{"72916":{"#nid":"72916","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Beki\u2019s Blog Blends Personal, Professional","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFrom a passion for knitting to an experience with sexual harassment, Beki Grinter\u2019s blog posts are not always about topics you\u2019d expect to find on a faculty member\u2019s blog.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMy blog entries are on variety of topics \u2014 both work-related and nonwork,\u201d said Grinter, an associate professor in the School of Interactive Computing. \u201cSometimes I wonder whether this affects the readership. But on the other hand, the blog is a creative outlet and is also within the scope of my research, so exploration is important.\u201d \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGrinter started the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/beki70.wordpress.com\u0022\u003Eblog\u003C\/a\u003E in 2008 after creating an account to participate in a colleague\u2019s blog. What started as an experiment has evolved into an at least weekly activity for Grinter. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENot only does Grinter enjoy maintaining the blog, it has led to unexpected opportunities. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cSo many of the posts, such as those that I write about my cross-cultural experiences \u2014 since I am from England \u2014\u0026nbsp; lead to interesting discussions with colleagues at Georgia Tech and beyond,\u201d Grinter said. \u201cAlso as a known blogger, people have invited me to participate in writing pieces for other blogs, such as the Computing Community Consortium\u2019s blog and essays on writing for publication.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERecently, The Whistle had an opportunity to learn more about Grinter and her time at Tech. Here\u2019s what we learned. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow did you get into your current field?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI can remember when my father brought home a computer in the 1970s. The family sat around trying to imagine all of the things it might be good for in the future. That was the beginning. What I enjoy most about my field is that on many projects I get to learn about areas beyond computing. For example, I\u2019ve done research on why instant messaging systems are so popular with teenagers and the challenges households face in adopting networking technologies.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow did you get to Georgia Tech?\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI came to the United States when I was 21 and ended up attending graduate school at the University of California, Irvine \u2014 go Anteaters! Since then, I\u2019ve worked for companies including Bell Laboratories (which was AT\u0026amp;T and then Lucent Techologies) and for Xerox PARC. I\u2019d always wanted to mentor students, so I came to Tech in 2004.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat piece of technology could you not live without professionally and personally?\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EProfessionally, I would say my laptop. Personally, I would say my iPhone \u2014 it\u2019s like the digital equivalent of a Swiss army knife.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhich do you prefer and why: Facebook, Twitter or a world without all of this social media stuff? \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI\u2019ve moved around a lot, so I have a lot of people to stay connected with, which is why Facebook is so wonderful. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is your favorite spot on campus?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Technology Square Research Building where my office is located. I\u2019ve had so many happy times here.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhere is the best place to grab lunch, and what do you order?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWaffle House, and I order the cheese eggs. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is the best advice you\u2019ve ever received? \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThere\u2019s not one piece that sticks out, but I can say that my thesis advisor, Jonathan Grudin, always seemed to have advice to give at the times that I needed it most. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETell us something unique about yourself.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhen I was a small child, there wasn\u2019t a lot of classroom space in my village, so my kindergarten class was held in the back room of a pub.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFrom a passion for knitting to an experience with sexual harassment, Beki Grinter\u2019s blog posts are not always about topics you\u2019d expect to find on a faculty member\u2019s blog.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"From a passion for knitting to an experience with sexual harassment, Beki Grinter\u2019s blog posts are not always about topics you\u2019d expect to find on a faculty member\u2019s blog."}],"uid":"27445","created_gmt":"2011-11-22 12:44:44","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:10:42","author":"Amelia Pavlik","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-11-22T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2011-11-22T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"72915":{"id":"72915","type":"image","title":"Beki Grinter","body":null,"created":"1449177962","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:26:02","changed":"1475894665","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:44:25","alt":"Beki Grinter","file":{"fid":"193721","name":"-1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/-1_7.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/-1_7.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":763149,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/-1_7.jpg?itok=Z6uEEq_B"}}},"media_ids":["72915"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/beki70.wordpress.com\/","title":"Beki\u0027s Blog"}],"groups":[{"id":"1259","name":"Whistle"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"13097","name":"Beki Grinter"},{"id":"15141","name":"Beki\u0027s Blog"},{"id":"166848","name":"School of Interactive Computing"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:amelia.pavlik@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EAmelia Pavlik\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications \u0026amp; Marketing\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-4142\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}