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James Maguire: Journalist, Author, Raconteur

James Maguire: Journalist, Author, Raconteur

James Maguire, Journalist, Author, Raconteur

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Archives for October 2018

brotopia, women in tech

Women in Tech, Tech in Transition

October 26, 2018 by James Maguire
brotopia, women in techI wrote this after going to a book release event for Emily Chang’s Brotopia, a book about sexism in Silicon Valley.   There’s something unusual about this evening’s tech event. Tonight’s gathering is, to be sure, a classic San Francisco tech event. The audience is mostly professionals in their twenties and thirties, largely white, clearly educated and affluent. As I circulate through the crowd beforehand, everyone I meet works in technology. A few work in tech-related public relations, an oceanically large field in SF. This is clearly the bright young crew that codes the apps and promotes the platforms that shapes our lives. But the gender balance is atypical. At most SF tech events, it’s usually, oh, about 70 percent men, 30 percent women – often even more skewed toward men. Tonight’s crew is majority women, perhaps 70 percent or so. Riding the elevator up to the 24th floor, I hear this evening’s star speaker discussing, of all things, nannies. It’s a topic I’ve never once heard men mention in countless SF tech confabs. That star is Emily Chang, anchor of the daily TV show Bloomberg Technology. She’s here to promote her book, Brotopia: Breaking Up the Boys’ Club of Silicon Valley. She shares the stage in an interview-style conversation with Leah Busque, founder and executive chairwoman of TaskRabbit, and a general partner in venture fund Fuel Capital. To say that I can gauge how closely an audience listens to a speaker may be exaggerating my powers of observation. But it feels like tonight’s attendees are deeply attached to Chang’s words. That her discussion of sexism in the tech sector resonates as a report of their own experience. Early on, she references two well-known figures: Susan Fowler, whose 2017 blog post about the bro-sexist culture she encountered as an engineer at Uber helped topple co-founder Travis Kalanick; and Ellen Pao, whose gender discrimination lawsuit against VC firm Kleiner Perkins (though the jury found for Kleiner) spotlighted the challenges of women in tech. Chang doesn’t provide this background, and doesn’t need to – it’s reasonable to assume the audience knows their stories. Chang tells an anecdote that seems core to the entire book, and to the entire question of women in tech. She recalls interviewing famed venture investor Michael Moritz, a partner at Sequoia Capital. Sequoia at that point had female investing partners in China and India, but none in the United States. Chang asked him, “What is your responsibility to hire women?” Moritz blamed the pipeline – the relative lack of young girls pursuing STEM, which results in fewer candidates for tech positions. When Chang pressed him, Moritz said that Sequoia is completely blind to gender, race, and religion but “what we’re not prepared to do is lower our standards.” This “lower my standards” quote seems to sum up, as Change tells it, the entrenched male-dominated tech leadership structure. “As soon as he said that, it hit me like a ton of bricks,” she tells the audience. “Everywhere I went for the next few months, people wanted to talk about that.” Some people didn’t see what was wrong about this, she says, while others were horrified and couldn’t believe his comments. “It’s a topic that inspires such a visceral debate…everyone thinks they know what the problem is, like, maybe women just don’t want these jobs, maybe it is a pipeline problem.” However, pointing to the pipeline in isolation ignores longstanding cultural biases. Chang speaks of a double standard: “A man who’s cautious, that’s a positive; a woman who’s cautious, ‘Oh, she doesn’t have what it takes.’” This double standard far outstrips any STEM pipeline issues, playing a defining role in who gets funded. “When investors are looking at funding entrepreneurs, if it’s a male entrepreneur, they’re simply looking at the idea – can this person execute?’” In contrast, “If it’s a woman they’re like, ‘Can she do it? Is she going to have kids?’...literally every woman entrepreneur has been asked about their kids...Sometimes investors have come to believe that women aren’t willing to make the sacrifices that investors believe you need to make.” The disparity in venture funding is well documented. According to Pitchbook, all-women teams received a tiny 2.2 percent of the $85 billion total 2017 investment by VC firms, while all-male firms hauled in 79 percent. Providing an example of the cultural bias that creates this disparity, Chang quotes Lynn Jurich, co-founder and CEO of Sunrun. “She took her company public three weeks after having her first child, and she brought her baby on the roadshow. As she’s walking into a roadshow meeting, one of the investors was like, ‘Who are you?’ And she was like, ‘I’m the CEO.’”

