Key takeaways: Being laid off "forced" Colleen to upskill, so that she could broaden her skill set and therefore open up more job possibilitiesThe importance of having a good support network - Bart Farrell encouraged Colleen to get into video editingHow to put out a great short format video? Be a great storyteller!Even though Colleen didn't find a job as a journalist, she realized that she could still find writing jobs in other areasSome people feel intimidated by storytelling, even when they're constantly exposed to great stories.If you're going to be a great storyteller, you have to be a great listener.Writing about a topic with which you are unfamiliar means putting in the time to do research and cite references. AI can help with some of the grunt work, but it won't replace crafting a well-written story.How support from the cloud native community helped Colleen during her time being unemployedEven with DEI initiatives going the way of the dodo, we need to keep speaking about these important topics and elevating underrepresented groups.Having a strong community like the CNCF keeps us wanting to stay in that community.Tell your story, because it will always resonate with someone, and it can change your life.About our guest: "Allow myself to introduce...myself." - Austin Powers Ever feel like you're juggling flaming torches planning events—trying to keep all the details in the air while something’s always about to catch fire? Yep, she's been there. Events have a way of throwing curveballs, and when tech and tools aren’t playing nice, chaos can easily take over. That’s where Colleen Coll comes in. She love turning event madness into magic. Whether it’s on-site event coverage using digital media, live reporting, or behind-the-scenes management, she makes sure everything runs like clockwork. She's also a huge fan of using There.App, which simplifies on-location event management by keeping everyone in sync and streamlining the entire process, so no detail gets lost in the shuffle. From tech conferences to startup launches, I capture the moments that matter and keep things smooth, whether it's happening live or behind the scenes. And when she's not on the ground, she's writing—blogs, articles, and ghostwriting for tech leaders to tell the bigger story behind the event, brand, or mission. Find our guest on: BlueskyLinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/colleen-coll-b971505/)Find us on: All of our social channels are on bento.me/geekingoutAll of Adriana's social channels are on bento.me/adrianamvillelaShow notes: TLDR newsletterBart FarrellMarino Wijay (on Geeking Out!)Tim Banks (on Geeking Out!)Tech Field DayFuturum GroupVisible ImpactState of Open ConAmanda Brock on Geeking OutStephen AugustusPriyanka Sharma (former executive director of the CNCF)The Duckbill GroupTranscript: ADRIANA: Hey everyone, welcome to Geeking Out, the podcast, in which we dive into the career journeys of some of the amazing humans in tech and geek out on topics like software development, DevOps, observability, reliability, and everything in between. I'm your host, Adriena Villela, coming to you from Toronto, Canada. And geeking out with me today, I have Colleen Coll. Welcome, Colleen! COLLEEN: Hello. Hi, Adriana. ADRIANA: I'm so happy to have you on. And, you know, like, I'm pinching myself. I'm like, why did I not have you on sooner? Like. COLLEEN: Well, I'd just be honored. I am honored that you finally asked. But I wasn't expecting it because I was just loving it as a spectator. Because you have so many. So many interesting people talking about whatever. Even if it's tech, even if it's not tech. Just kicking out, period. And geeking out in general, in particular topics. So, when you asked me, I was like, what? So. Yeah. Thanks for having me. ADRIANA: Yeah. Super excited. Okay, well, I'm going to start off with, some icebreaker questions. Okay. First question. Are you a lefty or a righty? COLLEEN: I am a righty. Most of my partners are always lefties. ADRIANA: Really? COLLEEN: Oh, yeah. I probably shouldn't be telling everybody, but both of my husbands, both former husbands were lefties. ADRIANA: That is so wild! COLLEEN: They’re great guys. Nothing bad. We're all cool. ADRIANA: I got to ask, for, for a righty living with a lefty. Were there any, like, nuances that you noticed? COLLEEN: Okay. Now, thinking about it. I think that they were. Oh, yes, I do. I think they had better handwriting than me. So I can't I never, like, had the chance to see if that was, you know, to test that out, that theory out. But both lefties had better, way better handwriting than myself. ADRIANA: That's so interesting. Did you ever, have, like, did you ever did you ever notice, like, if someone's putting a knife away in a knife block or like, hanging a coat on the hanger, like the the sort of lefty nuances where it's, like,flipped around. COLLEEN: I should have. No, I have not. ADRIANA: I'm just curious because I'm the only lefty in