Thanks to Kim Hart for including me!

Around town, I often hear people referring to a tech start-up as just “two guys in a garage.” But that phrase excludes a gender that, some say, is too often overlooked in the technology industry. In Washington, a number of women are leaving their mark as entrepreneurs, social media enthusiasts and policy experts. And they’re trying to make room for more girl geeks. Here are five women who have established themselves as influential figures in the region’s tech circles and are worth keeping an eye on.

Larissa Fair, 26, has been president of the Washington chapter of the Social Media Club for two years, since shortly after it formed. Under her charge, the group now has more than 900 members (by Facebook‘s count, anyway) and meets every month to network and discuss trends ranging from cloud computing to mobile media campaigns. She’s done public relations work for local firms such as Platinum Solutions and Livingston Communications, and now manages Web communications for a nonprofit.

Fair’s main passion is expanding the reach of social networks among associations, educational institutions and government groups.

“The idea of it has gone much more mainstream,” she said. “People are going to be online anyway, so you need to find the way to reach them.”

Larissa Fair profiled in The Washington Post

I wanted to take the time to give a shout-out to the many people who helped me through this time. I’ve always been a big networker and have a weird ability to remember people and places. I know that social networks allow us to interact, communicate, and access communities. Never before has this been more clear to me than with the aid of Twitter and my online community.

A quick timeline, I was laid off in November and quickly picked up some consulting work with a local PR firm that carried me through the end of the year. From there I picked up another PR firm in January, some project work in February, and another communications firm for March and April. I definitely identified with @bostonmarketer juggling the job search and consulting work. I’m greatly indebted to those people who were able to give me work even as they experienced rough times and will continue to recommend them as stellar places to work.

Over 6 months, I accumulated over 360 conversation threads tagged “Job 2008-2009″ in my inbox. I went on 5 informational and 15 real interviews from Baltimore to Canada, some of which I went back to multiple times. I managed 2-4 clients at any given time and applied to over 100 jobs. I hustled. I went to temporary employment agencies, I even applied to wait tables. Thanks to my consulting work and a little other help, I never had to do either of those, nor did I collect unemployment (which was partly the fault of the hoops you have to jump to get your $378 a week). I’m proud that I worked hard and further developed my skills, that I was able to basically support myself, and that I got the opportunity to meet so many wonderful people. Many of the places I interviewed were not able to hire me, but passed my resume on to others. In fact, that’s how I secured the job I’ll be starting in a couple of weeks.

Family and friends were always there for me. I’d especially like to thank my boyfriend – who gave me countless hours of advice, support, editing, financial help, a good kick when I needed it, a shoulder to lean on and a smile to celebrate with. My best friend who supported me, kept it real and told me when something was ridiculous. My parents for their support (and worry), and all my friends for their help and for lending an ear.

It really does take a village. In no particular order, I’d like to give thanks to the following people from my “online network”. Without you, I could not have done this. From providing job leads, serving as references, getting me in touch with their connections, sending along my resume, checking for job openings at their company and generally offering their support; these people (and many more) should know how much I appreciate their help. I’m very lucky I had these people on my side.

@geoffliving @marinel @beautifulthangs @michael_nelson @eliz2shea @barryreich @lkthrock @dcjams @jterrill8 @tdbacon @sseawright @thorpus @swhitley @technosailor @kamichat @rmoede @tjohns06 @shonali @annagabbert @mindofandre @mpranikoff @colbcox @stephstad @rdweatherly @shashib @socialbttrfly @ericldavis @dallaslawrence @sradick @bradlevinson @cdorobek @leslieann44 @strategicguy @maiakg @johnny_mac @phillyberg @hautepjones @wamurray @rachellelacroix @noreaster @mixtmedia @sverde @sarahwurrey @fletcherprince @hey_love @kristiewells @mobilediner @jillfoster @stephmurillo @carlynkelley @immunity @thinklynsen @sliqviq @xiobhan @kathymbaird @taradunion @queenofblogs @pamelaspunch @janetdmiller @prjobs @dcconcierge @tdefren @melaniephung @melaniemitchell @sraak @tmn_inc @erinwest @taylortb @jtnt

I always believe in paying it forward. That said, I’ve helped pass on strong job leads to four of my friends in the past few days by sending great job opportunities that I was not able to take and motivating my own networks to help others. I think it’s especially important in these times to help each other, and that is evident in the huge number of blogs, Twitter feeds and newspaper articles on everything from how to interview to where to find a job. This recession has been tough on everyone from business owners to employees. The more we can stick together and help one another, the better off we’ll be.

