Ada Lovelace Day Pledge: Rena Reich
No, this isn’t a spin on “Take my wife, please.”
Rena Reich
Today’s Answer of the Day informed me that it’s Ada Lovelace Day, the day to honor Ada Lovelace by pledging to post a tribute to a woman in technology today.
Ada, the daughter of Lord Byron, worked with computer pioneer Charles Babbage. Men had already figured out how such machines could be used for math. Ada’s insights were in ideas of how such machines could be programmed for other applications such as composing music and creating graphics.
So I’d like to recognize Rena Reich today. She taught herself programming, wrote functions to integrate dictionaries and encylopedias into Answers.com, and eventually founded her own wiki company, starting with The Pet Wiki. Doing some programming herself and working with others she put together a great site, and she shares her experiences and learnings on her blog.
Ada Lovelace didn’t invent the Analytic Engine, she figured out clever ways to apply it to enhance the human experience. That’s been Rena’s goal. I wish her continued success, and I wish all of you, especially the women developing and applying technology, a happy Ada Lovelace day.
March 25, 2010 @ 7:48 am
The only reason that I am able to do what I do is because of an amazing supportive husband. I feel honored to be your Ada Lovelace 🙂 You inspire me every day. I love you.