Shows
What We Talk About When We Talk About TechOpen technology in the UK with OpenUK CEO Amanda BrockRich Gall (@richggall) and Jennifer Riggins (@jkriggins) talk with the CEO of OpenUK Amanda Brock about the role of open technology in the UK's tech industry and wider economy.Amanda explains the work of Open UK and highlights some of the work the organisation does to promote open technology. She also discusses exactly why this work matters so much, and suggests that the UK doesn't always do as good a job as it could in talking about the extent to which it contributes to the global communities of developers and other practitioners making use of open technologies...
2021-09-0857 minWhat We Talk About When We Talk About TechWhy we need digital anthropology: culture, ethics, and power in tech with Caitlin McDonaldRich Gall (@richggall) and Jennifer Riggins (@jkriggins) talk with digital anthropologist Caitlin McDonald about what it means to be a digital anthropologist and why it matters in helping us to understand the way we build and use technology today. Caitlin begins by talking through how her work intersects with questions of agency and digital literacy, providing some useful context on how perceptions and understanding about what techbology does and how it's made can have an impact on the way it influences our lives. She also explains why there's a growing need for anthropological thinking in th...
2021-08-1848 minWhat We Talk About When We Talk About TechResponsible technology and ethical venture capital: Reimagining possible futures with Sarah DrinkwaterRich Gall (@richggall) and Jennifer Riggins (@jkriggins) talk with Sarah Drinkwater, the Director of Responsible Technology at Omidyar Networks to discuss how we can cultivate organisations and people that will enable a more equitable, responsible - and ultimately compassionate and exciting - technological future. We talk about the challenges the tech industry faces, and why it can be difficult to talk about responsibility and ethics. Sarah explains how the work she does at Omidyar Network attempts to support projects that will help us to reimagine the way that we build and use technology in society. We...
2021-07-2847 minWhat We Talk About When We Talk About TechWe need to talk about EdTech: Online resilience and privacy with Michelle WolfeRich Gall (@richggall) and Jennifer Riggins (@jkriggins) talk to privacy advocate Michelle Wolfe (aka "Stella" on Twitter) about the challenges of security and privacy in today's increasingly sinister landscape of surveillance capitalism. Taking in key terms (including the monstrosity that is "cyber"), and looking closely at some of the limits and flaws in the conversation around online security, Michelle/Stella explains how she approaches her work and why she thinks we need to reevaluate the way we talk about cybersecurity and online safety. She discusses some of the problems with the field, such as the pe...
2021-07-2156 minWhat We Talk About When We Talk About TechFrom technical stories to user stories: APIs and the evolution of the tech industry with Lorinda Brandon and Mike AmundsenRich Gall (@richggall) and Jennifer Riggins (@jkriggins) talk to Lorinda Brandon and Mike Amundsen about APIs and the evolution of the tech industry in the last 30 years in a very special episode - the first to feature two guests. We discussed issues of equality in the industry, in particular how 'women in tech' has emerged only in recent years - Lorinda offers her perspective on what it was like working as a woman in tech in the eighties, and also explains what frustrates her about the way we talk about toxicity in the industry today. We...
2021-07-141h 00What We Talk About When We Talk About TechTelling the stories of tech's trailblazers and laying the foundations of a more equitable future with Saron YitbarekJennifer Riggins (@jkriggins) and Rich Gall (@richggall) are joined by Saron Yitbarek, Founder and CEO of audio learning platform Disco and co-host of the brilliant Command Line Heroes podcast, to discuss the virtues of audio learning in age of excessive screen time and the importance of highlighting the stories of the people that have shaped the technology and software landscape today. Saron talks about her background and some of the challenges she faced when starting out in the software industry, explaining how they informed the work she has done since. She describes the thinking behind Disco, and h...
2021-06-3040 minWhat We Talk About When We Talk About TechPsychology and storytelling in cybersecurity and skill development with Yin Mei [Clubhouse Special]Rich Gall (@richggall) and Jennifer Riggins (@jkriggins) talk to Yin Mei, Director of Strategy and Curriculum Design at Per Scholas about her career and background in psychology in this special episode that went out live on Chubhouse.In the conversation Yin talks about her journey into the field, and how she developed an interest in technology from a young age as a child of Chinese immigrants in Minnesota, and explains how she moved from an academic background in psychology into tech training and cybersecurity. The episode covers everything from Yin Mei's work at Per Scholas a...
2021-06-2355 minWhat We Talk About When We Talk About TechServing coding skill realness: How coding drag queen Anna Lytical teaches techRich Gall (@richggall) and Jennifer Riggins (@jkriggins) talk with the "sickeningly entertaining" coding drag queen Anna Lytical about drag, software development, and the LGBTQ+ community in tech.Anna discusses how they found their way into the tech industry and explains how they gradually discovered a way of bringing their love of software engineering, drag, and performing together. They also describe the journey from starting out making videos on YouTube, to building a huge audience of learners across many different platforms (including lots of love for TikTok).The episode is both a look at how we...
