9 ms·

AdoptAHacker invites you to visit NYC

54 points by MediaSquirrel 16y ago

ecargnfx 16y ago
The problem in NYC isn't that we don't have hackers, it's that we don't have the entrepreneurial minded hackers. I'm a designer working on my startup and most of my friends are developers. But what I've noticed is that all my friends look to work at the big companies. It's strange, but I'm not surprised - they don't know the options available to them. Entrepreneurship isn't a course in their CS curriculum. They don't realize the potential they can have to change the world. To solve the problem, why not have startups recruit students at career fairs?
estill01 16y ago
Hell yeah. Adopt a hacker. whut whut.
Jun8 16y ago
This is a fantastic idea! Chicago HNers, can we do one?
- NEPatriot 16y ago
  why not make this site it for all cities? So you could visit any city you want to
DanielN 16y ago
cool idea, but sending you resume (or some facsimile of it) to find a place to crash is a little strange.
- proexploit 16y ago
  How else are they going to verify you're a "talented hacker"? When most resumes are available publicly on any personal website (I'm making an assumption), it doesn't seem like too much to send.
  - DanielN 16y ago
    this is basically my point. The things you look for in great programmers are not the same things you look for in finding great people to spend a weekend with. In order to make this a truly great experience they should put some time into finding a way to make good matches both in start-up-employee-potential and enjoyable-person-potential.
yef 16y ago
Fine, I'll say it. Also why NYC rocks: tons of amazing women.
- siculars 16y ago
  Seconded. NYC women > SF women any day of the week. There is an absolute dominance in the ratio of available women to men. Scientific statistical data gathering aside, I can personally attest to the fact that there are entirely too many women to go around. I also know quite a few smart, beautiful women who are afflicted by this lopsided ratio and are looking for functional guys.
andrewacove 16y ago
I love this. I'm thinking about NYC for the future, and this will be awesome for it. But... Right now I'm focused on a startup in SF, so I can't apply. I'd love for this to turn into some sort of community site - first and foremost so that I can follow/join and keep track of events and gatherings that will inevitably occur under its umbrella. But also because I think it'd be very cool to let hackers sign up, without a timetable, to indicate "hey, I'm interested in being a hacker in NYC [any city] if I find a cool project and like minded people." It could be a city-centric talent-pool. When companies exhaust their local options for new blood, they can turn to AdoptAHacker and try to attract people who want to go to the city but aren't ready to go without something lined up in advance.
cageface 16y ago
I hear so much about the desperate shortage of hackers in NYC yet I send my resume to a few startups, full of relevant experience at top-tier companies, and get not a peep back. What gives?
- brett1211 16y ago
  Miles, what kind of projects are you looking to get involved in? I know plenty of people in the city looking for hackers. hit me up at brett AT appfund.com @brett1211
- MediaSquirrel 16y ago
  the startups in need of hackers are often the ones you haven't heard of just yet.
andrewacove 16y ago
I sent an e-mail to the address listed, and it failed. ------------- Delivery to the following recipient failed permanently: nyc@adoptahacker.com Technical details of permanent failure: Google tried to deliver your message, but it was rejected by the recipient domain. We recommend contacting the other email provider for further information about the cause of this error. The error that the other server returned was: 550 550 "Unknown User" (state 14).
- klick175 16y ago
  Hey Andrew, sorry, we were experiencing strange mailserver issues--adoptahacker@gmail.com works in the meantime. Ben
johnndege 16y ago
This is a great idea. I love the NYC tech scene and deliberately chose to move to NYC over Silicon Valley a few months ago. I like the fact the scene is still developing, small and community driven. There are so many events to check out and people are very friendly. People are building interesting products in NYC. If anyone comes to NYC check out these events... New York Tech Meetup, NY Resistor, Hacks Hackers, Next NY
jasonlbaptiste 16y ago
I would love to see this happen in Boston. I'll be the first one to offer up my couch.
- necrecious 16y ago
  Good job on Hackers and Founders last night. Kind of fun to be in the middle of college football fans discussing social media.
daemin 16y ago
Great idea and I while I would love to head to NYC (from Australia) I would probably want to get a more permanent gig there instead of just a few days. Also what is it with websites and having text as images? I thought we got past that design phase a few years ago.
jackowayed 16y ago
Wow. The website is basically just images. There is no text int he source. Every word is part of an image. Each option in the menu at the top is an image of text. The whole "Dear Hackers" pretty thing is an image. Then the "Get Started!" button is another image. Then the "Ambassadors From" section is one big image that includes both the heading and the logos. Then the "Success Stories" section is also one image, including the heading and all of that text.
- Vivtek 16y ago
  Huh. Blind hackers need not apply?
- MediaSquirrel 16y ago
  They built the site in a day. Cut the dudes some slack.
  - apgwoz 16y ago
    Are you saying that they couldn't add text to the page (outside of images) in a day?
    - phrasemix 16y ago
      I was part of the team that put this together at Startup Weekend in NY. We were all about getting this up and out into the world before the end of the weekend. Putting up mostly static images allowed us to not worry about any CSS bullshit and focus all our efforts on the copy, design, and minimum viable functionality for the site.
- alexyim 16y ago
  Clever way to emphasize the need for hackers
- PhrosTT 16y ago
  they're donating their apartments to random strangers... i think we can give them a pass on lazy web design.
jonathanjaeger 16y ago
Let's not overanalyze or criticize. What is there to lose in visiting NYC in the first place, not to mention the opportunity to socialize with similar-minded tech people?
daeken 16y ago
Anyone in NYC looking for someone low-level? I'm primarily a reverse-engineer, but kernel and compiler dev is all good as well. I've been considering a move over that way, but haven't seen much outside of web and finance stuff.
- necrecious 16y ago
  Where are you located? I am currently in Boston. My tech is going to require low level linux hackery to get performance to the next level.
  - daeken 16y ago
    I'm currently located in a little town in PA, but location really doesn't much matter to me. My email's in my profile if you want to talk about it.
- apgwoz 16y ago
  tptacek always posts about Matasano, when there's a "who's hiring" thread. http://www.matasano.com/careers/ http://www.matasano.com/careers/
necrecious 16y ago
I've been torn between going to SF or staying in Boston. Interesting to see NYC might become a contender.
dotBen 16y ago
So aside from the slightly graphics-heavy website, I'm kinda impressed by the offer (and I live in San Francisco). What it has me thinking is that we should really do this for San Francisco - and not just 'come couch surf' but a consorted effort perhaps around a one day conference or bar-camp style event to showcase and talent match. The idea would be to attract the developer living in the rest of America (ie not CA, NY or WA/Seattle) who is intrigued about moving here to join a startup. You see folks asking about moving in "Ask HN" threads all the time, so why not organize a specific event? The economy in SF is fairly hit because of the financial sector and economic downturn - but tech companies of all sizes, from startup to BigCo, are hiring developers and related people to the extent that we can't find enough people. This is a GREAT time to move to San Francisco if you are a dev. What do others think about running such an event? BarCampOutOfTowner, perhaps?
- achompas 16y ago
  As someone who wants to move to the Bay Area next year, I would love this. I have zero idea as to where I would fit, but this would be awesome.
tomatohs 16y ago
I was part of a similar program this summer called HackNY (hackny.org). I was supplied housing and a paid internship with a NY based startup. If you're a student looking to gain some startup experience, I strongly encourage you to attend one of their upcoming hackathons and register for the summer program .

