Being Geek Chic is a blog about one woman navigating the male-dominated industries of production and tech. It's written by Elizabeth Giorgi, Founder, CEO and Director of Mighteor - one of the world's first internet video production companies. Learn more about Mighteor here.
I have been hearing this a lot lately: “all your generation cares about is taking selfies.”
The implication? That we’re self-absorbed. Self-obsessed. Selfish.
Maybe. Maybe not. And you know, I’m kind of over it. I’m tired of the selfie hate. And I want to offer a different take on the topic, which some may argue is in and of itself an attempt to redirect attention to myself and therefore proves the narcissism that is so pervasive in our culture is true and real. I get it. But there’s no room for that here. Instead, open your mind and let’s be honest about what this technology has the power to do: It has the power to give us instant access to our memories and moments. It has the power to make us more connected to our present. And most importantly, it has the power to build self-esteem.
I think of my smart phone like this: It’s a tool that gives me visual record of my life. My memories are with me at all times. Constantly updating. Regularly evolving. Cataloguing the past and making the present documentable like a living, digital scrapbook.
Never before in our culture has this been the case. And our technology has allowed for this in a way that has made the outside eye less relevant than ever. Based on our current rhetoric, the addition of an outside actor, or photographer, takes away or reduces the implication of egomania. Somehow, another set of hands pressing the button reduces any possible incrimination that we as humans are self-obsessed.
As a professional image maker, I can tell you this: people’s weird insecurities, quirks, self-hate, self-loathing and general obsessiveness about how oneself looks does not go away because I am the one composing the image. All it does is delay the negative talk and commentary about crow’s feet, hair color and tummy pudge until the moment when I reveal the image to them. Almost always, I spend time lifting people up, helping them see their beauty and generally avoiding negative words that may contribute to a less than positive self-image.
What makes me even sadder is that these notions of ugliness are almost aways coming from the mouths of women. I’ve heard countless speeches from incredible women who loathe the way they look. It doesn’t matter how gorgeous or stunning she is: she sees herself and she sees flaws. She sees herself and thinks: not photogenic.
I always have this thought: She is totally comfortable telling me she hates herself. What terrible things could possibly be going through her head when she turns the camera on herself and I’m not there to buffer?
Big idea: I think selfies could help us overcome these feelings.
Maybe if people took more selfies, they could see what I see when I hold the camera. They could get used to their face. Get used to seeing their past and their present in the image staring back at them. They could appreciate their individual quirks. They could begin to understand how to compose for their most stunning assets. They could start to get used to positive self-image.
This week, I took a bunch of selfies to remember the moments and feelings related to spreading my Papa’s ashes in my hometown. It was a weird thing to do, but I took this picture at the end where I can honestly see his eyes in my eyes. I didn’t look at the picture and see all the things I don’t like about my face: I saw all the things I really needed to see to be connected to my ancestry. Me, acting as photographer and model, could capture the thing that I needed to appreciate in that moment. My editorial awareness made me feel better about it. And there’s nothing narcissistic about it. It’s about my connection to this earth. To the people in my life. And visually, it’s about seeing it when I look at the screen in front of me and feeling it in my soul.
What if we shifted our thinking and stopped suggesting that wanting to understand our visual identity isn’t an attempt to bathe oneself in egomaniacal glory and instead viewed it as a tool for which we can better understand our existence as humans? What if we stopped believing that wanting to see oneself wasn’t born out of narcissism but instead out of a deep need to connect to our being? And what if we challenged ourselves to view the very act of taking selfies as a step towards self love and acceptance?
I selfie so I remember.
I selfie to build confidence.
I selfie so I appreciate myself.
I selfie so I can see my mother’s cheekbones and my father’s hair and my grandpa’s eyes.
I selfie to build my self-esteem.
I selfie with my best friends.
I selfie with my crews.
I selfie in beautiful places.
I selfie for self love.
I selfie when something astonishing happens.
I selfie for the memories.
I selfie because I can.
SO what?
Color me surprised.
After nearly a decade of strict Apple-only computing, the Acer W5 Iconia Windows 8 Tablet actually made a positive impression on me. In fact, I’ve found myself truly enjoying it. Let’s remember two critical things: First, my expectations were super low. Even though I had read a lot of really positive reviews, I still found myself concerned that the Windows 8 Operating System would be too clunky. It’s not. It’s fairly intuitive and has a beautiful graphic fluidity. Second, I have not used a Windows machine since XP, so my learning curve was probably higher than others who were jumping into it from Windows 7.
It’s clear that simplicity has finally won out with this OS. The Atom-Based Hybrid (tablet or laptop) could be the perfect in between for new computer buyers who can’t stomach the cost of a tablet, but want the option. As a tablet, it’s a solid device and one worth checking out. As a laptop, I would have serious reservations.
From here on out, I’m going to give you the ins and outs for how I used it: as a tablet. Overall, it’s surprisingly fun to use. The mixture of colorful apps are playful and more engaging than the iPad apps and remind me a lot of the Kindle Fire experience. Your home screen is like a playground just waiting to be jumped on.
The Good:
1. The Design: There is no doubt that the Windows 8 interface is smooth and beautiful. I like the use of color and had way too much fun changing up the color schemes to my liking. It’s this kind of flexibility that I really appreciate on the Windows devices. I understand Apple’s desire to keep the user from reducing the design to a less sophisticated level, but I ultimately think that if you are going to spend the money on the device, you should be able to make some changes like this. Overall, kudos to Windows 8 on that one.
