4 ms·

So the lack of black participation in free tech events === lack of interest from black people? That's a stretch of a conclusion rife with confounding variables.

davidf18 10y ago
Yes, as an approximation. Could you please explain in plain english with examples exactly what you mean by that statement? NYC where I live has at least 1 million blacks. NYC has many hi tech firms NYC has many banks and financial institutions and media groups that all employ programmers and engineers. It has many tech Meetups. It has many opportunities to attend tech events that are free, and where there are no restrictions on attendance. So, please explain what you mean.
- thelock85 10y ago
  Where I can agree is that there are basic opportunities (e.g. networking) in the tech community that Black Americans may not take interest in. The stretch comes when you equate that to having no interest at all in technology (correct me, if I've misconstrued your point there). What makes it a poor approximation IMHO is that you place assumptions around how to "make in tech". "Not participating == not interested" assumes that there is some universally accessible and well-known path to working in tech. Now, if you are saying that you've taken advantage of all of those events/opportunities (from your OP) because one day you magically became interested without implicit/explicit involvement from role models, loved ones, inspirational teachers, etc. then I will concede your point... but that would make you exceptional IMHO.
  - davidf18 10y ago
    >> Where I can agree is that there are basic opportunities (e.g. networking) in the tech community that Black Americans may not take interest in. I look for people who don't do the job for the money but because they enjoy it and they have a passion for the work and technologies. Today I don't work with the tech directly but apply it to a particular domain but I need to keep up-to-date with the technologies and work with them on my laptop. Many of the meetups I've gone to (including Google Tech talks in NYC) are ultra cool. I don't go for the networking, but because I want to learn about the new technologies and ideas and ask questions. While attending, of course I end up networking and learning more about what other attendees are up to. In my case, I paid for 90% of my tuition and housing/living costs for undergrad by programming computers beginning in high school. I could not get a penny of loans or grants in financial aid. But because I had so much work experience, my many campus job interviews were about the interesting projects that I'd programmed and I got many offers from great firms. In summary, attending the Meetups is not about the networking per se, but that the topics are ultra-cool applying different technologies to many domains (finance, healthcare, media, urban planning, etc. etc.) and its fun to meet people with similar passions and interests. Not only do I not see blacks, but I also do not see hispanics at these events. Instead of whining about diversity, create a github account, do some interesting projects with spark and machine learning or one of the other spark libraries. Do it with Scala or use Python or R. Solve, some interesting problem with all of the data out there or do some volunteer work while in school to do such a project. Interview with that.
- deleted 10y ago
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davidf18 10y ago

Yes, as an approximation. Could you please explain in plain english with examples exactly what you mean by that statement? NYC where I live has at least 1 million blacks. NYC has many hi tech firms NYC has many banks and financial institutions and media groups that all employ programmers and engineers. It has many tech Meetups. It has many opportunities to attend tech events that are free, and where there are no restrictions on attendance. So, please explain what you mean.

thelock85 10y ago
Where I can agree is that there are basic opportunities (e.g. networking) in the tech community that Black Americans may not take interest in. The stretch comes when you equate that to having no interest at all in technology (correct me, if I've misconstrued your point there). What makes it a poor approximation IMHO is that you place assumptions around how to "make in tech". "Not participating == not interested" assumes that there is some universally accessible and well-known path to working in tech. Now, if you are saying that you've taken advantage of all of those events/opportunities (from your OP) because one day you magically became interested without implicit/explicit involvement from role models, loved ones, inspirational teachers, etc. then I will concede your point... but that would make you exceptional IMHO.
- davidf18 10y ago
  >> Where I can agree is that there are basic opportunities (e.g. networking) in the tech community that Black Americans may not take interest in. I look for people who don't do the job for the money but because they enjoy it and they have a passion for the work and technologies. Today I don't work with the tech directly but apply it to a particular domain but I need to keep up-to-date with the technologies and work with them on my laptop. Many of the meetups I've gone to (including Google Tech talks in NYC) are ultra cool. I don't go for the networking, but because I want to learn about the new technologies and ideas and ask questions. While attending, of course I end up networking and learning more about what other attendees are up to. In my case, I paid for 90% of my tuition and housing/living costs for undergrad by programming computers beginning in high school. I could not get a penny of loans or grants in financial aid. But because I had so much work experience, my many campus job interviews were about the interesting projects that I'd programmed and I got many offers from great firms. In summary, attending the Meetups is not about the networking per se, but that the topics are ultra-cool applying different technologies to many domains (finance, healthcare, media, urban planning, etc. etc.) and its fun to meet people with similar passions and interests. Not only do I not see blacks, but I also do not see hispanics at these events. Instead of whining about diversity, create a github account, do some interesting projects with spark and machine learning or one of the other spark libraries. Do it with Scala or use Python or R. Solve, some interesting problem with all of the data out there or do some volunteer work while in school to do such a project. Interview with that.
deleted 10y ago
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