Kiratiana Freelon’s panel is one that hits close to home. As a minority female, there are quite a few roadblocks on my way into the tech world. Freelon writes a popular travel blog from a black perspective. As a minority blogger, she wants to close the digital divide between minorities and the tech world. Minorities are big consumers on the Internet but their presence is not quite felt when it comes to founding internet firms, with only 1% of internet firms started by blacks. As opposed to the past where the Internet was seen as a research tool, today’s Internet is a digital playground where you can interact and conduct business on the same session.

In her panel, Kiritiana is going to discuss the best practices minorities can take to involve themselves in the field. Her ultimate goal for her panel is to inspire minority new media entrepreneurship. I asked her to give me some tips to star out as a female and minority and she gave me some useful information. A smartphone was one of her recommendations since it is such an excellent means of social media on the go. She also said to start out in your own city. By starting close, one can get bigger connections and the events are geared towards building a tech community locally. Blogging was her first step, and attending conferences helped her meet people with similar goals. The people you admire are more than likely readily available to all on twitter.

Overall, I’m very excited to attend this panel. As a young minority female trying to get into the field, I think all the information in her panel will be extremely beneficial to my future and hopefully my career.