2021-06-1639 minWhat We Talk About When We Talk About TechImpostor syndrome and the Dunning-Kruger effect in tech: The anxiety of curiosity with Jessica RoseJennifer Riggins (@jkriggins) and Rich Gall (@richggall) talk with Jessica Rose, a DevRel at CodeSee and advocate for improving access to technical education and the tech industry, about burnout, impostor syndrome and the challenges of learning the skills needed to navigate a fast-paced and occasionally hostile industry.Jessica talks about her role at CodeSee, a developer tool currently in its 'stealth' phase, and explains why its such an exciting project to work on, and explains why she decided to take on the role as a job share. She also talks about some of the problems facing those see...
2021-06-0954 minWhat We Talk About When We Talk About TechMeme wrangling and the rough edges of software: Neal Ford on tech publishing, software architecture, and consulting at ThoughtWorksRich Gall (@richggall) and Jennifer Riggins (@jkriggins) talk to author, software architect, and meme wrangler at ThoughtWorks about the importance of storytelling, language and communication in his worker as both a consultant and an educator.Neal discusses his career in tech publishing, with 8 books already under his belt (the most recent being The Fundamentals of Software Architecture, published in January 2020), and explains what makes it so challenging but so vital in today's saturated information ecosystem. He shares his useful criteria for evaluating whether a topic or an idea should be a book and not something else.
2021-06-0254 minWhat We Talk About When We Talk About TechHow to fight your way into the tech industry: Nikema Prophet on bootcamps, job searching, and authenticityJennifer Riggins (@jkriggins) and Rich Gall (@richggall) talk with Nikema Prophet, Community Marketing Manager at Armory, about how she fought her way into tech. Nikema recounts the ups and downs of getting started in the industry, including the challenges she faced as a founder, and discusses some of the benefits and drawbacks of going through a bootcamp route. We talk in depth about Lambda school and Nikema gives her perspective, providing useful insights for anyone interested in taking a non-traditional route into the tech industry. It adds additional context to some of the stories that...
2021-05-261h 04What We Talk About When We Talk About TechContent and community at Red Hat: How Matt Broberg helps software architects tell their storiesRich Gall (@richggall) and Jennifer Riggins (@jkriggins) talk to Matt Broberg, Managing Editor of Red hat's Enable Architect publication, about how Red Hat uses content and storytelling to support and engage with a broad community of software architects, engineers and sysadmins. Matt talks about how he got into content marketing and editorial after starting his career working with databases and servers, and also explains how his time in college - where he studied the interesting combination of computer science, philosophy, and psychology - helped to inform his perspective on the work he does today. Matt al...
2021-05-1953 minWhat We Talk About When We Talk About TechOpen source developer advocacy at Facebook: Dmitry Vinnik on supporting and growing Facebook's 700 open source projectsRich Gall (@richggall) and Jennifer Riggins (@jkriggins) talk to Dmitry Vinnik, an Open Source Developer Advocate at Facebook, about how he helps to enable developers around the world make use of the social media company's hundreds of open source projects. In the episode Dmitry discusses how Covid has impacted his work as a developer advocate, including what he misses about in-person events and what he prefers about remote conferences, and explains how he puts together content that's relevant to the needs of different audiences. He touches on his brilliant 'Explain Like I'm 5' series, in which members o...
2021-05-1248 minWhat We Talk About When We Talk About TechBelonging begins with discomfort: Building and measuring equity in tech with Abadesi OsunsadeJennifer Riggins (@jkriggins) and Rich Gall (@richggall) talk with Abadesi Osunsade, the founder and CEO of Hustle Crew, VP of Global Community and Belonging at Brandwatch, and co-host of the podcast Techish, among many other things. Abadesi explains how she found her way into the industry and explains how her experiences led her to fopund HustleCrew, an organization designed to help organizations improve diversity and equality in their workforce and empower people from marginalized communities to find their way in tech. She also discusses the work Hustle Crew does, and talks in detail about why measuring the s...
2021-05-0545 minWhat We Talk About When We Talk About TechMachines made of words: Tech journalism from print to SEO to PR with Dylan TweneyJennifer Riggins (@jkriggins) and Rich Gall (@richggall) talk to the former Editor in Chief of VentureBeat, Dylan Tweney, about tech journalism and the role it plays in the industry. Covering a history of tech journalism over the last two decades, from the days of print through to SEO- and social media-friendly content, this episode looks closely at how the way we cover and explore technology has changed. Dylan offers their thoughts on some of the limitations of the current digital media ecosystems, and explains the way global tech giants control narratives have dramatically shifted in just a...
