by Uchechi | Jan 23, 2015 | Blog
#YesWeCode Chat #13
Sunday January 25th, 2014
*9pmCT
During this chat we’ll discuss how to go building a great tech product to figuring out what’s next. Maybe you’re next step is to start building a company or to find out if your idea brings value to your users via user testing. Either way, the goal of this chat is to help you find answers
Building a tech startup is about more than the great product you’ve created. Maybe you’ve created a new social network or photo sharing app. What’s next? From best practices to how to get noticed online, #YesWeCode chat #13 is about getting you to the next level through information, education and conversation.
- During this chat, we’ll discuss the following questions:
- After building your tech product, what’s the best way to get it out there to customers?
- What best practices are important to help you go from great idea to a startup company?
- What are some baseline things you should know (funding v. bootstrapping, accelerators, choice of technology, etc) when creating a startup?
- How can you/your startup look and be legit?
And more!
Join us on Sunday 12/28/14 at 8pmCT.
For more info on how to participate, check out the chat guidelines.
Thanks and see you soon!
Uchechi
* Change of time: The chat is usually at 8pm CT, but has been changed to 9pm CT for this one chat.
by Uchechi | Dec 31, 2014 | Blog
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/183612160″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]
Some say we’re the new rock stars
instead of guitars keyboards or mics
we hold sketchpads wireframes
iterate juxtapose
suppose what wasn’t possible can be
a new way of taking photos of dividing colors
fragments and film amongst your friends
a new way of saying hello i love you a new way of sharing food
finding friends a new way of deciding who gets to show
up in your inbox
the dialogue we carry is heavy
the dialogue we shape is grand
a plan to disrupt the world
as we know it
shape it for us now
shape it for them to come
you are a tech startup entrepreneur
you run things
you iterate you posture you pose
sometimes you don’t know what the guy in the suit and tie
is even talking about but you shake your head you are
a techie used to be a joke
now no one laughs when you walk in the room
seeking enough bills to pay the bills
and then some the world has been shaped by your hands
100 years later after your father and his father
shaped it with their hands built up the New York City skyline
Can i get a shout out to the Statue of Liberty?
hands made her
Can I get a shout out for the Manhattan Bridge?
those black and white photos show the men
who built it lunching in the sky
because that was the only time
they’d ever be
invited to sit high up to lunch
Can i get a shout out for the roads the tunnels the bridges?
the cable car the trolley the tram
the Panama Canal the great dam
can we name those who built the future others thought impossible
Can i get a shout out for us now?
using our hands to make things the future
maybe impossible
but we’re not so different from the bridge builders
and the skyscraper creators we’re just doing it digital
sometimes literal
always configurable
curating how we see things even if someone says it can’t be done
Can i get a shout out for the click?
the mouse the wireframe
the kids once called lame
the freaks the new tech geeks
the imaginable unfathomable
Sometimes it ain’t easy
sometimes you never make it past
year 2 sometimes we slowly give way to a shrug a sigh a disbelief that all
we believed in can’t come true sometimes we are all so clearly you
sometimes we just want to change the word re imagine it in our hands
give it back to you to use
give it back to live better
give it back to you to be better
give it back to you to love more
to dream again
to inspire another day
This is for the tech startup entrepreneur
living your dream by doing
none of it is easy but all of it
yes all of it is history
re imagined
by your own
hands
Uchechi Kalu © 2014
by Uchechi | Dec 28, 2014 | Blog
During this chat we’ll discuss how to go from being a code/tech newbie to landing a job or taking things to the next level.
So, you learned to code but maybe you don’t know what comes next. Becoming a web developer is about the tools you use, the connections you make, the clients you engage with and building a supportive community.
During this chat, we’ll discuss the following questions:
- After learning to code, what’s the best way to get a job in tech?
- How can I go from a newbie in tech to a junior or senior level person?
- What’s my online presence got to do with finding a tech related job?
- Are there smarter (and faster) ways to go from being a newbie to a junior or senior developer?
- What are some great online tools I should be using?
