Lead by Example

As members and future leaders of the tech community, we also lead our families, friends, and neighbors in adapting to and accepting new technologies. We need to lead by example in carefully adopting and using technology. A common example is that we often talk about the negative effects of spending too much time on social media, especially with our children, but what do we say when we aren't talking? What do our children and friends see? We are the passionate ones in this subject and as such, we must be the first to lay down our theoretical weapons of social isolation to converse and interact with one another. Would you go to a dentist that never brushes his teeth? While our hypocrisy may not be as socially unaccepted, the consequences on those we are trying to help and guide will be similar, disbelief and loss of authority. Practice what we preach, and preach what is right, not what is socially accepted.

How Much is Enough?

When we play a sport, we become tired, it may get dark, we may have to go inside or come home. Enough is almost self-defined by our own physical limits and by the demands of others. We and those responsible for us set those limits. In contrast, playing Candy Crush or Halo doesn't have those natural limitations, by the time my eyes hurt from playing too much it could have been days or many hours. I have my smartphone everywhere I go, my gaming or social media use could really only be determined by its battery life or social norms of the situations and people around me. How much is enough in those cases? Every user, and all users under that users influence, should strive to put a limit on their use of technology. Some professions may have to be on longer than others for work purposes but for recreational or at-home use, restrictions still need to be made. The same goes for our children, they should have opportunities to build friendships and socialize, not "texting" buddies and online friends, and we are responsible for helping them. In the end, no one can or really should tell how much is enough, we should be responsible and set limits upon ourselves and upon those we care for.

Teenagers and Technology

Mass of Amateurization

Isolation used to dominate cultures due to the difficulties of communicating, traveling, and understanding each other. Now, information has flooded the earth to the point where there is almost nowhere that you can go to escape the inundation. Everyone has an opinion, whether good or bad, and we have to filter through that the sea of trash to find the truly worthwhile treasures. This has made our problem, the problem of mass amateurization. Instead of a few professionals giving us advice and services, hundreds and even thousands of amateurs feed us there thoughts. The old often look to the young to help them with all the new technology, but even the youth are no more than users, limited in their knowledge and abilities. We can not spread ourselves too thin that we don't even know more than the superficial things that we are doing; we can not fall completely to amateurism. We have to keep a balance; we have to filter what comes our way and be active participants, not idle users. Facebook, Twitter, and even LinkedIn, captivate and distract their users past their own beneficial usefulness. The power that used to be held by a few: communication, publication, specialization; is substituted by millions of semi-reliable sources. This mass of new sources, however, has enabled many wonderful gems to be placed before the world. We need to find those gems, and strive to become producers of quality items, and not just consumers of mediocre junk.

Equality in the Sciences

In a meeting with the Skype division lead at Microsoft, he asked the only female intern in our entire division, "What made you want to major in CS?". Her answer hits one of the core ways to achieve diversity in the sciences, mathematics, and engineering careers; It was, that she grew up playing with a self-programmable robotics toy that interested her. The stereotype that programmers, mathematicians, scientists, and engineers are only men and that it's a "man's" job prevents many brilliant women from pursuing a career in those fields. These positions are becoming essential in today's society and women can, and should, play a role in that development. How can we stop the spread of this contagious way of thinking? By addressing it at the heart of problem, the family and early childhood development. Math, science, and engineering are not only for men! Women need to know that they are welcome in those fields and we are the ones that can help our and rising generations to partake in the glorious future we are making.

The Development Cycle

Big corporations like Microsoft and Apple are finally learning a lesson that open source developers have known for years, release early and release often. Yearly releases of the Apple OS has become a staple and expectation of their clientele over the past few years. Microsoft Office 365 is a constantly changing and updating software that users can subscribe to in order to receive the latest and greatest. Yet open source developers have adhered to this principle since the development of Linux and even earlier. Consumers of a product want to see their feedback and their ideas change and shape what they use; this is the idea to which the "new" development cycle of software companies is accommodating. Agile or bazaar, whatever you want to call it, is a change and one that is for the betterment of software.

The Church and Technology

"I am a Mormon". This ad campaign has helped in bridging the great divide of public opinion on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I first heard about the "I am a Mormon" campaign in Uruguay during my mission for the Church and sadly, I missed the brilliance of it. Ignorance about our faith has been one of the major causes of persecution throughout the years and technology brings information to people. The Church realized that. As a result, Mormons are no longer those preppy people in white shirts and ties, but normal people with jobs, lives and difficulties. No longer are Google searches about Mormons polluted with lies and false information, but links to real profiles of members and resources provided by the Church. The Church has harnessed technology to fight ignorance and to help others get to know our purpose better, as members, we should too.