54 points by MediaSquirrel 16y ago

The problem in NYC isn't that we don't have hackers, it's that we don't have the entrepreneurial minded hackers. I'm a designer working on my startup and most of my friends are developers. But what I've noticed is that all my friends look to work at the big companies. It's strange, but I'm not surprised - they don't know the options available to them. Entrepreneurship isn't a course in their CS curriculum. They don't realize the potential they can have to change the world. To solve the problem, why not have startups recruit students at career fairs?

estill01 16y ago

Hell yeah. Adopt a hacker. whut whut.

Jun8 16y ago

This is a fantastic idea! Chicago HNers, can we do one?

NEPatriot 16y ago
why not make this site it for all cities? So you could visit any city you want to

DanielN 16y ago

cool idea, but sending you resume (or some facsimile of it) to find a place to crash is a little strange.

proexploit 16y ago
How else are they going to verify you're a "talented hacker"? When most resumes are available publicly on any personal website (I'm making an assumption), it doesn't seem like too much to send.
- DanielN 16y ago
  this is basically my point. The things you look for in great programmers are not the same things you look for in finding great people to spend a weekend with. In order to make this a truly great experience they should put some time into finding a way to make good matches both in start-up-employee-potential and enjoyable-person-potential.

yef 16y ago

Fine, I'll say it. Also why NYC rocks: tons of amazing women.

siculars 16y ago
Seconded. NYC women > SF women any day of the week. There is an absolute dominance in the ratio of available women to men. Scientific statistical data gathering aside, I can personally attest to the fact that there are entirely too many women to go around. I also know quite a few smart, beautiful women who are afflicted by this lopsided ratio and are looking for functional guys.

andrewacove 16y ago

I love this. I'm thinking about NYC for the future, and this will be awesome for it. But... Right now I'm focused on a startup in SF, so I can't apply. I'd love for this to turn into some sort of community site - first and foremost so that I can follow/join and keep track of events and gatherings that will inevitably occur under its umbrella. But also because I think it'd be very cool to let hackers sign up, without a timetable, to indicate "hey, I'm interested in being a hacker in NYC [any city] if I find a cool project and like minded people." It could be a city-centric talent-pool. When companies exhaust their local options for new blood, they can turn to AdoptAHacker and try to attract people who want to go to the city but aren't ready to go without something lined up in advance.