And more!
Join us on Sunday 12/28/14 at 8pmCT.
For more info on how to participate, check out the chat guidelines.
Thanks and see you soon!
Uchechi
by Uchechi | Nov 14, 2014 | Blog
Hope you can join the next #yeswecode chat this Sunday (11/16/14) at 8pmCT. We’ll be discussing fear, it’s impact on our work and how we can move forward anyway.
The fear of being wrong can affect your success
This week, I was in the Bay Area for the WedTech conference, and while there I visited a long time friend of mine. We sat in a great Oakland coffee shop, sipped lattes and spoke about our hopes, our work, the lives of two very creative women.
Towards the end of our conversation, she mentioned that she’s often afraid of being wrong, and how that gets in the way of her success. I immediately thought about how at some point in all our lives, we all deal with insecurity. But, what happens when it stops us from becoming successful.
Imposter Syndrome is a real issue
At some point in our lives, the fear of being “found out” aka Impostor Syndrome, is a real issue. I want to bring this conversation to the tech space because I believe all of us are capable of being more than just good. We’re actually capable of being great, and doing so has nothing to do As we talk about tech diversity, it’s important to remember that we all show up with some insecurity. Are you worried that you’re not good enough, smart enough, savvy enough, capable enough? How does this worry affect your work?
#Yeswecode chat #9 questions to think about:
- How does the fear of being “wrong” get in the way of your success?
- If you could let it go, what would that look like?
- What are some unique ways you deal with/work through feelings of Imposter Syndrome?
- Once you get that dream job in tech, what’s your plan on how to make the most of it in the face of your fears?
Why is this conversation important?
I hope you can join the conversation. Before joining the chat please review the guidelines, which will answer some questions and help you know how to best participate. It’s important to the tech inclusion dialogue, especially because I really do believe that while access to tech skills is an important piece of tech diversity, there’s also a need to address the internal challenges that get in the way of our success.
by Uchechi | Oct 24, 2014 | Blog
Thanks for showing up,for engaging and for bringing your voice to a conversation that matters. I’ve been hosting the #yeswecode diversity in tech twitter chat since July of this year, and this is the first time we’re talking about women in tech, specifically.
I’ve wanted to have a chat topic specifically about women, diversity and technology. It’s super important to me, and the past two weeks since the last chat have made it clear that now is the time to do it. Lately, I’ve received tweets from women in tech who have similar questions. They’re asking this: What does it mean to “make it” as a woman in tech? Do any women actually “make it?” Are women part of the tech diversity conversation?
My answer is yes, we definitely are – and need to be – because without us, there’s no voice for the millions of female users around the world who rely on us to influence the tech products they consume.
These questions make me feel like there’s a responsibility (and opportunity) to have the hard conversations, and to do so now.
We know the statistics. The numbers are ugly for everything from funding to sexual harassment. I know we know this. What I don’t know is this:
- What are you passionate about and why are you part of technology?
- How did you get into technology? How can we talk about women, tech and diversity in a way that does not feel alienating?
- How can we be resources for each other? What are you most concerned about when it comes to diversity, women, and technology?
- How can we all engage this very special global moment in technology, where we’re all asking ourselves: What does it mean to have diversity in technology?
- What do women do when faced with self-doubt in tech, and how can we overcome this?
- How can men in technology be part of the conversation, in a way that’s beneficial to everyone?
I want to be clear and say that this is not a conversation about excluding anyone. We are talking about women, but I do believe that everyone needs to be part of the conversation to actually enact powerful and lasting dialogue. There are those spaces just for that, and I totally respect the need for that community.
That’s what I want to talk to you about. I don’t have answers. But, I do know that I want to look back in 5, 10, 20 years and be really proud of myself and all of us now who are having the difficult conversations.
Before participating in the chat (and to find out more about it), please read the guidelines and ground-rules. We are always focused on solutions, and ways to move forward. Come to the chat with ideas, engagement and respect. Be brave, be visible, be you and be kind. Seriously.
