Technology Thoughts

Girls in IT Are Here to Stay

Go ahead and Google Image search “Girls in IT” or “tech girls” and look at what pops up. You have to scroll down a bit before you find pictures of women working with computers (if you find them at all).

Why is this true? Even though women are working in and with technology, why is it so hard for some people to believe that women are working in the field and are here to stay?

Women in tech are known for things like Pinterest, which is stereotypically a female-dominated site. But people fail to think about  the women who are leaving a mark in our everyday lives. Take Arianna Huffington, the founder of Huffington Post or Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook. People think of Facebook and think of Zuckerberg, or Foursquare with Dennis Crowley, but why not eBay with Meg Whitman?

This summer, I’ve been working in the Syracuse Student Sandbox as a manger for the developers who are working with our startup teams. In a recent email to a friend discussing my position this summer, he said , ” it’s very rare to find someone I can geek out about IT to.   And to a GIRL!? That is just crazy talk.”  But why is it crazy? Is it absurd that I hold a position of power within a startup incubator or ludicrous that  a girl can actually manage technical projects?

While some men are very accepting of women in the workplace, others are immature and refuse to acknowledge talent over looks. While working in corporate last summer, I traveled to different companies to make the most out of my experience. While  in an elevator with two older males, I overheard them chatting about the new interns in the office. “Did you see the rack on the blonde intern? Damn!” They both laughed and continued talking about women in the office.Further discussing the issue, he wrote back saying “It definitely still feels like a man’s profession with the numbers I’ve seen at firms in the city (New York City). That being said, I’m always happy to see people breaking the mold…its a much more fun environment when its not just a bunch of dudes hanging out.” Although the atmosphere is more fun with women working, he failed to mention any increase in productivity, an introduction of new ideas, and different perspectives on problems within an IT firm.

As a peer advisor for the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University, I’m often asked what it’s like to work in a field dominated by men. Parents and female prospective students are often surprised to here my candid response of “I don’t notice it.”   I’m just like the guys, but I add value by bringing new ideas to the table with my feminine thought processes. I’m president of an organization and people tell me they’re so impressed by a woman holding a position of power. But why? I’m a person who studies and works hard; it doesn’t matter what my gender is.

So hey, boys. Women are here, they’re working, they’re making big changes, doing big things, and they’re here to stay. We’re more than a set of boobs in pencil skirts. Pay attention: there’s only more of us coming your way to rock the IT world.

A Tale of Two Tragedies: With and Without Social Media

Waking up on 9/11 was just like any other day for an elementary school student living in New York City. My mom woke me up, made me breakfast, got me dressed and I was out to door walking to school with my father. It wasn’t until I was sitting in my first-ever computer class that my teacher burst through the door, screamed that a plane hit the World Trade Center, and then started to sob. Not knowing what to say or do, we sat at our desks quietly as we listened to people screaming outside. As we saw smoke creep up the sidewalks and up to our windows, we panicked. Teachers who had access to a radio were talking about the rumors that were quickly spreading about other possible attacks. We heard about the possibility of bombs being placed in schools and I prayed for my mother and brother who were in academic buildings. My dad soon burst into my classroom and grabbed my hand, telling me we had to leave. We then sat around his office with his employees listening to the radio, watching people scurry around outside, and trying to put the pieces together.

But the radio was all we had. I didn’t have a cell phone to call my parents, nor did they have cell phones to contact my school.  Twitter and Facebook had yet to be created, and there was certainly no TV nearby to listen to the news. We waited around our landline phones for calls from family members. At night, we watched one news station to try to figure out what was happening.

Waking up on July 20th, 2012 was just like any other day for a college student living in the digital world. I woke up,  browsed through my Instagram feed on my iPhone, and then started to check out the tweets I missed while I was asleep. I anticipated seeing word of how the most recent Batman movie was, expecting to hear about how amazing it was mixed in with a negative review. 

