I didn't start out in the tech world, but I've made a good career of it. Being female in a predominantly male profession (especially when I started) was hard enough, but being blonde didn't help. So that's why my domain name (www.GeekWhileBlonde.com) confronts both issues immediately and with humor. Now we can move on to the serious discussion.

The pace of software delivery continues to accelerate. Behind all those innovations are hard-working people who spend their days engrossed in computer code, in reports, in documentation, and in meetings, working out the details and nailing down the releases. In some companies, the pace is measured and deliberate, and in others, frantic and disorganized. What has become a growing concern for me is the wear and tear on those workers, many of whom have little or no experience in standing up for their immediate needs or their long-term goals.

That's where this website comes in. My goal is to advocate for workers from outside the system. When I began working on my forthcoming book, "Upgrade Your Geek Career" I realized that I lacked the kinds of data I needed to get a handle on current working conditions, so I set up surveys to collect it. Yes, it's possible to get some of that data from human resource associations, but I want to hear directly from the people doing the work, and in particular, from their managers. I have yet to find data specifically on these two groups, so I'm crowd-sourcing the effort with the intent to advocate for both groups based on their responses.

And this is where you come in! I'm sharing the surveys with my LinkedIn network, but I'm also looking for responses from people I have yet to meet. I'm inviting you to share this very simple link with your network of friends and colleagues so that we can together get a picture of how all that high-tech work is accomplished and what the needs are. My goal is to reach 500 respondents for each of the 2 surveys at this link:

https://www.telltoolie.com

From that page, participants can select the appropriate survey link and complete the survey in under 10 minutes.

You can also reach me using the Signal app, an encrypted form of communication so that tech workers can reach me securely with their cares and concerns. Together we can improve the world of tech workers, and ultimately influence how our technology companies care for us all.