Disqus - Latest Comments for cathybrooks

Re: I Could Have Bought 25 New Dogs for that Price

cathybrooks — Thu, 27 Jun 2013 00:26:05 -0000

I'm thinking that Minties would make a perfect snack for all The Hydrant Club kids here in Las Vegas :)

Re: Moving Past Brogramming

cathybrooks — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 01:25:33 -0000

No one is perfect and we all make mistakes ... not everyone takes responsibility and takes action to rectify them, though. Appreciate the accountability, Joe.

Re: Gender specific tech events: Are they counter productive?

cathybrooks — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 14:13:38 -0000

Oh gee, a snark comment posted by an anonymous man. Surprise, surprise. For the record, I'm not a coder and never claimed to be. That was a comment system fail as it wasn't intended as code ... just used <> instead of ( ) ... that would be a style error to which I will admit.

Re: Gender specific tech events: Are they counter productive?

cathybrooks — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 19:31:20 -0000

The short answer is that yes, <enter minority="" here=""> specific events DO have value and a place ... This, however, is far from a binary "they're good" "they're bad" discussion. Few things in the world are, especially in the world where we live today. It would be nice to think that we live in such an egalitarian society that such specific type events weren't necessary; but to believe that is to also believe in unicorns and the tooth fairy. Generally I eschew an excess of <enter minority="" here=""> only gatherings - at least when taken as a staple of diet because in *that* context hey further exacerbate divisions and create ghettos rather than expanding communities.

That said, the simple fact is that the "general" events (e.g. non <enter minority="" here=""> specific events) are, at least in the technology sector, almost always (and by almost always I mean well, about 90 percent of the time) populated by white males of a certain social/educational set with one of the few variables being age sector. The result of entering an event like that for some minority groups is ... well ... they don't go. The result - homogenized, flat content that fails to take diversity into its view. I'd not be the first to say (and there are actually folks with scientific background who'd be better to comment on this than I) that when you have a group that is all the same, it is impossible to get any result (e.g. content, ideas) that is anything other than ... well ... the same. In order to bring diversity of thought you must bring diversity of perspective and part of that is gender (as well as race/ethnicity, culture etc...).

So what's my point? Simple ... until such time as every event proffers a fully and truly diverse landscape, there need to be <enter minority="" here=""> specific gatherings that serve to help grow these groups, encourage them, educate them and provide foundation that they then can take into these other environments and help bring diversity.

It's not an either/or ... it's AND.

As someone who sits squarely in three minority classes (gay, Jewish woman) I can tell you from my personal experience that I relish going into the general attendance (e.g. not specialty group) events as I know that I bring diversity ... but my ability to do that, and many of the ideas and inspirations I have brought have come from having a chance to connect, share ideas and gain empowerment from a gathering that is focused on one of the aforementioned "special" groups.

Re: Living Downtown: Our Story Can Be Yours

cathybrooks — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 13:48:51 -0000

Love to hear that there's a family/kid focus with The Downtown Project - especially since I'm moving there in February to be part of the adventures as well! My endeavor definitely has synergy with what you're doing and would love to meet up when I'm back.

Re: Candid talk from entrepreneur Gina Bianchini how not to f*** up

cathybrooks — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 12:12:58 -0000

I have to say that I'm quite surprised to read this article - mostly because the quotes noted bear little resemblance to the actual facts of what was said. I conducted this interview and at no point did Gina say most of what was said in the manner it's related above.

She neither said nor did she imply that she believed Ning raised too much money. In fact, she did not comment on the amount of money Ning raised at all. The statement that Gina believes "Ning raised too much money and that was fucked" is false.

Gina's words about what she learned at Ning also were taken entirely out of context. What she *actually* said is that it was the most formative experience of her professional life and she learned from it immensely. The implication that her response was simply, "What didn't I learn at Ning?" is inaccurate.

I've been honored to be part of FailCON for the last several years, conducting three of they keynote fireside chats. The amazing thing about this conference is that major industry players show up and are entirely candid about the mistakes they've made and how they've learned from them. To have them misquoted in this manner sends the message to speakers that they cannot be candid or else they run the risk of their statements being misrepresented ... which then defeats the purpose of having an event where failures are shared publicly.

As a rule I know this outlet to be one of editorial integrity and am looking forward to seeing how this post will be amended/changed to reflect the actual conversation that took place ... would be especially nice if some of the more important points Gina made - specifically around gender equality, building teams and mistakes that can be addressed on that front - might be included.

Re: SXSW PanelPicker

cathybrooks — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 21:53:16 -0000

With disclosure that I just began consulting with this team I have to say the reason I stepped up to join them was seeing that they not only have solutions that are real but they are not afraid to ... um ... how to say it politely ... rattle cages. Expect a session that provokes, incites and may even piss some people off ... but that's okay. They'll probably be the people who are posers and don't really have a solution anyway. :)

Re: SXSW PanelPicker

cathybrooks — Sat, 18 Aug 2012 18:55:19 -0000

You raise a great point, Barbara that I hope we will have a chance to discuss at SXSW ... which is that in today's world of content creation, it's a different game for the independent folks with regards to financing. You need to think long-term and building community not just for audience of a specific project but to ensure that a future project can also get made!

