WELCOMING WOMEN ONLINE: NOT JUST FOR THE GOOD OL' BOYS
THE WOMAN'S GUIDE TO ONLINE SERVICES

Judith Broadhurst has written the essential one-stop handbook to online
services for women and she's done it with intelligence, grace and wit.

                 --Amy Bernstein, U.S. News and World Report

"If you want to have some say in what happens, you need to be where it's
happening and connected to the people making it happen," Judith Broadhurst
believes, and that's why she wrote THE WOMAN'S GUIDE TO ONLINE SERVICES,
which will be published by McGraw-Hill on October 16, 1995 ($19.95).
Concerned by the low percentage of women online, Broadhurst invites women
into the community of online users and assists them in orientation to the
myriad opportunities available, which extend far beyond "casual
conversation and information." She focuses on a wide range of subjects
that affect and interest women, from issues of career, finance and
politics to those of marriage, family and aging, and zeros in on concrete
ways the networks can be used to help people solve problems, save time and
money, enrich their lives and have fun.

The powerful message beneath the user-friendly, information-packed guide is
that online interaction is rapidly becoming the site of access to power,
and women's "continued reluctance or resistance" to going online relegates
them to the "techno-era equivalent of the typing pool." "You may not care
about having influence or power, per se," Broadhurst writes, but issues
you do care about, from your job to world peace, will be "profoundly
affected" by what happens online. Her mission in THE WOMAN'S GUIDE TO
ONLINE SERVICES is to offer women the "important opportunity to help shape
the future" that online services provide.

"The key word in the term computer network is network, not computer,"
Broadhurst points out, and goes on to elaborate on the various ways in
which online networking empowers and enriches the lives of women and men.
Some of her suggestions include:

 * Extend a professional network
 * Scope out a business competitor
 * Learn home maintenance
 * Work toward a college degree
 * Manage money
 * Ask a doctor's advice
 * Send a letter to Congress
 * Join a special-interest discussion group
 * Publish a newsletter
 * Send and receive e-mail and faxes

Readers of the guide will benefit from the knowledge and experience of the
hundreds of online users Broadhurst interviewed who attest to the strength
of the "virtual community." They have found assistance in locating a
missing child, support in coping with illness and investigating
treatments, and guidance in handling a job search, to highlight just a few
ways in which members of online networks, women and men, come through for
each other.

Broadhurst advises readers that "all any of us need to know is enough to
make (going online) work for us. Anytime we want to know more, it's easy
to find out online. I have never, not once, had any question about any
subject that I couldn't find an authoritative answer online, usually
within 48 hours or less. What's more, I now have friends and co-workers
across the country and in other countries, and opportunities and resources
at my fingertips, at any hour, and so can you."

The first step to accessing the virtual community is getting online. THE
WOMAN'S GUIDE TO ONLINE SERVICES removes the intimidating elements of
going online by translating the jargon associated with the "electronic
frontier." Broadhurst eliminates the use of techno-babble and counters the
impression that cyberspace is weird, daunting, other-worldly or just plain
juvenile. She takes a relevant "real life" approach by thoroughly
explaining how to use the networks, rather than how to make the networks
work.

Broadhurst provides an extensive overview of online services, including
America Online, CompuServe, Prodigy, the Internet and the World Wide Web,
outlining the pros and cons of each. Additionally, she offers a broad
profile of services created by or especially for women: Echo, Women's
Wire, Women's Forum (on CompuServe), Women's Leadership Connection (on
Prodigy), Wired Women and Worldwide Women Online. She deals with the
nature of online communication, discrimination, Netiquette, and tapping in
to the benefits of online research.

THE WOMAN'S GUIDE TO ONLINE SERVICES will help readers decide whether
online services are for them, and which ones they'd like to try first. For
those already online but still novices, or those who have been online for
a while but want to know more, this book will also be helpful. Illustrated
with photographs, screen shots and quick-reference sidebars, the guide
covers the basics and presents a broad range of topics in such chapters
as:

 * "100 Ways to Save Time and Money Online"
 * "For Parents, About Kids"
 * "In Sickness and In Health"
 * "Lifelong Learning"
 * "Friends and Family"
 * "Business Management and Marketing" and "Career Guidance"
 * "Direct Democracy and Community Involvement"

Armed with the new book, novice and veteran online users alike can learn to
"surf the net" without getting lost or sidetracked. "How to Stop What You
Started But Don't Want to Finish," "What to Do When You're Lost and Want
to Quit," "Just the FAQs, M'am" and "A Guided Tour of What It's Like
Online" are just a few of the topics showing the reader that "you don't
have to be a computer whiz to whiz around online."

Detailed and specific, the guide enables the reader to tailor online
strategies to his or her own needs or preferences. Packed with information
on how to get started and how to get the most out of online services, the
volume includes a glossary, a bibliography, an index, and money-saving
coupons. Several appendices provide information on basic online and
Internet tools, servers and suppliers; a comparison of commercial online
services; and lists of online nonprofit groups and media. THE WOMAN'S
GUIDE TO ONLINE SERVICES allows women to move past the "male mystique
about modems" to find and claim their own place in the virtual community
and participate as equals in the ever-changing revolution of online
services.
 
 =========================================================
 From the 'New Product News' Electronic News Service on...
 AOL (Keyword = New Products) and Delphi (GO COMP PROD)
 =========================================================
 This information was processed from data provided by the
 company/author mentioned. For additional details, please
 contact them directly at the address/phone# indicated.
 Trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
 =========================================================
 All submissions for this service should be addressed to:
 BAKER ENTERPRISES,  20 Ferro Dr,  Sewell, NJ  08080  USA
 Email: rbakerpc@delphi.com  -or- RBakerPC (on AOL/Delphi)
 =========================================================