My Twitter feed was quickly filled with talk of movie theaters, children, and the horrific news of what happened the night before. Tweets of sadness, disbelief, and links to articles about the event were all that anyone was talking about. I read articles directly from my phone, retweeted links to spread the word, and continued to read reactions from people I followed. I then decided to run a general search on Twitter for Aurora to see what others were saying.Thinking that this may have been something personal that happened in her life, I dismissed the tweet and made a mental note to check back in with her later. Tweets posted shortly before this one included discussion of guns control laws, how people were in disbelief, and how sorry people were for victims in Aurora, CO. Feverishly scrolling through my Twitter feed, I quickly found the one tweet that summed up the events of the night.

It was only a matter of a few minutes before I knew the whole story. Facebook allowed us to keep track of what people were saying, along withReddit, Twitter’s search, and a Storify. I didn’t event get out of bed and yet, the news was sitting in various forms in the palms of my hands.

I then turned on my compter to watch the news about the horrible incident. (Mind you I do have a TV, but why would I watch it when I had a computer within arms reach?) My other roommate walked in, said that she checked Twitter and heard what happened, and then watched the news with me.

Checking Facebook later while at work, I stumbled across this status update. Developments, as well as continued condolences and reactions were overflowing the Internet.

News stations and Twitter accounts are still curating data and aggregating responses to best show the reaction to the news.Syracuse University is especially grateful to have Class of 2012 Class Marshall Stephen Barton (mentioned above) alive and well.  News will continue to pour in today as more people share their personal accounts of the story and updates on the alleged shooter are further investigated.

And yet, I can access it all from something I can carry in my pocket. I have yet to turn on the tv, sit around a television with my family, or look outside to try and get the news.

Social media has given us the ability to discover information faster than ever, discuss thoughts, send condolences, and share reactions.  Keeping up with the latest news or the ability to share your opinion with the world has never been easier, or more convenient.  What a difference eleven years makes.

Note: I do not think the events of 9/11 are comparable to the events of the shooting early this morning, the stories were compared merely for a comparison of the spread of news. My heart goes out to the victims of this awful tragedy as well as family, friends, and those injured. 

The Importance of Being A Well Rounded Technologist

Everyone working in IT has heard it before: “You’re in the right field.” or “You’re in the right place at the right time, IT is booming.”  There’s no doubt that IT is in fact the place to be in today’s world. School of Information Studies Professor Anthony Rotolo recently tweeted: #NewRule: It is no longer acceptable to say, “I’m not a technology person.”

The truth is, you’re a technologist if you know how to use your iPhone, if you can’t live without your laptop, and if you check social media more than you’d like to admit, you’re a technology person.

While it’s important to find your niche in the vast field of IT, it’s also important to be well-rounded. Not only do well-rounded technologists stand out in a pile of resumes, but you’ll be able to do, make, code, and organize projects that weren’t even thought of five years ago. Part of IT is always thinking of the next best thing. Being knowledgeable about code, design, organization, development, and testing are all key parts of being a knockout in the tech world.

Talk The Talk

IT is filled with protocols and acronyms that are constantly thrown around. “Did you set up the FTP client? Make sure there’s an SSL certificate on the site and don’t let the DNS server fail under any circumstances.” For people outside of IT, these letters are alphabet soup among other mind-boggling concepts. For an average person, going on the Internet is just opening a web browser. But for technologists, it’s about using DCHP to retrieve an IP address, connecting to an AP, etc., etc. Even if you don’t know how to set up an FTP client or a DNS server, it’s important to talk the talk and to actually know what you’re talking about. Nothing is more frustrating than someone who thinks they know what’s going on and ends up creating a technological mess. As a technologist, it’s important to know what’s going on and articulate it in a way that’s easy to understand, but also accurate.

Know The Code

Knowing how to code is one thing, but knowing about code is something completely different. Learning different programming languages and utilizing them is an undoubtedly great asset to have as a technologist. However, it’s not for everyone. Personally, I know a bit of a few coding languages. I can make a basic website and database and can recognize differences between languages. I know which languages serve which purposes but I don’t know enough (yet) to build my own product or service. The beauty of IT is that I don’t need to know this. While it’d be a great help if I did, I know enough to talk to developers about their style, the way they code, why they chose the languages they did, and how to read through code and understand it. Understanding can allow me to work more closely with developers than the average person but also understand the processes behind building a product. That in itself is incredibly valuable.

