Hacks/Hackers ATX Teams Up with ONA Local

Happy New Year! Exciting changes are in the works for Hacks/Hackers ATX in 2012, joining up with a newly formed Online News Association local group. The two organizations hosted a debut meetup at Opal Divine’s Penn Field on January 5 to kick off the collaboration. The plan is to broaden the scope that was originated by Hacks/Hackers ATX since September 2010, but adding content that addresses general online news issues, while retaining the Hacks/Hackers presence in data, programming and user experiences.

The organizing group includes people from Texas State University, The University of Texas, Austin American-Statesman, Texas Tribune, local television stations and bloggers. Above, Rob Quigley, senior lecturer at UT, kicks off the event. Plans are to hold meetings on the fourth Monday of each month, with the first planned for Feb. 27. Details and location to come. For more information, join the ONA Austin Meetup group, follow on Twitter or Facebook. All meetings and events will also be posted on the Hacks/Hackers links (Meetup, Twitter, Facebook).

With more than 60 people attending the debut meetup, the joint group is off to a great start!

In other news, Hacks/Hackers ATX enjoyed co-hosting the Austin Holiday Web Bash, along with 18 other local meetup groups, at Buffalo Billiards on Dec. 13. The event, which collected food and donations for the Capital Area Food Bank, was attended by more than 500 area programmers, developers, designers, instructors and overall Web enthusiasts. It was a great time and a great success.

Holiday Web Bash Photo by Damon Clinkscales

Hacks/Hackers ATX, Ryan Murphy, Texas Tribune, Nov. 1, 2011

Ryan Murphy, data reporter at Texas Tribune, was the speaker for the November meetup of Hacks/Hackers ATX. He talked about a variety of projects that he uses in reporting publicly available information and how the Texas Tribune integrates various tools, like Google Fusion Tables, in their coverage.

The Tribune was kind enough to sponsor Home Slice Pizza for us. For December, we’ll be teaming up with some other Austin meetup groups for a holiday party. Details to come. And, in 2012, we’ll be making some changes, working together with an Online News Association Local to develop more programming and events. Thanks to everyone who has attended Hacks/Hackers ATX meetups since our inception.

Hacks/Hackers ATX, Christian McDonald – Austin American Statesman, Oct. 4, 2011

On Oct. 4, Hacks/Hackers ATX met at Austin American-Statesman to hear from the Statesman’s own Christian McDonald on Deconstructing the Bastrop Complex Fire Map. We were all aware of the devastation of the wildfires in early September, and the Statesman used innovative techniques to provide the community with information and coverage. Check out his video and presentation (also on Slideshare) embedded below. Links associated with the presentation are available on Delicious.

We’d like to thank our sponsor Home Slice Pizza for donating the delicious pies. We also celebrated Hacks/Hackers ATX first year in existence. Many thanks to all who have attended our events. Next meeting is Nov. 1 at Texas Tribune.

Hacks/Hackers ATX: Wikileaks and Other Document Dumps, Sept. 6, 2011

On Sept. 6, 2011 at the Texas Tribune in downtown Austin, Hacks/Hackers ATX hosted a presentation by Gregory Foster of Consumers Union on Wikileaks and Other Document Dumps. Foster led the group through the history of documentation leaks from the Pentagon Papers to the more current release of war logs known as Wikileaks. Each example was analyzed through the lens of several criteria: spectrum of secrecy, quantity of information, quality of information and intentionality of release. There was great conversation from the group around this provocative topic. Watch the presentation below.

Stay tuned for programming announcements for the October meeting when Hacks/Hackers ATX will be celebrating it’s first anniversary!

Hacks/Hackers ATX – Ryan Robinson, Austin Demographer

On Aug. 2, Hacks/Hackers ATX was joined by City of Austin Demographer Ryan Robinson at the Austin American-Statesman. Robinson detailed several of the demographic shifts that have been occurring over the past decade, providing insight into ways these trends affect our social, economic and political climate. View his full presentation for more details and watch an excerpt below.

Many thanks to Annette Priest of Revel Insight for sponsoring refreshments. Stay tuned for September programming announcements and plans to celebrate our chapter’s first anniversary in October.

Prior to the meeting, Christian McDonald, the Statesman’s online projects editor as well as one of the Hacks/Hackers ATX organizers, treated my Issues in New Media class to a tour of the facilities. We were also joined by online managing editor Zach Ryall and newly appointed social media editor Maira Garcia (and a graduate of Texas State) for a discussion of their online and social media operations. Thought the Hacks/Hackers family would also enjoy some of these behind-the-scenes photos.

Hacks/Hackers ATX – 7 Awesome Examples of Writing About Data

For the July meeting of Hacks/Hackers Austin, Kristen Carney of Cubit Planning discussed 7 Awesome Examples of Writing About Data That Will Drive Eyeballs To Your Site. Covering a variety of tools, Carney demonstrated the value of seven examples: landing pages, data disproving an accepted truth, analysis of social media, tweets about data, infographics, data about everyday stuff and data about making money.

And Gregory Foster of Consumers Union, recently returned from the 2011 Civic Media Conference at MIT, covered some of the winners of the Knight News Challenge. Watch video of both presentations.

Thanks to the Texas Tribune for hosting the meeting, Niran Babalola for organizing the programming and Jennie Chen of Miso Hungry for providing the snacks. The next meeting is scheduled for August 2. Details to come on our Meetup site.

