diff options
| -rw-r--r-- | content/posts/genesis.md | 154 |
1 files changed, 154 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/content/posts/genesis.md b/content/posts/genesis.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5ddba99 --- /dev/null +++ b/content/posts/genesis.md @@ -0,0 +1,154 @@ +Title: Genesis +Date: 2018-04-15 +Category: +Tags: +Slug: Genesis +Lang: en + + +As a first post in this *official-but-not-very-official* blog I just want to +introduce myself and *ElenQ Technology*. + +First of all, my name is Ekaitz Zárraga and I was born in 1991. I describe my +job as R&D Engineer but actually I studied Telecommunications Engineering and I +*only* make my research and development in that area. I'm mostly focused in +programming or computer-related activities but I can also do some electronics +and other kind of things. That's my formal introduction. In the informal part +I'd say I've always been a really curious person and that made me try other +disciplines like arts in its different forms. This last point drives most of +what I'll write about later in this text. That's all from my part, I'll write +down an informal resume in the future. + + +*ElenQ Technology* is a name, it's a name to call the way I am and the +interests I have. That said, it's also the independent R&D project I'm running. +It's a different kind of company which aims to raise awareness about ethical +technology or [Ethical Innovation](ethical-innovation) by example, +demonstrating ethical companies can be profitable. It's not simply the way I +make my living where I make engineering, it's also a performance. Like an art +piece. + +> *ElenQ Technology* is an art piece which tells you that a different model is +> possible. It tells you that you have a choice and you don't need to work in a +> corporation and be governed by its rules. + +*ElenQ Technology* is the result of many things I felt working for other +companies and it's also the result of a deep analysis of the status of the +technology in my context, which I think it can be generalized globally with a +decent accuracy. + +First, in my near context most of the IT companies have a similar business +model based on *body shopping* while paying really low salaries. Other sectors +are not in a much better position, but the IT is outrageous. + +The jobs are not 9-to-5 jobs here. Working 10 hours per day is becoming the +norm. The famous *Economical Crisis™* mixed with a deep corruption made people +pray for jobs and the companies around are being aware of that. + +That said, you can easily imagine how the tech world works here. IT +corporations get a ridiculous amount of money for any job while they don't +respect their workers nor their clients. They make proprietary solutions +because they don't want to lose the projects and let the client be independent. +They don't want you to be free in any case because they need to maintain +their rotten business model. + +That is the general status of the IT world in my surroundings but I'm sure, as +I said, it can be generalized, maybe not totally but there are many points than +can be, mostly because the corporations I mention are present in other +countries. + +Personally, I had the luck to work in what I thought it was a better place. +The working conditions were not as bad as I described, or at least I +thought that. It was a R&D Engineer position in a not very big corporation. I +worked in a small department with less than ten co-workers. We made new stuff +for the company. It was fun. + +After some time there I realized how it worked. It wasn't really different to +other jobs. There were a lot of things I don't want to share here but I started +to feel bad there and my personal situation didn't help at all. I've always +been a really curious person, I love learning new things and the job simply +wasn't giving me that as it did at the beginning. I started to need to fill my +needs spending more time after the job doing tech related stuff in the few free +time I had. The mix between the boring job and the organizational problems we +had made it really depressing. + +While I was immerse in that depressing environment, our company wanted more +money and they started looking for new businesses with the resources they had. +Our team, as R&D team, was responsible of the development of the first +*proof-of-concept* of the new technology. We were asked to analyze the data +that the company had. Literally, we were asked to track people. The company +didn't care if they were our users or not, we were asked to track *everyone*. + +That was the straw that broke the camel's back. I left the job because my +ethics are not compatible with people tracking. I don't like it and I don't +want to be part of it. + +I always wanted to change the way the technology is created and I always +thought it was a great idea to make it by myself and encourage others to do so, +but I never had the courage to do it. What happened gave me the courage I +needed. + +But, why not simply move to another job? + +I think it was the moment to try it. I had been defining an idea of what +Ethical Technology is for a while and I always wanted to apply that idea in my +field: R&D. Also, taking in account that most of the companies where I could +work have the same structural problems I decided to change it from the root. I +decided to try a different model. Did I really have other options? + +Is living in a depressing environment making the world a worse place to live +in an option? Really? + +Think about it. + + +Now, *ElenQ Technology* breaks the business model of the companies of my +environment. It makes ethical technology and it makes it in an ethical way. +That's good for me because it lets me work on the fields I like and I can make +the world a better place to live in, which selfishly will improve the future I +leave for my children if I ever have them. But it's also good for the clients +*ElenQ Technology* has, because all the projects I make are handled in a way +*they* own them, following the principles of the Free Software and Hardware +and [Ethical Design manifesto](https://2017.ind.ie/ethical-design/) with some +extra ideas I added to be more specific to the innovation field (you can read +more [here][1]). + +I want to change the world. Don't you? + +The thing is I can do it alone so *ElenQ Technology* wants to push other people +to take the same decision I took (or I was forced to take) and that's its main +goal. + +Let's change the world together. + +### About this website + +You already noticed this is not the official *ElenQ Technology* website. This +is *my* *official-but-not-very-official* blog as part (or head, but I don't +like that word) of *ElenQ Technology*. + +Here I'll write about *ElenQ Technology*'s philosophy, goals, achievements and +that kind of *official* things but mostly I'll write about the things we make. +That's what interests me the most. + +This is going to be a really technical place where I'll try to explain advanced +concepts in a simple way to let you learn stuff with me. I want to share what I +do with you all. + +### About the languages + +I'll try to make my best and write all the posts three times one on each +language I know (English, Basque and Spanish) while blog itself will be only +in English for technical reasons and also because I consider it's the language +you all can understand enough to navigate without problems. The idea is to make +this the most inclusive place I can. + +That said, my mother tongue language is Spanish but I'll try to write the posts +in English first as an exercise to improve my English. Please, don't be so hard +with me, I don't use English as much as I'd like to. The same applies to +Basque, even if I feel quite comfortable speaking and writing in Basque, it's +not a language I use a lot. + + + +[1]: https://elenq.tech/en/about.html#ethical-innovation |