Women in Programming

There seems to be an issue regarding the number of women in programming. There just isn't that many. At least not that many compared to the number of males. From looking up this topic, the key concepts I grasped were that:

- Women are extremely underrepresented in computing;
- Increasing women’s participation in computing would be desirable;
- Higher women participation would involve specific ‘inclusive’ behaviours.

As a woman in programming, I have noticed the small ratio of women to men in the classroom and the workplace. I found it intriguing, but not so much alarming. I understand support the desire for more female programmers. Much like any other creative jobs, diversity in employees allows for diversity in the work. You can gain new perspectives and insight that a single gender can't provide.

I don’t, however, agree with any emphasis on comparing the two genders. Yes, there are fewer women, but that doesn't mean women as a whole are any less capable. Capability doesn't rely on gender, but interest. I feel that an equal number of women have the ability to become programmers; they may have just chosen an alternate career path. It's possible that because programming is male dominated, it is viewed as a male career. Similar to construction, physical labour aside. As a result, fewer women attempt to enter that world. This is simply a boundary to be broken through proper advertising. I think through highlighting current female programmers, it can inspire other women that can relate to their works. Programming needs to come across more desirable. Again, maybe these capable women are just choosing alternate career paths either because they are more suited or desired. Either way, it seems like the female to male ratio in computing is rising, however slowly. Once it has evened out, I feel like a steady / consistent number of women will start choosing that career path as it becomes less gender dominated. Much like any other nongender dominate career.

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In my attempts to research this topic, I stumbled upon an amusing website comparing women to programming languages. It describes the pros and cons to each language as if each were an individual type of woman. I found it quite amusing. If you have the time, feel free to check it out.

Programming Languages are Like Women:

http://www.columbia.edu/~sss31/rainbow/prog.lang.html

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"That's the thing about people who think they hate computers. What they really hate is lousy programmers." - Larry Niven

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Sources:

- http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~women/resources/aroundTheWeb/hostedPapers/Syllabus-Camp.pdf
- http://www.itworld.com/business/80001/women-programming
- http://www.rcss.ed.ac.uk/sigis/public/documents/SIGIS_D08_05_computing.pdf

Internet Killed the Television Star

To further indulge my previous post, I wanted to mention the adaptation the world of marketing must be taking to compensate for today’s generation of On Demand consumers. The concept of ‘push’ and ‘pull’ marketing was mentioned in class the other day wherein consumers are more likely to ‘pull’ in information relevant to them rather than consider the unrelated advertisements ‘pushed’ onto them.

I mentioned before how with modern technology audiences have the ability to skip over commercials with ease. Most prefer to either stream video content or would rather wait an extra 10 minutes before watching something on their PVR just to avoid commercials. Now that advertisers have a decline in ‘pushing’ their ads onto television viewers, alternative methods must be taken.

Some of these methods include product placement, viral advertising, collecting user information for mobile or internet advertising, etc. Probably the most effective method is tapping into social media. An individual is more likely to try out a product if others say how good it is rather than the creator / company do so. (Of course the company will say it’s great; they’re the ones who made it and want you to buy it.) Advertisers are starting to realize this by cutting down on add champagnes and increasing free samples to individuals that will do the advertisements for them. This may include advocates for that product, well-known youtubers, celebrities, etc. By doing this, they can attract more members of their target audience for fractions of the cost.

It’s amazing how information spreads when you tell one person, who tells three of their friends, who do the same, and it goes on and on. Imagine utilizing social networking mediums like facebook, youtube, or twitter where one advocate sings their praises to your product and their 1000+ friends / subscribers read the post. Then half of them spread the word to their own 1000+ friends / subscribers. I find this form of marketing to be brilliant. I think it annihilates the need for commercials entirely.

The question however remains, how long will commercials stick around now that less and less people are watching them? Have they become a dying breed of advertisements that just refuse to give up? Maybe they continue out of habit / persistence. Though, would we miss them the day they cease to air?