Integrating Tech Skills in Your Communications Career at Hacks/Hackers Austin

Austin’s Hacks and Hackers came out for this panel on Integrating Tech Skills in Your Communications Career, a topic that is of great interest to students, recent grads, job-seekers and seasoned professionals, as they wish to update their skills to reflect the coding and social media requirements of modern media. This panel included four recent graduates who are all using tech skills in different ways in communications careers. Scott Thomas is the business/tech reporter for AustinPost, Maira Garcia is a content producer at the Statesman, Ryan Murphy is a data journalist for Texas Tribune and Maggie Cook is a User Operations Analyst at Facebook.

Each panelist expressed the need to gain experience while in college, working in student media or perfecting skills with projects. And, Murphy said that meeting people who shared your interests was key, highlighting the importance of early networking. He also added that mentors, like Matt Stiles formerly of Texas Tribune and now at NPR, were instrumental to his development. Cook expressed that it was important to find your passion, what really makes you happy, and to use college to explore those interests. She also said that every class she took was valuable, including languages and requirements that may seem less relevant at the time.

Thomas and Garcia expressed that writing was an important skill to have, and should not be replaced, but complemented by stronger tech skills like learning HTML, CSS and Javascript or learning multimedia editing. You can watch the full panel in its entirety below.

Thanks again to the Statesman for providing the facilities for the event. Stay tuned for announcements of the next meetup, scheduled for July 5 at Texas Tribune.

Hacks/Hackers Austin June Meetup: Integrating Tech Skills in Your Communications Career

Join Hacks/Hackers Austin on June 7 for a panel discussion on ways to integrate tech skills in a communications career. Four recent grads will discuss their positions at the Statesman, Austin Post, Texas Tribune and Facebook. They will share their experiences in using technology in their jobs and personal lives, what they learned in school, what they wish they had learned and how they acquire the skills they need. The panel will be moderated by Travis Swicegood (@tswicegood), a developer at Texas Tribune, who will provide the context of how technology is shaping processes in the modern newsroom.

For Hacks, this panel will offer tips for how you can gain and use tech skills to work in a communications environment. For Hackers, it’ll help you understand some of the technical challenges for media. And the panel will also provide some ideas for ways to improve communications curricula to include technology topics. We hope to have a wide audience of communicators, programmers, educators, students and recent graduates for a lively discussion. Please spread the word.

Panelists include:

• Maira Garcia (@mairalg), Content Producer, Statesman – Maira has Master’s and undergraduate degrees in journalism from Texas State University. Maira has extensive multimedia experience, having served as editor of The University Star and a contributor to MTV’s Choose or Lose Campaign in 2008.
• Scott Thomas (@scott_leighton), Tech/Business Reporter, Austin Post – Scott graduated from Texas State in 2010 with a journalism degree, where served as both Editor and Web Editor of the University Star.
• Ryan Murphy (@rdmurphy), Data Reporter, Texas Tribune – Ryan graduated from The University of Texas in 2010 with a journalism degree, where he served as the Web Editor for the Daily Texan. 
• Maggie Cook (@maggiecook), User Operations Analyst, Facebook – Maggie graduated from Hope College in Michigan in 2010 with a major in Psychology and has worked for Facebook in Austin since last September. She will provide some insight to the panel on positions that liberal arts and communication majors are performing at tech companies.

Please RSVP.

We’ll be at the Statesman again, starting at 6:30pm on June 7th. We need a refreshment sponsor, so if your organization would like to do so or if you know of a food establishment willing to donate, please let Cindy Royal know (croyal [at] txstate.edu).

Hope to see you on the 7th.

Hacks/Hackers ATX Recap – QRANK and Simplitex

On May 3, Hacks and Hackers from the Austin area got together to watch two presentations. Marcus Mateus of Simplitex discussed the role of data in creating landing pages, providing more information about users and boosting conversion rates. Then Rodney Gibbs and Michael Baird of Ricochet Labs talked about the inception of their trivia app QRANK. The meeting was sponsored by Paintbrush Ranch in Wimberley (thanks to Lewis Knight). Many thanks to the folks at Texas Tribune for arranging the location for the meeting.

Stay tuned for details about the next meeting, which will be held on June 7 at the Statesman.

Hacks/Hackers ATX: News Games and Analytics – May 3

Please join Hacks/Hackers ATX on Tues, May 3 at the Texas Tribune, starting at 6:30pm. We’ll have refreshments sponsored by Paintbrush Ranch Bed and Breakfast, thanks to Lewis Knight! We’ve decided to standardize meetings on the 1st Tuesday of each month, so mark your calendars accordingly.

We have two great presenttions for this meetup, which will deal with managing content and analytics and engaging users. First, Marcus Mateus of SimpliTex Web Solutions will discuss “Turning a Nugget of Info about Your Visitors into a Bar of Gold,” sharing some examples and data and introducing his platform.

Then, Rodney Gibbs and Michael Baird of Ricochet Labs, the makers of the News Game App QRANK, will talk about “Mobile News Games: Engaging Readers with Emerging Tech.” Rodney is the CEO and Michael is the CTO, so we will get a good understanding of what it takes to develop and maintain a mobile news application. If you are not familiar yet with QRANK, it’s an addictive news/trivia game you can play on your phone, both fun and educational!

I look forward to seeing everyone on Tuesday, May 3 at the Texas Tribune. More details and RSVP at http://meetupaustin.hackshackers.com/events/17371447. Tell your friends. And contact Cindy Royal (croyal@txstate.edu) if you have any questions.