Hacking The Recession

Location: Birkbeck College (WC1E 7HX), entrance off Torrington Square. Room 540.

Introduction

How can we use creativity + collaboration to beat the economic downturn?

Hey, how's the recession going for you? Feeling the squeeze yet? If not, do you feel prepared for whatever may come?

If you're old enough to remember the last recession, you know that we weren't lucky enough have many of the tools (Wikis, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Flickr, Delicious, etc.) or the communities that exist today. If you were on the street…you were on your own.

Does this downturn have to play out like the last?

If we can have a Web 2.0, why can't we have a Recession 2.0 — a collaborative effort to make this downturn different – better — than the last one? How can we band together as a community to survive and thrive until the next boom and beyond?

I was interviewed by Dougald on why people might want to get involved and what sort of things they could do.

Read Dougald's blog entry on Social Media vs the Recession and the update for more context.

Event Schedule

• When: Friday the 13th February 2009
• Where: Room 540

Tracks so far are looking like follows:

1. PHP hacking on Elgg modules for the Social Media vs the Recession project
2. Python hacking on the Django based website being built for We20 project
3. Collaborate with other hackers on developing your own crunch-busting and/or social change ideas

• 9am Welcome and Housekeeping (please arrive early if you need a wifi key):
• breakfast in George Birkbeck Bar (grab some and head up to session)
• 9.00-10.00: Opening/Introductions/Brainstorming
• 10.00-12.30: Break up into tracks and groups for hacking
• 12.30-13.00: Touching base.
• 13.00-14:00: LUNCH BREAK <- In George Birkbeck Bar on 4th floor (covered by dev8D)
• 14.00-16.30: More hacking
• 16.30-17.00: Closing
• 17.00-onwards: Finding a suitable watering hole and possibly some food.

Sign up to come (25 places only)

Make sure you are registered to attend Developer Happiness Days on Friday and put your name down here. If you are only coming to this day then please just email developerhappinessdays@gmail.com to be added to the wiki (no need to sing up on the dev8D site if only attending this one day):

1. Mamading Ceesay (Instigator)
2. Vinay Gupta
3. Josef Davies-Coates
4. Pamela MacLean
5. Dougald Hine
6. Andy Broomfield
7. Paula Graham
8. Mike Bennett
9. Sofia Bustamante
10. Thomas Barker

Links

• An US unconference on tech + biz + community that I unahamedly borrowed much of the introductory text from with thanks.
• Pamela's personal view of Recession
• Nuts and Bolts of Organzing An Unconference
• Lambeth Credit Crunch Taskforce Report presents a top-down local authority-centric approach.
• Cognitive Surplus - Collective Intelligence or Organized Wisdom