Tech’s Outsized Influence

Chang’s Brotopia is, to be sure, part of a larger narrative. The book reflects the titanic groundswell – you’ve surely noticed – that’s driving awareness of the role of women in technology, Hollywood, and the culture at large. It’s about #MeToo, outing a long list of men for sexual harassment and abuse. It’s about who has power, who controls funding, who holds leadership. It’s about questions that, in Silicon Valley, directly shape how technology is developed. The tech sector is one of the most resistant, perhaps the most resistant, to enabling women. The startup culture embodies a brash, elbows-first ethic, a heedless race toward the hallowed “first mover advantage” – to disrupt the old in the interest of immediate market share. That is, to make vast, almost uncountably large piles of money. The tech sector’s output wields an outsized influence on our lives. Tech’s new gadgets and whiz-bang platforms affect where we shop, who we date, how we vote. The people – mostly men – that have zoomed up this nifty infrastructure have been monomaniacally focused on success above apparently minor concerns like cultural impact. (You mean my social media platform enabled Russians to influence an election? Hey, we’re focused on growth! You mean my ridesharing service violated regulations across the country – the world – and even used greyballing? Well, gosh, we’ve got an empire to build!) Given the centrality of technology in our lives, it’s critical that it’s developed with all of us in mind, which requires inclusive teams. Technology evolves differently if it’s created by diverse groups working together. Chang poses a question to the audience: “What if women were present at the founding of some of these companies, would they be different?” In answer, she recalls asking Evan Williams, co-founder of Twitter, if the platform would have less of a trolling problem (particularly against women) if women were part of the founding team. “He said, ‘Actually I don’t think it would be such a problem – we just weren’t thinking about it.’” In that quote is the essence of Chang’s theme. A more inclusive tech ecosystem is, ultimately, better for all of us. In the book, she writes that achieving fifty-fifty gender balance in tech is “incredibly complex and nuanced, requiring many detailed solutions that will take decades to play out.” To speed the pace of change, Brotopia spells out specific recommendations. Among the several: CEOs must lead the effort, focusing on the long term. “It may take three weeks to find a white man for the job, but three months to find a woman,” Chang writes. Yet that longer job search could stave off a later scramble to create a diverse workforce. Most primary: “First of all, people, be nice to each other,” she writes. “Treat one another with respect and dignity, including those of the opposite sex. That should be pretty simple.” Also among her recommendations: boards need to hold leadership accountable to move toward gender parity; venture firms must hire more women partners; and investors need to fund more diverse teams. Brotopia’s pushback against sexism in technology is, fortunately, riding an updraft – the title cracked the business bestseller list. That its message resonates and helps create a more inclusive tech ecosystem is, ultimately better for us all.

Interviews: Women in Tech

At the book launch that evening, I interviewed three women, career professionals in the tech sector, about their experience with sexism in technology. Here are the times on video: Karyne Levy, editor, Scbribd (start – 2:36) Rebecca Liebman, co-founder, CEO, LearnLux (2:37 – 4:37) Michelle Zaffino, founder, CEO, In the Stacks (4:38 – 8:49)
Read moreWomen in Tech, Tech in Transition
apple tart

The ‘Rustic Apple Tart’ (Can Barnes and Noble Survive?)

