Breaking Inspiration Barriers


Image from Pixar Post 
Pixar’s Finding Nemo is my all-time favourite movie for its wonderful sound score, seamless animation and character development. What I enjoy about Pixar’s films is that behind every film, there is a life lesson message, and I think that is that makes Pixar unique from other films. Like every company, Pixar did not create perfect movies on the first go, and gone through many struggles to come up with the final product we see today on the big screens.
In Creativity, inc., Ed Catmull, the President of Pixar and Disney Animation, tells us his experience being in Pixar and his role as an executive in keeping creativity alive and managing the teams behind the wonderful stories. 
In this book, there are great take-aways that interactive media (IM) professionals should consider—regardless of whether they’re in a large company or a smaller one. Here are three of Ed Catmull’s advice that I found important to reflect on:

“Give a good idea to a mediocre team, and they will screw it up. Give a mediocre idea to a great team, and they will either fix it or come up with something better. If you get the team right, chances are that they’ll get the ideas right.” 



I highly agree with this statement. I think compatibility is very important in teams. Ed Catmull states, “It is easy to say you want talented people, and you do, but the way those interact with one another is the real key. Even the smartest people can form an ineffective team if they are mismatched” (p.74). It’s important for IM professionals to recognize that people are not perfect, that everyone has strengths and weaknesses. But other peoples’ strengths can fill in the gaps of others’ weaknesses. It’s all about unity in teams that make it successful. Differences in people doesn’t always mean that there’s going to be a lack in unity because we’re all unlike.  I’ve been in groups where our ideas clashed but what I believe is that even if there are differences in the team, as long as there is a sense of open-mindedness and understanding of each other, we can work around our differences and create something that satisfies everyone.              


“If there are people in your organization who feel they are not free to suggest ideas, you lose. Do not discount ideas from unexpected source. Inspiration can, and does, come from anywhere.”



I think IM professionals should be aware that communication is key. After working on A Bug’s Life, Ed Catmull found that employees were able to see the managers as peers rather than barriers because of the improvement of having a more transparent form of communication. People should be able to clearly and comfortably express their ideas without being judged or neglected. For Pixar, the “exchange of information was key to [their] business” (p.64). Employees should not feel inferior to their peers or high management in sharing their ideas because they are of lower rank. Creativity is unique to each person and regardless of hierarchy in a company, people should not be fearful in expressing their ideas, especially if the idea could be imperative to success. With that being said, IM professionals should be able to provide comfortable and open communication to members of their team.


"Failure isn’t a necessary evil. In fact, it isn’t evil at all. It is a necessary consequence of doing something new.”



The fear of failure has always been something that I struggled with. Growing up, there was an expectation of excellence put upon me. I recall getting my first “C” in oral communications in elementary school because I generally have a quiet demeanor. Although a “C” isn’t a fail, I took it as a indication of failure. I didn’t see that “C” as a learning experience but rather a catastrophe. One of Ed Catmull’s peers, Andrew Stanton, deals with failure by turning it from pain to progress (p.108). He states, “Failure is like learning to ride a bike; it isn’t conceivable that you learn to do this without making mistakes—without topping over a few times” (p.109). It’s important for IM professionals to realize that making a mistake is not the end of the world. I believe there’s positivity in the negative, you just have to find it. Failures allow us to learn and grow, making us better than before, and that is a positive. 

Image from Business Insider

Creativity, inc shows us that even the most successful companies has their own struggles but there are approaches to get over the barriers. The take-aways from the book that I felt were important are related to connection; connection with others and connecting with ourselves. IM Professionals should not only be aware about their team but also aware of themselves. Once you learn to accept and embrace the team and yourself, that’s when any obstacles can be conquered.  




"I always believed that one's woman success can only help another woman's success"- Gloria Vanderbilt

Image from pexel: startupstockphotos.com

My high school offered a class on CISCO Systems to fulfil electives for graduation. I took the class to learn something new and outside of my comfort zone. The course was one that girls in my school did not typically enroll in. This is because demonstrating an interest in computers and hardware was viewed as "nerdy" by my female peers. Therefore, I was not surprised to see that I was the only female student in the class on my first day.

I did very well in this class, specifically, I successfully completed the physical aspect of the exam. Despite being proud of my accomplishment, I could identify areas for self-improvement.  Yet, I received differential treatment from my male peers when I requested their feedback. For example, when my male colleagues received feedback, it was constructive and authentic. By contrast, I received minimal critique on my work. It seemed that my male peers were reluctant to criticize me in fear of causing me emotional pain. Instead, they would say “good job,” regardless of my work’s true quality. This idea presumed that because I was a woman, I was unable to receive criticism.

Women are no different than men. This is because women can do the same work and produce the same outcomes as their male counterparts. However, women do not receive the same treatment (i.e., equal pay, respect) as men. As per my example, I received diluted feedback compared to my male classmates due to my presumed fragility.
It's important to address the issue of gender discrimination in the field to dismantle its occurrence within small- and large-scale companies. Here are some examples of sexism that women in the tech and interactive media industry experience:

Unequal treatment 

Not only do women generally get paid lower, but their bonuses are smaller. Moreover, women are less likely to be promoted than their male colleagues in the same field of work. Consequently, society suggests that women are "fragile" and therefore, unable to manage difficult tasks. At Uber, female engineers sharedthat the tasks given to them were "less meaningful, challenging, andimportant," compared to the tasks assigned to their male co-workers.

Image from pexel: energepic.com

Choosing between their dignity or their career

No one should have to choose between their self-respect and passion. A lot of women in the field feel like they must choose one or the other. Yet, either choice presents negative consequences. If women defend their dignity and speak up, they receive backlash from the community. For example, Ellen Pao and Julie Ann Horvath are women who spoke out to the public about their mistreatment. Yet, they were harassed and threatened for doing so. If women remain silent, they continue to be treated unfairly. Conversely, if they speak out, they are silenced through intimidation. Both consequences harm women’s physical and mental wellbeing. 


