When IDG folded The Standard last year, I put in a bit of a half-hearted effort to get another tech gig, and then moved past it, picking up a few bread-and-butter one-off gigs in the interim. There wasn’t any specific reason behind my decision. It was based more on the economy, the number of jobs out there in this incestuous business, and trying to find my feet again after my marriage broke up.
I’ve kept up with most of my tech feeds, even if I didn’t read them as zealously as I did before. I dip my toes in and out of the Twitter stream, usually when big debates crop up, like Gizmodo’s iPhone 4 prototype exposé.
Tonight, as I was playing with a tech article for the first time in months, it felt alien to me. It wasn’t because it had been so long since I was head-down in this arena, but rather, because I’m still not used to writing things alone. My ex would have been here for me to bounce ideas off or argue theories with. Instead, it was me, fifteen browser tabs, and a blank document.
I started writing HTML using pico back in 1995. When I finally started doing development, my then-boyfriend was already living with me. My very first website featured graphics he’d made. I think until tonight, I didn’t feel truly independent. Until now, there has been no tech on my own.
Now, maybe, there is.
Carla Thompson
July 23, 2010 at 7:09 pm
Have to say I’ve enjoyed stepping out of the tech rat race a bit myself. It’s nice to not feel chained to Twitter. I imagine that re-discovering it for yourself is going to be a different and more satisfying experience. You know, I’d love for you to write stuff like this for Sharp Skirts some time…