I recently had a very detailed interview with Kevin Hale from Wufoo. We went over some helpful information for startups, as Kevin detailed how Wufoo went from original concept to eventual launch. We discuss his lessons learned and his recommendations to other startup teams. You can read the discussion at the Fuel Venture blog.

I’ve been watching the “conversation” of outrage unfold on Twitter the last few days and finally decided it was time to say something. I know its a minority of people that are making a stir and on the one hand, it’s probably best not to respond and simply let it go away, but on the other, I’ve seen this happen now for so many other conferences too that I felt it was time to try and put things in perspective. It seems that every time a conference is announced and the speaker lineup listed, somebody pours over the list to determine if its racially and sexually diverse enough. It’s almost as if we should appoint an official committee to approve or disapprove every conference’s lineup. Enough is enough.

I find a number of things about this outcry to be contradictory and quite frankly, dishonest.

True Diversity and Representation

The center of this debate is whether or not conferences like LessConf are using an unbalanced and unfair, even racist and sexist representation of the industry demographic by lining up a bunch of Caucasian male’s for all the speaking. The demands have been for more women and more “people of color”.

But let’s use some facts to cut through the heated emotions. Considering that the largest portion of our population, 15%, are descendants of Germans, it would only be fair if 15% of all speakers at all US based conferences are also of German descent. Irish is next at almost 11%. Then we get to African American, English, American, Mexican, Italian, Polish, French, and the list goes on. As for White Americans as a group, regardless of ancestry, the ones who “unfairly” dominate the speaking roles, the percentage is 80. My question to you who want so desperately for every conference to be “diverse”, how do we pull that off without having 50 speakers? And we haven’t even discussed gender yet.

Next I went through Scobleizer’s Twitter list of founders; 500 in total. Want to guess what I found (at least judging by the avatar?) 36 of the 500 were women. That’s 1 in every 14. So to be fair, how about a new rule of thumb for conference lineups? For every 14 males you invite, you have to invite 1 woman? As for African American’s I saw 1. Yes, just 1. There were certainly many from other countries, but very few could easily be determined by their skin color. Maybe 20 – 40 or so who were identifiable by their avatars as non-caucasian male. So if being statistically representative of the demographic is the goal, its going to have to be all caucasian males at the conferences. Sorry folks.

What does it mean to discriminate?

Here’s the thing about racism and sexism, you can’t determine if someone, like a conference organizer, is a racist/sexist by the makeup of the speaker lineup. You are seeing the outcome of a lot of work, a lot of phone calls and emails; a whole lot of networking. The result cannot logically indicate what is in the heart of the organizer. Perhaps if the person in question were making racist or sexist comments, or mistreating people of the opposite gender and race, then you’d have some grounds to make a case.

As for discrimination, I think its time for a refresher on what discrimination actually is. So from dictionary.com, here’s the definition:

treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favor of or against, a person or thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing belongs rather than on individual merit

In other words, if you look at a group of speakers and think to yourself, I wish the makeup of race and gender where different in order to be fair, you are practicing discrimination. You see, the conference organizers who pick the best 9 speakers, from the circle of whom they know or are able to come in contact with, and who is willing, and who is available and who is popular enough to draw attendees willing to fly across country and pay almost $1000 after flight, hotel, and ticket, may not have been discriminating in any way. It may never have even crossed their minds as to what color, ethnicity or sex any of them were. If they selected based on merit and availability, then by definition they did not discriminate. However, if after they saw their lineup and thought, “uh oh, no women, African Americans, Germans, Indians, etc, we have to fix this,” they would then very much be guilty of discrimination.

Who has the right to determine the goal and message of a conference?

I’ve read some outlandish opinions on this one during the debate. Some believe the conference is there to give the audience what they want, but that is only half the story. In selecting speakers, a conference organizer generally has a message or a goal they feel is an important one to provide to the audience. While they certainly want the audience to connect and to be enticed by it, they also are doing it because they themselves feel its important to share. It’s not a shotgun of hopes and wishes for success. A lot of thought goes into who the speakers will be and what their message will be. If conference organizers have to be worried about the physical appearance of the speakers, I wonder how many conferences we will even have in coming years and certainly I wonder what the quality of them will be. Not because women and non-caucasian men aren’t wise and experienced (is there really anyone who feels this way anymore? I see no evidence of it), but simply because the focus will no longer be on who the person is and what their message is, but instead on what gender and race they are. Doesn’t that sound familiar? It seems that no matter how hard we try to move on from racism and sexism and have true equality, the very people who vocally champion such a cause, are the ones keeping racial and sexual differences at the forefront, making sure we never forget to see the color of a persons skin when we look at them.

