7.a Hacker finds Hacker

[JakeCarpenter]

Find a co-founder with a twist
The best way to start something is to start hacking together. Not the
usual "desperate bizguy seeks tech guy" thing—rather a hacker seeks
another hacker (e.g. HTML/CSS guy seeks a backend guy). I had this
idea a long time ago and this Etherpad brainstorming (which is btw
just great) brought it back:
The idea: The site has many Etherpads for every region/city one for a
limited period of time (i.e. 7 days) where people of one location can
gather together like here and organize themselves to start something.
After the time period ends a new Etherpad is setup for a new round.
The former Etherpads can stay on the site but get a project name (can
be closed as well, TBD).

Example: I enter the site, choose Berlin and get into the dedicated
Etherpad for Berlin which is running already 3 days. I can engage and
after that round ends people can go next steps with mailing lists etc.
and a new empty Etherpad is setup for a new round
The implementation could be easy because we just need to build a
frontend and use exiting tech for the Etherpads like node.js based
https://github.com/Pita/etherpad-lite (edit: great, we've just got an
node.js guy: drewblaisdell). So an MVP should be possible in short
time. More features could relate to the stages after the initial
meeting in the Etherpads (follow-ups, later entries into the groups,
real user logins, etc.) but are not required for MVP.
The vision: going beyond Hackers finding Hackers—all kind of groups
can organize themselves by regions: e.g. cooking, sports, music, etc—
why is it better than Meetups? Because it's faster, more grounded,
everybody's involvement is wanted, there's no explicit leader,
everybody's leading the process. It's not about talking ("let's meet
and talk in two weeks"), it's about doing—right now!
The bizmodel: freemium
Why we are good for this idea: Because we know this problem of finding
co-hackers so well (therefore we are here right now) and because the
product would have right from the beginning first traction with
ourselves//likeminded people from HN.
^ This is the most meta idea thus far.
Two things I like: it forces projects to gain a certain amount of
momentum in a given time frame (this could also be a hindrance I
suppose, it might be harder to join a project in the last day) and it
the "goal" is visible right from the start (to create *something*).
It's a slightly less awkward version of http://hackerbuddy.com/.
Gaining traction everywhere might be difficult, but an artificial
bottleneck like just starting one in the Bay Area and NYC would
definitely get users.
^ true and I agree that we should start with just a few region/citys
in the beginning
^ I am not loving the idea of making it local. Some places don't have
enough active people to connect in such few time and international
networking is a valuable asset.
^You could have local > state > country > world progression. That's
probably logical because people may be biased to actually meeting
frequently (local), meeting sometimes (state level), in similar
timezones (country level), or just want the best talent (global).
Signal to noise would be more difficult as your progress levels
^ @Fco, I agree—especially dev work can perfectly done per remote.
Just thinking about focussing on topics instead regions in which
Etherpads are created for a period of time. Or: the regions are just
for rough orientation, everybody can join any region. Let's say you
see that guys in NY have some awesome ideas in the current round you
can just join them from other regions as well. Or: we make both:
regions and topics entries to the Etherpads. I believe the region
thing makes the idea more vibrant: you see a group collaborating and
to step in just one word away and you know the guys are nearby. But
you're right it's at the same time a constraint.
I like this idea. Giving a deadline to each etherpad creates a sense
of urgency. The question is, how specific should we make the target
market? Should we market it as a place for "people in [insert city
name] who want to change something in their city"? The value of the
etherpad would be lost if people just met up to talk about cooking/
music/sports/hacking. I think if we framed the goal of the site as a
place for launching *projects* (of any nature), people might have a
better idea of how to start.
Also, this idea fits with the domain name Jake just bought
(startuporshutup.org)
^ It does, but I think we've got multiple groups here. The idea wasn't
necessarily (though i don't see why not) to start something startup
related, just to start something.
I think both 7a and 7b are good ideas, but that it definitely doesn't
make sense to do both. I really like the idea that the groups are
FRAMED around a region, but that ANYONE can join a group. This way,
people can be motivated by individual problems they see around them,
but they are able to get help from people who are interested, but
don't necessarily live near them.
Vision: the home page would be a map/craigslist-like list of regions.
Clicking down on each region would show a topic (e.g. startups,
recycling) and each topic would lead to an etherpad-like installation
where people would have a set period of days to meet and work together
to start building something up. I imagine non-profits could use this
to arrange meetups for volunteering events in a specific city and
college campuses groups could use this to plan out their idea for a
walkathon campus event, and hackers could use this to meet
cofounders.

[Lpster Stack]

I'd be interested in getting involved with this. 

My background: writing, copyediting, front-end design (html/css/javascript), and marketing.  

[Desmond Mappa]

Lpster, welcome on board—the more I brainstorm about this idea the
more I like it.

Marketplaces for activities such as Gidsy.com and many more are
trending and I think that our vision goes further: instead of
consuming "curated" activties, user create their own experience from
the first second.

