Just to get our feet wet, my partner and I proceeded to write two simple iPhone apps. The first did 10x better than our mobile web app (with much less effort), and the second did 100x better. That was enough to convince us, and now we've shelved mobile web development in favor of iOS development.
That's just a personal anecdote, of course. I can't speak for the guys (or gals) behind Coder's Coffee. Overall, though, I think this is responsible for a lot of the interest we're seeing in iOS development.
It also helps that Apple has done a great job with XCode and the iOS SDK. Developing for iOS is really a pleasure.
You missed my point, ironically by perpetuating the obsession around mobile.
I meant why can't it just be a regular desktop webapp. E.g. not require a phone to access.
I don't really see myself sitting in a coffee shop thinking "I want to chat with a business guy right now", and pulling out my phone to see if any are sitting within 10 feet of me.
Granted, the app being mobile (and geo!) is probably 10x more likely to get VC investment right now; I'm just saying that, personally, I would be planning stuff like this more deliberately while sitting at my desktop/laptop than while killing time on the subway.
If you look at how the word 'artifice' is used, it is generally negative, associated with being overly clever for the purposes of pretense, or generally false/insincere.
So if I'm not sure the job title 'software artificer' even parses. 'A person who writes unnecessarily ornate/impractical software.'
I hope I can write in whatever job title I want. It will be 'guy who may not have shaved in a couple of days, has had too much caffeine, and is grumbling incoherently at his laptop screen.'
Yeats - It knows not what it is; and gather me Into the artifice of eternity
Joyce - Old father, old artificer, stand me now and ever in good stead.
Also, see below re: 'artificer' as a word.
grumble code grumble twitch grumble code
People want to meet new people all the time, the more the better and preferably close to their own personality. The problem is: if you just say, 'hey guys, you should meet up, you are both coders, you should like each other' or in a real dating environment, 'hey guys, just meet, you are both singles' it won't work.
People need some guidance, some hook and reason why to meet and more important what to talk to each other, small talk without setting people into context won't work. This app is missing the hook to meet up, just grabbing a coffee together because both code in similar languages is no sufficient plug or starter.
Examples that work:
- On a typical network event you have small hooks like the presentations shown. There're great starters to get into small talk and carry on with deeper conversations later. This environment leaves the agenda open about who you talk to and what you talk about. That's good and keeps conversations and new encounters thrilling.
- On a hackerthon you have even stronger hooks because you have to work together or you just have a very good reason to talk to each other—mingling will happen automatically and excitement wil be at its max because everything is new (people, context, tech) and you face a challenge which you have to solve in a short time which makes it even more thrilling. The stronger these kind of excitements are the stronger the initial bonding will be between the participants after the event. And this bonding is everbody's goal: not just meeting random people for coffee but meeting like-minded people in order to build strong relationships with them. Or to put it another way: the context (=> the event/guide/task/excitement) is the actual cause for strong bondings and relationships and not similar personalities or preferred languages. Interactions between people are context and behavior driven and not because of similar profiles.
You have to give people a task, a mission. Just telling them to meet and talk will make them feel awkward.
Thanks for the awesome feedback, we agree it seems like a dating app, and we'll have to work hard to overcome any awkwardness and craft the best experience possible. Our focus is on finding Coders in Silicon Valley, but our big idea is much much bigger. Hope we can solve all the problems you've brought up.
Also, as a potential employee, you can skip the standard application process and HR interviews (maybe they will have a formal interview process later) of most companies talk with a guy who is very likely going to be your boss should you get hired. This with almost no time investment on your side and your free to say your not interested and leave. Let me know next time your at a coffee shop in Florida. And I don't even like coffee.
Well I guess I like the idea from the hire-ee perspective. But isn't it a bad deal for the hirer? How does he know I'm even worth talking to? The most valuable asset we have is time and you are asking people running companies to give a lot of it away.
Maybe flip the question around, how will good coders stay free of getting hounded by headhunters and abusive clients?
What skills (tech and non-technical) and connection do you think I must have to work in a early stage startup?
Non-tech: Not much, you have just to show that your are ambitious and somebody who gets things done (or finishs them)
With good technical knowledge you do not need connections. Just get familiar with a technology, you like build some nice private projects and apply/go to networking events.
Regarding tech: demand for iOS devs is always high, Anroid too and for the web stack I'd recommend either Python/Django or Node.js/Express which are both easy to learn
The earlier you start the better, so go for it!
Hope we can help you find a great startup in the future!
Artifice: "Clever or cunning devices or expedients, esp. as used to trick or deceive others: 'artifice and outright fakery'."
Not necessarily the greatest way to describe yourself...
405 Method Not Allowed
Code: MethodNotAllowed
Message: The specified method is not allowed against this resource.
ResourceType: OBJECT
Method: POST
RequestId: 3A55FAAF9B44B42E
HostId: FYBUd4PTAHdDYU5mnv90iACQzydwnT5ucmvqW5bAgeHmNBk2BqklC9Ni6PsCa+ki
Oh well, I guess I won't be hearing about this product launch. This certainly doesn't reflect well on your vendor, http://launchrock.com/ , given that their services seem to consist of 1. landing page creation & hosting and 2. collecting email addresses, and the second (extremely technically simple) task fails completely.
For example, many a time I've spent 30+ minutes helping "orient" another developer with respect to backbone.js development.
However, right now I'm in need of 30 minutes to sit down and talk with someone who's implemented OAuth from the point of view of the API provider (not API consumer), and organizing your DB to manage developer accounts and permissions assigned to each "registered app" and it's hard to find the person whose 30 minutes of orientation would save me innumerable hours of research just to figure out what is worth knowing and worth exploring further.
Being able to accumulate karma based on spending 30 minutes here and there helping others and then spending it with others would be awesome. It would basically be a "productized" version of those "Offer HN" posts.
Thanks for this Andrew, we've got a lot of work ahead of us.
A ChessGrindr would also be another cool idea!
GeekGrindr sounds painful. ;)
Just FYI.
I'd say I'd like to help, but it's been 5 years since I've used any Java. My only decent languages are scripting ones - python and php as well as JavaScript (mediocre).
Something like:
Coders: Recruiting for your startup? Looking for a gig? Download Coder's Coffee and we will hook you up!
[bullet points/features explained here]
We look forward to you sharing the results of HN discussion. What's the back story?
I know many developers are building proximity/stalking apps but to me this is creepy. However this may well have appeal to help others find hotspots of activities or events.
Good luck.
There are quite a few proximity apps, but we definitely don't want to be creepy. It should be used by Coders to meet up with Founders or other Coders to talk about their projects and startups. It might be useful to find activities and events, but that's up to you and how you'll use it.
FWIW, my dad grew up a few blocks from the pin shown on the map.
Also, if you are getting a 405 error on signup, you can just email us at coders@coderscoffee.com to be added to the list.
Is this a CMS theme?