I apologize for the lack of posts in the past month or so. I’ll be back full-time in a couple of days. I have so many updates!
Happy New Year!
words from an over zealous tech obsessed chick
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I apologize for the lack of posts in the past month or so. I’ll be back full-time in a couple of days. I have so many updates!
Happy New Year!
One of the great puzzles of the industrial revolution is why it began in England. Why not France, or Germany? Many reasons have been offered. Britain had plentiful supplies of coal, for instance. It had a good patent system in place. It had relatively high labor costs, which encouraged the search for labor-saving innovations. In an article published earlier this year, however, the economists Ralf Meisenzahl and Joel Mokyr focus on a different explanation: the role of Britain’s human-capital advantage—in particular, on a group they call “tweakers.” They believe that Britain dominated the industrial revolution because it had a far larger population of skilled engineers and artisans than its competitors: resourceful and creative men who took the signature inventions of the industrial age and tweaked them—refined and perfected them, and made them work.
Sound familiar?
In my top three favorite speeches of all time.
Well, that caught your attention, didn’t it?
I’ve never been much of a feminist or a women’s rights fanatic but rather adamant on proving to the world that I am and will be an independent woman who doesn’t need a man to complete her or support her financially. But lately, (and I’m sure this is has a lot to do with the fact that I’m attending an all women’s college) I’ve been seeing more than I need to on the unfair treatment of women. I always knew the Woman V Man debate existed but I tuned it out. I wanted to go and achieve rather than bitch and complain. In other words, I believe in the American Dream (which in my opinion extends beyond minorities and immigrants).
There has been a lot of talk about women in technology. With women like Sheryl Sandberg and Jessica Jackley pioneering the way it’s hard to ignore now. There are days I think about utilizing the fact that I’m a woman to open doors in the world of tech start ups, but I know it goes against everything I believe in. And I think it’s safe to say that most women feel the same way.
But I’m writing today because I’m sincerely PISSED off at any man that has any connection to anyone/thing that has EVER participated in the practice of setting women back. Choose your employers wisely, learn about their practices, listen to their words and then grow a pair and say something.
I want to talk about a few of the things that have triggered this rage.
Folks say, ‘women should stop bitching and start doing’ well, we have. Yet the only thing that seems to matter is whether Sarah’s boobs are real or not. When women are attempting to run for political office, our accomplishments and capabilities are irrelevant—-because we PMS and are stereotypical bitches. It’s disgusting to see that women and men who have mothers, sisters, and daughters are so willing to participate in the demise of their future. We talk about the oppression of women in Arab countries but is this not the oppression of the American female? And are you seriously okay with this?
I know! I know! I should stop…but, no!
Group Direct Messaging: I know that ‘Group Messaging’ is a bursting market and everything seems to be about groups, rightfully so. Therefore, Twitter needs to add a Group DMing feature so instead of live tweeting 3 people or individually answering them in a DM, I can simply group message them. Long Overdue!
Mute or Temporary Unfollow: I should have the ability to mute or temporary unfollow certain users. As someone who follows several tech blogs, their writers and 10 sub accounts my feed has the same information when something like, iOS5 comes out. “DOWNLOAD iOS5 NOW!” Xs 345667 gets annoying very quickly leaving other non-iOS5 tweets hidden.
Read Later: I’ve been using the favorite icon as a ‘read later button.’ Sometimes when I’m going through my Twitter feed (usually in bed in the morning) I don’t have time to read all of the articles or updates, so if there was a native tool that allowed me to save it for later, that’d be awesome!
Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the trouble-makers, the round pegs and the square holes. The ones who see things differently, they’re not fond of rules and they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things. They push the human race forward. While some may see them as the crazy ones. We see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.
— Steve Jobs
Wouldn’t it be cool if they had group direct messaging on Twitter?
I think so.
I’m calling the ‘one year ago’ trend in apps and tech-y things. There seems to be a few apps/plug-ins that seem to want to trigger the memories of foursquare users, instagram posters, and possibly even tweeters. We shall see where entrepreneurs and visionaries take us!
Dearest Steve,
Though I never had the honor of your presence, I never gave up wanting to meet you. As countless others will say, you changed not only the industry but the world with your creativity. Growing up, I saw you before I saw the Macs, you were Apple, the gadgets were always second. My first encounter with your creation was in elementary school. I never quite understood the magic behind the big colored screen yet envied the teacher who had the coolest version (the first iMac). I’m continuously drawn to your ability to understand and demonstrate through your creation the ways of the human mind. The mere simplicity of your hardware and software (which at often times has been deemed as Apple’s weakness) has shown the world that technology is not always about quickness but rather detail and eminence. To most you were a brilliant, untouchable, cocky man, but I grew up with stories of you crying while sending your son off to college. You were and will continue to be, my silent coach. You’ve taught me to extend my way of thinking. You’ve taught me to destroy the box.
I’m so glad you were able to hang on and see the release of the iPhone4S, and being able to leave this world knowing that the future of your baby is in great hands, though Tim is still breaking in those shoes. Only ‘Apple Fan Boys’ know why Apple has been, is, and will be great. It extends deeper than just the RAM and Processors.
I’m not good with words when people just decide to suddenly leave. But know, that I will work hard trying to keep your way of thinking, living and being alive. I have been foolish and I’m hungry as ever.
May your beautiful soul rest in peace, Steve.
Love Always.
A few posts back I talked about my desperate need of a mentor and I decided an update was long overdue, so here it is…
Though I got a lot of feedback and “I’ll be your mentor”s I never actually managed to find a legitimate soul mainly because I stopped looking. A few days following that post, I dropped my search and moved on with my life. And then, last night I read an article by the renown surgeon Atul Gawande in the New Yorker. To summarize his article, Gawande explored the growing phenomenon of ‘coaching’ in various professional and educational sectors. He showcased his research which found that coaching improved performance across the board regardless of your industry or profession. Duh, you may say, right? Well yes, but this article actually helped me think of mentorship in a whole new manner.
Mentoring: to advise or train
Coaching: to train or instruct
