One advantage of having worked in several different fields is that you know the same old bullshit when you see it.

Jason Kottke pointed out that web conferences still aren’t getting any more diverse, despite the regular rounds of discussion/debate on the topic, and sure enough, started another round of discussion/debate.

It’s so striking to see the same rationalizations come up in different forms in different fields: why don’t we bring in more women to speak/write? Because there aren’t more A-list women speakers/writers in our field. How would women become A-list speakers/writers? Um… by speaking at conferences/publishing with us, of course. But they aren’t as interested as guys in those technical topics, and anyway, we just wouldn’t feel comfortable going out and finding people who are… different from us.

Anil Dash has a smart, smart rundown on why the Old Boy’s Club is a mug’s game in the end: go read it, and save me the time trying to make the basic case that the blinders of privilege will leave you in the end just as sightless as a sharp stick in the eye.

Ironically, I’ll end this by noting I’ve just received my first invitation to speak at a conference - one on industrial design, not web technology. If all goes well, look for me at the IDSA North Eastern District Conference in late April.