Watching the new Netflix documentary this evening, The Great Hack, which focuses upon Cambridge Analytica and it’s involvement in the USA 2016 election and the UK’s Brexit campaigns.
The cliche of “data is more valuable than oil” could never be more true.
We need to learn more about the data we put out there, technology is as much of a benefit to people’s lives as it is a daily privacy struggle.
I definitely recommend giving it a watch 📺
If you have a spare hour and Netflix, I’d suggest you watch the Melinda Gates episode on My Next Guest Needs No Introduction which is David Lettermen’s show where he interviews some very high profile people.
Melinda Gates discusses the importance of gender equality and women in technology, as well as philanthropy’s role in society; and her new book The Moment of Lift which I will definitely be ordering now!
Take a look:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-47910524
I was reading this article on the like and stream limit that the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) want to implement to restriction to under 18’s. Although I agree that more needs to be done from a governance level towards the usage of social media; I personally feel that instead of putting in place limits such as, age limits, won’t that just mean more children lie about their age… leading to even greater consequences?
Before limitations are put in place, there needs to be a greater effort at educating children on how to use social media safely and securely, allowing them to flourish in technology, but with the emotional equipment to do so.
Take a look:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-47933521
After being fortunate enough to be a finalist at the EveryWoman in Technology Awards for Rising Star this week in which I met some amazing women who are doing incredible things such as the founder of Kizcode teaching children to code in Turkey and Africa under threatening conditions.
This weekend I’m lucky to be spending it with some friends, one of which was a fellow IT placement student at GSK with me, who is now doing great things at her graduate job at Boeing.
Lucky to be surrounded by such great women!
Our culture now means we use social media as a way of showing public affection, this is particularly great if your partner can’t be with you physically and with the use of video calls you can have a virtual date wherever you are in the world 🌎
In other recent posts, I’ve spoken about fake personas online, especially in reference to Fyre Festival etc. So if you aren’t celebrating Valentine’s this year then don’t worry, you aren’t alone and just because when you scroll through social media you see happy faces, it doesn’t mean that there is happiness or perfection there. So don’t let that get you down!
That being said, I hope everyone enjoys their day 💕🤓
Take a look at the inspirational Dame Stephanie Shirley who is a big part in the WCIT where I am a Journeyman.
It is unimaginable now that as a woman you wouldn’t be listened to just because of your name, but I know this was a very common thing and to some extent it still is today, not just with women and men but preconceptions when you read somebody’s name or CV before actually meeting them.
Unfortunately, it is still common for women to have to choose between a career and a family, often that is an individuals choice and increasingly more companies are willing to help with flexible hours etc. But there is still a choice to be made and that’s a lot of pressure on a woman’s mental health.
I think it’s safe to say that social media has become a platform for greatness but also a place in which people do not show the truth about themselves or others, I’m guilty of this too, most of my Instagram posts are from when I’ve been out doing fun things, not just of me getting home after work and watching Netflix most evenings. There is a culture motivated by likes and this often leads to photos or posts that distort the person behind them.
But I think it’s becoming ever more apparent the power that some people have on social media. We see this from the US President, so why shouldn’t be expect this from your everyday person?
So I was watching the Netflix documentary about the Fyre Festival, it’s shocking how misled thousands of people have been and I feel so bad for the rest of the Fyre company who were pouring their passion for tech into creating what they described as the “Uber of the entertainment industry”. The way in which the manipulation could happen is through social media (mainly Instagram) influencers and super models who they paid $250,000+ for one post about the festival. The result was disappointment from the customers who not only got ripped off by the “festival”, but that’s now reflected in who advertised it. Obviously, the models like Hailey Beiber and Kendall Jenner weren’t to know the fraudulent activity going on behind the scenes, but if they weren’t intending to go to the festival and be a part of it then is it ethical they take such a huge sum of money to persuade others to go?
The US government is now looking into stricter laws on how you advertise through social media, you’ll probably notice that when a celebrity endorses a product on social media and is being paid for it you’ll see the hashtags #ad or #sponsored etc. But that doesn’t mean that they are necessarily associated with that brand and product, they’ve just accepted a large sum of money for their PR team to send a tweet or for them to make a quick Instagram video.
Social media can be used for great things, but stuff like being paid to post something is a controversial matter if the person posting it doesn’t truly believe in what they are posting, it’s just adding to the fake persona of the individual whilst also influencing and manipulating others, particularly young and vulnerable people who think if a product is what their idol uses and they can have it too, that’s the goal.
I support the celebrities and influencer platforms, but I hope that something like the Fyre festival is learnt from and that kids aren’t getting caught in the paid advertisements.
Let us know your thoughts on paid ads below or on our social media @TashaITGirl 🤓📲
I was watching The Grand Tour episode from Friday 8th Feb, and in their usual “Conversation Street” part of the show they started to talk about a new racing league which is going to be women only and their thoughts on the matter, and probably the best thing Richard Hammond has ever said is that we should be encouraging girls from an early age to be getting into go karting and racing.
I completely agree with this, it’s the same for the STEM industries, I always get asked how do we get more women into tech and to some extent it’s too late by the time they are at university etc, to gain a real increase we need to be putting the effort into exposing girls under 10 to what they can achieve in STEM.
I can understand why in sport there are segregated leagues and teams etc, especially if it’s to do with different types of weight categories, like boxing, however when it is something like racing I don’t think it’s necessarily encouraging to girls because often it can be seen as an inferior league, like it is in football with less TV coverage, sponsorship and pay. I think separate leagues are fine with different purposes, if there is maybe then an ultimate one that brings together all to compete?
Let us know your thoughts below or on social media 🏅🤓
Delighted to be announced as a finalist in the 2019 FDM EveryWoman Tech Awards among many inspiring #WomenInTech 🤓 in the Rising Star category!
Looking forward to meeting other women in technology at the award show in March and am very grateful for the nomination and recognition.
Taking place to celebrate International’s Women’s Day, the awards are a timely reminder that only 15% of people working in STEM roles in the U.K. are female and just 5% of leadership positions in the tech industry are held by women.
“Achieve, Elevate and Inspire” is this year’s rally cry
Looking back over the past year, it has been a whirlwind and I hope this can bring me more opportunities to dispel the STEM stereotype.
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