April 29, 2009


Hacker Space

Last night I went to possibly the most only exciting meeting I have ever been to.  It was a group of STL folk who want to start a community hacker space, a place for DIY freaks (no, not phreaks) to do whatever they do in a shared space. Wired had a great article in March talking about the movement:

At the center of this community are hacker spaces like Noisebridge, where like-minded geeks gather to work on personal projects, learn from each other and hang out in a nerd-friendly atmosphere. Like artist collectives in the ’60s and ’70s, hacker spaces are springing up all over.

Located in rented studios, lofts or semi-commercial spaces, hacker spaces tend to be loosely organized, governed by consensus, and infused with an almost utopian spirit of cooperation and sharing.

“It’s almost a Fight Club for nerds,” says Nick Bilton of his hacker space, NYC Resistor in Brooklyn, New York. Bilton is an editor in The New York Times R&D lab and a board member of NYC Resistor. Bilton says NYC Resistor has attracted “a pretty wide variety of people, but definitely all geeks. Not Dungeons & Dragons–type geeks, but more professional, working-type geeks.”

For many members, the spaces have become a major focus of their evening and weekend social lives.

Since it was formed last November, Noisebridge has attracted 56
members, who each pay $80 per month (or $40 per month on the “starving hacker rate”) to cover the space’s rent and insurance. In return, they have a place to work on whatever they’re interested in, from vests with embedded sonar proximity sensors to web-optimized database software.

Why more things like this don’t exist everywhere is beyond me.

posted by Andrew Simone in awesome, international, technology 

comments

7 Responses to “Hacker Space”

  1. Jared Corgan on April 29th, 2009 at 2:09 pm

    Right on man, I was there!!

  2. India on April 29th, 2009 at 2:36 pm

    Lemme just get all this out of the way at once:
    * my friend Rose is a member of NYC Resistor;
    * my friend Dylan wrote that Wired piece;
    * I’m taking a class with Nick this semester (for which I should be doing my final project right now).

    So, that said, I go to Resistor every now and then to hang out, and I can attest that it’s pretty bitchen. You’re going to have a blast, son.

  3. Andrew Simone on April 29th, 2009 at 2:38 pm

    That, India, is why I love clusterflock.

  4. India on April 29th, 2009 at 2:43 pm

    Also, my school is nothing but a glorified hacker space, with much, much higher membership dues.

  5. India on April 29th, 2009 at 2:52 pm

    Here are some recent videos about Resistor:

    Bre Pettis talks to Rocketboom

    Bre, Nick, et al. talk to WNYC

  6. Andrew Simone on April 29th, 2009 at 3:40 pm

    Thanks, India. Those look great.

    Jared, I hope we can all cobble something together in the next month, a name, place, etc. I want to get working.

  7. Elizabeth Perry on April 29th, 2009 at 8:38 pm

    Yay hacker spaces!

    India, I met Rose at ETech this year (though didn’t realize that you and she know each other until I saw the conversations pinging back and forth on Twitter).

    And now we’re starting HackPittsburgh… still building out the space, but the community and conversations are already inspiring.

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