Polly Packet's Precious Payload - All Smiles to the Data Center

by Carrie Goetz

The data center industry is full of jobs for trades, skilled trades, technologists, engineers, marketing, and a wide variety of others. Today there are over 300,000 open jobs in this mission-critical industry. This book acts as an introduction to how the internet works and how messages (in this case a smile and message for Grandma) get to the data center and explains what a data center is. Look for more works by this author in this series and new titles to follow. While children today learn coding, very few learn where the code "lives." This book aims to correct that by way of introduction.

34 pages, Paperback

Published December 20, 2023

About the author

Carrie Goetz, Principal/CTO, StrategITcom, and Amazon best-selling author of “Jumpstart Your Career in Data Centers Featuring Careers for Women, Trades, and Vets in Tech and Data Centers,” personifies over 40 years of global experience designing, running, and auditing, data centers, IT departments, and intelligent buildings.

Amongst her accolades:
• 2023 Inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award AFCOM/Data Center World
• 2023 BICSI ICT Woman of the Year
• 2022 and 2023 Top 25 Women in Technology by Mission Critical
• 30 Top Most Influential Women in Tech 2021 by CIO Outlook
• Top 10 Most Influential Women in Technology 2020 by Analytics Insight
• Network Computing Inspiration Award finalist 2020
• IMason’s IM100
• 2020 Comptia Women in Leadership Spotlight Finalist.

Carrie is a fractional CTO for multiple companies. She is an international keynote speaker published in 69 countries in over 250 publications. She holds an honorary doctorate in Mission Critical Operations, RCDD/NTS, PSP, CNID, CDCP, CSM-Agile, and AWS CCP and is a Master Infrastructure Mason with 40+ certifications throughout her career. She served on the WIMCO national education committee and is a long-time participant in the 7x24 Exchange, AFCOM and Data Center Institute board of advisors, Mission Critical Advisory Board, Women in Data Centers, CNet Technical Curriculum Advisory Board, NEDAS Advisory Board, a member of BICSI, Women in BICSI, and an Education committee member. A member of Women Leading Technology Sorority. She champions STEM education through outreach projects and her podcast series. She holds two patents.

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 5 out of 5]

Polly Packet’s Precious Payload takes something as complex as data centers and turns it into an imaginative, child-friendly story. Through little Sarah’s questions and her mom’s patient answers, kids learn how a simple picture sent to Grandma travels across cell towers, subsea cables, and data centers. I really liked how it explained such a big concept with simple words and charming characters like the Packeteers. As a parent, I enjoyed reading it because it taught my child something new while keeping the story fun and relatable. It’s not just entertaining—it’s educational in a way that sticks.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who knew a selfie for Grandma could turn into a wild ride through space, under the sea, and straight into a data center? 🚀 Polly Packet’s Precious Payload is packed with energy, adorable characters, and a clever way to explain how the internet works. I had a blast reading it—and honestly, I learned a thing or two myself! If your kiddo is curious about “where the picture goes” when they hit send, this book makes it magical, silly, and smart all at once. Total win for bedtime reading and big smiles. 😄

[Paige Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Packets, Payloads, and Pure Fun!
Polly Packet’s Precious Payload zips kids (and curious parents) on a fast, fun ride that makes the internet feel like magic—and I was grinning the whole way through! 😄