TLC #1: Power of Mentorship 👨🏻🏫, Google Gemini 🤖, Nvidia’s new business unit 📈 and more…
Find out why a good mentor is critical for your tech leadership journey. And some must-read news from the techverse. (Issue #1, 13 Feb 2024)
The Power of Mentorship
If there is one advice to techies who are in the early/middle stages of their careers, then it is to find themselves a good mentor.
Cambridge Dictionary describes a mentor as :
a person who gives a younger or less experienced person help and advice over a period of time, especially at work or school
It is hard to find a successful sportsperson, without a coach. A tech leader is no different.
Here are some ways a mentor can help you.
Guide you in the right direction during challenging situations
Boost your morale at low points
Open up new frontiers when many doors are closed
This of your mentor as someone who gives that upward push your career needs.
Here are some tips for finding a mentor:
Look for mentors at work - this is the simplest, as you will be able to get their time and attention with minimum effort
Grow your network through meetups and conferences - this requires you to look for ways to build connections inside a short context (like a conference). You must continuously nurture this connection, as most of them have short attention span
Engage with your domain leaders on social media - this is complex as it can take a long time to build virtual connections. Also, it is easy to lose traction if you don’t continuously engage
Whichever means you use to find the right mentor, remember to continuously engage and nurture this relationship.
It is also important to give back to your mentor when needed - for example, your time to support him or her in a critical project. Never forget that mentorship is a two-way street.
Now let’s get on to tech news!
5 “Must-Read” Tech News for the Week
Google Gemini Advanced (Google Blog)
Google has renamed Bard to Gemini and is bringing it to everyday products you use like Gmail, Docs, etc. This is a strategic move from Google to take the AI to common people (vs enterprises).
Gemini Advanced plan priced at S$28.99 / month (after 2 free months) uplifts the Google One offering (for a significant premium though), to embed AI into your daily life
Nvidia, whose stock has risen 40% so far in 2024, is spinning up a new business unit to build custom AI chips, especially to cater to specific computing needs with major enterprises.
With the big tech investing in chip making, Nvidia is leaving no stone unturned to play a part in this business revolution.
In another news related to AI chips, Sam Altman is talking to several investors, including those from the UAE, to raise trillions of dollars to revolutionize the industry.
Apple and right-to-repair bill (The Verge)
Everyone tried to break Apple’s monopoly in the app space (Appstore). And, now it is time to focus on the hardware game.
This bill, if passed, will force Apple to publish a manual and enable the repair of their devices by third parties. Understandably, Apple is fighting this bill.
Brilliant Labs is coming up with normal-looking glasses, that supposedly have AI superpowers.
The interesting part is that the frame’s code is open-sourced and available on GitHub. The exact feature list isn’t clear, but this article promises translations, web searches, and real-time visualization.
That’s all for the week. I will come back in a week with more interesting stuff from the techverse!
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