On Dec 28, 6:01 pm, Lpster Stack <lpsterst...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I'd be interested in getting involved with this.
>
> My background: writing, copyediting, front-end design
> (html/css/javascript), and marketing.
>
> On Wed, Dec 28, 2011 at 2:18 AM, JakeCarpenter <
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> jakearthurcarpen...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Find a co-founder with a twist
> > The best way to start something is to start hacking together. Not the
> > usual "desperate bizguy seeks tech guy" thing—rather a hacker seeks
> > another hacker (e.g. HTML/CSS guy seeks a backend guy). I had this
> > idea a long time ago and this Etherpad brainstorming (which is btw
> > just great) brought it back:
> > The idea: The site has many Etherpads for every region/city one for a
> > limited period of time (i.e. 7 days) where people of one location can
> > gather together like here and organize themselves to start something.
> > After the time period ends a new Etherpad is setup for a new round.
> > The former Etherpads can stay on the site but get a project name (can
> > be closed as well, TBD).
>
> > Example: I enter the site, choose Berlin and get into the dedicated
> > Etherpad for Berlin which is running already 3 days. I can engage and
> > after that round ends people can go next steps with mailing lists etc.
> > and a new empty Etherpad is setup for a new round
> > The implementation could be easy because we just need to build a
> > frontend and use exiting tech for the Etherpads like node.js based

> >https://github.com/Pita/etherpad-lite(edit: great, we've just got an

> > node.js guy: drewblaisdell). So an MVP should be possible in short
> > time. More features could relate to the stages after the initial
> > meeting in the Etherpads (follow-ups, later entries into the groups,
> > real user logins, etc.) but are not required for MVP.
> > The vision: going beyond Hackers finding Hackers—all kind of groups
> > can organize themselves by regions: e.g. cooking, sports, music, etc—
> > why is it better than Meetups? Because it's faster, more grounded,
> > everybody's involvement is wanted, there's no explicit leader,
> > everybody's leading the process. It's not about talking ("let's meet
> > and talk in two weeks"), it's about doing—right now!
> > The bizmodel: freemium
> > Why we are good for this idea: Because we know this problem of finding
> > co-hackers so well (therefore we are here right now) and because the
> > product would have right from the beginning first traction with
> > ourselves//likeminded people from HN.
> > ^ This is the most meta idea thus far.
> > Two things I like: it forces projects to gain a certain amount of
> > momentum in a given time frame (this could also be a hindrance I
> > suppose, it might be harder to join a project in the last day) and it
> > the "goal" is visible right from the start (to create *something*).

> > It's a slightly less awkward version ofhttp://hackerbuddy.com/.

[Jesse Pollak]

I'm interested in this one too!

I place myself in the coder category and have the most experience with Ruby/Rails. I'm open to picking up any language or framework though and consider myself a fast learner.

Excited about this,

Jesse

[Desmond Mappa]

Welcome Jesse!

Rails is great! Rails with Heroku and the site is running :-)

Guys, what do think, shall we go in the first step with the "hackers
niche" or shall we make right from the beginning some kind of an
activities market place like gidsy.com?

On Dec 28, 6:21 pm, Jesse Pollak <jpolla...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I'm interested in this one too!
>
> I place myself in the coder category and have the most experience with Ruby/Rails. I'm open to picking up any language or framework though and consider myself a fast learner.
>
> Excited about this,
>
> Jesse
>
> On Dec 28, 2011, at 12:01 PM, Lpster Stack wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > I'd be interested in getting involved with this.
>
> > My background: writing, copyediting, front-end design (html/css/javascript), and marketing.
>

> > On Wed, Dec 28, 2011 at 2:18 AM, JakeCarpenter <jakearthurcarpen...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Find a co-founder with a twist
> > The best way to start something is to start hacking together. Not the
> > usual "desperate bizguy seeks tech guy" thing—rather a hacker seeks
> > another hacker (e.g. HTML/CSS guy seeks a backend guy). I had this
> > idea a long time ago and this Etherpad brainstorming (which is btw
> > just great) brought it back:
> > The idea: The site has many Etherpads for every region/city one for a
> > limited period of time (i.e. 7 days) where people of one location can
> > gather together like here and organize themselves to start something.
> > After the time period ends a new Etherpad is setup for a new round.
> > The former Etherpads can stay on the site but get a project name (can
> > be closed as well, TBD).
>
> > Example: I enter the site, choose Berlin and get into the dedicated
> > Etherpad for Berlin which is running already 3 days. I can engage and
> > after that round ends people can go next steps with mailing lists etc.
> > and a new empty Etherpad is setup for a new round
> > The implementation could be easy because we just need to build a
> > frontend and use exiting tech for the Etherpads like node.js based

> >https://github.com/Pita/etherpad-lite(edit: great, we've just got an

> > node.js guy: drewblaisdell). So an MVP should be possible in short
> > time. More features could relate to the stages after the initial
> > meeting in the Etherpads (follow-ups, later entries into the groups,
> > real user logins, etc.) but are not required for MVP.
> > The vision: going beyond Hackers finding Hackers—all kind of groups
> > can organize themselves by regions: e.g. cooking, sports, music, etc—
> > why is it better than Meetups? Because it's faster, more grounded,
> > everybody's involvement is wanted, there's no explicit leader,
> > everybody's leading the process. It's not about talking ("let's meet
> > and talk in two weeks"), it's about doing—right now!
> > The bizmodel: freemium
> > Why we are good for this idea: Because we know this problem of finding
> > co-hackers so well (therefore we are here right now) and because the
> > product would have right from the beginning first traction with
> > ourselves//likeminded people from HN.
> > ^ This is the most meta idea thus far.
> > Two things I like: it forces projects to gain a certain amount of
> > momentum in a given time frame (this could also be a hindrance I
> > suppose, it might be harder to join a project in the last day) and it
> > the "goal" is visible right from the start (to create *something*).

> > It's a slightly less awkward version ofhttp://hackerbuddy.com/.

[Lpster Stack]

I vote hackers niche since they're the group that's probably going to find it the most interesting when we show it on HN. After a few iterations, we can expand out to other specific niches. It's easier to market when there's a specific target market in mind, imo.