Know Project Management

You may know how about IT acronyms and how to code, but it may not go anywhere if you don’t know how to manage it all. Information is all around us, and it’s quite overwhelming to think of the information you can get with a few clicks and a couple of keystrokes. People are building all the time, and it requires a lot of managing and cycles before something is done right. Managing technological projects can be tough; it requires working with technologists and business folk alike to get something done. It’s important to know how to work with both parties and talk to them in a language each of them understands. Knowing both sides and connecting them can be difficult, but it pays off if it’s done correctly.

IT’s cross between management and technology, which used to be two completely different worlds, is now more ubiquitous than ever. Enthusiasts are bridging the gap between these two fields and creating innovative products and services that were previously unheard of. Even though some people gravitate towards the more technological side while others are interested in project management, knowing what’s on the other side and how to manage these two types of people can make you an incredibly valuable asset to any project team or company. It doesn’t hurt to have a strong area of interest or talent, but make sure you can back it up on the other side of IT too.

We’re The (Digital) Kids Our Parents Warned Us About

“Get off the computer! It’s bad for your eyes. ”

“I don’t know how you can sit on that thing all day.”

“Why don’t you go outside rather than stare at that screen?”

“Who are you texting? Put that thing away while you’re at the dinner table.”

Gosh, kids these days.

Admit it, you’re guilty of being told to stop using technology. Whether it’s being glued to reality tv shows, browsing through too much Reddit, or texting your friends throughout the day, you’re dependent, if not addicted, to technology. It is no longer a personal choice to be dependent on technology, it’s now a societal pressure. Homework assignments with deadlines and sent through email, your friends rely on you to check your phone when you’re making plans for later that night, and who knows when that cute guy is going to post new pictures on Facebook!

I’m guilty of it all. I’ve sleep texted before, checked the weather online rather than look out the window, texted at the table, and sat on my laptop all day rather than going outside. I’m guilty of checking the weather on the Internet rather than just looking outside my window or opening the door. I also often experience phantom vibration syndrome, in which I think my phone is buzzing when it actually isn’t. I’ve also played the phone stacking game while at dinner with my friends and have been the first to lose. My phone is always in my pocket and I bring my laptop to work and class. I always have technology right at my fingertips and feel naked without some sort of connection to the Internet on me.

I’m afraid to admit I’m addicted to technology. I’ve contemplated books about digital dieting to learn more about the phenomenon of Internet addiction. Even WebMD posted an article about web addiction. Doctors and other technologists are researching this fascinating field and publishing more and more stories about the pros and cons of having technology as such an ubiquitous factor in our lives.

Although I love being able to check my email, tweets, and Facebook timeline virtually anytime I want, I wish I wasn’t expected to. It’s truly a vicious cycle: not wanting to check on your Internet life, being scolded that you didn’t respond quickly enough, and then checking more often than you should so you don’t miss anything. Whenever I feel like I’m catching a break, I end up spending more time on the Internet catching up with all the things I think I missed.

Your parents may be annoying when they tell you to put down your phone or turn off your computer, but they’re right. Is it really necessary for you to take a break and enjoy your nondigital life. The webpages you want to visit will always be there, your texts will stay on your phone, and your parents will appreciate your undivided attention at the dinner table. Taking a digital vacation for technology is healthy. You’re guaranteed to feel less stressed after the initial shock of not being able to Google your burning questions.

Good or bad idea: Implanted magnets under skin for strapless iPod Nano

bitshare:

Body piercer Dave Hurban thought it would be an interesting idea to mesh body modification and technology. He decided to use an iPod Nano, with the idea of not having a wrist strap as used on a more conventional wrist-watch version of the iPod.

Read More