HackerNest

HackerNest
Motto "Tech Nerds Unite!";[1] "We can all be better, together."[2]
Founded 11.1.11 (incorporated 12.12.12)
Type non-profit organization
Headquarters Canada Toronto, Canada
Location
  • Worldwide
Services Uniting tech communities, hackathons
Members
 17,000+
JJ Beh, Robin Toop, Shaharris
Key people
 Splinter cell organizers
Website hackernest.com

HackerNest is a federally incorporated Canadian not-for-profit organization and global movement founded on January 11, 2011.[3] The organization unites local technology communities around the world through community events and hackathons[4] as part of its mission of economic development through technological proliferation. It is the largest, most prolific technology community in Canada[5] with growing international popularity.

History

HackerNest was founded on the belief that the best way to improve the world is to build supportive local technology communities characterized by honesty, trust, sharing, and respect - everywhere.[5] The rationale is that a city's technology community is the cornerstone of economic development that enables collaboration, innovation, mentorship, knowledge-sharing, recruiting, and scientific progress.[5][6] Growing and strengthening the community helps businesses hire better, make more money, and create more jobs, ultimately putting more food on the table.

The organization's ideology is deeply rooted in chaos theory, the idea that minor differences at the start of a process in a dynamic system can have major, unexpected impacts on end results. Similar to how the seemingly-insignificant act of handing a child a pencil culminated in the artistic legacy of Pablo Picasso decades later, HackerNest reasons that making a new friend at a Tech Social could result in a partnership that one day cures cancer.[3] With that in mind, HackerNest "splinter cells" (chapters) regularly host social gatherings open to anyone interested in technology called "Tech Socials". The events vary by city, but maintain the same core tenets: all are nonpartisan, unpretentious, anti-elitist, and pitch-free.[6]

The first Tech Social was held in Toronto on Monday, January 31, 2011.[7] HackerNest Toronto is currently the world's largest Meetup group for programmers[8] and Canada's largest technology meetup (both in terms of group membership and number of attendees at events).[4][9][10] The flagship splinter cell also ran two notable hackathons in 2014: HackerNest Construct, Canada's largest hardware hackathon[9][11][12][13] and DementiaHack for the British government,[14][15][16] the world's first hackathon dedicated to helping people with dementia and their caregivers.[17]

As of April 2015, HackerNest splinter cells have run over 170+ events in 21 cities across 12 countries on 4 continents.[3]

Activities

HackerNest generates revenue to fuel its nonprofit mission by offering hackathon management and consultation services to companies, organizations, and governments. Some projects in the works for 2015 are an internal innovation hackathon for Deloitte, a Toronto traffic hackathon, and another multi-city DementiaHack with the British government.

The organization is developing a directory and community platform codenamed "HackerNest Unite" that intends to bring together a city's entire technology industry and community by featuring regionally-specific jobs, companies, events, classes, funding sources, etc. in one place. An open beta is slated for May 2015. It is a finalist in the 2015 Canadian Global Impact Competition.[18]

Splinter cells

HackerNest refers to its chapters in different cities as "splinter cells", most likely a tongue-in-cheek reference to the eponymous popular video game franchise. Splinter cells are managed by volunteers and generally produce Tech Socials monthly or bi-monthly.

North America

Asia

South America

Europe

Affiliations

Past HackerNest sponsors include BlackBerry, Microsoft, and OANDA. Notable companies that have donated office space as venues for Tech Socials include Google (Kitchener-Waterloo), Facebook (Seattle), Microsoft (Kuala Lumpur), and Techstars (New York).

HackerNest actively participates on the City of Toronto's Innovation and Technology Advisory Panel and the Young Entrepreneur Council Advisory Body to help shape the city's interaction with the technology community.[21]

HackerNest is a resident organization of the Ryerson Digital Media Zone.[22]

Awards

The City of Toronto's Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly presents Shaharris with an official scroll.

References

  1. ↑ "HackerNest". Google Plus. HackerNest. Retrieved 23 Dec 2014.
  2. ↑ "♥ to HackerNest Tbilisi!". YouTube. HackerNest. Retrieved 23 Dec 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "About". HackerNest. 15 Nov 2013. Retrieved 23 Dec 2014.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Emrich, Tom (16 Oct 2013). "HackerNest Sees Global Expansion Thanks To Their No-Douchebag Policy". Betakit. Retrieved 15 Dec 2014.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Choo, Ching Yee (17 Oct 2014). "Operation HackerNest". The Ant Daily. Retrieved 15 Dec 2014.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "HackerNest FAQ". HackerNest. 19 May 2014. Retrieved 23 Dec 2014.
  7. ↑ "Toronto Hacker Nest / Coder Collective / Tech Paradise". Meetup. 31 Jan 2011. Retrieved 22 Dec 2014.
  8. ↑ "Programmers Meetup Groups". Meetup. Retrieved 25 Dec 2014.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Czikk, Joseph (14 Jan 2014). "HackerNest's Mind & Motion Hackathon Next Month Focuses On Wearable Tech". Betakit. Retrieved 15 Dec 2014.
  10. ↑ Farshchi, Jamie (October 2013). "HackerNest Taking Tech Social To Foster Community". MISC Magazine. Retrieved 15 Dec 2014.
  11. ↑ Lam, Eva (4 Jun 2014). "Forget Silicon Valley, Here Comes Toronto!". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 15 Dec 2014.
  12. ↑ Huffman, Ashley (3 Mar 2014). "What a hackathon can teach your company about agility". ITBusiness.ca. Retrieved 15 Dec 2014.
  13. ↑ NewsDesk, TechVibes (20 Feb 2014). "HackerNest to Host Hardware-focused Hackathon in Toronto". TechVibes. Retrieved 23 Dec 2014.
  14. ↑ British High Commission Ottawa (25 Jul 2014). "Toronto hackathon to target dementia challenges with innovative ideas". GOV.UK. Retrieved 15 Dec 2014.
  15. ↑ Lewis, Rob (5 Sep 2014). "Actor Seth Rogen Wants You to Attend DementiaHack". TechVibes. Retrieved 15 Dec 2014.
  16. ↑ Usborne, Simon (22 Oct 2014). "Handy hacks that make life easier: New book reveals how to rid your inbox of spam, protect your passwords and amplify your iPhone". The Independent. Retrieved 15 Dec 2014.
  17. ↑ "DementiaHack 2014". HackerNest. 16 Oct 2014. Retrieved 23 Dec 2014.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Kintanar, Justine (24 March 2015). "Meet the Finalists of the 2015 Canadian Global Impact Competition". ventureLAB. ventureLAB. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  19. ↑ README (21 May 2014). "HackerNest Launching with Techkatha Meetup". README. Retrieved 15 Dec 2014.
  20. ↑ "Tech Startups Come Together To Connect N' Collaborate At The HackerNest Manila Meetup". 14 Oct 2014. Retrieved 15 Dec 2014.
  21. ↑ "Deputy Mayor's Innovation and Technology Roundtable" (PDF). June 23, 2014. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  22. ↑ "Ryerson Digital Media Zone Current Partners". Ryerson Digital Media Zone. Ryerson University. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  23. ↑ "HackerNest News". HackerNest. 17 Nov 2014. Retrieved 22 Dec 2014.

External links