Reflection on Ted.com Videos

Ted.com is a website that contains thousands of videos of people talking briefly about ideas that they have about different concepts that they would like to shed light on or their theories that they have created. We were assigned to watch three of these videos and reflect on them and mine include: "We are all Cyborgs," "Why we have too few women leaders," and "Women entrepreneurs, example not exception."

The video above, presented by Amber case, is discussing something that is ever so relevant to the 21st century and how we function and that is technology. She brings up many points in a short amount of time, but the ones that I particularly agree with are her concepts of a second self and a technological adolescence. Case talks about how people have their human persona and then they have the online persona and they are two different things. I have found in my own experience, that it can be night and day with the way people make themselves to be on the internet. What goes hand-in-hand with this concept is adolescence  She mentions that children will go through their physical adolescence and then they have their online one. I feel that part of the reason there is a distinction is because of the fact that some people remain in adolescence online and through technology even though they have clearly passed that stage in their real life. I know a few adults who will argue constantly through Facebook  but will be composed and calm in person and not voice their opinion a often as the do on the internet. Because of this they create a second self on the internet that is immature and naive in comparison to their adult self. In addition many teens and early adults will say things online that they would never dare say to that person face to face creating an online persona that is immature and rude.




The second video that I watched, presented by Sheryl Sandberg, brings up the topic of how women are not getting ahead and becoming successful. She has three main topics that she calls "always sit at the table," "make your partner a real partner," and "don't leave before you leave." Though these sound simple, they defiantly have much though behind them because they are complex and require effort and planning to an individual. Sitting at the table is a concept of asserting yourself as an equal rather than a women sitting on the sidelines. Sandberg brings up a story of when she was at a meeting and there were two other women who chose to sit in the corner along the wall rather than sitting at the table. They not only demoted themselves, but they removed themselves from being involved in the conversation and allowed themselves to be put in a positions of inferiority. The next topic of making your partner a real partner has to do with creating a bond other than "you are my boss and I work for you." By creating a relationship along the lines of a friendship  women are able to be seen more equally than someone who is simply an employee at a company. The ultimate goal in her first two concepts have to do with keeping women in the picture and having them be created equal rather than some peon that works at the company. Her last concept addresses something that has to do with women withdrawing their efforts from a job before they physically leave. Sandberg used the analogy of when women plan on becoming pregnant they focus all of their attention on what will they do when they leave work and in turn withdraw from work. Although they have yet to leave, or possibly even become pregnant, their efforts have decreased and therefore they are forgotten about. In that time that they withdrew they could have "kept their foot on the gas" and plowed through what had to be done until the physical day they had to leave. So, rather than being remembered for their lack of effort the would be remembered for their commitment to the company and their job even though they had personal issues going on. Overall, Sandberg suggests that women should assert themselves in the work force and maintain confidence in the fact that they are doing a good job and should maintain it to get farther.




The last video I watched, presented by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, was introducing the fact that women are more influential then they are given credit for. She brought up the fact that she has been going to various places in the world and finding an over whelming amount of women entrepreneurs that are not recognized. In one instance she asked a man if he knew of any women entrepreneurs in the area and his reply refereed to a women who sold cheese. The man laughed and went on his way and she later proved him wrong by finding an overwhelming amount of women having their own business  Many of these businesses where started and run on their own ambition and funds. Lemmon also brought up the point that when women want to expand their small business into a corporation, that loan givers are not as willing to trust their money with women in small business as they are with larger corporations. Overall she brought new light to the fact that women should not have "micro-hopes" and "micro-dreams," but they should strive for the larger things in life and seize the opportunity that has been given because of the "new market."

All the videos and many more can be found at ted.com.