October 23, 2018 by James Maguire
apple tart I love it that the apple tart sold in the Barnes and Noble cafes is called the Rustic Apple Tart. I also love (unfortunately) the tart itself, in a love-hate kind of way. It’s a soulless glop of industrial sugar-goo that delivers a Mike Tyson body blow of 390 calories. Deciding to ingest the thing requires an odd mix of indulgence and self-loathing. Once consumed, it delivers the eater into a dull, narcotic fullness. Your feeling of disappointment (I just ate that?) is steamrolled by the gelatinous volume resting in your gut. And again, the name: Rustic Apple Tart. That name is a work of fiction as imaginative as any novel that sits on the bookstore’s shelves. “Rustic”? These gloppy tarts must be cranked out by the carton-load by a large commercial bakery. They probably spend days on large trucks as they’re shipped to BN’s many locations. But I don’t want to think about that – no, it’s not just a mound of industro-jelly. Really, I tell myself, it’s a rustic tart made by an old-fashioned baker…. [Cue the fairy dust music…the screen gets all wavy...we travel to a new dimension…] Yes, I bite into the Rustic Apple Tart and its roughhewn charm bedazzles me. Rustic is indeed the word. Subtle flavors, redolent of a warm breeze on a clear Vermont afternoon. An autumnal sweetness, a touch of golden, sun-loved honey. The very taste transports me…. The men around these parts can be gruff, they favor plaid flannel and untamed facial hair. And the women? They know how to tan leather and make a fine pie, and they’re sturdy. They save pieces of string in small woolen bags; there may be a good use for them later. The children play with simple wooden toys, and like to engage in spirited horseplay after school. They’re wholesome and red-cheeked and have names like Samuel and Virginia and Charles…. [Again the fairy dust music tinkle…with a reluctant sigh we return to reality….]

But It's Not Just the Tart That's Rustic

The Rustic Tart is easy to lampoon, but my fondness for it is sincere at one level. They’re part of my afternoons at Barnes and Noble, which is my treasured home away from home. I’ve spent some sweet Saturday afternoons there. But here’s the problem: BN is clearly imperiled. It’s threatened by Amazon, which now sells one out of every two books in America. And it’s threatened by its own business stumbles; it’s losing money amid sales declines in an otherwise strong economy. In short, Barnes and Noble itself seems “rustic,” as if it’s a relic of an earlier era. I hope I’m wrong about that. It’d be heartbreaking if BN’s 600 stores nationwide were to close. Big chunks of the US would have no bookstore. And sure, I like indie book shops – and they’re growing, which is fantastic news. Independent book shops are usually intimate, literary affairs, with clerks who love books. Indie booksellers look at BN and see a soulless warehouse of books – with some justification. BN is like the Rustic Apple Tart of bookstores: big, with an empty, mass-produced feel. But for me, my local Barnes and Noble is a place to be. It’s my second living room. It’s large enough so I can hang out there. Peruse all the new titles, browse the magazines, sit and read, work on my laptop. I typically come home with a new book. Indie shops are typically small, even cramped, and aren’t hospitable to hanging out like the capacious BN. Nor do they have all the new books and magazines; BN’s freshly stocked shelves/tables provides the big picture. So here’s hoping that BN survives. If I were its CEO, I’d make it a hub for book events, boost the readings, turn it into community hotspot – use that big space to host people (that is, shoppers). In the mean time, I’ll support BN by continuing to buy those delicious, homemade Rustic Apple Tarts. On an optimistic note, the book industry continues to survive. There’s no sales juggernaut, but this chart suggests there’s room for numerous retailers. (Not to mention authors…) Current and forecast global book publishing revenue. Source: Statistica.   
Read moreThe ‘Rustic Apple Tart’ (Can Barnes and Noble Survive?)

Who is James Maguire?

