Thursday, October 30, 2014

OK Twitter, you win.

I finally joined Twitter. Everyone at the Tech Forum is on it. At a round table discussion when we had to introduce ourselves, I was the only one who didn't have a twitter name. I didn't see how it was necessary to have yet another social media outlet to describe what my dinner looks like. What I learned is that people are using it in a purely professional manner, and that's something I could use, since my Facebook page proves what a cheesehead I can be sometimes.

I was advised to start slowly, I don't need to post very often. I should follow people that are in my field and having the big discussions. It's hard to discern who and what to follow though. There is so much to look at, the flow of information is like a firehose. But, from what I've been told by a few people, yes it's a firehose, just take in as much as you're comfortable and then step away from the computer.

So I'm on twitter now, my handle is eileen_lennon. You can follow me and I'll follow you back. If I figure out how.

Saturday, October 25, 2014

TechForum New York 2014

I had a wonderful time yesterday at the Tech Forum. I presented my work "Introducing Coding to Middle School Students" which many people I spoke to seemed very interested and really enjoyed my presentation, and that was awesome. What was really great was the rest of the day. The speakers were inspiring, the topics covered were relevant, and everyone was so friendly and generous with their skills and knowledge. It was comforting to be among my people-the geeks. You could use words like "social media" without anyone's eyes glazing over.

I think I know a lot of stuff about technology, but then I go to events like this and feel like an idiot. The more you learn about technology, the more you realize how much you don't know. I have a lot to explore and discover on my own is what I took away from the forum yesterday. It's overwhelming, but also fun in a way. Technology can be tough and frustrating, but it is never, ever boring. Thanks for a great day everyone.