I Will Survive: Deirdré Straughan on Building A Tech Career Without Being An Engineer

Deirdré Straughan, Open Source Content Lead at Amazon Web Services and a global telecommunications pioneer, joins us to talk about how she built an accidental career in tech with absolutely no STEM degree. Along the way, she gives a crash course in the history of the desktop publishing space, which evolved alongside her career as a technical writer and marketer. LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: Representing a company in public internet forums Recommended Book: "Getting In Touch With Your Inner Bitch" Early Experiences in Online Customer Communications Basic Principles for Communicating Online How to do newsletters right (and a little history of newsletters) eMail Encounters: Anecdotes of a Professional Life Online Deirdre's history in customer service Early usenet: supporting a company on the front lines 25 years of online communication - since 1982   MUSICAL INSPIRATION FOR THIS EPISODE ON SPOTIFY: "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor   ABOUT THIS PODCAST Stayin' Alive in Tech is an oral history of Silicon Valley and technology. Melinda Byerley, the host, is a 20-year veteran of Silicon Valley and the founder of Timeshare CMO, a digital marketing intelligence firm, based in San Francisco. We really appreciate your reviews, shares on social media, and your recommendations for future guests. And check out our Spotify playlist for all the songs we refer to on our show.

Om Podcasten

The tech industry is great at talking about the future, especially on podcasts. What we're not so great at is taking the time to understand our past. And that's what this podcast is all about. From the Noyce and Fairchild Semiconductor generation through the founding of social media, the history of Silicon Valley has many lessons for us. And we'll be interviewing the people who lived through these experiences to bring their knowledge to you. You'll get explanations for how we got where we are, which can also suggest where the future might be; along with a few laughs and inside stories from those who lived through it. So pull up a seat and listen to the tales of the past, in which may lie seeds for our future. New Episodes twice a month on Thursdays.