Silvia Wu's Blogging

Last week, I had the chance to take part in a three-day online WomenHack AI bootcamp organized by Siemens. The majority of the participants were employees based in Germany. Prior to the bootcamp, I spent nearly two weeks trying to figure out how to access their Microsoft Teams platform. Just when I was about to give up, I finally succeeded in joining the group. Once the bootcamp commenced, I was assigned a task that differed from the one I had selected during registration.

However, I quickly adjusted to the new assignment and grasped what was required. It turned out to be a process quite similar to what I had experienced in a previous summer data innovation bootcamp, albeit with different tasks and a focus on Siemens' power system consulting. Our group's objective was to develop a chatbot to assist with daily operations. Throughout this bootcamp, I learned how to create a minimum viable product (MVP) independently, which was a refreshing experience, and I discovered new ways to present my pitch. Additionally, I found solutions to challenges from the earlier bootcamp and, most importantly, I gained valuable experience in collaborating with teammates from various countries.

I’m Nobody! Who are you?
Are you – Nobody – too?
Then there’s a pair of us!
Don't tell! they'd advertise – you know!
How dreary – to be – Somebody!
How public – like a Frog –
To tell one’s name – the livelong June –
To an admiring Bog!

i carry your heart with me (i carry it in
my heart) i am never without it (anywhere
i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling)
i fear no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) i want
no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you
here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

"I carry your heart with me!"- E.E. Cummings, 1904-1962

Social media is no longer very social.
An article from The Economist highlights a significant decline in the way Americans document their lives online, dropping from 40% to 28% since 2020. The piece also raises concerns about the potential shutdown of messaging platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram (Wilson, 2024). This topic takes me back to my college years when I first started chronicling my life online. At that time, blogging, sharing images, and voicing opinions were incredibly popular. However, my journey took a negative turn when my blog was compromised, leading to the loss of all my photographs. This unfortunate event prompted me to transition to private posts, where I now preserve my memories for personal contemplation. Looking forward, I anticipate that more individuals will prefer using images and videos to document their daily lives, choosing visual storytelling over traditional written accounts.