The Ada Lovelace Day (Off-topics)

The Ada Lovelace Day is an international day of blogging (videologging, podcasting, comic drawing etc.!) to draw attention to the achievements of women in technology and science.

Women’s contributions often go unacknowledged, their innovations seldom mentioned, their faces rarely recognised. We want you to tell the world about these unsung heroines, whatever they do. It doesn’t matter how new or old your blog is, what gender you are, what language you blog in, or what you normally blog about – everyone is invited. Just sign the pledge and publish your blog post any time on Wednesday 24th March 2010.

“Who should I blog about?” . Here are a few thoughts to help you out:

■ you can write about any woman, be she alive or dead
■ the woman you choose to write about does not have to be famous — but she can
■ you can write about more than one woman if you like — or just about one
■ think of the women who have influenced or inspired you in some way or another throughout your life (teachers? family members? public figures? historical figures? friends? colleagues?)
■ “tech and science” is a pretty loose field, on purpose
■ if you are in the field of science or tech, look around you: are there women you know (or know of) who are not getting as much recognition as they would deserve?
■ your post doesn’t have to be about “the woman who most inspired me” or “my absolute top role-model, and she happens to be a woman” — go for “a woman who inspires me, or whom I admire”.

More information at the Ada Lovelace Day web site.

Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace (1815-1852), know today as Ada Lovelace, is mainly known for as the "first programmer" since she was writing programs for the early mechanical general-purpose computer, the Babbage's analytical engine.

See my 2009 post about Marie-Anne Pierette Paulze, a.k.a. Madame Lavoisier