Category: Nerdery

2016 has certainly been a surprising political year for many people. Many words have been written from every perspective about the how and why of campaigns and elections happening the way they did (and what it means for the future). In my admittedly limited study of coverage, though, I’ve been surprised that many people view what has transpired as novel, unprecedented, even.

The political events of the past year certainly have new characteristics, but a review of history reveals that, while perhaps not common, shocking governmental upsets, defamation and fake news are anything but neoteric.

Continue reading History Repeats Itself

Since writing about varying opinions on social media and ownership of online content, I’ve been musing about ‘online presence’ as a concept in general. Last night I mentioned to a friend that in 10 years (or less), it’s very likely that some of the basic web development skills we teach at The Iron Yard to help people launch careers in software development will be either an expectation for most knowledge workers’ jobs, automated in some way, or, more likely, a combination of both.

This topic is a complex one without singular answers, but I thought I’d share a few thoughts that have been rolling around in my mind as of late. You can see a list of the posts in the series on this page. Here’s Part 3:

Societal consequences

In the first two posts of this series, I discussed the social and professional consequences of not having an online presence. Beyond our personal and work lives, though, many signs point to an online presence being a part of the way people function in modern society.

This topic is way above my pay grade, so I’ll lean heavily on people who have carefully studied the impact of technology on society.

Continue reading Is an Online Presence Mandatory? Part 3: Societal Consequences

Did you know 72 percent of people globally believe that connected home devices offer hackers new ways to steal data? The internet and technology really does make you think about things you didn’t think you needed to know! The world I live in is steeped in technology. I don’t consider myself a true early adopter, but even still, in the last few months I’ve used modern technology to diagnose an issue with my car, find a mountain biking trail, have clothing sent to my home, exchange money, navigate to new destinations and more—much of which happened on a computer the size of a wallet. The latest version of Apples mobile operating system comes standard with a tool to control smart homes. But what exactly does a smart home look like I hear you ask? Well, take a look at this installation in primrose hill – from a home cinema system to a front door intercom, when it comes to home automation, it seems as if the possibilities really are endless. Will these smart homes become the standard? Only time will tell. When it comes to embracing technology, we already have countless books and movies stored on devices using Bulk Memory Cards so that we can enjoy them whenever we want, so who knows.

Because these modern tools have become standard operating procedure in my life, it can be easy to fall into the mindset that technology is the ultimate problem-solver. If there’s friction, surely some smart software or combination of software and hardware can smooth things out, right?

Continue reading The Difficulty of Technology as a Cure-all

I wrote recently about thoughts that have been swirling in my head about data and privacy in the world we live in today². Being back in the swing of things full time at work, I’ve been reminded more than ever that, in many ways, data is power.

Continue reading Maciej Cegłowski on the Danger of Data

1. You can read my article called “Facebook, Photos, Privacy and Parenthood,” here.