This post is a part of the Ada Lovelace Day event. You can read about it here and if you act promptly you still have time to participate yourself.

Let’s begin by first dispelling the clichés and then by passing quickly in review some prominent women in technology.

I’ve been blogging for over 7 years and I live in Geneva, Switzerland. When I first started blogging there were few blogs around here in Switzerland but the name of Stephanie Booth kept coming to my attention.

Stephanie has been blogging since at least the summer of 2000 and has rapidly become the star of the Swiss Online scene. I say Swiss but she is so communicative that she is well known wherever she graces people with her lively, vivacious, enthusiastic and ever smiling presence.

Stephanie is interviewed wherever she goes and is regularly requested for interviews not only by local Swiss TV and Radio but also by the BBC.

She is also a Seesmic user and was recently interviewed by Loïc LeMeur at the Seesmic HQ.

Here is a bio culled from her own site Climb to the Stars :

Stephanie studied philosophy, Indian religions and French language and literature at University of Lausanne, where she lives. She has been blogging in French and English since she came back from a year in India in 2000. Her blog Climb to the Stars http://climbtothestars.org was one of the first French language blogs, and is today amongst the most popular blogs in Switzerland.

After a few years working as a project manager and then a schoolteacher, Stephanie Booth is now a professional web consultant and commentator. Over the last three years, she has consulted and given talks on blogging and social media to a wide range of clients, including schools, businesses large and small (Intel, Romandie Formation), media companies (Femina, Vibrations Magazine), and various non-profits (ciao.ch, FMEL). She combines direct experience online with solid theoretical knowledge of the internet to explain its complexities, both technical and cultural.

So I’ve covered her public image but I still need to tell you why I admire her as this is what the Ada Lovelace pledge is all about.

Although her online presence is remarkable, Stephanie really shines as a speaker, organizer, champion of technologies and general motivator. She is impossible to refuse and just a few moments in her presence brings that human touch to technology which is sorely needed in these difficult times. She has remained active locally while reaching out globally and the monthly blogging (internet active people in Switzerland) meet-ups has a deep pool of regular attendees.

Unfortunately most people want to solve problems with technological tools and this fails 100% of the time if these tools are not supported by people, organizational structures or indeed company cultures.

Here is where Stephanie really shines as she is rarely obsessed with the tools but with what people can do with them in real life situations. Just take a look at her blog to convince yourself. From there you can lose yourself in all her activities by following her links to Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Seesmic, LinkedIn, FriendFeed etc. There is hardly a corner of the web that she has not exploited and whereas most people are curious about these places she really uses them to their full potential with intelligence and a soft touch.

Yes, Stephanie Booth is a remarkable woman in technology and she has changed my outlook on technology not by the what but by the how, the why and the where.