PR Guru and Forbes Columnist Peter Himler offers a good-natured rant about ageism in the tech world:
20 New Yorkers Over 50 Who Get I.T.
... We laughed about our experiences at SXSW and other geek fests where our efforts to engage young tech entrepreneurs often were met with skepticism, then quick dismissal: "How could these 50-something wannabes possibly comprehend the bubblicious startup culture in which we so proudly reside?" While we thought: "If only they knew how much they don't know."
He's come up with a list of 20 New Yorkers over 50 who aren't exactly luddites. (You might recognize two or three if you're a regular reader of The Huffington Post.)
New York only? What if we included San Francisco? Seattle? Boston? Any large or small hamlet within U.S. boundaries? If expanded internationally the list would be thousands over fifty.
Peter hangs with gods. I only know mere mortals over fifty. Most don't use rotary phones.
The myopia of the tech world is binary-boggling. If any group of innovators needs diversity, it's the silicon valley-ish bunch. The nature of their work, both developers and VCs, is inherently insulating, self-perpetuating.(Now that every possible phone app has been created, I've noticed apps created for phone apps. Will we need apps for the apps' apps?)
I've already blogged about creativity later in life. My bet is that the next technological boom will be led by an energizing mix of youthful and seasoned trailblazers.
Search the ether for ageism + technology.
More to come on this subject.