The view from a fat white boy

So where and when would one be able to view your show?

-slender white boy

*hear hear*

I’m white but I think this kind of attitude to openess to all is a great idea!

Like Adam, when will this show be available?

Diversity should come as a natural thing…never forced…

That also means you shouldn’t be discriminating against passionate tech-oriented business people who understand strategy, customer focus and other things that in the end, truly matter just as much. Technology just for the sake of technology isn’t very useful.

you need to explain what is that ” some thing interesting “

After reading the post about “the future of white-boy-clubs” I think that the author should look for a help of psychiatrist.

I thinnk deversity is a great thing. One thing you might consider is looking for people doing cool things in the disability/accessibility area. Good luck with your new show!

Thanks, my new show should start this week.

Gender Diversity at Cisco
“Noni Allwood, Sr. Director, Human Resources, examines managing business for gender diversity, and shares insight on what Cisco is doing to minimize barriers to foster a more global, competitive workforce.”
http://newsroom.cisco.com/Newsroom/podcasts/ciscocast_noni_allwood_091406.mp3

Couldn’t hurt to publicize Mary Hodder’s Speaker’s Wiki at https://www.socialtext.net/speakers/index.cgi

I had similar thoughts at the Future of Web Apps conference in San Francisco last week. Some 400 people or so, 97% white male. The Google cocktail party was especially odd (for me), with a live DJ and flashing lights and thumping beats and a bunch of white-boy developers with glowing drinks standing around shouting at each other.

It’s a double-edged sword. Yes, there are people complaining about the lack of diversity at conferences but is that a reflection of the environment, or the lack of outreach by the conference.

But, just to get diversity, should we invite people that are “diverse” just to point to them and say “hey, lookie, we are diverse” and the people are just not qualified to speak? I hope not, but the knee-jerk reaction is probably so.

Yes, there are many, many qualified women to speak in the Bay Area and Valley. It’s just that they are not squeaky enough wheels, while the squeaky wheels are invited – but might not qualified.

Diversity should come in the form of people’s backgrounds, experiences and ideas. It should not be forced. Just because someone is a different race or sex, does not mean they are inherently different from anyone else. Thinking that they are, is the basis for racism and sexism whether you consider it to be positive or not.

As you know, there are a gazillion female bloggers. If they don’t outnumber males now, I think they will do soon. Ethnicity is more of an issue within the UK and US, as I understand it. That’s partly to do with access, but also to do with a lot of other things like elitism and the cultural identity of blogging.

Have any polls or other research been done on ethnicity and blogging?

Seems like a self serving post to me. This is something you should show by your actions and not by congratulating yourself about it. Just my take.

Perhaps transparency, diversity and openness (it’s free) are the reasons that you (and Maryam) were asked to come to ConvergeSouth next month – and why you accepted. The tagline, “Creativity on the Web for all people” isn’t just a catch phrase. Housing the conference for the second year at NC A&T State University, an HBCU, was a conscious choice on our part and we have 6 colleges to choose from.

By coming to North Carolina on October 13-14, you’re putting your money where your mouth is (well, our travel money but you were gracious enough to waive any speaking fee and make yourselves available to the diverse crowd we’re sure to get there).

Loosely paraphrased, “Acts and deeds – not words – endure.” (William James, American philospher and not the cowboy story writer)

I commented on his blog

“My friend, you need to travel the world a bit. When some of the best mobile apps are being developed in Korea, some of the best gadgets in China, software in India, how can you say it is only a white dominated world? Or in the Valley go to a TiE conference and see the UN of entrepreneurs. About females in the business, Meg, Safra, Pattie – many others would disagree…

High tech is one of the most color blind, competence based businesses in the world…could it be better? – of course, but it is not half as exclusive as some other industries”

If people think tech is bad, I invite them to try working in the diamond trade or in Chinatown,,,

My head just imploded.

Sue writes on inviting white boy Scoble to ConvergeSouth, paying his way and says this is was a way of adding to the diversity of the conference.

Is ConvergeSouth all black women?

Shelley, I am damn proud of the tech industry which laughs at Lou Dobbs as we let Indian, Israeli, Malyasian companies compete for our business. An industry where Chuck Phillips, John Thompson and other blacks can rise to the top. And Meg, and Pattie and Safra and other qualified ladies.

I hope I never see the day where tech conferences have to use EEO formulas so they are sex, age, race ratio compliant.

Like I commented earlier if you think tech is bad, go spend some time in the diamond trade…

Shelly, ConvergeSouth is hosted at NC A&T State University which is an HBCU, Historically Black College and University. There are white people, black people, people-from-India, white folks, men, women, and white boys at the conference. I guess you’re not real familiar with Greensboro, so why not register for ConvergeSouth?

I’ll see if I can report last year’s pics and ask Robert to link to them so you can see what kind of diversity of thought and idea through people we aimed for and are pretty sure we achieved.

The goal is to show folks of all colors and persuasions that creativity online is for them as much as it’s for “white boys.” We were just a year ahead with the thought, just like Greensboro is 30 seconds ahead of the curve and have a little movie to illustrate it.

And I’m sorry about Shelly’s head imploding. C’mon down to ConvergeSouth and we’ll glue it back together. We’re a cohesive sort of community. (gag me with an early joke…)

Then Sue, if the university is historically/predominantly black, why are there not more blacks among the presenters?

It’s great to see a conference other than California, good to see decent representation among women, but to have a conference in a ‘historically black university’ and have no blacks among the speakers…what a message sent.

I do appreciate the humor of your response, and wish you luck on this, but for the future, I can recommend some wonderful, and black, speakers.

Shelley, it’s awful presumptuous of you to say that the presenters are not African American, when in fact, some of them are.

Geez, facts do matter.

Maybe you should have said, “The presenters that I know are not African American,” and then you’d have been right. I think you should get to know a few more people. Maybe come to ConvergeSouth and make some new friends?

Sorry, all I had to go by was the photos I saw. I apologize, and congratulations for such a diverse conference.

We’d still love for you to come to ConvergeSouth!

We’re working on pod- and videocasts to get online but I doubt we’ll be able to videocast in real time.

Interesting topic. I really don’t care what color your skin is, as long as you have something positive to add to ANY community. The lack of “color” might be due to the lack of interest among them, I mean… If there was a show on rims, you think a more “diverse” crowd would appear? All this talk about “adding color”… you think the NAACP will add a “cracker” like me to the list?????????? It’s not ANYONES fault some groups don’t have interest in this sort of thing. Correct me if I’m wrong…..please.