Resources
I have been trying to switch as many of my day-to-day software and apps over to Black owned, or POC owned tech. These are sites, programs, tools that I currently enjoy using, and that to the best of my knowledge are owned/run/founded by people of colour. I will update this page whenever I find another tool that meets the “I like to use it, and folks minoritizied in tech made it!” criteria.
StoryGraph
(Currently in beta, and I pay for it with my own money to get some extra features. All the important core features are free for now though.)
I use this site to track my reading, both academic and pleasure reading. It has a particularly impressive recommendation algorithm. I enjoy using the “moods” feature to browse books based on how I’m feeling. Customer service is really responsive as well, and they have a transparent timeline of which features are coming out next!
Obsidian
(Currently in beta. It’s completely free, but I choose to pay to support their work.)
This is my second brain. I use this for both research notes, and drafting research articles. I also use it most days to do some journaling, and memory-keeping. It’s highly customizable, and has a bit of a learning curve. I think it’s worthwhile to spend the time to learn about its features and use cases. The discord is active and filled with some of the truly kindest nerds you’ll meet anywhere who are excited about helping new users get the most out of its features, including yours truly ;).
Calendly
(Freemium model. I pay for a premium subscription with my own money.)
Absolute life saver in pandemic times to schedule zoom meetings without back-and-forth emails to determine availability! Calendly allows you to set availability hours during which people can book meetings with you, using your unique calendar landing page. I use it primarily for students and colleagues to book meetings with me. I also have a private calendar only close friends can access for scheduling quality time with me outside of work hours. For students, they seem to appreciate this system over the “1 hour twice a week” model of traditional office hours. It also can connect to your Zoom account to generate a unique meeting link for your appointments.