Not having enough support in the field and in getting more women into the industry

Support is important because it positively impacts an individual experiencing hardship by validating their feelings. When Julie Ann Horvath shared the discrimination she faced during her employment at GitHub on social media, her female GitHub peers challenged her statement. Specifically, they stated that they have never experienced gender discrimination in the company. The lack of support Horvath received from her female peers for her experience disparaged her credibility. Vidya Narayanan, an ex-Google tech lead, also feels that there aren’t enough women helping women in the industry. Perhaps, established women in the field feel that others must face the challenges they did to grow thicker skin? However, explicitly speaking up and supporting fellow women not only lets them know that they are not alone in their circumstance, but gives them the power to speak up for themselves. 

After identifying some of the challenges that women face in the industry, I realized that there's a common thread between them--a lack of support. Support from companies for women, support from society, and even support from women for women. It's not to say that there are NO supports available for women, but I believe that there aren't enough. 
There needs to be support from companies. They need to eradicate the discrepancies in salary. They need to realize that by having equal pay for their staff, their staff would not only be satisfied and content, but it'll also be good for the business. Companies should also support women employees by creating a safe place to allow them to speak about their concerns. There should be no tolerance of any form for harassment in the workplace. Women should not feel like they're unsafe around the people they are pursuing a passion alongside. 

I also believe that having more women in the field of tech and interactive media will help in diminishing discrimination. To do this, we must mentor young girls who develop passions in STEM fields to facilitate their careers. If no one else supports women, then we got to come together and support each other. 





The future is in our homes

Image from http://blog.newinhomes.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/jetsons-2-642x336.jpg
If the Jetsons Family existed, they would be very proud of the gadgets that inhabit many homes today. The idea of having a connected or "smart" home is exciting and many companies are starting to push out more innovative products to make our lives easier.

But what is a connected home?
The purpose behind connected homes is that it allows us to access products anywhere in our house. The products may have sensory, processors or controls that responds through a connection. This is usually done through a shared network between the receiver (i.e., the product) and the transmitter (e.g., phone app, through voice recognition, etc.)

Why is it trending?
The connected home is not a new concept, we have only just enhanced it.  Here are some reasons why the idea of your house being connected to everything is trending:
  • The ability to sync devices without moving from one room to another. We are lazy beings and connected home devices gives us the ability to stream our favourite shows from our small laptop screen onto our 60" T.V. in our living room.
  • It can be easily installed onto our existing homes. There is no need to completely rebuild our house. Since everything is connected through a common network, smart devices can either be installed through conventional power outlets or through wireless connections.
  • The ability to give us a peace of mind by allowing us to monitor our homes remotely. We like to be in control. We feel better when we're able to control things in our lives without actually being there and smart devices allows us to do so.
Who are the experts?
  • Amazon: Created the Echo hubs which has been on multiple lists for the top smart home gadgets
  • Samsung: Invented the first Smart TV back in 2008
  • Phillips: Created the Phillips Hue, the first iOS controlled lightbulb

Three publications that you may be interested in reading about connected homes:
Website that offers shopping, reviews, tutorials and articles related to smart home devices.

Website that offers buying guides, tips and reviews related to smart home devices.

Website that offers the news about the latest gadgets and the technology sector.



References:http://home.bt.com/tech-gadgets/internet/the-connected-home-or-smart-home-explained-what-does-it-mean-11363866334872
https://www.lifewire.com/introduction-to-connected-home-817684
http://www.directenergy.com/blog/difference-between-smart-connected-automated-home/





Observe and Report!

Image by Carlos Muza
Last week, my class was given the task to observe how the students of our school interact with anything digital. This included anything from phones to laptop to vending machines. When we started combining and separating all our data, we came to realize a few things.

Here are five things that I learned about observation that day.  

1. Data collection is the first and key step in determining trends.
The first and major step in determining emerging trends and patterns, is data collection. We should not withhold out on proper data collection. The process of gathering information allows us to properly determine what we hope to find out. In our case, we want to determine if there are any patterns that may arise from our observations. Data should also be collected properly. This means that the information we collect should be valid and reliable and that all environmental factors should be consistent throughout data collection. For example, if we all plan to gather our information in a specific area (i.e., the cafeteria) then all our data should be collected within that same environment.

2. Observe everything and everyone!
Secondly, there is no such thing as too much information. We can always remove information that doesn’t seem too important but we cannot add in more information if needed so it is always good to have more details than have too little. When we observe, we are to observe everything. No information is useless. Observe from head to toe, from their physical appearance down to their behaviours and emotions.

3. Assumptions are okay.
But how can we observe emotions when we’re just assuming? Our data may be invalid if we assume, correct? That leads us to the third point, that sometimes, it is okay to build our observations on assumptions. It is what we observe after all! If we see a young man struggling with the microwave and his facial expression looks tense, then we can assume that he is feeling frustrated with the machine. Usually, our observational assumptions on human emotions tends to be fairly accurate.

4. Enter observation without prior bias thoughts.
To ensure that our observations are truly from “observing”, we should get rid of any prior thoughts about what we are observing. This prevent bias in the data that may skew and produce unreliable and invalid results. It is important to have a fresh mentality and break our old thought patterns so we can consider new ones with our new perspectives.

5. Break down observations into categories and even sub-categories.
Lastly, determining trends involves breaking down our observations into categories and even sub-categories. Doing so narrows common factors in the observations and helps in identifying trends. Patterns are around us and by having a physical visualization of the breakdowns of the data, it helps with recognizing emerging trends.      

Image by Frans Van Heerden