Origins, Context, & Future

Jeff Lindsay + David WeeklyPenLUG, December 10, 2009

Origins (2005)LGLan + SuperHappyFunHouse + Movie Night => ….???

SHDH #1

7pm – 7am: “Dusk Till Dawn”.

A dozen geeks in my living room, drinking beer and Red Bull.

PBwiki 1.0!

“Take off your shoes…!”

SHDH @ SHFH (2005-2006)

“That was fun, let’s make this a regular thing!”

Execution Formula

• Try new things.• Always post-mortem.• Anyone can be staff.

Results:• Lightning Talks• DHX (whoops)• Donations, dinner, sponsorship• Tables + chairs• The DevHouse Trailer

Try Something Radical

(it’s okay to fail)

Accidental Franchising (2006-2008)

• CocoaDevHouse (London)• SuperHappyDevClub (Cambridge, UK)• Cologne DevHouse (Germany)• SuperHappyDevFlat (Zurich)• SuperHappyGrow-OpDevHouse (Vancouver)• SHDH Aotearoa (New Zealand)• PhoenixDevHouse• DevHouse Boston• DevHouse Pittsburgh• Milwaukee DevHouse

Deliberate Franchising (2008-2009)

BarCamp was well franchised: steal that idea!

Mexico Trips (2008)• DevHouse Hermosillo• Mexico City DevHouse

Hackspedition! (2009)=> Obregon, Morelos, Guadalejara, Queretaro,

Tijuana, Monterrey, Guanajuato….

The Tipping Point

>350 Coders ALL DAY.

“Let’s Make This Permanent.”

Dojo Timeline• Winter 2000: Hacker Dojo v0.1 – 950 Pershing, San Jose, CA.• Spring 2001: Wooden “Hacker Dojo” sign etched.• January 31, 2009: SHDH #30 Pitch• Feburary 1: wiki set up• February 23: mailing list, property search• March 10: first group meeting• March 30: space review, including 140A• April 6: legal review• April 21: property review• May 5: Bylaws + Directors => Incorporated!• July 28: LEASE SIGNED!• August 12: FIRST MEETING IN DOJO• August 23: Open House• September 17: Expansion into 140B• October 16: Mercury News Cover Story!• December: Fox News Coverage

Bumps

• Lease signing took forever.• Difficult to decide on legal structure.• Chicken & Egg w/space & membership!• City Zoning Issues

Present Day

• 110+ members, 50+ staff, 100% volunteer• Cash-flow positive, 501c6 corporation.• Fortnightly staff meetings.• >8000 square feet of space!• Several events a week• Fresh bread and coffee• Open “almost” 24/7• Amazing changes every day (sign-in system!)

Context: Gather Smart People

• Greek Agora• Roman Fora• “College” (Community, guild, society)• Medieval Councils• French Salons• Enlightenment Societies• Freemasons?• Homebrew CC• Chaos Computer Club• Hackerspaces

Short-Term Future

• Explicit Franchising– “How To Start a Dojo” Kit– Processes, software, forms, templates, tips!– Community Mark™

• LOTS of Locations– SF, Mid-Peninsula, East Bay, North Bay– Mexico City, Los Angeles, Portland

• Better integration w/Hackerspaces community

Longer-Term Future

• A global network of peer educators.• A society of thinkers.• A mesh of “colleges”.

Learning != school.

Progressively Meta

• How do we throw a DevHouse?

• How do we enable communities like DevHouse to be created and thrive? (Dojo)

• How do we enable the creation of environments that can create communities like DevHouses? (Dojo Franchise)

How to Help

• Join the mailing list!• Drop By! (140a S Whisman, Mountain View)• Become a member ($100/mo)• Sign up for staff!• Teach a class!• Host an event!• Give feedback!• Spread the word!

@dweekly@progrium