You know what I want to focus on? Building kick-ass startups; creating awesome web sites, solving peoples problems by using our wonderful new technology, and meeting people like Steve Bristol, Allan Branch, Dan Martell, Jason Fried, David Heinemeier Hansson, etc. Just like last year I got to meet Gary Vaynerchuk in person and have lunch with him, and then meet David Hauser, who I’d never heard of, but now have great respect for and have learned a lot from, I fully expect to learn from and meet many great people at this year’s LessConf.

Where is our focus?

In the end, the good news is this: those who attend LessConf and other beneficial conferences, will gain new wisdom from the experiences of the speakers and will learn and grow from meeting other like minded folk, regardless of gender, sexual preference, age, or race. They will come away from LessConf enriched, refreshed, and wiser, with new friends, wider networks, and possibly a whole new outlook on their endeavors. Those that stay away because LessConf didn’t put enough effort into purposeful discrimination, will continue to feel bitter and miserable; will continue to shake their head that this world is still so focused on race and gender…even though they themselves are the only ones who still notice the color of a person’s skin, the origin of their birthplace, or the specific mix of X/Y chromosomes.

I hope the offended can one day bring themselves to see past the perceived discrimination to what is being offered here: the opportunity to hear from some truly successful and wise people, and attend one of the best organized conferences in the country, run by two people who really care about everyone who attends, and really care about sharing the wisdom of the speakers to the attendees. This conference puts you close to the speakers, it involves you, it brings you together, not separates. I recommend you attend and leave your discrimination concerns at home. There’s no room for it in this community, and there isn’t near as much of it, if any, as some would have us believe. What there is, is a whole lot of opportunity for us to learn from each other, put our differences aside and build some really great things.

For a good portion of my IT career I’ve had the opportunity to work on projects outside my regular full time job. It’s been a great privilege and I attribute much of the success in my career to these side projects. I believe everyone working in any kind of tech industry can benefit from them as well.

I know the major objection will be that of time constraints, particularly for those of you with jobs that already make you work long hours. I hear it from developers and designers all the time. Though that may be the case, its important to look beyond the now, and look to your future. Your current employer may not always be there. Work situations in IT can change overnight and its up to you to be prepared. Working on a side project will not only help for your next job, but also better enable you to perform your current one. Here’s four reasons why you should start or get involved with a project on the side.

Creative Outlet
Whether you are a designer or a developer, an employee or a contractor, most of us have to answer to someone when working on a web related project. In most cases, unless you are the one funding the project, those you report to can override your ideas and your vision, limit your creative input and take the project in a very different direction. Often times in the corporate work place particularly, creativity can be stifled in the name of red tape, the bottom line, and ‘because we’ve always done it that way’.Though it’s important to find a way to balance our creative desires with the need to make our bosses, clients, founders and investors happy, it can be a difficult, and unrewarding effort. Working on a side project can provide another outlet for your creativity, even if its working for someone else on a side project, it won’t be under as much stress since its not your main source of income, and you have more freedom to express your opinions without fear of finding yourself in the unemployment line. But do be sure to select your side projects carefully. You don’t want to find yourself in another restrictive situation. Find one where you can be involved in the creative side, and have a voice at least in the part of the project where you are contributing.

Think Outside Your Daily Box
For me, this is the most important reason. Often times our day jobs revolve around a certain unchangeable set of problems we must solve, with a limited set of solutions we can choose from. Even if within the scope of the project we find ourselves wearing many different hats, we are still limited to the time constraints, chosen technologies, and the industry of our day jobs. We are also often limited by those managing us with the ways in which we can solve problems.

I find that time and time again, an issue arises at work that I just recently solved on a side project. It’s ironic, but at least in my experience, my side projects tend to solve more problems for my day job than the other way around. But, I think this is because on side projects we get to tackle new and unusual problems, again due to our ability to stretch ourselves creatively.

Over my 15+ years of IT experience, I have found that those I’ve worked with who work on side projects are generally more helpful than those who don’t, in terms of thinking outside the box and solving problems, from using new technologies, to improved process, helpful tools, etc. This is reason enough to step outside your daily full time job box and experience a new challenge. It will not only prepare you for the day you may lose your job, but will also strengthen you for your current job, in ways you have probably not yet imagined.

Note to employers, encourage your tech employees to pursue projects on the side. Ensure they have the time to do so by not working them 80 hrs a week. In the end, your employees will be happier, more experienced, and bring a deeper perspective to your projects. It’s a win-win for everyone involved.

Working with Different People
In the previous section I discussed the benefits of working with different technologies, different tools, different problems and thus different solutions. Working with different people brings the same benefits. Even if we find ourselves working with the best, brightest most experienced in our industry, working with various sorts of people from varied backgrounds and with varied skills can help us expand our experiences, our knowledge, and our methods of creative problem solving. It also helps us widen our network, and establish friendships with a deeper array of people in our field.

