Month: November 2012

Hurricane Hackers – @hurricanehackrs

brooklynrob Uncategorized

Hurricane Hackers published an announcement a bit ago about the great work they are doing. Check it out at http://sukeyio.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/hackers-unite-help-sandy-victims-join.html, and pasted below:

Hackers Unite! Help #Sandy Victims. Join #HurricaneHackers on irc.freenode.net and follow @hurricanehackrs on twitter

Hey all,
Sandy is a major storm, previously a hurricane, that has caused  extensive flooding, power and transportation outages, and physical  damage to the US East Coast and Caribbean. More than 100 deaths have  been linked to the storm. You can see an overview of what is going on in NYC here: http://google.org/crisismap/2012-sandy-nyc

So essentially, over  100,000 people in Lower Manhattan are without power, and will likely  not have it back up for a few days. In order to stay informed as the  situation changes, and to keep in touch with loved ones, they will need  a way to communicate with their laptops  and phones.

We are innovating rapidly to create tools built and deployed using Heroku, Twillio, Human.io, google docs, google maps, crowdmaps — pretty much anything we can get our hands on. This effort is being  spearheaded by the http://civic.mit.edu/  to help make services and connect tech people with people in need on the ground. A lot of interesting things are happening in the wake of  this natural disaster:http://www.fastcompany.com/3002598/sandy-prompts-louder-calls-free-wi-fi

This  is a unique opportunity to innovate to help people (people before  borders, tech beyond borders) and maybe change the debate on issues like  universal free open wifi). Please volunteer some coding / hacking  time and help some real people in a different part of the world that are  not having a great time right now. This a chance to demonstrate the power of the open, unrestricted internet, and the community that such an internet makes possible.

Come and help us over at #HurricaneHackers! Start here: http://hurricanehackers.com/|
Then read the HH-Projects list here: http://bit.ly/hh-projects-read |
lulz:http://brownbag.me:9001/p/sandylulz|
tunes:http://turntable.fm/hurricane_jammin | follow us @hurricanehackrs.
Also: Join or organize a Sandy CrisisCamp this weekend:http://crisiscommons.org/2012/10/30/sandycrisiscamp/

If you are in NYC are looking for space to work with power, heat, and wifi, check outhttps://sandycoworking.crowdmap.com/ and the#sandycoworking hashtag on Twitter. Many of NYC’s co-working spaces were damaged, so the need for work space is urgent. Updates on the broader NY Tech community response can be found at www.nytechresponds.org.

Please share this post far and wide!

#HurricaneHackers
@hurricanehackrs

Sandy Response from a Distance – Crisis Commons

brooklynrob Uncategorized

If you are not in NYC and would like to donate your technical and coding skills, please check out http://crisiscommons.org/2012/10/30/sandycrisiscamp/. Here are some of the camps in different cities:

#NYTechResponds Day 2 Update: Hackathon, #SandyCoWorking Spaces

brooklynrob Uncategorized

Lots of great progress today on mobilization of the NY Tech community in response to Sandy. Updates:

Hackathon

NOVEMBER 2 – HACKATHON UPDATE: Based on a number of concerns that have been raised, we’re thinking we will delay a hackathon until at least the week after next. See http://nytechresponds.wordpress.com/about/ and a longer explanation at http://nytechresponds.blogspot.com/2012/11/nytechresponds-day-3-wrap-up-hackthon.html

The plans are starting to come together for a two day hackathon next week. Headlines:

  • November 7th and 8th (Wednesday and Thursday)
  • Likely location midtown Manhattan – location should be locked tomorrow
    • We expect many people will want/need to participate remotely and we’ll set up mechanisms to support that.
    • We would be very appreciative to see other cities, in particular other “tech capitals” such as San Francisco, Boston, Boulder, Austin, etc. hold hackathons of their own in support of NYC’s recovery and to raise money for recovery efforts. (UPDATE: This is starting to happen. See

  • The purpose of the hackathon will be for developers and non-developers alike to get together to swarm and crowdsolve critical technical and infrastructure related problems the city is facing
  • We’ll also look to allocate space for non-technical related support efforts, such as the ones being done by groups such as the Red Cross and recovers.org
  • We’ll also be raising money to support relief efforts of the Red Cross
  • We’re working on a program by which pledges can be made per developer hour, much the same way one might pledge a runner per mile. But if that appears too complex, we’ll do straight donations.
  • We’re working to have a blood mobile at the hackathon site to encourage people to give blood. (There is no reason to wait – give blood today).
  • We are looking for sponsors, of either the event overall, or of developers. If you are interested in sponsoring, please send an e-mail to Gary Whitehill, Tony Bacigalupo,  Jessica Lawrence, or me (Rob Underwood).
  • Check out Kira Newman’s article about out hackathon plans: http://tech.co/hackathon-nyc-hurricane-sandy-2012-10
#SandyCoWorking Spaces
 
As you may have seen from the of NY tech sector leaders such as Charlie O’Donnell using the hashtag #SandyCoworking, there is a lot of coordination going on around finding places for people to get together to get back to work. 
 
Tomorrow we have two locations identified in Brooklyn at which people can work. In addition to being a place for people to just get stuff done, these will also be locations for us all to further coordinate and plan in person the NY tech sector response to Sandy. The locations are
If you need a space and can’t get to Brooklyn, check out http://bit.ly/sandycowork
 
Resources
 
Here are some key resources for you to use:
PLEASE ADD ANY OTHER RESOURCES IN COMMENTS BELOW AND/OR TWEET OUT FAR AND WIDE AND/OR ADD TO COORDINATION G DOC.