On May 3, Hacks and Hackers from the Austin area got together to watch two presentations. Marcus Mateus of Simplitex discussed the role of data in creating landing pages, providing more information about users and boosting conversion rates. Then Rodney Gibbs and Michael Baird of Ricochet Labs talked about the inception of their trivia app QRANK. The meeting was sponsored by Paintbrush Ranch in Wimberley (thanks to Lewis Knight).
Please join Hacks/Hackers ATX on Tues, May 3 at the Texas Tribune, starting at 6:30pm. We’ll have refreshments sponsored by Paintbrush Ranch Bed and Breakfast, thanks to Lewis Knight! We’ve decided to standardize meetings on the 1st Tuesday of each month, so mark your calendars accordingly. We have two great presenttions for this meetup, which will deal with managing content and analytics and engaging users. First, Marcus Mateus of SimpliTex Web Solutions will discuss “Turning a Nugget of Info about Your Visitors into a Bar of Gold,” sharing some examples and data and introducing his platform.
Please join Hacks/Hackers, Online News Association, Poynter Institute, Association of Alternative Newsweeklies Vision Cloud, Scribd, Tableau Software and more for a rockin’ party during SXSW. It’s the Awesomest Journalism Party. Ever. Really. And you’re invited for music and fun with some of the most innovative journalists and developers in the country. Where: The Marq, 422 Congress Ave. When: Sunday, March 13, 4-7pm Please visit the Awesomest Journalism Party. Ever site for more details and to RSVP.
On Feb. 17, Andrew Dupont of Gowalla discussed his side project, Filibusted.us at the Austin American-Statesman. Andrew’s site collects data on filibusters to better inform people of some of the activities of those who represent them on the Senate floor. He also discussed some sources of government data and gave tips on how to work with it. Watch the video of his presentation below. More photos available at Meetup.
Join Hacks/Hackers ATX on Feb. 17 at 6:30pm as Andrew Dupont (of Gowalla) talks about using government data and a side project he developed called Filibusted. We know that the Internet can be used to donate to political candidates. Or make fun of them. But, with a little help from citizens, it can also make government work better. First, Andrew will present a handful of sites that aggregate government data and present it in useful ways.
Hacks/Hackers Austin kicked off the first meeting of 2011 with an Intro to Django session, presented by Jon Loyens, Director of Bazaarvoice Labs. Loyens did a short presentation on Django as a Python-based Web framework, and then moved into a live demo. You enjoy photos and video of the session below. More photos available on the Meetup.com page. Once again, there was a good crowd, this time at the offices of the Texas Tribune.
For our first meeting of 2011, Jon Loyens of Bazaarvoice will be giving us an Introduction to Django. Django is a Python-based Web framework, used in many journalistic settings. It was actually developed by The World Company news organization in Lawrence, Kansas, so there will be many news and information applications to discuss. Jon is the director of Bazaarvoice Labs and does programming projects on the side. We’ll meet at 6:30pm on Thursday, January 27th for snacks and drinks at the Texas Tribune offices at 823 Congress Ave.
For the last meeting of 2010, Hacks/Hackers ATX hosted a lingo swap, or a terminology and process exchange, between journalists and programmers. Representing journalists was Matt Stiles of the Texas Tribune. Matt started things off by explaining what concepts like source and script mean to journalists, and demystified terms like lede and beat. Later, Mattt Thompson (yes, that’s 3 t’s), a developer from Gowalla, discussed some basic programming concepts that all communicators should know.
The next meeting of Hacks/Hackers ATX (and last of 2010) will be on Dec. 8 at the Austin American-Statesman, 6:30-8:30pm. This meeting seeks to bridge the gap between journalists and programmers by explaining some of the terms and techniques of each field. Mattt Thompson, a hacker at Gowalla, will untangle and demystify some of the finer points of the programmer craft. And Matt Stiles of the Texas Tribune will talk about newsroom lingo and processes.
A group of coders and journos got together for a Saturday of programming at Austin Community College’s Eastview Campus for the first Hacks/Hackers ATX News Hackathon. The day was quite productive with a variety of news apps discussed and developed over the course of the day. It was a great meeting of technology, news and academia with representation from The University of Texas, Texas State University, The Texas Tribune and many more entities.