answer some questions about creating your own home page, especially for other BPW organizations. There are many ways to create your own net presence, and many resources available. Its a bit of an on-line Individual Development Course--IDC--in which you are to create a home page rather than give a weekly speech.

Tip #1: Obtain a program such as Photodex to convert images to a format and size useful for your yearbook, newsletters and advertisements.

BPW #1: Jean McCarry of Tolono was the only Illinois BPW member to serve as National President. This picture hangs in the state office in Springfield, just across from the Governor's Mansion. Jean had a wonderful sense of humor and was a great leader.

Tip #2: Do you use your browser's cache? After a session on-line, use your browser or graphics program to view the files downloaded in the cache subdirectory. You will find you have to spend little time downloading pages because the browser automatically saves the information. After you are done clear out the remaining files using an option on the browser program.

BPW #2: The Young Careerist Program recognizes women between the ages of 21 and 35. Starting at the local organization level working women compete in a speech and interview process, thereby learning something about BPW and increasing their comfort level in meetings and interviews. The state winners participate in meetings, conferences, and receptions.

Tip #3: Does your internet provider give you a free home page?? Most do, but don't solicit non-commercial pages. My local provider does include instructions on how to assemble and upload a page and has links to various web editors. I understand that Internet Explorer has self-contained tools for creating home pages, but you can make a simple one with a word processor in text format or Windows Notepad. Download some pages and experiment with their codes. There are also companies such as Geocities and Angelfire that will host anyone's personal pages for free in exchange for advertising rights.

BPW #3: The BPW Pac is a lobbying organization that offers endorsements and grants to women and those supporting the political goals of BPW.

BPW #4: This graphic is a couple of years old but reminds us that we have to be ready to fight for equal opportunity. Women who have been abused or oppressed may have developed unhealthy coping mechanisms, but they are still our sisters and need our help.

Tip #4: A simple way to speed up your browser is to operate it with the "load in-line graphics" option off, which will generate jeweled squares in the location of the unloaded graphics. You can view the graphics by double-clicking on them or by using the images icon on the powerbar.

BPW #5: The BPW Foundation was established in 1956 to offer scholarships and loans to college age or re-entry students. Most of the grants are to those with 24 months or less required to complete a degree. Due to the volume of requests there is a very specific procedure for application, described in one of the links on my other BPW page.

Tip #5: HTML, the simple programming language of the internet, is very case and text sensitive. It knows the difference between a link that ends in ".html" and ".htm", even if your operating system doesn't, and the graphic "shorty.JPG" is not the same as "shorty.jpg". My old 486 Win3.11 based computer did not interpret these examples in the same manner as does the ISP server, likely based on UNIX or LUNIX.

BPW #6: This is BPW/usa's National Headquarters at 2012 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, in Washington, DC. It was built as a private residence in 1884, and purchased by BPW in the 1950's. In 1990 the building was restored. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Tip #6: While the world wide web is the most interesting part of the internet, pay attention to e-mail lists, gopher sites, and ftp's as sources of information. While I've obtained some information from newsgroups, they have so much junk content as to be just about useless.

BPW #7: This is the 1996 membership card logo. Dues vary, but average about $50 per year. Some states are trying a new system of direct billing, rather than the traditional club-oriented dues collection. There is also a member-at-large category in both Illinois and BPW/usa for those who support BPW objectives but don't have the time for monthly meetings. Maybe we could start a "virtual" BPW club.

Tip #7: Are you using one of the on-line services, such as AOL or CompuServe? Think about adding a local service provider to your internet menu, which will give you faster access, the use of the newest software and lower cost per hour. If you like the content on the on-line service you can still connect.  I finally gave up my CompuServe account because of the junk mail, and slowness.

BPW #8: These are a couple of BPW/Illinois logos--these days we tend to use the new IL logo rather than yearly themes, as a result of long-term planning.

Tip #8: Experiment with modem and scanner software: I used three or four fax programs before I found a good one, and have found that using the Photodex software I have better control over the scanner than with the programs provided with the machine. Also be aware of the limitations of your system, which might make the newest versions run too slow to be worthwhile.

BPW #9: BPW is the voice of all working women, encompassing the professional, the factory worker, the self-employed, the re-entry worker and the retired woman.

TIP #9: The best way to make viewers of your web site happy is to keep graphics small. Use .jpg files for photos and such, as they can be compressed to a manageable size. Use simple .gifs for line-art and backgrounds. I haven't used any backgrounds mainly because my I keep my old computer at a 16-color display and they don't show up. If you consider paying someone for web design and their samples are full of 50K graphics--unless it is a cool image map--look elsewhere, in my opinion. Also look for frequent updates, as a site with outdated information is probably worse than no site at all.

Last updated 8/28/01. Please send corrections and comments to cbconly@midwest.net