How Hackers Collaborate

SDForum’s Collaboration SIG is hosting a panel on “How Hackers Collaborate” on January 23rd at Pillsbury Winthrop in Palo Alto. This looks like it is going to be a really interesting event, bringing together several generations of hackers to talk about how they have collaborated with each other on projects throughout the years. Featured panelists include Lee Felsenstein of the Homebrew Computer Club, Jim Warren of the West Coast Computer Faire and David Weekly and Jeff Lindsay of SuperHappyDevHouse.

Hacker culture has always been a highly collaborative meritocracy that has extended well beyond organizational and geographic boundaries. This manifests itself in a variety of ways — from face-to-face gatherings, such as the legendary Homebrew Computer Club meetings 30 years ago, to open source projects today. The collaborative tools and processes that have always been pervasive in hacker culture are now beginning to penetrate other fields as well, from grassroots political activism to the arts.