Update: I’m slugging away at the SXSW PanelPicker application. It’s due within two weeks, and as I enter the answers to questions, I realize what an incredible challenge this is. I can’t wait to share this with y’all!
The 2019 SXSW PanelPicker is here!
A summary of the PanelPicker is described below. The links will take you to the appropriate sections.
PanelPicker is the official SXSW user-generated session proposal platform developed to encourage the community to pitch their proposals for our daytime conference programming. This easy, two-step online process allows the SXSW community to have a voice in what creative and thought-provoking programming is scheduled at the SXSW Conference and SXSW EDU.
There are many session formats to choose from. Here are a few:
The PanelPicker runs from July 1 to the 19th. I am in the process of submitting my pitch for the Pitch Event. Although I am unable to describe in detail what my idea is,
I will drop hints here and there in future posts of my ideas. In the meantime, send me comments if you’ve attended SXSW before. I’ve attended SXSW Edu, but I’d like to know your experiences with past SXSW Interative sessions.
I’m not a programming expert. In fact, I hate programming. My main career path has been in general management; computer science courses were not required for an Accounting degree. I can’t even spell pergramming.
My first college major was Engineering. There was a joke circulating in the engineering department. It went something like this:
What do you call an Engineering Major dropout? An Accounting Major.
Initially, things went well with my intro Engineering courses. However, I was required to take a Pascal Programming class. I failed the class once and almost failed the class again.
Computer Programming stressed me so much I changed my major to Accounting.
There was a joke circulating around the business school:
What do you call an Accounting Major dropout? A Marketing major.
For years, I avoided learning any programming language. Besides, I enjoyed Accounting, and programming was not needed.
When I heard about Cryptocurrency, I wasn’t initially impressed. Another future dot-com failure, I erroneously assumed.
However, once I discovered the Blockchain and its worldwide implications, I was hooked. I felt I needed to be a part of this.
I had to learn a few programming languages to get a deep understanding of the Blockchain,
Soon after, I began online HTML and CSS courses. I eventually understood the basics, but I wasn’t interested in proceeding further.
I discovered Solidity. Simply put, it is a programming language to create smart contracts in the Blockchain. I visited a training website, BitDegree, where there was a fun, interactive course on Solidity.
When I started the free course, I wasn’t sure if I would be succesful on creating a smart contract via Solidity and “Space Doggos”. But after three online lessons, I felt a sea change. It was still difficult, but it wasn’t impossible. My skin didn’t break out in a rash. What happened?
I had fun with the program. I completed the first three tasks without a hitch; I gained confidence to continue.
Maybe I’m older and wiser. Maybe I just had to be motivated due to something so exciting, so earth-shattering like the Blockchain, that programming was now possible.
I’m not a programmer. I can do create a WordPress website with plugins, but I’m light years away from applying for a Full Stack web developer position.
My goal is to have a rudimentary knowledge of a few programming languages. I feel my career path is leading me to a finance position at a startup Blockchain company. Understanding programming languages will help me gain insight as to what my programmers are doing, and why.
I’ll continue to post updates on my adventures in Blockchain.
Thoughts before, during, and after my first Blockchain Meetup:
Last Saturday, I had a Eureka! moment. No, my idea didn’t form in my head while I bathed in the rub like Archimedes. It didn’t hit me like a ton of bricks the way it does like Dr. House.
When an idea forms in my head, it occurs when I am in the middle of a mundane task – washing dishes, running an errand, or listening to a cruddy podcast.
I’m going to let you in on a little secret about ideas, a theory that can never be proven. I can make millions on it – writing a best selling novel, becoming the female Seth Godin. Although this secret is pretty incredible, I have a low tolerance for keeping such juicy morsels from you, dear reader.
Here it is:
When an idea pops in your head, don’t dismiss it.
“That’s it?” you mutter, as you throw your iPhone out the kitchen window. Please, my fellow lover of knowledge, hear me out. Most humans, when an idea presents itself, will ignore it and move on to more pressing, present errands.
I have to pick up the kids. The dishes are piling in the sink. Did I pay my utility bill? In other words, I don’t have time for this!
Listen to me: Listen to yourself. Don’t dismiss your thoughts.
This is meant for perfectly rational thoughts and not those that will cause harm to yourself or others. This is meant for those thoughts that have the potential to become great ideas, that then have the potential to become great services or products.
I may wax poetic about my idea theory in another article.
An idea popped in my head listening to a podcast while doing laundry. The podcast was delving into the Blockchain protocol “proof of work”. This subject interests me immensely, but unfortunately, the podcaster had a unique ability of sucking the life out of an interesting topic.
“Maybe this is boring,” I thought, “because I can improve on this idea.”
POP! My idea explodes in my head. Stuck in the middle of piles of clothing in my laundry room, I mutter under my breath the idea so that I don’t forget it. A few minutes pass as I shove clean clothes into recognizable piles then walk quickly to my desk.
The idea is scribbled on the only piece of paper available – a crumbled receipt. I have a bad habit of leaving my note pads everywhere else but my desk.
I discover scraps of paper in the recycling bin nearby. Writing furiously for two pages, I feel confident all the info I had in my head is out.
At this time, I cannot divulge what the idea is. It is connected to Blockchain. It may be complete rubbish. It may lead to another great idea. This idea will may become the reason why I create a Blockchain company. Stay tuned.
My mind currently is on the Blockchain. It’s all I can think about. Before this year, I had heard and knew little about Cryptocurrencies. I knew nothing about the Blockchain. Like most people unfamiliar in this technology, I thought BitCoin was the only Cryptocurrency.
I am an accountant, and had a passing interest in what I thought was another tech fad. It was something I knew about since 2014, but never studied it.
Late March of this year, after ending another job assignment, I saw under my YouTube recommendations a video: Blockchain Might Remake Accounting. Huh. Sure, whatever.
However, my curiosity took hold. I watched Tom Hood, CEO of the Business Learning Institute, explain Blockchain.
By the end of the half hour video, I realized
That I become #FutureReady OR
Do nothing and allow Blockchain to make most of what Accountants do redundant and obsolete, disrupting my career.
My unquenchable thirst for knowledge is never ending and my reading habits are voracious. I blame my dad (he was a true Renaissance Man, and if I have time, I will talk about him here soon). I think Blockchain has quenched my thirst.
Eventually, I whittled down all the information I found about Blockchain. As of this date, I have compiled over 130 websites pertaining to Blockchain and/or Cryptocurrency. My laptop currently holds several dozen whitepapers on the subjects. My Meetup list is now primarily Blockchain based. Have a read through all the sites and papers? No, but I’ve skimmed through most of them and hope to understand it all very soon.
I’ve decided to go on a sabbatical and learn as much as I can about this new technology, so that it becomes my next career choice. I hope my eyeballs are prepared for the onslaught of information.
Please note: I have not been paid to mention any company or person in this article.
