I've been a –if it's of the readers allowance– hacker for some time now. To delve into the definition of what a hacker really is and it's true nature is definitely out of the scope of this casual writing –and most likely my understanding of the concept– but anyways here's a summary of what the word hacker means to me today:
A hacker is an artist, a tinkerer, a craftsman. In the artistry of computer programming, a hacker creates programs that solve problems.
TL;DR
I love how TucJS is making the development community flourish in Tucuman. There's a RubyTuc meetups starting in a few days and the idea of a PyTuc is starting to resonate. Also a UX event is on it's way, too! I'd like to see that as a monthly meetup thou.
Motivation
I started TucJS with the sole purpose of finding likeminded peers that would enjoy JavaScript programming as much as I do; whether it was running on a browser or in a server, didn't matter. And I did. I met amazing people with amazing ideas. I reconnected with long-lost acquaintances who were just bright people.
That was a good part of it and I encourage anyone who feels either alone or misunderstood to join a local meetup of any kind: be it painting, computer programming, tobacco chewing –it doesn't matter.
Execution
It was fairly easy, given that I was willing to bootstrap it myself, to put together all we needed for the first meetup on 09.14.2013 and subsequent ones. But I'm not going to discuss the topic of getting shirts done, finding a venue and all that jazz. What turned out to be more demanding was recruiting speakers, and I'll be very specific about this topic because it's a very particular issue in my hometown (Tucuman): People are usually reluctant to share what they know and most of them didn't know a lot of JavaScript.
I think it is solvable, but it has to be the result of a change of mindset.
That mindset is:
- if I teach someone he will eventually outcompete me and I will lose my job
- if I teach someone I will not get anything back (like money, or your time)
- if I teach someone –wait, what? they should be able to learn on their own
Whereas in reality:
- by teaching you become a role model
- by teaching you reinforce concepts you already knew
- by teaching you can help those who can't learn on their own to do so
And then some corollaries that apply to meetups in general that arise from a similar branch of this mindset:
- if something is gratis I will RSVP "Yes" and then not show up –because y'know, it's free
- if something was gratis but it's not anymore I'm going to complain
Results
I just stepped down as Organizer, recommending Mario Colque for the job. It pleases me to know that he's more than capable and has the goodwill to take the JavaScript community in Tucuman forward while I am absent. I wish only the best to him.
It is also very rewarding to see other groups forking off the ideals that impregnated TucJS. RubyTuc, a local Ruby meetup, is starting this next Thursday (11.07.2013); there are ideas floating around too for PyTuc, to discuss the much beloved creation of Guido.
Seeing a community of bright, passionate developers give back to it's scene and just make the local environment flourish is indeed something worth being part of.
I'm just loving this.
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