9/30 #SMCSFblog #30dayblogchallenge
I had the chance to provide volunteer photography services at Webcongress Miami this year. Tons of information about how to be successful with your online marketing, how to connect with people (especially target audiences) and many other interesting tech insights. Trying to absorb as much as possible from the speakers and the workshops while covering the event was a challenge but bits and pieces stuck with me (along with the permanent records through Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, and some Google+).
About WebCongress: “WebCongress is a Digital Marketing Event covering Technical Innovations. It will attract web professionals and media from all over Europe, and Latin- America. We have one principal goal: teaching online marketing strategies by involving leading companies in the industry.”
It was mentioned during one of the panel discussion (and tweeted by me) that “…we need to learn how to leverage the collective talent here in Miami.” To me collective talent means inclusion of any and everyone who possesses a skill that can benefit the group as a whole. (Un)Fortunate diversity is ALWAYS at the forefront of my mind with a majority of the events I attend or activities I choose to participate in (it was also a major reason why I chose to move to Miami 10 years ago so that I could immerse myself in such a gumbo of cultures from all over the world).
What I can’t help but wonder:
1) Why aren’t there more minority participants involved (whether it be speakers, audience participants, or event staff/volunteers)?
2) Do other minorities realize the value of such a conference to bolster their careers, their businesses?
3) Could the conference be better presented in a manner to attract other attendees of various ethnic groups (other than European/Latin American participants)?
4) What could be the reasons more minorities don’t feel compelled or are unable to attend such an event (either as a volunteer or as a ticket holder)?.
What does diversity mean to you? How do you incorporate it into your habits to truly be more worldly in your thoughts, actions, and life practices?
Oh, and shout out to Bing Chen, Global Creator Development & Management Lead for Youtube. I felt like he REALLY left some good food for thought for those who openly received it.
My Words, My View 
Obviously, you mean black people. Why not just come out and say it?
I think poverty is one reason. Many black people in Miami are on the lowest rung of the economic ladder, unable to obtain many menial jobs because the city is run by Latin Americans who hire Latin Americans, even if they just get off the boat and don’t speak a word of English.
When you can barely pay rent, you don’t have extra money to invest in technology like computers or higher education.
But then again, there are a lot of black people attending the local colleges, so I would imagine they would find events like this very interesting.
But they probably are not aware of the events because they run in different social circles who are not very tech savvy for the reasons I mentioned above.
So it’s probably just a matter of reaching out at the local colleges.
Sounds like a project for you, Anthony!
Carlos I’m not just limiting it to black people, but also other people of color. There are numerous Latinos (non-anglo) and other Carribbean groups (who may look black but associate themselves only as the culture they were raised). While it may seem like I’m limiting my perception to just the color of one’s skin, I make a conscious effort to try to understand people based on their life experience. If I don’t know and I don’t want to assume, I have no problem asking someone their ethnic background. I’ve met people from all over the world here in Miami. That is my privilege by choice to interact with and learn about the world first hand, until the days when i can physically get out of the country to visit these places that others are from. No, i won’t be limited in directing my comment to just Black people, when, in Miami, an Egyptian or Arabian could also be considered a minority in comparison to the Latino population.
[…] challenge is almost long enough to be a blog on it’s own.) Today I was inspired by another blog entry written as part of the […]
I would say it has everything to do with privilege. It’s a matter of expanding who gets exposed to these ideas.