Ever since I was 12, I’ve been a gay rights activist.

One result of this, in my opinion, is that women are not good at bragging or shamelessly “selling themselves” like men are.

As things heat up for the 2012 election, I am excited to bring more stories to Forbes that focus on women getting more elected seats. Following my interview with Mindy Finn, political consultant and campaign extraordinaire, I am excited to bring my first interview with an elected representative: Diane Russell.

This Saturday marks the one year anniversary of the first foursquare check-in from space. Not only did it knock Antarctica out of the running for the coolest check-in ever made, but it also made my personal list for the ‘coolest project I’ve worked on in my entire career… ever.’

Today, we take the issue of female-founded start-ups head on with Nestio’s CEO and Co-Founder, Caren Maio. On the heels of the much tweeted about and commented on article by Mark Suster (“Why Aren’t There More Female Entrepreneurs?”), Caren’s background and approach provide a window on the solution to the imbalance.

If ever there was a more important battle cry to hear in life and in work, it would be Cory’s own personal mantra: “[approach life as] passionate and always in beta.” Inherent in her words, and in her own background, is the idea that taking risks should be the rule and not the exception.

There are few people I’ve met in my career that have more energy and endurance than I do. Ekaterina Walter is one of those rare people.

As Cindy Gallop reminded us, quoting Kathy Matsui, one of the most important things we need to do in order to gain more leadership seats at the table is to break through not the “glass ceiling,” but “through the thick layer of men.”

I agree with Facebook’s COO Sheryl Sandberg: Women need more seats at the table.