She's Geeky - Just Hack It

Last week, I enjoyed my 4th time at the She's Geeky Un-Conference.  If you are a woman, you really shouldn't miss out on a chance to network and share your geeky-ness with other like-minded women.  And maybe not even like-minded... I even learned about the science behind making balloon animals this year.  What a fun way to unwind!

One of the quotes tweeted around after one of the conference days was "Whatever you want different in life, you should hack it."

It was tweeted by a IT friend of mine in attendance and a noticed by another non-IT friend to whom I had recommended they work together on a project.  I received an email expressing concern that my IT friend was not "reputable" because she was endorsing HACKING. OMG.

Yeah. So here is my PSA.

Hacking isn't criminal by nature. That's just how the word is mostly in the common media. It's gotten a bad rap, but really it's about embracing discovery, learning and improvement. Like anything, you can apply it to more that just computers and technology and you can use it for good or for less than good. You can choose to make things worse for others, or you can choose to make things better for everyone.

So get out there and "hack" the things in your life that aren't the way you want.  Learn a new skill, figure out ways to change things that don't work well. Use something "off label". Order off the menu from time to time.

Need an example?

This particular post (Beth Scott, @scanlime) embodies that quote from above in a way I can't even describe (and the topic is generally NSFW) but you'll see what I mean when you take a look. I'm not that skilled in electronic circuits and I don't have that awesome 3D printer, but this takes hacking your life right to the, um, edge.

So, get out there and "hack" your life a bit.  You'll be better off for it.