"There is something in the act of being and doing who you really are that even though people don’t agree with it they connect to it. There is something superhuman about being yourself."
Unlike most of the interviews here, Baratunde Thurston wasn’t suggested to me by my online community, I met him by chance and in person one fine evening in a very crowed room in Austin Texas. We were just in the right place at the right time – together.
I realize that I may have been a little naive or elitist in thinking that having a large online network that helped me source interviews would bring me a good cross section of American culture. A close look through my interviews (although each unique and brilliant) revealed that almost every interview is with a white male. In the past I would ask my network specifically for suggestions of women and minorities that would be integral to the larger Life In Perpetual Beta story, but short of Oprah, no one could think of any other good interview candidates. I resigned myself to assuming that surely my social circle would eventually produce some of these amazing people, but up to this point, they haven’t. I wonder if my social network suffers from the same naive thinking as I did? I bring this up not to shame myself or my community, not to stir the pot, but to point out the flaw in thinking that the internet connects us all, has already made us one big amalgamated multicultural family. Certainly the potential is there – but it’s up to us to do the connecting, it’s up to us to broaden our filters and see what’s out there.
I’m flabbergasted that I had to take my social networking goggles off to meet Baratunde, his story and lifestyle fit life in perpetual beta so well. Had I not been paying attention, or paying too much attention to my own social circle, I would have missed his brilliance and wit, although I’m certain I could not have missed his superhumanness across even the most crowded of rooms.
This post is tagged baratunde thurston, be yourself, interview with baratunde thurston, melissa pierce, social bias, social networking
3 Comments
oh this is a travesty! i wish i had known you when you were shooting–i could have sent so many people of rich backgrounds your way across race, culture and class. waaah!
Can’t wait to see the finished product! I know it’s going to be great.
Yes non-white males are out there in tech fields.
My daughter was in a class where the professor said, “I want you to ask someone who is naive about this subject. Interview your mom.”
My daughter said, “Uh, my mom has a Ph.D., is the senior statistical consultant for the university and did the research design and data analysis for a ten-year evaluation of this program. Can I interview someone else?”
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