If historic United Farm Workers of America organizer César Chávez had access to Twitter and other online organizing platforms, what would he have tweeted? “Sí se puede,” said his son Paul, who spoke on a panel Friday as part of the César Chávez Foundation called “What Would Cesar Chavez Tweet? Latinos & New Media.” According to Chávez, his iconic father always embraced innovation and technology, because at heart he was a “creative genius” who wanted to do whatever he could to organize farm workers.… more

Just 1.5% of computing occupations in the country are filled by Latinas, a startling Bureau of Labor Statistics number that illustrates the importance of pushing Latinas into the tech space. There are a variety of different ways to promote and encourage Latinas into the tech space, and Becky Arreaga, president of Mercury Mambo, and Rebecca Gonzales, assistant director of Avindé, discussed several during their panel Friday, “Chicapreneurs: Latinas in Technology.” More Latinas than ever are graduating from college, and this is changing the dynamics of entrepreneurship, said Arreaga.… more

South by Southwest Interactive is launching a track of Latinos in technology programming this March; the three-day programming is set to showcase Latino talents, tech and innovation. The event is free to the public, no SXSW admission required, and starts on Friday, March 7 through March 9. According to a statement, the intention of the programming is:

In its inaugural year, the Latinos in Technology Track will explore the impact of the Hispanic voice on technology and technology impacted sectors and, in turn, the impact of technology on the Hispanic voice.

… more

What’s the best way to get more women and minorities great tech jobs? Train them yourself. So goes the logic of Sabio co-founders Liliana Monge and Gregorio Rojas, who are set to graduate their first class of four trained web developers in February. Sabio was created in 2012 and the first class was in session in September of 2013. The 20-week class includes training in a variety of development specialties. Specifically: front end development (HTML5, CCS3, JavaScript); back end development; database development; source control; native mobile development, and more.… more

A study put together by the Pew Internet Center examined how adult cell phone users are using their devices, and what activities they are used for. The study broke down the data across a variety of demographics, but of most interest are the differences between how Hispanics use their devices from other racial groups. Like black mobile users, Hispanics tend to use their devices for a number of tasks, while white users tend to be less engaged with their mobile devices. In general, 81% of cell phone users use their devices to send or receive text messages; 60% of users use these devices to access the Internet.… more

The Carlos Guerra Memorial Scholarship at Texas A&M University – Kingsville was awarded to 8 students this year, each in the amount of $500. Guerra was a longtime activist, writer, journalist, columnist and friend who died unexpectedly in 2010. The Carlos Guerra Communications and Theatre Arts Scholarship is for students at the university who first-generation college students from South Texas. The winners this year are:

• Jazmin Alvarado, senior from Pharr Communications and Spanish major.

… more

Maya Murillo is a blogger and musician in Arizona who has taken to social media, 6-second video social network Vine in particular, and nurtured an audience. She’s just just over 1,000 followers on Facebook and Twitter, but about 2,500 subscribers on YouTube, 4,500 on Instagram and almost 54,000 on Vine. She spoke to us about the impact of social media on her life, and her future aspirations. Maya has taken off on the Latin@ blogosphere, spreading across various outlets and forms of social media, bringing with her cheer, craftiness, and an added singing talent.… more

Facebook’s growth seems to grinding to a halt in current markets, according to recent reports. Its popularity with teenagers is on the decline, and Facebook’s eagerness to co-operate with governments, and then lie about that, seems to suggest that Facebook’s future might not be as vibrant as its growth in the past. An article in the Guardian in April reported that the U.S. market alone has lost 6 million users, and that the drop in users is sustained from previous quarterly drops. … more

The folks at Twitter recently updated their Andes height map for Twitter  — adding two additional 3D city maps (Buenos Aires and Moscow) which rise and fall where people tweet more or less. The Andes map set allows users to pick a city, view it through a variety of filters and see what locations people are tweeting from, where there are Twitter dead spots, and to speculate as to why this use might be so low. These maps are height maps, a specific type of map of terrain which rises in height due to a larger concentration of what is being measured.… more

In Atherton, California, it appears that automobile code violations are almost entirely composed of out-of-town Hispanics – a population which seems much larger than it is by looking at these violations. The database of arrests was compiled by Kent Brewster, and pulled from the police blotter’s public records from February to June 2013 and includes “an ongoing parade of first world problems” such as loud parties, loud subjects, leaf blowers, and so on. The data is relatively bland — until one comes to the vehicle code violations section.… more