I want to hear from you! Over the next few days, I’ll be using this space (the comments section below) to understand how I can best engage about this topic during Sunday’s chat. If you don’t want to message me here, feel free to follow me on Twitter and DM me @uchechi_writes.
Here’s what you need to know:
Who: Anyone interested in discussing diversity, women and technology
What: #yeswecode Twitter chat: Diversity, women & tech
When: Sunday 10/26/14 at 8pmCT
Where: connect with me on Twitter @uchechi_writes
Why?: It’s important! Diversity in tech mean more innovation and better teams.
See you there!
by Uchechi | Oct 24, 2014 | Blog
#YesWeCode Twitter chat guidelines
Thanks for showing up for the #yeswecode Twitter chat, which happens every 2 weeks at 8pm Central Time. I’m excited to talk to everyone and to have you share your experiences . I started this chat a few days before the #yeswecode hackathon in New Orleans because I was participating as a mentor (and local partner via my startup) and wanted to engage the global tech community online before the in person event. I also wanted to hear what others had to say about what diversity in tech meant to them and how we could use social media to engage in meaningful dialogue.
Focus on solutions: By now, we’ve all heard the statistics about the lack of diversity in the tech industry. The questions we’re now asking are: What can be done about it? What’s already being done? Why is it so important? Where do we start? I know that sometimes talking about it get tiring. I know that we all want solutions, stat! This chat aims to answer some of these questions, create engaging dialogue and focus on solutions.
What “diversity in tech” means & why it’s key to innovation: When I say diversity, this is what I mean all of us. Yes, all of us. My family is Nigerian, American, Jewish, Swedish and Mexican. It means each and every one of us. It also means diverse tech skills (it’s not just about coding) and age diversity. It also means gender and sexual orientation. I do believe that your worldview is shaped by all of these things and positively impacts how you approach problem solving. And, innovation is about problem solving.
Rules:
It’s not easy to talk about race, gender, inequality, age, sexuality, etc, and how we all feel about it. After all, being vulnerable can be very scary. It takes trust, faith and the desire to have the difficult conversations that often lead to change. In order to do that, we need some groundrules to facilitate the conversation. Thanks for showing up!
1. Disagree without name calling.
2. Point out where ideas might fail, but also share what you think might work.
3. Critique the idea & not the person
4. Be Brave. Be Visible. Be You. Be nice! Be inspired! Enjoy this time!
Thanks for coming here to have this much needed discussion!
What is a Twitter chat?:
- A live, real-time discussion taking place via twitter messages
- A chat using a specific hashtag (#yeswecode)
- Each participant can contribute to the conversation by adding comments using the hashtag #yeswecode
What to expect from #yeswecode chat:
- an exchange of ideas exploring the digital divide & creative ideas to move forward
- a network of people in the tech (mentors, VC’s, Tech organizations, startup founders, entrepreneurs) space who are interested in exploring topics related to diversity in tech
- a focus on solutions and creative ways to move forward
Format:
- I will ask a series of questions during the hour long chat.
- The question format will look something like this: Q1: Why is diversity in tech important to you?
- You can respond by clicking Reply or using A1(as in Answer 1) and type in the rest of your tweet, making sure you don’t forget the hashtag (#yeswecode)
- I’ll keep the questions going during the hour, and ask each one after a round of answers have received.
- I will retweet your posts as long as they fit the guidelines (see below)
- you can also feel free to click “reply” to any tweets by me or other participants you want to respond to
Introducing yourself & sharing your ideas:
- At the beginning, I’ll ask everyone to introduce themselves & their work
- You’ll have a chance to say something like this: Example intro tweet for you & your company: We build wearable tech @(companyname) & we’re also looking to mentor tech startups #yeswecode
- At the end of the chat, I’ll give everyone a chance to mention any upcoming events they have. For example, your tweet might look something like this: @yeswecodehack happens Jul 3-6 @Essence #yeswecode
- The chat will be ongoing, so if we don’t cover something you want to discuss today, let me know and I’ll see if we can fit it in during another chat.
