Sound Off and AlterConf

When I blogged about Brent Simmons’s list of women bloggers, I said that we need more diversity in what we read. That will naturally lead to more diversity in other areas, such as conferences.

But not everyone can easily get access to conferences or take advantage of everything they offer. Sound Off is trying to help with that, through efforts like funding for sign language interpreters, child care, and scholarships. Gus Mueller, also with a quote from Brent, says it well:

“Sound Off has some very worthy, and very realistic goals. And as Brent Simmons says, people of the future will look back and judge us for how well or poorly we expanded our tribe.”

And Ashley Nelson-Hornstein adds this:

"Sharing the sentiment that it's important to create more opportunities for marginalized people in technology is great. Retweeting the voices of the marginalized to amplify them to your networks is fantastic. But the best way to drive change is with dollars and cents."

I’m a little late linking to Sound Off, but it’s a good cause that needs our support. You can learn more here.

Manton Reece @manton