Technology

Kiki Kannibal has basically been sexually harassed and terrorized on the internet for the past 5 years, since she was 13 years old.

From: 9 Social Media Topics That Need to Die

I like anything that wishes death on social media memes but this one in particular rang true:

Joining the Conversation

This was probably a great phrase at the emergence of all of this, but it’s become so diluted that it means little anymore. Join which conversation? For what purpose? With whom? And what then? Let’s start talking about the INTENT behind the conversation in the first place, and the underlying value of being present and engaged with the right people who give a rip what you have to say, not just anyone with a frontal lobe and an internet connection.

I'd like to get that tattooed on my upper arm, so when I hear other people say 'start a conversation' about a project I am invested in, I can just flex my conversation-stopping pipes and we can start talking real strategy.

So check out this fascinating little peice of image-based sociological research: Gender, Technology, and Toys R Us.

The author, Lisa Wade, checked out gifts for the geeky boys, vs gifts for the geeky girls using the Toy's R'Us suggestion centre. She points out that in terms of defining interests Toy's R' US gives very similar options for boys and girls ie; arsty, sporty, outdoorsy, techie etc.. But given that, the gift suggestions are very different. The breakdown is essentially this:

So that’s 13 building/engineering games (like Lego and KNEX), 3 ipod accessories, 4 portable DVD players, 2 MP3 players, and a few other things.

What do girls get? Seven ipod accessories, 5 portable DVD players, 4 MP3 players, 3 laptop computers, 3 cameras, and one building/engineering game. One.

For the first time today the kids are eager to engage in constructive activity; you’d think they were playing musical chairs from their mad scramble to take seats at their respective terminals. The children are more respectful to each other in the computer lab, amiably coaching each other on how to best search for information and recommending their favorite websites. Derek goes directly to an online gaming site that he likes, while Diquan uses Google Image Search to look for pictures of exotic snakes. Tony has a minimal grasp on the rules of chess and isn’t very good at the game but he likes playing it online anyway. Corey is typing the names of his favorite rappers into Google and clicking links somewhat arbitrarily, mostly looking at the pictures that appear as the pages load.

Wow, a quote from School of Hard Knocks. Described by the author as;
"In 2008 I spent some time working in a special classroom for kids with behavior problems in one of Philadelphia's most notorious public high schools, in one of the city's worst neighborhoods. The experience resulted in an seven part web series that tells in great detail what it's like to be inside room 315."

Read the whole series, it's great.