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“Radio killed variety and TV killed radio, and the internet will kill television and it will go on and on.” - Victoria Wood
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Sources:

- http://www.cdf.toronto.edu/~csc300h/winter/12/lectures/Week9.pdf
- http://www.alajrami.com/blog/

Media on Demand

I feel like the people in today’s culture are subconsciously consumed with media on demand. Once upon a time individuals had to work around schedules to see the content they wanted. There were limited times and channels on television for watching the news, cartoons, movies, etc. I remember watching ‘The Zone’ from 3pm-6pm every weekday after school. If there was ever a movie I liked that was going to air, I made sure I set up my VCR to catch every minute so I could rewatch it again and again. If you missed it, you missed it. You would have to wait until it aired again, whenever that would be.

Today, media schedules have become a thing of the past. Now we work media around us. With the introduction of PVR, TiVo, Digital Cable Boxes, On Demand movie providers, video streaming, etc. there's no longer a reason to wait for the content we want. If you’ve missed an episode of your favourite show, or simply just want to watch it later, you can stream it from somewhere off the internet. Everything has become so accessible.

A question I want to raise with this is, does media on demand save or waste our time? Yes, now we can skip over the commercials and watch a relaxing tv show or movie when it’s convenient for us, but with everything so accessible, we’re tempted to watch more than we would have when it was limited. Rather than watching an episode per week as intended, some people watch entire seasons in a day. Personally, before I only had the time to keep track of at most maybe 4 different shows, because that was what fit my schedule. Now with internet video streaming, I keep track of at least 10.

With that in mind, does making everything more accessible to the public really in their best interests? I’m not sure. Though with the services they provide, I’m tempted not to ask.

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“The Internet lives where anyone can access it.” – Vinton Cerf

Calling all G-Mail users! ...Continued

It was mentioned in my previous post that “users have been reassured their private searching information will be used only for advertising.”

Something to remember is that in order for these beloved services to remain free, advertising is necessary. Google’s new policy is meant to bring in more ad revenue. Yes, your browsing history will be tracked if you consent to the new policy, but you can’t be personally identified with it. Until then, I don’t think users have much to worry about.

In order for these services to remain free, we need to endure a few ads on our sidebars now and then. I see no harm in having my browsing history aid in making these ads appeal to me more. Regardless, I’m still not going to click on them. However, we need to remember that some people do click them, and that helps Google maintain its free services for us.

With that, I pose some questions to my readers:

Do you approve of the new privacy policy if it means continuing free services? If you disagree with the policy, could you really stop using its services, or have they become too far integrated in your online routine?

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“Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts.” - Arnold Bennett

Calling all G-Mail users!

Starting today, March 1^st, G-mail is starting to reinforce their new privacy policy. By linking a user’s G-mail, Youtube, and Google Plus accounts, information will be shared across all the services. In doing so, Google plans to track user online behaviour down to their every click. Though, users have been reassured their private searching information will be used only for advertising.

The question of online privacy gets raised with this new policy. Some people feel uncomfortable having their online actions monitored / tracked. Others fear the possible heightened risk of hackers by making their information even more accessible.

The question then becomes, “Are the privileges worth more than our principles?” Services such as electronic mail, video on demand, and social networking have become widely known and used among the average individual. Can we ignore the invasion of our privacy to continue our use over these services?

In the end, it becomes an issue of whether we desire the services more than the protection of our privacy. Since these services have become so integrated into our society, users are hesitant to abandon them, though they may not support every aspect of them. This causes users to accept new policies and voluntarily, though disapprovingly, relinquish their privacy rights.

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“You already have zero privacy – get over it.” – Scott McNealy

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Sources:

- http://www.newschannel10.com/story/17061465/googles-n

Welcome Back!

Alas, reading week has come to an end. It’s time for us all to get back to work and back to our blogs. I hope everyone had a productive reading week, if not by catching up on readings, then at the very least catching up on sleep.

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"Smile, breathe, and go slowly." - Thich Nhat Hanh