Little Flickers Of Racism

Those little flickers of racism matter. To say they don't matter to a group dynamics guy like me is to suggest software bugs are just fine, and bad design is okay. No, it's not.

Race, Gender, Tech

I plot to go into the red circle in this diagram from the tech angle. And for someone of such ambitions the flickers of racism matter even more. They are bread and butter. That is extra true of flickers of sexism, the obvious kind and the internalized kind, both, especially the internalized kind. Women with advanced degrees of internalized sexism also tend to be the more racist kind.

My Web Diagram

When I meet early stage entrepreneurs in town, one way I gauge how far they might go is by trying to figure out how much of a post-ISMs individual they are.

Rudiments Of A Corporate Culture
Third World Guy
Web 5.0: Face Time

The world of physics felt pretty much complete and all set and done when Einstein showed up. But then he noticed light rays bent near the Sun, and based on that one flicker he turned the world of physics upside down. Innovation happens at the edges. The abandoned petri dish is where the magic is at. Little flickers of racism are fascinating like that.

+1: Turning Search Results Into Status Updates

Image via CrunchBaseThat plus one button (+1) might be Google's ultimate master stroke in the social space, it might not be Google Plus. Search continues to be huge. People search. That is what the web is all about. Otherwise we already had the water cooler crowds. The web liberated us from the confines of geography. People want to go online and search far and wide.

Before the +1 button the search results belonged to Google. Searching was a spectator sport. Now Google has allowed us to participate. We have become part of the secret sauce Google algorithms. We change the search results just as we consume them.

But this is just a start. I want much more say in what happens to my +1 activity. I want some kind of an internal display. I want my +1 action to become the mother of all bookmarks. I want some kind of an internal dashboard.

Ultimately I want my own very personal Google. I want to be able to search though only sites I ever pressed that +1 button on.

Pressing that +1 button is the simplest of status updates for now. You are not having to write up anything. If you press that button enough times, you should have mapped out your personal interest and knowledge graphs. That is powerful.

Tech And Terrorism

Physical

Americans Are Fat

Sunday afternoon plan: free lunch at the Gurudwara near Jackson Heights. My childhood best friend's wife is Punjabi. Evening plan: Ace Hotelless than a minute ago via web Favorite Retweet ReplyParamendra Bhagat
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Just did 1000 situps. Tech consulting interrupted.less than a minute ago via txt Favorite Retweet ReplyParamendra Bhagat
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30 minutes of crude yoga. Feeling good.less than a minute ago via txt Favorite Retweet ReplyParamendra Bhagat
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1000 units of tummy muscle exercises.less than a minute ago via txt Favorite Retweet ReplyParamendra Bhagat
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Making yogurt. Nobody makes it better in NYC.less than a minute ago via txt Favorite Retweet ReplyParamendra Bhagat
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500 pushups. Yoga next. Yoga: not easy. The mind wants to wander.less than a minute ago via txt Favorite Retweet ReplyParamendra Bhagat
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120 minute walk. Hello Vig Bar. Happy birthday Soraya Hareez.less than a minute ago via txt Favorite Retweet ReplyParamendra Bhagat
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Headed to the Ace Hotel for some good music this evening. But first the free lunch at the Gurudwara near Jackson Heights.less than a minute ago via web Favorite Retweet ReplyParamendra Bhagat
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