As a final note, I’d like to share some links that I found were helpful and/or interesting.

• Jobs Lists and Resources from Mashable
• HOW TO: Find a Job on Twitter
• 30+ Websites to Visit When You’re Laid Off
• CAREER TOOLBOX: 100+ Places to Find Jobs
• Daily Kos: How to get a job: what’s missing from resumes I’m reviewing Update X2
• Your Resumé is Causing Hiring Companies To Laugh At You (Revised) | Technosailor.com
• The Interview That’ll Bag a Job – WSJ.com
• Career Hub: 10 Ways To Avoid Sabotaging Your Job Search By Being Desperate
• How to Tweet Your Way Out of a Job « I’m Not Actually a Geek
• Write an Attention-Grabbing Cover Letter

Blogs:
• Survival Mode (from @csalomonlee who has since secured a job)
• Laid Off And Looking – WSJ 
• How I Got My Job | Job-hunting success stories podcast

More social media focused from Jeremiah Owyang:
• Also see my Web Strategy Jobs powered by Job o Matic
• See my community manager group in Facebook
• Check out Jake McKee’s community portal for jobs
• See Chris Heuer’s Social Media Jobs
• SimplyHired aggregates job listings, as does Indeed

I’m not one for confrontation, so I wanted to lighten up the debate with a few examples of some great personal brands. Answer these questions before declaring yourself a personal branding success (or expert). These are the real rock stars.

Are You on a First Name Basis? Think Britney. Mariah. Madonna. Diddy. Prince. Jay-Z. Oprah. Until you are mainstream enough to be known by one name only, then think twice about branding yourself as a real personality. Runners Up: Arnold (as in Governor Schwarzenegger), Dave (as in Dave Matthews Band), Donald (as in The Donald, Donald Trump) and Hef (as in Hugh Hefner). Up and Coming (Maybe): Sorry Ryan Seacrest and Simon Cowell, you may have to wait a bit to achieve a true personal brand.

Do You Have a Nickname? Chances are that anyone who is remotely familiar with pop culture will recognize the names Brit-Brit, K-Fed, Spidey, Bennifer, Brangelina, and TomKat. There’s a reason for that. Although some celebrity nicknames may be unfortunate, the plus side is that it gives some people a warm and fuzzy, comforting and familiar feeling. It makes you feel like an insider, smart and informed. And when you’re a personal brand, you want people to feel like they are cool with you, and that you’re one of them.

Does Your Personality Persuade? The Food Network is a great example. There are top chefs, and there are lukewarm fillers. Consider the marketing and selling power of Rachel Ray, Paula Deen, Bobby Flay, Emeril Lagasse, Giada De Laurentiis and Ina Garten. People actually feel like they can cook like these people when they follow their recipes, buy their cookbooks, and use their cook and bakeware. They have multiple shows on Food Network and other networks. They sell cookbooks, cooking tools, readymade products and more.

But consider the second tier Foot Network stars like Guy Fieri, who people may relate to since he won The Next Food Network Star challenge or Sandra Lee who has become popular from her quick “home-cooked” meals. These chefs may be popular among their fans, but don’t have the national (and global) appeal and clout that Rachel, Paula, Bobby, Emeril, Giada and Ina do. There is no question that the top Food Network stars listed above can easily outsell anything compared to Aida Mollenkamp, Sunny Anderson, and the Neelys.

Does Your Personality Become a Brand? Not only does it pay off for your personal brand and celebrity status to sell a brand, sometimes you’re just good enough to build your brand off your personality alone. Think Perez Hilton or LC (as in Lauren Conrad from The Hills – and her posse). Perez turned his snarky outrageous celebrity blog and crazy personality into a brand. LC turned her once innocent self from a likeable-enough reality show star to a C or B-list celebrity that makes money just be being present. Oh, and she also was able to use her personal brand to launch a clothing line and help her co-stars create spin-off shows. On the negative side, think about Lindsay Lohan. Her party personality and late nights have pushed her personal brand to trash. Seen her in any good movies lately? Me neither.

Have You Created a Popular Slang Phrase? “That’s hot.” If Paris Hilton says it, it must be true. If you have the ability to infer an others a feeling or action simply by speaking (and having the very words you utter repeated by the masses)…then you may be a personal brand with the ability to create a new slang phrase. And everyone needs a good one. That’s what she said. (Although not a new double entendre, fans of The Office will surely understand that reference.)

If you answered “yes” to one or more of the above questions, then congratulations, you are indeed a bona fide personal brand.