2021-04-2840 minWhat We Talk About When We Talk About TechThe scent of Hashicorp: Talking experiential marketing with Jana BorutaJennifer Riggins (@jkriggins) and Rich Gall (@richggall) talk to Jana Boruta, Director of Global Events and Experiential Marketing at Hashicorp, about experiential marketing and how the events sector has adapted to the Coronavirus pandemicShe explains how she and her team worked to make HashiConf digital-only, and discusses how a year of isolation gave her the opportunity to launch her own conference - EpicConf. We also discuss the role of events more broadly in the tech industry, and talk about how organizers and companies can support more diverse voices in the industry and give more pe...
2021-04-2139 minWhat We Talk About When We Talk About TechBringing early stage startups to life: Go-to-market and telling founder stories with Austin GunterJennifer Riggins (@jkriggins) and Rich Gall (@richggall) talk to Austin Gunter, Director of Marketing at Shoreline, an automation tool for cloud operations teams, about marketing early stage startups and building a go-to-market plan. Austin talks about his (perhaps accidental) niche as 'the first marketer in the door' at a number of DevOps startups, including Gremlin, and explains how he goes about immersing himself in a new company. He also discusses the importance of understanding customer pain by looking closely at their jobs-to-be-done when preparing to go to market.Listen as well for Austin's thoughts on t...
2021-04-1434 minWhat We Talk About When We Talk About TechJust shut up and listen: How podcasts connect people and create conversations with Mandy MooreJennifer Riggins (@jkriggins) and Rich Gall (@richggall) talk to Mandy Moore, the producer and show manager of Greater Than Code - "a podcast that highlights the human side of technology" - as well as a range of other awesome podcasts. In this episode Mandy discusses her journey into the tech industry, including her first job working with Avdi Grimm, and explains why she thinks podcasting plays such an important role in the field, in helping the world talk about tech. She also highlights how podcasts can help cultivate more open communities and help make the industry more d...
2021-04-0743 minWhat We Talk About When We Talk About TechListening and enabling: Talking DevRel and neurodiversity with Wesley FaulknerJennifer Riggins (@jkriggins) and Rich Gall (@richggall) talk to Wesley Faulkner, DevRel at Daily, about how Developer Relations became a critical part of the software industry. Wesley gives his perspective of the history of DevRel, and provides a practical perspective on what it involves day-to-day - from support, to documentation, to social media. He also talks about why he loves doing DevRel for Daily, and how he works alongside the rest of the team to build and engage a community of users in a way that is impactful and authentic. He also discusses neurodiversity, and ex...
2021-03-3144 minWhat We Talk About When We Talk About TechWhy APIs are a storytelling technology: Talking open ecosystems and open data with Mark BoydRich Gall and Jennifer Riggins talk to Mark Boyd, founder of Platformable, an organization that helps governments and businesses develop tools and ecosystems that encourage participation. Mark talks about Platformable, explaining why it exists and how it works. He highlights some of the obstacles to building open ecosystems, and why he believes so passionately in their ability to engage people. His experience in policymaking in Australia, particularly in HIV and AIDs care, underlined just how valuable data sharing can be. He describes how he moved from those formative experiences to the tech industry in Europe.We...
2021-03-2435 minWhat We Talk About When We Talk About TechCoding in pastel mode: Building a community for self-expression at Glitch with Alexa ScordatoRich Gall and Jennifer Riggins talk to Alexa Scordato, Head of Growth and Marketing at Glitch, a coding platform that makes it easy to build creative software projects.Alexa tells us why she loves working at Glitch, and describes how she approaches marketing to the diverse range of people that use Glitch, from experienced developers to coding newbies. She also explains the importance of communicating with authenticity and integrity, and highlights how her time at Stack Overflow helped her to better understand the way software developers learn and talk aout the problems they're trying to solve day-to-day.
2021-03-1749 minWhat We Talk About When We Talk About TechPlease hype responsibly: Talking about complex systems with Gemma MilneJennifer Riggins and Rich Gall talk to Gemma Milne, journalist, broadcaster, researcher, and author of Smoke and Mirrors: How Hype Obscures The Future and How to See Past It. In this episode Gemma explains the role hype plays in the technology industry, how it shapes the way the public understands and experiences the field, and highlights a number of ways we can all - as professionals and as citizens - better manage the impact of hype. Also discussed in this episode:The problems with hype in the world of battery developmentHow hype is making i...
2021-03-1055 minWhat We Talk About When We Talk About TechWelcome to What We Talk About When We Talk About TechWelcome to What We Talk About When We Talk About Tech. In this, the very first episode, Rich Gall and Jennifer Riggins explain why they started the podcast, how they found their way into the tech industry, and what they're excited to talk about with guests in future episodes. Follow the podcast on Twitter: @_TalkAboutTechFollow Jennifer on Twitter: @jkrigginsFollow Rich on Twitter: @richggall
2021-03-0728 min