Ask.com trip: our top 10 moments

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Many Hack the Hood interns were surprised to learn that the Ask.com headquarters are located right in our own backyard in downtown Oakland. We visited their office in the City Center building on Thursday and continued our ongoing conversation about the future of technology with Ask.com Senior PR Manager Suraya Akbarzad and Software Engineers Andrew Govberg, Aaron Madsen, and Hitesh Shah.  

Our top 10 moments from the trip: 

• When intern Matt Meno brought up his idea to make a voiceover app to pitch to Hollywood studios and told Software Engineer Aaron Madsen that that he had the perfect voiceover voice, making him blush. Updates on the Meno-Madson voiceover collaboration to come.
  
  
• When Software engineer Hitesh Shah encouraged the interns not to be intimidated by the complexity of the tech industry. Just jump into it. 
  
  
• When Aaron Madsen explained that contrary to popular belief, robots won’t take away jobs. 
  
  
• When intern Da’Janne Taylor brought up the potential for too much technology to make humans lazy. How do we harness technology to make empowering tools? What is the difference between a convenient tool and a tool that enables laziness?

•  When Software engineer Andrew Govberg blew our minds by telling us how much more advanced mobile technology is in parts of Africa than it is in the U.S., where we're attached to phone cable infrastructure. 
• When Madsen explained how failure can be an impetus for growth. This is one sentiment Hack the Hood keeps hearing over an over again: Failure is good! Fail early and learn from it! 
• When intern Taneka Armstrong asked if Ask.com was thinking outside of the box, and how tech companies were thinking about their responsibility to advocate for social change. How can we harness tech to take on the corruption in the world? 
• When Charles Jones asked: “Why are the doors so weird?” Ask.com’s elevator lobby is decorated with doors designed by Hollywood set designers, who work with Ask.com’s marketing department. 
• When intern Raeshon Williams and PR Manager Suraya Akbarzad and started networking on the spot. 
• When we all got to sit on ridiculous comfortable couches, floor pillows, and poofs. The Ask.com lounge takes business casual to the next level!

Thanks for hosting Hack the Hood, Ask.com! ​