Misc

This past week, we lost computer scientist Steve Wilhite. Some of you may not be familiar with this particular ‘Steve’ of the tech world, but there’s a great chance you’ve used his creation – the GIF.

GIF, which stands for Graphics Interchange Format, was created in 1987 at CompuServe by a team led by Steve. The compressed file format allowed slower connections in the 1980s to transfer images more efficiently. Since then, we’ve seen the GIF blow up on MySpace, Tumblr, and Facebook. In 2013, Steve accepted a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Webbys, where he clarified that GIF is pronounced: “jif.”

Maybe you have noticed the term ‘Influencer’ being thrown around a lot these days. I’m sure a mental image of some young person dancing in a random or taking very staged photos “living their best life” comes to mind. But the term is based around a much more fascinating economic phenomenon: content creation and consumption of the internet.

Picture the scene if you will: responding to email while your vehicle barrels down the road at 100+ miles per hour. Normally this would be quite concerning, but your car is following at a perfect 3 car lengths from the one in front of you. Everyone is moving along in orderly lines. No one is weaving in and out of traffic, no slow drivers in the left lane, and no stopping until you reach your destination. All this is made possible by a traffic controlling supercomputer. Sounds like something out of a movie or sci-fi right? Well, it may be closer than you think.

Since I’ve been in IT industry, I’ve been called an “IT Guru” many, many times. I have always been very uncomfortable being called a “guru” mostly because I don’t believe I am one. I admittedly don’t know everything about IT – far from it. I’m also okay with that, knowing that I didn’t graduate with an Information Technology or Computer Science degree. I just have the 16 years of on-the-job experience to back my knowledge, and I learn something new every day.

With that said, I think we need to change our language and our use of the word “guru.” Over the years, we’ve grown accustomed to phrases and words that we’ve misappropriated, and we don’t understand or acknowledge the history behind them. “Guru” is just one of many, and it would surprise you how many words and phrases we use without knowing their origins.

Guru comes from Buddhist and Hindu religions and refers to a spiritual guide or leader who is held in high esteem.[1] Calling someone a “guru” who is not an actual guru, diminishes the importance of its title and its origins. Unfortunately, complicated power dynamics can be involved in a guru/devotee relationship. A guru can claim to be all-knowing and to be trusted without question. This can lead to systems of abuse, harm and misconduct.[2]

I am not all-knowing, and I want to be questioned and taught. I might be an expert, but that doesn’t mean I’m better than anyone else.

Here’s some other phrases we can use: IT Expert, IT Whiz, or IT Specialist, perhaps. If you’re interested in learning more about other phrases that are misappropriated, here are some articles to expand your mind:

https://www.npr.org/sections/publiceditor/2018/08/08/636116479/adjusting-appropriately-to-words-that-hurt

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/commonly-terms-racist-origins/story?id=71840410

https://www.yogajournal.com/lifestyle/cultural-appropriation/

[1] https://www.yogajournal.com/lifestyle/cultural-appropriation/

[2] https://www.yogaisdeadpodcast.com/resources-gurus-killed-yoga

One of my fellow Birds had a post relating to the rise of eSports a couple years back. It’s even more of a thing now so I’m writing about it again from a different perspective to focus on a more specific title in the eSports arena. Don’t worry – Jordan and I have a deathmatch scheduled in which we will settle our differences (which I will promptly lose).

A while back – pre-COVID, if you can remember those days – I was desperate to replace my laptop. It was becoming more and more sluggish, even after reformatting the thing to baseline. The good news is that I’m a simple gal when it comes to laptops. I don’t need touchscreens or tablet modes. I don’t care about hard drive capacity or color. I want it to be functional and fast with pristine resolution.