Meet the Writer: Hacker Noon's Contributor, Becky Sarwate

If you’re seeing this interview draft, it means you’ve recently published on HackerNoon a story that the community found interesting and/or valuable. For this reason, we would like to help the community get to know you better, as well as find out some writing tips from you.

While this template is automatic, our interest in the answers below is genuine, and our human editors (and some cyborg wannabes) will review it before publishing.

So, let’s start! Tell us a bit about yourself. For example, name, profession, and personal interests.

My name is Becky Sarwate, and I’m the Head of Communications at CEX.IO, a global ecosystem of products and services that connects curious participants to the cryptocurrency economy and decentralized finance (DeFi). I am a born, raised, and proud Chicagoan with passions for literature, sports, travel, social justice, and my two rescue Chihuahua mixes, RuPaul and George Michael.

Interesting! What was your latest Hackernoon Top story about?

My latest published piece is titled, To Achieve Global Adoption, Crypto Should Remember Its Roots. Without naming names (I’m sure if you follow crypto, you can come up with a few), I feel like it’s sometimes incumbent to remind members of a given cohort that individualism can and must be balanced with a responsible sense of community.

Because there are so many instances of humanity ultimately profiting by contributing to shared programs and ideals from which they may not immediately benefit.

Public education is the example I offer here, by way of argument that the crypto industry sometimes suffers from a winner-takes-all attitude that's actually antithetical to its founding purpose.

Do you usually write on similar topics? If not, what do you usually write about?

While my work is focused almost exclusively on cryptocurrency and the surrounding industry, I think readers will find that the pieces are typically rooted in a sense of justice and fair play I try to bring to a comprehensive worldview - across topics.

Great! What is your usual writing routine like (if you have one?)

I usually write in three phases. During the first, I sit for two to three hours and just produce a raw draft. I kind of come with a mental outline in my head, and the data points I need to find to support my arguments. Then I just bang it out. In Phase 2, I come back after some rest (for me and the piece I’m writing) for a critical content review. The focus here is not necessarily mechanics. But did I accomplish what I intended? If not, time to edit. And in the last and final creative phase, I am usually nitpicking at my grammar and punctuation while trying my best not to let perfect become the enemy of good.

Being a writer in tech can be a challenge. It’s not often our main role, but an addition to another one. What is the biggest challenge you have when it comes to writing?

The same one I’ve had since I started journaling in the third grade - word economy. I have a habit of saying something in 50 florid words that could be more digestibly and simply said in 10.

What is the next thing you hope to achieve in your career?

The crypto industry - for a variety of reasons - is very, very much male-dominated. That needs to change, both in terms of the people who do the work and in the target markets we address. I say this so often and in so many scenarios, but women are 51% of the human population, not a special interest group. And they have intelligence and buying power. This sector needs their brains and their dollars. Anything I can do to help move these needles, through example and inclusive marketing strategy, is top of mind.

Wow, that’s admirable. Now, something more casual: What is your guilty pleasure of choice?

Many of my favorites that the world might find corny, I enjoy without a hint of shame. I sometimes revel in my own tackiness. For now, let’s stick with television programs. I may have a Master’s in English Literature and enjoy a good political debate. But I will drop everything to watch Cobra Kai.

Do you have a non-tech-related hobby? If yes, what is it?

Reading, travel, lots of yoga, journaling, long walks, word puzzles, etc.

What can the Hacker Noon community expect to read from you next?

Tough question to answer because the crypto industry is uniquely unfit for prognosticating, as the last two years have shown. But I expect anything I write to be focused broadly on adoption, with a critical eye.

What’s your opinion on HackerNoon as a platform for writers?

There’s nothing like it for a built-in, engaging tech audience.

Thanks for taking time to join our “Meet the writer” series. It was a pleasure. Do you have any closing words As we frequently say at the end of a piece of CEX.IO thought leadership, “May the markets trend in your favor.”