Girl (geeks) on top!

I've had a small break in updating my blog as I've just started out on my new freelance career. It's all very exciting, and I've already got my teeth into a great new web project.

I'm actually freelancing at a place I worked about 5-6 years ago. When I was last there, the technical department was full of geeky guys and perhaps the odd girl, who were either PAs or there on a research/analytical basis. What a difference a few years makes. On my first visit back to the department, 3 out of the 5 people working on my new project, were women. HURRAH!

Being a web editor means I've mostly worked with blokes, especially on the tech side, and it's always annoyed me. Who says woman can't be good at the development and programming side of things? I'm no technical guru, but my husband will hold his hands up and admit, I know how to do all the technical things in our household.

Woman are actually brilliant at the logical things in life, plus we're great at multi-tasking - both important qualities if you want to be a web developer. I wish I'd realised there was such a career. Back in the '90s when I started my career, the web was so new that I never knew you could train to be someone who built the damn thing. In fact, there's been a rise in girls taking science GSCEs, which shows that the female of the species are finally becoming more interested in things that were traditional seen as male.

So here's to all the geeky girls on top (and yes, I'm showing my age by including the image above - anyone else remember this show?) and let's hope there will be many more of them over the years.

Have you got Kindle fever?

You see, I haven't. And for a geek (albeit, a glam one) that's quite disturbing. I jump on the gadget train as soon as a new must-have is released. I get great joy out of discovering new and exciting websites and products. Yet, the Kindle just leaves me cold.

I feel however, like I must be the only one. The latest Kindle Fire has been released in the States to huge acclaim. They've sold out across the land and keen Kindlers (is that the correct term?) over here in Blighty are desperate to find out the release date - but I really couldn't be bothered. I have downloaded a few books onto my iPad but I've not got round to reading them, because when it comes to a fight between a good old fashioned book and reading one on a tablet, the paper version wins every time for me.

I know all the plus points about a Kindle - the books take up less space, you can change the font size - but all I hear is yack, yack, yack.

For me, reading a book is just so much more than the words - it's the smell of that new (or vintage) book when you open it; the feel of the paper - it's a total experience that a tablet just can't give me. I like turning down a corner or slipping in a bookmark. I like seeing how many more pages I've got to go. I like people knowing what I'm reading - I've had interesting chats with total strangers about books I've been reading on trains, planes and in cafes.

This may be the one big paradox in my life - a geekette who likes reading old fashioned books - but sometimes a girl just knows what she wants. I just hope books don't vanish completely - I really want my son to know the pleasure in turning those pages and immersing himself in a good story.

Maybe the only way to settle this is with a Harry Hill style 'Fight!' - I'm reckoning the oversized book  would beat the oversized plastic tablet ever so slightly. What do you think? Are you on Team Book? Or Team Kindle? Let me know!

My geek confession

Hi, I’m Jayne, I’m 38 and I’m a... geek! There, I’ve said it. Growing up in the ‘70s there wasn’t much of a chance to be a gadget freak as aside from Simon, every toy and game was of the non-electronic variety. However, in 1984, my life changed. It was Christmas and to my huge delight, I discovered the latest must-have underneath the tree – a BBC micro computer. 

Wow! It was literally like all my Christmasses had come at once. Sure, I used it to play games, loading up Chuckie Egg via a tape (yes, a tape and it took for-e-ver!), but mostly, I loved to make programmes.

They didn’t really do much – well, unless you count a big flashing star coming up on the screen with my name inside of it – but they made me feel amazingly clever. As the typical youngest child, I was always overshadowed by my high-achieving big sister but this was an area I had ownership off – she wanted nothing of this battleground, and I’m sure this added to my new sense of amazement.

Overall, academically maths and science have never been my thing. I’m a creative person. A words person. However, there’s always been an inner geek busting to get out and the new found world of computers and mobiles and eventually, the web, allowed me to tap into this lesser used side of my brain. 

Little did my 11-year-old self knew that one day, being a geek would get me a fabulous job! I stumbled upon the internet, after dismissing a career in newspapers, and was hooked from day one. I've worked for big internet giants such as AOL and Yahoo! and non-internet companies, and I've written about fashion, interviewed A-list celebs and produced content for kids, but the one uniting factor has been the web and technology.

I love it. I love how, unlike traditional media communications, it allows a democracy among people and I love the speed. I could never go back to working on a paper, when I’ve been used to hourly updates. As I sit here typing this, the hacking scandal enquiry is happening and the web came into its own – with everyone and their sister tweeting about the attack on Murdoch with a cream pie by a protestor. Tomorrow, it will really be old news...

Saying all this though, I am a girlie girl. I love fashion. I love nights out with friends. I don’t sit alone at my computer all day, but I do find solice in it.

Having recently had a baby (my DS is now 14 months old), without my iPhone I’d have been lost. It enabled me to talk to other mums via baby-centric communities who were up at silly o’clock enduring another sleepless night. It meant, via Facebook, I could keep up with friends, who were busy living their lives, while I adjusted to motherhood. It meant I could bore my friends and family witless with the many, many photos I took of my DS. It also meant I could keep in touch with friends further afield via Skype. 

Modern technology has enhanced my life and it can enhance yours too and this is where my blog comes in. I’ll be reviewing the apps that have the most relevance to real people’s lives. I’ll be choosing my favourite blogs and alerting you to fabulous new online boutiques. And I’ll be passing on my online knowledge, which hopefully after working in the digital arena for 11 years, is worth something.

So come along for the ride – Digital Dolly is here to prove geek can really be chic.