2. The Weight: This thing is light. It’s about the same weight as my Kindle Paperwhite, which was a nice surprise. Remember, this is without the keyboard attachment though. (It’s 2.8 pounds without the keyboard, just over 3 pounds with it.) This is a double-edged issue for me, because while I like the lightness of the device, the plastic feel is something I may never get used to with non-Apple devices. I’ve decided that I don’t mind it on the casing if it can give me the reduced weight, but that what would truly make it feel more high-end is if the screen was made of something more substantial.
3. Mobile Movie Viewing: Aspect Ratio. Aspect Ratio. Aspect Ratio. I will probably never stop yammering on about this issue. Years ago I publicly complained that if Apple was going to advertise its products as “optimal media devices” then they needed to stick with accepted aspect ratios. The iPhone 5 screen change was a major, “I Told You So.” moment for me. Mark my words: iPad can’t be far behind.
Rightly, the entire range of Windows 8 tablets figured this out early on and this is hands down the best part of this tablet. My gym has drastically reduced the number of channels available on the machines, but with the Netflix app, my headphones and the W5, I’m all set. The screen is surprisingly sharp and not too hard on my eyes, which really shocked me considering the hardware. Set to a low brightness, I found it more watchable than my iPad.
4. The Battery: I can go an entire week of heavy usage (streaming, games and browsing) on one overnight charge. This is impressive.
5. The Storage: Again, if you are using the W5 strictly as a tablet, you’ll be pleased with a 64GB solid state hard drive. If you are thinking you might use this as a laptop, I’m not sure that storage will be sufficient.
6. Plenty of Ports: If you think of this device strictly as a tablet, you’ll be happy to find a lot more ports and connections here than on the Kindle Fire, Nook HD or iPads. There’s a Micro-USB, Micro-HDMI, and a microSD card slot.
The Bad:
1. The Browsers: Internet Explorer and I are just not meant for each other. I just don’t understand why it can’t render pages properly. Updates are constant and yet improvements are lagging. Chrome was fine, but the simple act of zooming into a page was absolutely impossible to achieve. After some Googling, it turns out you have to open a toolbar and then there is a zoom functionality hidden there that’s percentage based. It’s crap. Every website is different - which is why you need the ability to manipulate a page quickly and easily. Additionally, there’s the new Acer Browser, which was fine, but ultimately just a bland branded browser without many features. Firefox was ultimately the most usable and user-friendly, but I was really hoping IE would get it together here.
2. The Price: At $599 (just tablet or $749 with keyboard), it seems utterly impossible to imagine the average consumer holding the W5 with an attached keyboard next to an iPad with a Bluetooth Keyboard and choosing the Acer. I don’t understand the pricing strategy here. Plus, you can get a pretty powerful PC for $749, albeit without a detachable screen.
3. The Back End: When you are downloading certain apps or when you are connected to the optional keyboard, this sleek tablet goes back to the basic version of the Windows desktop you’d expect. To me, this tablet is weakest when it’s trying to be a computer without any real computing power.
If you aren’t an Apple person, you will like this product. It’s smart, sleek and fun to use. Some of the oddities and annoyances of previous Windows OS’s are still around and IE seems impossible to fix, but you’ll be relieved to find an easy to use app store and endless customization options.
Overall: B
Disclosure: The Acer Iconia W5 was gifted to me by Intel as part of their Tablet Crew program. See #tabletcrew on Twitter for other bloggers’ thoughts on the device.
Lots of bloggers have these things called “Mighty Life Lists” - which basically chronicle all the awesome things they would like to do in their lives. It all started with the incomparable Mighty Girl, whose list includes things like:
Others, like my girl Sarah Von over at Yes and Yes, make lists based on birth years - so this year she’s doing 34 New Things and last year she did 33 New Things. Get it? Her current list includes things like:
I am a fan of lists, so this idea is something I’m definitely drawn to, but I wanted to make a list that was more “me” and reflected my goals in life. And I also think that at my age, I probably don’t know everything I want to accomplish.
Therefore, I introduce to you:
If you had to make a grand list of geeky goals - what would you include?
TechCrunch and writer Penelope Trunk knew they were going to start a flame war when they posted this article last night: “Stop telling women to do startups”.
The basic premise?
“We need to get more guys who are running tech startups instead decide to be stay-at-home dads.
What do you think of that? Stupid, right? That’s what it sounds like when anyone suggests that we need to get more women doing startups.”
This is Trunk’s assertion. Her article goes onto infer that TEDxWomen might as well be TEDxGhetto, but that’s neither here nor there.
Here’s a new rule: Women should do what they want, but they also shouldn’t be prevented from succeeding because they made a choice (in all likelihood in consultation with a partner) to create a family.
Just because women have a birth canal doesn’t mean the onus should be on them to be a stay-at-home mom. We need to shift the conversation. The vast majority of the time, people decide to be parents together. The life responsibilities that come with it should be shared. Because what the hell is wrong with stay-at-home dads anyway?
I don’t have a child - but I’m scared to have one. Not because of stretch marks. Not because of weight gain. Not because of 18 years of responsibility. No, because of my career. What ambitious woman is going to want to have kids if this continues to be the narrative?
It would be beneficial to all of us to look at our mothers and say THANK YOU. Then, turn to your daughter and tell her: DO WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY. And if you love technology, then go create a startup.
A great article on changing the way we look at education and how we can use technology to fix the debt crisis.
As bubbles burst in one economic sector after another, we’re now hearing talk of a “higher education bubble,” in which cost increases, buoyed by cheap government loans, may be hitting their limit. Can technology save the day? Or does the problem go deeper than that?
Via Popular Mechanics
