Thank You, Etsy

Image by Etsy Brand Design Team

Via Wikimedia Commons Public Domain Etsy

Part of collaborating in online communities is collaborating with people from all backgrounds. The online marketplace Etsy realized that even though their main consumers are female, they did not have enough female software engineers. In fact, by December of 2011, only one of their 40 newly hired software engineers was a woman, making a total of 35% of their technologists female. 

My first thought of how to make this workplace more equal was to just hire more female coders, but Etsy found an even better solution. They decided to invest in training women, with the hope of hiring them in the future. This “Hacker School” had over 600 applications from potential students for the Summer of 2012. 

Eventually, this 600 was narrowed down to 23 actual students. By the end of the summer, eight were hired by Etsy and five were female. The “Hacker School” grew in the summer of 2013 with the support from Dropbox, GitHib, and PhotoShelter. I am excited to see companies like these embrace what movies and documentaries, such as Code: Debugging the Gender Gap, are fighting for. 

To read more on how Etsy is supporting women in technology, click here.

-Hannah Leigh Johnson

Still Smarter than Siri

Image by Apple Inc.

Via Wikimedia Commons WitherOrNot Siri

Everyday, I find myself using the “Siri” function on my iPhone. I ask her to call my fiancé, to text my boss, email a fellow student, and how long it will take me to get home. Although she seems to be very smart and helpful when completing these tasks, sometimes I wonder if Siri is as smart as she seems.

The answer us undeniably no. Siri is able to complete these tasks because she is programed a certain way. If I say “Call Mom,” she will call my mom, as that is my mom’s contact name in my phone. Although, if I say “Call my fiancé,” she will not know who to call and will not be able to complete this task as she does not know which contact in my phone is my fiancé, as the words “my fiancé” is not his contact name.

Check out a list of commands that Apple’s Siri can complete for you here.

Like all other computers, Siri can follow a set of programed algorithms. If we stray want to use her function, we have to follow those algorithms to complete our desired task. While computers can use elements artificial intelligence (see this BBC video on artificial intelligence to learn more), it is up to us to program these computers with our own human intelligence to follow our commands and achieved the desired outcome.

-Hannah Leigh Johnson

Civil Inattention

Image by Marco Verch

Via Wikimedia Commons Media Scrolling Photo

Sociologist Erving Hoffman defined civil inattention as the various ways individuals physically within a close area internally distance themselves from those around them, while acknowledging their presence, by not involving through conversation or interactions. If you would like to learn more about this concept, read about Hoffman’s definition here, or watch this brief video.

As many of my interactions with others happen online, I realized I also practice a great deal of civil inattention not only in real life with those physically near me, but over the internet as well. More often than not, I find myself scrolling through Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook, acknowledging the presence of those “friends” or “followers,” yet I do not actually interact with them. I don’t even pay attention to who is posting or what they posted. Once in awhile, a piece of content will catch my eye, but rarely will I engage by commenting or sharing the content. If I do engage, it will be through a small gesture of hitting “like” or “love”. 

-Hannah Leigh Johnson

Creative Differences

Image by lumaxart

Via Wikimedia Commons Teamwork Photo

Previously in my blog, I discussed Tuckman’s 5 Stages of Group Development. This week I collaborated with five other University of Arizona students to present on these stages, using the 2003 Paramount Pictures movie School of Rock as our example.

If you are unfamiliar with this movie, watch this preview. 

To present on this topic, our group had to go through all five stages, which are forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. We formed as five students who barely knew each other. We stormed when choosing an example for the presentation. We normed when we finally settled into our roles and were able to preform this week. Now that our presentation is over, we are adjourning.

Including my group, a total of six groups went through this process. While many also used popular movies to exemplify Tuckman’s 5 Stages, two stood out. One was a group using a sports team forming, while the other used the TV series Friends. 

Each group was not only able to be creative with this project, but were able to demonstrate presentation skills that will continue to be used throughout their lives.

-Hannah Leigh Johnson