Re: SXSW PanelPicker

cathybrooks — Sat, 18 Aug 2012 18:53:34 -0000

It's interesting indeed as so many speakers today gauge the impact of their talk by the volume/content of tweets afterwards...

Re: SXSW PanelPicker

cathybrooks — Sat, 18 Aug 2012 18:52:44 -0000

Appreciate your comment, Kim. It is truly in the silence where the golden moments of stories arise!

Re: SXSW PanelPicker

cathybrooks — Sat, 18 Aug 2012 18:52:10 -0000

Thanks, Kate. Definitely intended to help galvanize creativity :)

Re: SXSW PanelPicker

cathybrooks — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 12:37:38 -0000

Having had a chance to witness the process of this film's development - from its inception through finally the release - have been fascinated not only to see the way in which the film actually got made but to see the unique community that grew around it. It seems to represent a real paradigm shift for independent film - the idea that leveraging community to get a film made is merely the first step. That in creating something bigger than the film itself the result not only is a powerful film but a huge potential for future projects.

Re: Inside Dropbox’s Reverse-Engineered Company Culture

cathybrooks — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 12:28:39 -0000

Have to say as as somewhat freshly minted photo-taking junkie (got myself a Nikon DX3100 several months ago), Dropbox has become invaluable to me. The auto upload from any device that I plug in - whether my iPhone, my Nikon or even my Sony Bloggie - has actually catalyzed my taking even more pictures and video. It would be great if their upload folder would sort by the device from which the content was taken but maybe they'll get to that :)

Re: SXSW PanelPicker

cathybrooks — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 13:52:22 -0000

If there is any company that can speak to the power of Open Source it's Mozilla. Great supporting materials provided too.

Re: SXSW PanelPicker

cathybrooks — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 13:51:35 -0000

Radical ethnography. Admittedly had no idea what this was ... then I started digging and realized that not only is it super important but that Kate is pretty much *the* go to know-it-all on the subject. Who better to have on stage at SXSW?

Re: SXSW PanelPicker

cathybrooks — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 13:50:15 -0000

Force of nature. Firestarter. Rabblerouser - all words that describe Cindy Gallop perfectly. This session would be an awesome addition to the SXSW program.

Re: SXSW PanelPicker

cathybrooks — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 13:49:32 -0000

Ah the back channel ... the all important emphasis that proves it's not *what* you know but *who* you know ... hope to see this one.

Re: Kinesio Tape at the Olympics: Science fiction?

cathybrooks — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 13:33:47 -0000

Actually this article misses the mark. Yes, there is a type of tape that's used but it is the **application** of the tape that is the difference. And as someone who has actually had this method used for severe back injury as a method of temporary alleviation of discomfort/pain in order to allow me mobility while I healed, I can vouch personally for the veracity of this method.

Re: SXSW PanelPicker

cathybrooks — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 13:10:43 -0000

Truly hoping to bring this performance piece/workshop to SXSW 2013! Honoring SXSW's roots as a music event, figured that a performance piece was a good way to set the stage and from there we'll do something unorthodox ... learn to sit still and see what happens when we do.

Re: “Where are the Women At” Database

cathybrooks — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 12:34:43 -0000

HELL YES! This is an amazing idea with two women who definitely fall into the category of get things done types. Having produced an array of top tech industry conferences, produced tech TV and such over the years, I can personally state that this resource would be invaluable.

Re: 5 Mobile Website Usability Rules You Cannot Afford To Break

cathybrooks — Sun, 06 May 2012 04:54:39 -0000

Thanks for the simple guidelines. As someone who's working squarely in the realm of mobile web it's a daily chore to wade through the morass of content from businesses/brands that seem unable to grasp the fact that by failing to accommodate people who are accessing their content via mobile devices (a percentage that is growing exponentially by pretty much all accounts).

Re: So It Begins – Welcome to The Everything Project…

cathybrooks — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 11:04:43 -0000

Thanks for the heads-up Adriano ... if you would, can you send an email to support@doat.com with some details about what you're seeing?

Re: So It Begins – Welcome to The Everything Project…

cathybrooks — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 11:04:04 -0000

Thanks, Nathan!

Re: So It Begins – Welcome to The Everything Project…

cathybrooks — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 11:03:40 -0000

Hi TJ and thanks for your comment! Yes, for now our product, while in beta, is an HTML5 version only. We are finalizing native versions for iPhone, Android and Windows Phone that we will launch later in the Spring.

Re: Scoble: hit man of Silicon Valley?

cathybrooks — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 00:53:10 -0000

Hit Man of Silicon Valley ... I'm totally buying you a fedora.