Follow“You only got that internship because you’re a woman,” P. said. I was floored. Now, I’ve taken my fair share of shit from people. I’ve had people call me a bitch. I’ve had people call me whiny and ignorant. A stranger once aggressively diagnosed me with a mental condition. One of my peers used to keep a blog about how much she hated me. But this? This really stung. P. was a good friend of mine, …
Monthly Archives: September 2012
On Female-Friendly Design
If you’re trying to design for women, start by solving real problems. Too often, marketers and product designers think that they can slap some pink on a product and women will flock to it. Remember Dell’s “Della” line for women? Or Bic for Her, the totally unnecessary “pen for women” (and its ensuing Amazon reviews)? But let’s be honest: It’s not really a problem that the iPhone 5 doesn’t come in pink. It is a problem that …
My Problem with “Circle of Six”
I love the idea of using technology to solve cultural problems. I love the idea of an app that makes social change. But I have a problem with Circle of Six, which won the White House’s “Apps Against Abuse” contest earlier this year. Circle of Six is an app designed to let women reach out to their trusted friends (their “circle of six”) with only a couple of taps. It’s a great idea, at least …
PennApps 2012 Sells Out Faster Than Justin Bieber’s North American Tour
At 11:25 last night, the PennApps team sent an email to everyone on their mailing list. “Registration is now open!” they said. PennApps is the largest student-run hackathon in the country, so they expected some interest. But they didn’t anticipate what happened next. By midnight, all 100 of the “visiting hacker” tickets were gone. There were still some tickets available for Penn students, but all of the open tickets had been sold already. (In case …