For a long time, tech culture has focused too narrowly on technical skills; this has resulted in a tech community that too often puts companies and code over people. Greater Than Code is a podcast that invites the voices of people who are not heard from enough in tech: women, people of color, trans and/or queer folks, to talk about the human side of software development and technology. Greater Than Code is providing a vital platform for these conversations, and developing new ideas of what it means to be a technologist beyond just the code. Featuring an ongoing panel of racially and gender diverse tech panelists, the majority of podcast guests so far have been women in tech! We’ve covered topics including imposter syndrome, mental illness, sexuality, unconscious bias and social justice. We also have a major focus on skill sets that tech too often devalues, like team-building, hiring, community organizing, mentorship and empathy. Each episode also includes a transcript. We have an active Slack community that members can join by pledging as little as $1 per month via Patreon. (https://www.patreon.com/greaterthancode)
168: Appolition with Dr. Kortney Ziegler
01:06 - Kortney’s Superpower: Being a visionary. Seeing things that aren’t necessarily there.
01:50 - How Appolition Came to Be
- Grassroots Company Crowdfunding Money for Incarcerated Black Mothers
- Tweeted About Using the Change Round Up Model
- Educating Those in Tech About What Bail Is
- Gaining Trust
07:20 - Kortney’s Professional Background
- Building Things in Technological Space
- PhD in 2011 - difficulty finding substantial employment
- Filmmaker, Scholar
- Encountered a lot of discrimination in professional career
- Became Entrepreneur in 2012/2013
- Attended Filmmakers Hackathon
- Launched Trans*H4CK
- Appolition
13:10 - Appolition Specifics
- Bail is Predatory
- Educate Yourself About Bail
- Partnered With Outside Team
- 2000 Users, Waitlist of 8000
- Then Brought In House
- Unlimited Users
- Web App - No Download Required
19:45 - Partnering With Others To Provide Education
21:00 - Surprises/Ah-Ha Moments
- The Expenses
- Humbling to Recognize the Work That Goes Into It
- Naming of the App Traveling in Media Convos
25:10 - The Goal of Appolition
- How We Can Leverage Technology That Exists
30:00 - Lessons From A Hackathon
- Went As Award Winning Filmmaker
- Engineers Not Willing to Hear Ideas of Creators
- Led to Creating Trans*H4CK
- Refuge Restroom
35:19 - Changes Seen At Tech Events Since Trans*H4CK
- Great Conversations and Events Happened
- Startups Can Shift Rules, They Haven’t been As Inclusive As the Discourse Surrounding Them Was Encouraging Them To Be
- Some Things Were Good, Some Things Were Bad, Some Things Need Improvement
43:08 - Plans After Leaving Tech
- Getting Back to Creative Side
- Filmmaking
- Self-Improvement
45:49 - Fatigue
50:00 - Future Endeavors
- Follow @Appolition
- #AppolitionBookList
Reflections:
Jamey: Appolition being a webapp so that it is accessible to those who don’t have smartphones.
Chanté: Going back into self improvement and self reflection is being tucked into the back of my mind.
Jacob: What are conversations I can have that I have access to about diversity and inclusion before the professional gets called in.
Kortney: Moved by the idea of finding community in tech.
This episode was brought to you by @therubyrep of DevReps, LLC. To pledge your support and to join our awesome Slack community, visit patreon.com/greaterthancode
To make a one-time donation so that we can continue to bring you more content and transcripts like this, please do so at paypal.me/devreps. You will also get an invitation to our Slack community this way as well.
Amazon links may be affiliate links, which means you’re supporting the show when you purchase our recommendations. Thanks!
Special Guest: Dr. Kortney Ziegler.