Do you like to find a product on Facebook that you likely wouldn’t have known about otherwise? (That cool coding toy made an excellent gift for my daughter.) Likewise, do you get troubled when seeing an ad on Facebook for something you just bought? (No, I am not ready to buy another new car right now.) This type of thing has more and more users nervous after learning details of certain companies maliciously using personal data for political gains. But is there a balance that can be struck between offering value to consumers while protecting their personal information? This will be the topic of Politics, Policy, and Privacy in the Data Economy, a panel presentation featuring experts across the fields of technology as it relates to politics and privacy. This event is free to the public and takes place March 14 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Elsewhere, as part of National Women’s History Month, Northeastern University is offering a free event to help professionals learn to better their networking skills. Women Who Empower: The Art of the Coffee Meeting will feature speakers who have worked in the startup space and who will give advice on how the simplest of meetings can make huge differences in your professional career. This event is free and takes place from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on March 21. Registration closes March 15.
Here are more highlights from the GeekWire Calendar:
- Nerd Rage: A night of standup comedy featuring debates about pop culture fandoms and how they relate to each other at the Rendezvous in Seattle; 7 to 9 p.m., Friday, March 15.
- Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Global Summit: A conference featuring a wide variety of tech talks at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, and in Bellevue; Sunday, March 17 to Friday, March 22.
- Game Developers Conference: A conference about all disciplines in video game development at the Moscone Center in San Francisco; Monday, March 18 to Friday, March 22.
- News and Brews: Regulating Big Tech: A panel discussing the pros and cons of the growth of big technology companies at Art Marble 21 in Seattle; 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, March 21.
- Partner Power Hour: Habits for Success in Software: A presentation about the skills needed for a successful career in software development beyond technical knowledge, at Code Fellows in Seattle; 12:15 to 1 p.m. Friday, March 22.