October 14, 2018 by James Maguire
You know who I feel disdain for? I feel disdain for writer types, for instance, James Maguire, who write blog posts about themselves on their own site. Clearly, it’s a pathetic self-promotion scheme. It’s craven, it’s shameless, and honestly, it’s a blight on the Internet. Their goal – which is tawdry – is to cram in the keyword ‘James Maguire’ in hopes of improving Google ranking for James Maguire.com. As a goal, it’s not quite world peace, is it? So these James Maguire types sit down, clutching coffee for “inspiration,” and pen a blog post with no real content. Oh, they don’t care about readers – they stuff their miserable posts with references to themselves. It’s all about them. To be sure, their actions raise deep and troubling questions. To whit: Shouldn’t they, you know, let their achievements (such as they are) speak for themselves? Shouldn’t they let genuine user interest drive traffic to JamesMaguire.com? Without resorting to nakedly self-promotional blog “writing”? I mean, what’s wrong with appearing on Google’s page 3 or 4, or even 11 (as was once the case) for the search term ‘James Maguire’? Shouldn’t this woeful fellow be content with those distant, deep-space pages? At the least, couldn’t this self-focused blogger offer some real value to readers? Some half-baked musings, a random observation, perhaps a beautiful photo, or even a video that describes a peak life experience? Anything, really? But no, knowing him, he’ll simply use his name again and again, monotonously, hammering it home in hopes of higher search ranking. Really, sad. So sad.

Oh C’mon, Some Empathy for James Maguire

We know these James Maguire types must endure an inner emptiness. As F. Scott Fitzgerald noted, “in the dark night of the soul, it is always three o’clock in the morning.” Undoubtedly these runty bloggers feel exactly this. But if we can muster a smidgen of sympatico, let’s grant him this: the name James Maguire is horribly common. (Like the man himself, in fact). Consequently, scoring Google page 1 for such a common name isn’t easy. If, for instance, your name is Rondo Humperdicious and you own RondoHumperdicious.com, you’ll hold top Google ranking with hardly an effort. But ‘James Maguire’? The name is as ethnically generic as John Smith or Pedro Hernandez. Or Duc Nguyen or Herman Schmidt or Samir Patel. I mean, you take the classically Irish Maguire and ­– what else? – pair it with first names of saints: John, Paul, Luke. Those wildly original Maguire families pick “Ryan.” (There wasn’t a saint Ryan, so they’ll likely roast in hell, but okay.) Google the term ‘James Maguire’: 30.4 million results. Now, Google 'Rondo Humperdicious': Your search - Rondo Humperdicious - did not match any documents. So, c’mon, can we cut this petty self-promotion some slack? At least a bemused shrug, like, well, if that’s what his little life is focused on, whatever.

Still, We Mustn’t Encourage James Maguire 

Even as we conjure empathy for the plight of some random James Maguire, it’s not right to encourage him. We should not, say, spend too much time reading his self-serving post. Google counts “time on page” as a factor in search ranking. So if you tarry on a self-serving page it rewards this miserable exercise. Plus: don't visit the James Maguire books on Amazon page. That serves no purpose. Even more important: We hope – we plead – that you don’t tweet this post on Twitter, post it on Facebook, spotlight it on LinkedIn or announce it on Google+ (Remember Google+? Wow, that was a mess.) Social media links would only reward these dubious doings. Let’s not sully the pristine environment of the Internet with such drivel. Please, let’s keep the Internet pure! Thank you. And, if you'd like more information about James Maguire – but why? – you can aways go here.
Read moreWho is James Maguire?
pumpkins in autumn light

