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Hi Everybody!

Have you caught the OneWebDay 2009 (www.onewebday.org) fever yet? If not, watch the YouTube video below featuring Susan Crawford, the founder of OneWebDay.  It will inform and energize you!

If you have caught the OneWebDay 2009 fever, then join the OneWebDay social networking site so you can really stay informed. It is FREE.  Click here: http://my.onewebday.org.

On September 1, join me in participating in kg yoga life practices’ OneWebDay 22 Countdown Campaign (September 1-22), an online campaign that invites Internet users to:

Click here for more information: http://kgyoga.blogspot.com/2009/08/kg-yoga-life-practices-onewebday-22.html. Watch my OneWebDay 22 Countdown promo on Ananda Leeke TV below.

Before you go, tell me when you first started using the Internet and two of your fondest Internet memories.  Don’t leave out any details! 

When I started using the Internet:   After I came back from my trip to Egypt in July 1995, I started practicing yoga and using the Internet.  A friend helped me set up my very first AOL account on my computer.  I used to get so excited when I would receive email.  “You’ve Got Mail” became one of my favorite slogans.  It was also one of my favorite movies (another story for another time). 

Two of my fondest Internet memories:  

Catherine Austin Fitts, Founder of The Hamilton Securities Group, Inc.

One memory occurred in January 1996 when I was recruited by Catherine Austin Fitts, the founder of The  Hamilton Securities Group, Inc., to manage a $7 billion Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage loan transaction. Austin is a dynamic investment banker and former Assistant Secretary of the FHA in the first Bush Administration: http://solari.com/about-us/catherine.  She is currently President and CEO of Solari, Inc. (http://solari.com).  In 1991, Austin used her own money to establish Hamilton as a woman-owned investment bank and financial software firm that emphasized digital technology and social responsibility.  What a HUGE move for a woman! 

Hamilton’s high tech offices on Dupont Circle in D.C.

Hamilton’s offices and culture were cutting edge. My colleagues were amazing.  Diversity and a commitment to excellence and lifelong learning were core values that we all shared.  Hamilton felt like a Silicon Valley tech company in D.C.  Fast Company and Wired were required reading.  Click here to learn more about Hamilton:  http://www.dunwalke.com/11_Hamilton_Securities.htm.

I met Austin while working as the debt manager for the Office of the D.C. Treasurer. Austin’s passion for the Internet influenced me greatly.  She inspired me to dive deep into digital technology and made sure I had ample opportunities to express my passion and marry it with my law degree and experience in securities and financial regulation.  As a result, I  established and managed Hamilton’s intellectual property protection program for its online products and services. 

My second fondest memory was seeing the power of the Internet in action while I represented Hamilton at the U.N. Conference on Human Settlements in Istanbul, Turkey in 1996.   It was amazing to see large crowds of people using the Internet cafe. Now I wonder how we ever lived without wi-fi and smart phones! 

Enjoy your day and week!

Peace, Creativity, and OneWebDay Love,

Ananda, an Internet and yoga enthusiast