Where to find software developers looking for creative joy?

January 22, 2008 3:41 PM

Help me find sites where I can meet up with other people interested in developing software for fun or for profit

I've been developing enterprise business software for about 10 years and lately really feeling the burnout. But, over the years I've been filling a mental bucket with interesting, useful, or just experimental software ideas. Unfortunately, I've never found the time, energy, or knowledge to turn most of these ideas into reality. I don't have a good network of colleagues to

I need a team of people, a team of unpretentious hackers (or business-types, designers, artists, etc.) with similar crazy ideas. Just some people who don't mind brainstorming and experimenting together just for the whole pleasure and art of it.

There has got to a ton of sites out there like this. But, what are they?

Also, open source projects don't really fit the bill - because I'm mainly looking for the people not necessarily the projects.

posted by brandnew to computers & internet (4 comments total)

topcoder.com? local linux or windows user groups? Are you only looking for a place to find people to develop with, or do you want to discuss ideas in an open forum for all to see?
posted by DarkForest at 4:01 PM on January 22, 2008

I mean, if you're not opposed to open source, post your project on sourceforge.net and see if it draws any interest.
posted by Oktober at 4:40 PM on January 22, 2008

Startup Weekend. Good times. Know the founder. See if there's one in your city coming up. Or recently past.
posted by disillusioned at 12:16 AM on January 23, 2008

Depending on where you're located, there are probably lots of groups, events and meetups where you can find creative people who are interested in brainstorming and experimenting. In the NY area where I live, there's the Tech Meetup, Web 2.0 Meetup, nextNY, co-working groups, barcamps, and a host of others. I'm sure there are even more on the West Coast. There are also a few labs/incubators dedicated to exactly what you're proposing: experimenting with crazy ideas and seeing what sticks. (If you contact me directly I can give you some more specific suggestions.)
posted by lsemel at 10:03 AM on January 23, 2008