Today is Ada Lovelace Day and in celebration of the first computer programmer Suw Charman Anderson has encouraged us to write about women in technology whom we admire.
When choosing who to write about I was disinclined to pick someone famous or high profile as I always worry that women who have gained such heights have often had to do so by becoming like the men they were competing against and in the process compromised some of the different, but often greater, strengths of being a woman.
So with that by way of explanation most of you will, I guess, not have heard of my choice Marni Melrose. Marni, "The Mac Angel", does webinars and podcasts explaining how to get the best out of Daylite the wonderful CRM/time-management software that I now couldn't run my business without. I have bought four of Marni's videos and have watched each of them several times over. Her comprehensive knowledge of the programme, which has a steep learning curve and is highly customizable, means the videos are packed with information but they are also presented in a way that doesn't make the viewer feel stupid.
What impresses me is the depth of Marni's technical knowledge combined with a way of explaining things that makes them easy to understand. I thought that a woman making something very geeky more accessible through her approach and depth of knowledge was an appropriate role model to celebrate on this day.