cageface 16y ago

I hear so much about the desperate shortage of hackers in NYC yet I send my resume to a few startups, full of relevant experience at top-tier companies, and get not a peep back. What gives?

brett1211 16y ago
Miles, what kind of projects are you looking to get involved in? I know plenty of people in the city looking for hackers. hit me up at brett AT appfund.com @brett1211
MediaSquirrel 16y ago
the startups in need of hackers are often the ones you haven't heard of just yet.

andrewacove 16y ago

I sent an e-mail to the address listed, and it failed. ------------- Delivery to the following recipient failed permanently: nyc@adoptahacker.com Technical details of permanent failure: Google tried to deliver your message, but it was rejected by the recipient domain. We recommend contacting the other email provider for further information about the cause of this error. The error that the other server returned was: 550 550 "Unknown User" (state 14).

klick175 16y ago
Hey Andrew, sorry, we were experiencing strange mailserver issues--adoptahacker@gmail.com works in the meantime. Ben

johnndege 16y ago

This is a great idea. I love the NYC tech scene and deliberately chose to move to NYC over Silicon Valley a few months ago. I like the fact the scene is still developing, small and community driven. There are so many events to check out and people are very friendly. People are building interesting products in NYC. If anyone comes to NYC check out these events... New York Tech Meetup, NY Resistor, Hacks Hackers, Next NY

jasonlbaptiste 16y ago

I would love to see this happen in Boston. I'll be the first one to offer up my couch.

necrecious 16y ago
Good job on Hackers and Founders last night. Kind of fun to be in the middle of college football fans discussing social media.

daemin 16y ago

Great idea and I while I would love to head to NYC (from Australia) I would probably want to get a more permanent gig there instead of just a few days. Also what is it with websites and having text as images? I thought we got past that design phase a few years ago.

jackowayed 16y ago

Wow. The website is basically just images. There is no text int he source. Every word is part of an image. Each option in the menu at the top is an image of text. The whole "Dear Hackers" pretty thing is an image. Then the "Get Started!" button is another image. Then the "Ambassadors From" section is one big image that includes both the heading and the logos. Then the "Success Stories" section is also one image, including the heading and all of that text.

Vivtek 16y ago
Huh. Blind hackers need not apply?
MediaSquirrel 16y ago
They built the site in a day. Cut the dudes some slack.
- apgwoz 16y ago
  Are you saying that they couldn't add text to the page (outside of images) in a day?
  - phrasemix 16y ago
    I was part of the team that put this together at Startup Weekend in NY. We were all about getting this up and out into the world before the end of the weekend. Putting up mostly static images allowed us to not worry about any CSS bullshit and focus all our efforts on the copy, design, and minimum viable functionality for the site.
alexyim 16y ago
Clever way to emphasize the need for hackers
PhrosTT 16y ago
they're donating their apartments to random strangers... i think we can give them a pass on lazy web design.

jonathanjaeger 16y ago

Let's not overanalyze or criticize. What is there to lose in visiting NYC in the first place, not to mention the opportunity to socialize with similar-minded tech people?

daeken 16y ago

Anyone in NYC looking for someone low-level? I'm primarily a reverse-engineer, but kernel and compiler dev is all good as well. I've been considering a move over that way, but haven't seen much outside of web and finance stuff.

necrecious 16y ago
Where are you located? I am currently in Boston. My tech is going to require low level linux hackery to get performance to the next level.
- daeken 16y ago
  I'm currently located in a little town in PA, but location really doesn't much matter to me. My email's in my profile if you want to talk about it.
apgwoz 16y ago
tptacek always posts about Matasano, when there's a "who's hiring" thread. http://www.matasano.com/careers/ http://www.matasano.com/careers/

necrecious 16y ago

I've been torn between going to SF or staying in Boston. Interesting to see NYC might become a contender.

dotBen 16y ago

So aside from the slightly graphics-heavy website, I'm kinda impressed by the offer (and I live in San Francisco). What it has me thinking is that we should really do this for San Francisco - and not just 'come couch surf' but a consorted effort perhaps around a one day conference or bar-camp style event to showcase and talent match. The idea would be to attract the developer living in the rest of America (ie not CA, NY or WA/Seattle) who is intrigued about moving here to join a startup. You see folks asking about moving in "Ask HN" threads all the time, so why not organize a specific event? The economy in SF is fairly hit because of the financial sector and economic downturn - but tech companies of all sizes, from startup to BigCo, are hiring developers and related people to the extent that we can't find enough people. This is a GREAT time to move to San Francisco if you are a dev. What do others think about running such an event? BarCampOutOfTowner, perhaps?

achompas 16y ago
As someone who wants to move to the Bay Area next year, I would love this. I have zero idea as to where I would fit, but this would be awesome.

tomatohs 16y ago

I was part of a similar program this summer called HackNY (hackny.org). I was supplied housing and a paid internship with a NY based startup. If you're a student looking to gain some startup experience, I strongly encourage you to attend one of their upcoming hackathons and register for the summer program .