The Power Of Indespensible

by

Quick; I want you to imagine the makers of smart phone or console that refused to have Netflix on it. Wait, or maybe they decide they don't want any Facebook technology on it. Or maybe, just maybe they don't want anything to do with that whole "Twitter thing."

Can you see it? Nope, neither can I. And why can't I see it? Because Netflix, Facebook, Twitter, Google, and other companies have made themselves more or less indispensable to large customer bases. They're not going anywhere, they've learned from the mistakes of their predecessors (such as Facebook learned from MySpace and Netflix learn from,well, everybody), understand that they can make up the infrastructure of people's lives.

Read more

Thoughts on Dictation

by

You've been reading my last week of posts. Does anything seem different? Does my writer's voice seem different? I'm not sure, so I'm asking, but the reason I ask these questions is because I've engaged in little experiment it's been very revealing.

I've been using Dragon Dictate from Nuance. Its dictation software (obviously), and I've been hearing very good things about it. Since I write a lot, of course I figured I should try some dictation software to see if it improves my writing, and my writing speed.

I am incredibly impressed.

Read more

Cleantech, Greentech, and Geekery

by

You may have noticed lately that the News of the Day links that Bonnie and I post sometimes contains sections on Cleantech and Greentech. Now I admit I include those instinctively, but this led me to ask myself an interesting question: are Cleantech and Greentech jobs and careers actually “geeky”? Of course you know I'm going to explore this issue.

So without further ado, let's take a look at the question: are Cleantech and Greentech jobs geeky?

Well, yes they are.

Okay, okay, I have to go into more detail. You're not going to let me get away with it otherwise. So now, let's explore why Cleantech and Greentech jobs are indeed for geeks.

  • They are about science. Science is geeky. Okay, some people may say economics is a science and it's not geeky (or not even a science to some). Me, I argue most sciences are partially or totally geeky. So I'm going to leave it there. We can argue about economics in another post.
  • Cleantech and Greentech involved interesting and unique applications of technology. When you have windows that took themselves, bacteria that make fuel, and all the other wonders of Cleantech and Greentech, these are in credibly geeky.
  • Cleantech and Greentech are about changing the world. Changing the world with cool technology and science is very, very geeky.
  • Cleantech and Greentech involve a lot of imagination. People don't just wake up one day and find ways to use holographic film to improve solar panels. Imagination is very geeky.
  • Finally, Cleantech and Greentech are futuristic. As much as some of us love our dystopian science fiction novels, we'd rather live in a clean bright Star Trek-esque future. Cleantech and Greentech help build that future.

So is Cleantech and Greentech geeky? The answer is simple: hell yes!

Now, assured of being geeks, you scientific types go forth and save us from environmental problems, peak oil, and everything else we've gotten ourselves into. And remember: you are geeks.

– Steven Savage