Lower Decks in the Tech World

Until very recently, I tried to follow the major names in tech in order to keep up with the state of the industry. These were the Leo Laportes, Patrick Nortons, Veronica Belmonts, Kevin Roses, Tom Merrits, Kevin Perreras, and Morgan Webbs of technology. However, I recently started following blog posts of people who are one or two degrees of seperation from these tech luminaries, and I am finding it to be very rewarding. There is a depth of knowledge that the heavyweights often don't have time to explore.

I am also seeing that people with a unique perspective and desire to work hard can rise from the "lower decks" to become acknowledged as tech experts. I see this in the way that Cali Lewis created her Geek Brief podcast and soon began making the rounds of tech podcasts and conferences.

How do you know that you have graduated from the lower decks to the executive lounge? I think that, as I mentioned above, being invited to guest on other tech podcasts is a good start. Furthermore, when conventional media outlets (like MSNBC, CNN, Good Morning America, etc.) invite you to discuss technology topics, then you are near the top. However, it takes a while to get to that level, and years of posting insightful blog posts and making contributions beneath the radar are required. I have to also say that it's easier if you are a woman. This does not mean that I think that women who become successful tech commentators get by on their looks. To the contrary, they are almost always smart and savvy technologists. However, I think that Cali Lewis, Veronica Belmont, Amber MacArthur, Justine Ezarik, Natali del Conte, and Morgan Webb get a couple of free passes since they are attractive. I call it "attraction action" which is similar to how "affirmative action" is perceived.

In summary, I am enjoying the exploration of this part of the technology world, and I am sure that many of the personalities that I am looking at now will soon ascend to the top.