Eggs in One Basket
As obvious as this one is, its important nonetheless. Even if a side project isn’t bringing in money, its a far better starting point to have should we lose our day jobs and suddenly have no income, than if we were involved in nothing else when the situation occurs. It’s even better if the side project(s) can provide you with another source of income. Multiple streams of income are always better than relying on just one. As well, if you find yourself waiting to find a new job, you can continue to work on a project, expanding your skills, using your creativity, networking, and, using the side project to demonstrate your skills and experience to prospective employers.

I’m sure there are many more reasons why a side project is beneficial, but hopefully just these four have convinced you of the benefits. If you don’t have an idea for something you can do on your own, announce your availability online and in your local meetups, or consider joining work on an existing open source project. If you are in design, you could consider redesigning the site or marketing material for your favorite charity, or look for a local group of developers who might be working on a great project idea but are in need of some design talent. Whatever your situation, there are always opportunities to expand your horizons and practice your skill sets, and doing so can help improve your futures and the futures of those effected by the projects you participate in.

About two weeks ago, Josh Hemsley, partner with me on Peepnote.com, tweeted about a site I had not yet heard of, prtlnd.com. It was an online directory of people in the tech community of Portland, created by Chris Kalani. The second I saw it I phoned Josh and within 24 hours, Josh, Dan Denney, creator of the Front-End Design Conference, and I we were discussing design and our own take on the concept. Dan and I had already been discussing how to assist the tech community in some way, and this concept seemed like a good starting point.

Yesterday morning we launched our two week effort, tmpby.com, in hopes of bringing together the growing tech community. We have no desire to replace any of the great meetups and groups already meeting all around the bay area, but instead, to aide them in their work, demonstrate our strength to the other tech communities around the country, and help local tech users become more aware of others in their same area of work and study.

We will also announce local tech news and events on our Twitter account so take a moment to follow us there and please spread the word to everyone you know in Tech in the Tampa Bay area.

I love technology and I love stories of how technology improves our lives. This time, the story is my own.

Saturday night, I sat with my family in the parking lot in our car trying to decide where to eat dinner. It’s extra difficult these days because I’m on a calorie counting diet. I took out my iPhone and pulled up the DailyBurn iPhone App to check and see how many calories and fat/protein/carbs I had left for the day. I knew that Chilis was on the way to our next stop so I used Safari mobile to pull up their nutritional menu. They had enough healthy options on the menu that I quickly agreed with my kid’s request that we eat there.

When we arrived, I used the same online nutritional pdf from their web site to decide on my order. Then as the food came, I used the FoodScanner iPhone App to enter in all the foods I would be eating that night. I saw that if I only ate half of what I ordered, saving the rest for left-overs the next day, I’d still have room for a little dessert after. By the time the food had arrived, my calorie count was already updated simply by typing in the names of the foods and doing a search on them in the FoodScanner iPhone App (also by Daily Burn).

As we finished eating, it was suggested we go to Smoothie King for dessert. I looked up their nutrional guide online, found a healthy protein smoothie, and within minutes had also added iy to my calorie count. That would complete my calories for the day, keeping me well under my target. The shake, by the way, turned out to be beyond my expectations. I’ll be returning again regularly.

When the Chilis bill arrived, I used the Check Please iPhone app to calculate the tip (automatically adding 18% and rounding off to the nearest dollar). I filled out the credit card receipt, and then, using the Shoeboxed app, took a photo of the receipt which was auto submitted to their web site, and will be scanned and added to my budget tracking without any work on my part. I can leave the paper receipt right on the table…no need to take it home and fool with it later.

Tomorrow when I wake up, I’ll step on my Withings wifi enabled scale, which will take my weight, measure my body fat, calculate my BMI and submit the data to the Daily burn web site to help me track exactly how many calories I should continue to eat to reach my goal. Again, no work on my part, no time wasted in trying to reach my dual goals of getting leaner and staying on budget.

It is with this process that I’m able to keep on track with my financial budget for the year, and, it is with this process, only accomplished thanks to today’s technology, that I have also managed to lose 12 lbs in 30 days…without any exercise at all and very little stress.

Yes, I do love technology, and it is making life better…and this is all with just using the iPhone. I can’t wait to see how much better it will be when my 3G iPad arrives.

Update: One month later, I’ve now lost 19 lbs, continuing to use this strategy.

For the FoodScanner iPhone App, DailyBurn iPhone App, Withings Body Scale visit the Daily Burn web site.

Visit the Shoeboxed web site to read about their services and the iPhone app.