Silicon Valley could lead a very important gender-equality charge

By THOMAS HARTWELL

Microsoft and Facebook, among other large tech companies, are leading the charge on closing the gender pay gap (article here). "Hired, an online jobs marketplace" conducted a study of more than 100,000 jobs, 15,000 candidates and 3,000 companies, revealing that the pay gap in Silicon Valley, on average, is about a 3 percent difference in salary to the advantage of males (in some extreme cases, the wage gap could be up to 30 percent). Part of the contribution to this gap in pay is what is referred to as the "expectation gap." This is the idea that women, in general, have come to expect to be paid less and, in turn, ask for less when applying for a job. There is a bright side though; Mashable also found that younger women entering the tech workforce are inclined to ask for more money upon entry.

Image from hired.com

Large companies like these leading this charge can be a big help with this workplace issue, but, in many cases, companies are tackling the issue of payment in the wrong ways. For example, Google, to address the concern of a pay gap internally, raised pay across the board. While a raise came to the women of the company, the pay gap remained, so the issue of men being paid more money for the same expectations remained.

The issue of a gender pay gap, just like many other things, begins at a young age with expectations. There must be organizations that empower women from a young age and develop training that prepares women to circumvent and fundamentally change the way they approach the tech field and the workplace as a whole -- and there are third parties which do just that. Global Fund for Women's Technology Initiative speaks directly to the issue of pay gaps. While Global Fund for Women deals with worldwide women's rights issues, they have developed an initiative for funding and providing access to training and educational opportunities in the STEM and IT fields.

Image from globalfundforwomen.org

While there should be celebration and optimism surrounding the recurring announcements of slashed pay gaps, that optimism should be cautious. There is still plenty of inequality and discrimination in this country's job market (often fear-based discrimination). Many, many more steps need to be taken in the right direction --  we haven't even begun to talk about the racial pay gap or the lack of gender neutral and transgender employment...

Coca-Cola's cardboard competes with Google Cardboard

By THOMAS HARTWELL

Vertical reality is a growing medium of entertainment in the U.S, and worldwide. A few tech companies, namely Google and Oculus, have begun to master the science of the potential entertainment giant, but now Coke is getting into the game (see the article, here).

From http://mashable.com/2016/03/02/coca-cola-vr-cardboard/#9NcDAvC9RSqK 

Consumers of Coke only need a knife and some tape, and, for the price of a 12-pack, you have a pair of virtual reality goggles fit for your phone (and you get a 12-pack). The Coke makeshift headset works just like Google Cardboard, in that, through some folding, bending and securing, you can slip your smartphone into a slot and watch videos, movie trailers, etc. in virtual reality.  

From http://mashable.com/2014/06/25/google-io-2014-wtf-cardboard/#biHn8Vhb45qM

Coke isn't the only unlikely newcomer to the virtual reality front. McDonald's has been experimenting with the idea of a virtual reality goggle kit in the form of a happy meal box. The Swedish branch of the company has also provided a promotional app to go with the foldable cardboard so that children can immediately take advantage of their new gadget on a smartphone.

This competition from consumer good providers could put a damper on the excitement for tech giants' virtual reality breakthroughs, especially if they cost more than the price of a happy meal or a case of Coke. I don't expect the tech minds to drop the idea, though -- there will soon be a large market for virtual reality accessories, and once the tech really gets going, the more hardcore consumers are going to be willing to pay a little more for a high-quality product.

From http://static.gamesradar.com/images/mb/GamesRadar/us/Daily/2011/07-Jul/01/Sony%20Virtual%20Reality/SonyVirtualFront--article_image.jpg

While virtual reality hasn't yet exploded, a technology that, right now, isn't perfect but isn't terribly expensive or complicated either is sparking quite a bit of discussion. From movies, to video games, to a market in virtual travel, talk of virtual reality possibilities continue to spring up, and companies all over the globe are looking into it. Facebook, Nokia and Sony are only a few in the tech industry investing heavily, suggesting a myriad of gadgets and doodads in the near future, so keep your eyes peeled. 

New media is about more than just you

By THOMAS HARTWELL

The emergence of social media and its growth over the past decade have done well to forward many people's careers and social lives, but as it continues to grow, mainstream social media is expanding its reach into even humanitarian efforts. The Guardian reports in a recent article, that Facebook and Twitter have aided in finding missing children through the use of their respective platforms. The change has been described as improvement from "milk cartons, posters, flyers, meetings and traditional news reports" to television and radio broadcasts to modern-day mass media attention, word-of-mouth and world-of-mouth.

In 2015, Child Rescue Alert in the U.K. partnered with Facebook to expand the reach of the goals of the organization. The use of Facebook, and later Twitter, increased viewership of the missing child ads as well as drew attention to the appearance of the suspect(s) in the cases. Millions, sometimes even tens of millions, saw the ads.

So, besides the obvious, simply viewership of the post, what benefits could the development of social media for virtually everything have on this type of use? Recognition and traffic of a post like this one would obviously need traffic and attention, but equally important, if not more, is speed -- immediacy. If tens of millions of people see a "missing child" ad just a day or two too late, it could mean the difference between finding and not finding that missing child.

In an age of "having to know right now," it may seem that constant, overwhelming updates are riddled with unnecessary and useless information. I would argue that it is a necessary evil to endure and filter through the "junk mail" of social media to receive important, timely and reliable information. This, as a result, will create a more streamlined and reliable social community. Where does that start? The answer: with each Facebook-er, Twitter-er and blogger worldwide. The ability to recognize and utilize social media as both a social outlet and a tool to improve one's own life and, potentially, the lives of others is imperative to the use and future growth of social media.