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Mayor Bloomberg Will Learn How To Write Code In 2012
- GBond 15y agoFirst person to learn how to code AFTER becoming a billionaire?
- kanwisher 15y agoConsidering his whole business is basically being the tech company for the finance industry it's surprising he never learned about it.
- aspir 15y agoWell, NYC finance is still about dealmaking, even in the days of digital trading. Business is still done face-to-face, and the sheer density of New York will probably make sure that deal makers are more valuable than technologists for the foreseeable future. That's not to discount technologists in NY at all, though (they're deal makers too). It's just the reality that handshakes and coffee are irreplaceable.
- kloncks 15y agoSpeaking of coffee, a lot of his early deals were based on him going around to Merrill Lynch and buying people there coffee, then coming back later saying "I'm Michael Bloomberg. I bought you a coffee. Can we talk?"
- robert00700 15y agoAs far as I'm aware anecdotally (I interned at Bloomberg last summer) Mike was in a position that required managing technology in his previous financial job before starting Bloomberg itself. Perhaps a more useful skill than being a developer himself considering he had a few million of capital to hire his own team from the off!
- redthrowaway 15y agoGood for him, and good for Codecademy. While a largely symbolic gesture, it can certainly never hurt to have political leaders be at least somewhat familiar with technology, especially when they're trying to create a new SV. I hope this is an actual intention and not just an empty PR move. He could, however, score a massive PR win both for himself and for NYC as a tech center by taking Codecademy up on their offer and showing up for lessons in person.
- fauigerzigerk 15y agoIt is a symbolic move, but the interesting thing about it is that this kind of symbolism wouldn't work in most other places on this planet.
- goatcurious 15y agoAgree, and it wouldn't have worked for even New York a couple of years ago. Right now, one of the biggest advantages for New York startups is the terrific (& free) PR push from Bloomberg himself. Go Codecademy!
- zds 15y agoThanks!
- rayiner 15y agoNote the interesting bit about the London mayor: "The move even prompted London Mayor Boris Johnson to state he was in “awe” of Bloomberg and would consider joining him on the quest to become adept at, or at least acquainted with, programming, as the BBC reported." This is a great thing for Bloomberg to do. In an age where so many politicians are trying as hard as they can to stifle the new economy in favor of the old economy, the major of a city with a GDP bigger than that of 47 other states paying such public attention to the tech industry is a great step in moving our politics forward.
- infinite8s 15y agoWell, it's not that weird for Bloomberg. He did after all build his considerable fortune on a tech company (which has been in existence since 1981, longer than most tech companies)
- GFKjunior 15y agoHe's not new to the tech field. He graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering from Johns Hopkins. Bloomberg's most famous product is probably the Bloomberg Terminal. A dual screen computer and OS for hedge fund manager types, that costs $1900-2500 a month per subscription.
- raldi 15y agoIt stopped being its own OS long ago. Now the dual-screen computer is a standard Windows PC with a pretty case and fancy keyboard, and the terminal software is just a win32 .exe.
- sopooneo 15y agoWhy do they even bother with special hardware? The keyboard I guess I can see. Seems like the whole thing could just be web app now.
- epall 15y agoThey have a web-launched SaaS version, too, and they're trying to get everybody to switch to it because the pricing model is per-user instead of per-machine.
- zerostar07 15y agoI will consider hiring him in 2015
- CPlatypus 15y agoSo will I, but only if I can check out his code on github and ask him a whole bunch of puzzle questions first. ;)
- joelklabo 15y agowhy?
- fedd 15y agoIn 1917 Lenin said that every cook should be able to run a state. In 2012 a mayor would write code. That's what the mankind achieved.
- jes5199 15y agoWell, is writing code the new literacy? Most people in the west can read and write at some level, even if they never write a novel. The future might be like that with code - there are signs of it, where knowing how to write a little script or a SQL query can make a huge difference in plenty of different fields
- simondlr 15y agoThis is an interesting point and one I haven't thought of like this. The past year, I kept telling people to start learning to program, because there will be an unprecedented increase in demand for programmers and knowing how to program (even just a little bit) will be greatly beneficial no matter in what line of life you are in. But can it come to the point where if you can't code, you get left behind? It might not be so farfetched.
- candre717 15y agoOr, the more people who can code, the less valuable the skill? Meh, or not.
- rsolari 15y agoMaybe it's not supply & demand, but a network effect: For reading, I would argue the ability to read become more valuable as the literacy rate increases, as society starts to run on the written word. Perhaps computer literacy is the same.
- candre717 15y agoThat's interesting. When would you use a supply & demand model versus network effects to explain a trend?
- jarin 15y agoThe more people who can code, the more demand there will be for advanced training from experienced coders. The hackers of today will be the teachers of tomorrow :)
- wes-exp 15y agoI suppose I should be happy that authority figures are getting in touch with technology. That said, I'm pretty sure Bloomberg learning to code marks the peak of the second tech bubble. That, or Ashton Kutcher becoming a VC.
- cellis 15y agoBloomberg was already highly technical once before. Listen to his Techcrunch interview where he talks about having to solder integrated circuits onto boards to build the first Bloomberg terminals. He's not just another clueless MBA CEO. http://techcrunch.com/2011/11/28/founder-stories-how-michael-bloomberg-got-his-start-i-brought-you-a-cup-of-coffee/ http://techcrunch.com/2011/11/28/founder-stories-how-michael...
- aspir 15y agoThis is probably the most beneficial Founder Story I've seen in a long time. I'd highly recommend a watch. The video proves that hard work has always been essential in the tech industry, with our without outside capital. A few too many recent Founder Stories are with relatively inexperienced people with only a few years or less under their belt, and I don't feel like I've actually learned anything from the video other than their company name. This one is different.
- botker 15y agoWhat a great video. It gives me a lot more respect for the guy. After watching it I'm surprised that he's made it this long without learning how to code.
- slug 15y agoHis book "Bloomberg by Bloomberg" is also a good read. I also find it amusing this even made the news. His billion-dollar fortune comes from a tech company founded with money he got as severance after being fired from a previous tech management position, albeit in the finance sector.
- marcamillion 15y agoI Love this video. Especially his story about keeping burn low as much as possible. One such example of when he did that was when sawed down some desks so more could fit in the same space (i.e. fit more salespeople in the same square footage)- and many of his employees didn't even realize at first. Love it.
- ballard 15y agoSad to see codeacademy discriminating against remote workers http://www.codecademy.com/jobs http://www.codecademy.com/jobs http://37signals.com/svn/posts/161-why-are-you-not-hiring-remote-workers http://37signals.com/svn/posts/161-why-are-you-not-hiring-re...
- shapeshed 15y agoHow long before the TV series 'Coding with the Stars'?