The Meaning of Autumn

October 12, 2018 by James Maguire
Stepped outside today and realized…it’s autumn. The summer drifted away with hardly a whisper. Summer, when it’s here, seems almost stationary. For a moment around July 19 or so, time might stop altogether. September will arrive, we’re sure of it. But…later. The summer is now. Autumn? It lasts about 37 minutes – Halloween, Thanksgiving, the holidays. The quickening pace is almost hypnotic. The cooling air suggests something is coming – autumn is about what’s up ahead, what’s on the way. Nobody stops to just “be” in the fall; the thing, the excitement, is always becoming. (But that thing is not the winter; we deny the winter. Let’s agree to simply not think about it.) Notice, in the photograph of the pumpkins, the quality of light. That’s autumn light. It has a deeper hue, a softness, a reflective quality. Summer light is a flat glare, shadowless. Autumn light is dappled and nuanced. While summer sun is timeless, autumn rays have learned the finite nature of things. This awareness, which can’t be learned without the passage of time, carries a sense of loss, even a tincture of grief. But this knowledge grants something far deeper. A presence, an understanding, that our moments (few as they are) have value. This matters. There’s something in life that isn’t visible to the naked eye, something that can be felt only if paid for with precious cost. That is, those casual summer days have flowed so easily by; they’re gone now. But, if we listen carefully, the music is now more beautiful; in fact, yeah, remarkably more so. It has a new resonance, a new power, and…something else. Something that can never be put into words. It won’t last forever – we’ve learned that – but damn if it’s not gorgeous right now. And now, let the sprint to the holidays continue apace….
Read moreThe Meaning of Autumn

The Red Tide in Florida: What Have We Done?

October 9, 2018 by James Maguire

I felt the deepest dismay on my recent trip to Sanibel Island, in South Florida on the Gulf Coast. We stayed near the water and I was so looking forward to walking down to the beach. That first morning, it was great to see the water and hear the surf.

Yet the beaches were deserted. Odd, I thought. Is it because the beaches here are so stark? Not a leaf of shade, a flatness to the terrain. In late August the brick wall of humidity is fierce. I grew up in St. Louis so I know humidity, but the humidity in South Florida is…dystopian.

Then the smell hit me. The harsh foul odor of death – literally. I knew what caused it, but I found myself wanting to deny it. I looked across the beach and didn’t see it, and thought, No, what I’ve heard is an exaggeration. I’m relieved the reports were overblown.

Even as the stench assaulted us, I still thought I wouldn’t see actual proof. I guess I just didn’t want it to be true.

Then I walked down to the water’s edge. There it was. A long, wide row of dead fish. Marine life of every kind, eels, fish big and small, strange-looking creatures I didn’t recognize. One silvery fish had a strangely open mouth like death had shocked it. The decaying creatures lay in gross tangled piles on top of one another, as if some plague had swept the Gulf.

It’s called the Red Tide. Scientists aren’t sure exactly what’s going on, but it appears that algae in the water produces neurotoxins. This happens every year, with some years having longer Red Tides. It’s exacerbated by unnaturally warm weather (global warming) and fertilizer runoff with high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen.

In the late morning I saw teams of workers in small vehicles going down the beach, wearing masks like in a sci-fi movie. They slowly gathered the devastated creatures into huge buckets.

Once I saw how bad it was I could hardly believe it. The row of dead fish swept up and down the entire length of beach as far as I could see.

Naturally, tourism has collapsed. Who wants to go to the Gulf coast of Florida when the beaches are toxic? I later read that lifeguards in populated areas are wearing face masks. (Humans are swimming in this?)

We hear so much about environmental degradation and global warming, we know it’s all around us. Still, it can seem distant. As we rush about our daily lives we don’t always smell it, see it, feel it.

But standing over that vast swath of devastation and smelling the putrid funk…this was degradation on a mass scale. Something has finally broken. A once balanced system has been so overwhelmed that it’s collapsing.

The fish cannot live in the sea. Looking at that small open-mouthed dead fish that stared out in mute horror, I wondered: God, what have we done?

Echoing that moment, as I flew back to California and the plane approached the Bay Area, I saw the haze from the now annual forest fires. A noxious gray screen seemed to cover everything. I’ve smelled it in the air in the last few years, sometimes very noticeably. This will only get worse, experts say, due to climate change.

Again, I have to ask, What have we done?

Read moreThe Red Tide in Florida: What Have We Done?

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Women in Tech, Tech in Transition

October 26, 2018

The ‘Rustic Apple Tart’ (Can Barnes and Noble Survive?)

October 23, 2018

Who is James Maguire?

October 14, 2018

The Meaning of Autumn

October 12, 2018

The Red Tide in Florida: What Have We Done?

October 9, 2018

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