my household. It's it's... my my husband, my daughter, and I, living together, and, I'm the only lefty, and I. I impose my will upon them. COLLEEN: And it has everything to do with how you, like, hang a coat. Yeah, yeah, yeah. ADRIANA: So I'll hang my coat and I'll hang other people's coats facing a, facing one way, like the lefty way on the coat hanger and then knives on the knife block. Oh, like if my husband puts a knife in the knife block, I'll like, reverse it. To to suit my needs. COLLEEN: Wait, wait, wait. Is there a difference in how you hang the toilet paper roll? ADRIANA: No, we agree on that one. COLLEEN: I think that's I. ADRIANA: Think, I don't know, like, they're they're they're. We might not be together if we disagreed on that one. COLLEEN: Just checking because I. ADRIANA: Do feel like, wars, wars are fought over how how one hangs toilet paper rolls. COLLEEN: Girl, don’t get me started. Anyways. ADRIANA: I love the sidebar. Okay. Did I ask you, do you prefer iPhone or Android? COLLEEN: Oh, I prefer, well, I don't know if I prefer, but it's. What I have had is the iPhone. But, friends of mine that have the, Androids, I mean, those are, they're f*****g impressive, especially when it comes to the camera, so. I’m in video and digital, and I'm like, maybe I should switch, but I don't know. I think there's a community or maybe a cult, that if I do switch, I’ll be hunted down. I’m that paranoid. So we'll see. But I, I like them both, but I can't. I mean, for, video and digital, anything like that. Pics. I mean, I mean, hands down the Droids, they're, they're awesome. ADRIANA: One of my friends who's on Android upgraded her phone recently, and she had the dopest photo of an eagle in mid-flight. And I'm like. COLLEEN: See? ADRIANA: Wut? COLLEEN: See? Yeah, I mean, it's just the truth, but yeah, whatever. Maybe I just have to buy a camera. ADRIANA: I have my, my old dSLR, gathering dust in my house. I haven't picked it up for like, five years now. I don't know if I ever told you this, but I used to be a, I was for a year, a professional photographer. So, I did family photography. I quit tech. I quit tech. Because I was, like, sick and tired of it. And I hated my job. And I hated my life so completely. My my work life. Not my life life. And. Yeah, so I, I, I was a family photographer, and so I invested in a nice, like, I got like a full frame Canon dSLR and like, the fancy ass lenses. And I taught myself Photoshop, and I got pretty good at taking the family photos, but then I hated... I had, like, some of the nastiest clients. And that just drove me away. COLLEEN: I totally understand. I used to be, before I got into tech. I used to be, because I've always been in events, but I used to be on the hospitality, restaurant side, and I planned, freelance planned weddings, bar mitzvas, stuff like that. And yeah, I know how people can be. ADRIANA: Actually weddings like, I, I never, I never, shot weddings because I was really scared, of, like, the bridezillas and the, you can't f**k up my perfect moment. And I'm like, oh, my god, what if I miss the shot? Like, you're going to get angry. COLLEEN: I know this sounds completely like, cliché, but it was never the brides for me. It's always the brides’ mothers. ADRIANA: Oh. COLLEEN: I mean, yeah, but my favorite experience, my best experience was planning this, bar mitzvah for, the the, his partner, his wife was, she was a VP. She was way too busy. So she asked, her husband, this guy who's just f*****g amazing, and he says, look, I want to hire you. I know what I want, but I want somebody to organize it for me. And I was like, yeah, cool. And it was just it went off so smoothly from the planning process to the day, to a point where they wanted me to dance with them. But I'm just like, I know that’s a little unprofessional but, f**k it, I did anyway. I had so much fun! But. And there are so many, so much candy. It's not even funny. I don't know... like, sweets, everywhere. And I know when you're that age and all those kids. And that's what you know, because, I mean, they were really partying. But it was amazing. It was just amazing. So yeah, but I get it. ADRIANA: You know, it's funny though, because like, you know, you you've got like your 1 or 2 dream clients and then they kind of in some ways it kind of ruin it for you because you want all of your clients to be like that. And you're like... COLLEEN: Yeah... but it's all good. That's why I'm in the business. I should get out based on some of these experiences that I have had with people and planning, but maybe I'm just like a glutton for punishment because I can't stay out of it. But event plan... I, I just love it. And I love to travel and I love meeting new people. And, you know, even sometimes when those people aren't really nice. ADRIANA: And you're very talented at it. And I definitely want to I'm dying to dig more into into that very shortly. Okay. Next question. Are you a Mac, Linux, or Windows ga
