I have three jobs, and I bet you have at least two too1.
And as a woman, two of my jobs have been mostly unseen and unpaid.
Women are used to this in terms of motherhood, being unseen and unpaid: just “expected.” Moms do love and care and survival of the species. It’s a default calling once we’ve squeezed some little being out of our bodies.
But mothering internet tech, that’s different. And it can be tiring, especially now that it’s reached the emotional maturity of testosterone-laden teens trying to rule the world.
I’ve been feeling like a steward of the internet since 1997 when I first became a maker in that space. And the internet has rewarded me with fun, paid work, some well-working products2 , and deep knowledge how digital networks are structured.
And, it’s been fun to be called out as ‘maven’ a ‘power user’ and to get support at the top of the food chain by big companies – only because I tirelessly advocated for my small business clients and their customers and staff.
And in early 2000s copious young buck ‘tech bros’ came along to overtake the space. And many of them are doing “the next new thing.” Think rockets in space, global satellite networks, doge-ing government data, and raising up an entirely new class of tech professionals to serve as intermediaries to the leadership of these companies.
I know, I’m one of them: part of the class of intermediaries. But the young-minded guys don’t realize they need longevity and generalists to help them see the larger view too. Independent ones, that is.
Some day they will learn.
Many large tech companies are simply not customer or service oriented. Perhaps that’s because there are tons of neuro-divergent leaders at the top who find people overwhelming. And so, they structure their companies that way too: less human contact, more bots in the process.
Perhaps they pride themselves on formulas that pre-emptively push people toward stuff that “should” create the least negative interaction and the most commerce.
Except, that feels kind of yucky right? People need people, not more consumerism and bots. They also don’t want to be told what to buy, even if enticing. They know it’s a ruse.
People also need to solve their own problems by real interaction.
What these companies have actually done is build new industry, and centralize lots of power and commerce behind neurodivergently-built algorithms. And unfortunately, they now seem to be forcing the hands of mom & pop shops to deal with more mega-entities, at the cost of one more subscription and all their people’s data.
I’ve loved serving people – mostly via small businesses – to navigate this webby space and get it to work for them and their people.
But dealing with Harvard-styled tech bros who are instituting more and more AI and chat bots and spreadsheets to do customer service is tiring. They are missing something big.
Unless I run the servers, people like me need access to fix and make things happen too. And I don’t wish to run the servers. I am a strategist, designer and technician in that job, and an independent creator in this one.
Also, word to the wise to web consumers: many web products are patched together with digital duct tape and band-aids. Especially some of the biggest ones like META Business and its fun and funky sidekick META Ads. People like me have learned this by peeling back the patches, and trying to make the stuff work for our people anyway.
The UX sucks. And it could be better.
Just because the company makes lots of money, doesn’t mean it’s valuable, well-designed, or humane. But they could be. I’m still supporting my long-term clients with tech support and stewardship, and happy to consult at higher levels with outfits that value people and would like to ride the road to excellence.
FOOTNOTES & SUB-SUBTEXT 😉
