SuperHappyDevHouse

SuperHappyDevHouse (aka SHDH) is an international series of social events which organizers originally conceived as parties for hackers and thinkers. Founded May 29, 2005 by Jeff Lindsay and David Weekly (founder of PBwiki), SHDH in Silicon Valley began by hosting 150 to 200 people every six weeks at rotating venues throughout San Francisco Bay and Silicon Valley, California. The unusual name derived from a popular 1991 Saturday Night Live satire, Happy Fun Ball, which lampooned TV commercials and the NERF Ball. Weekly lived in a house nicknamed "SuperHappyFunHouse" after SNL's commercial parody, and that name was given yet another twist as SuperHappyDevHouse.[1]

Global expansion

By 2008, SHDH had expanded globally with CocoaDevHouse (London); SuperHappyDevClub (Cambridge, UK); Cologne DevHouse (Cologne, Germany); SuperHappyDevFlat (Zurich, Switzerland); SuperHappyHackerHouse (Vancouver, Canada); SuperHappyDevHouse Aotearoa (New Zealand); PhoenixDevHouse (Arizona); BostonDevHouse (Cambridge, Massachusetts); and DevHouse Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania).[1] There was a DevHouse in Hermosillo, Mexico in September 2008, marking the first Latin American DevHouse, followed shortly thereafter by a Mexico City DevHouse on November 1, 2008, GuadalajaraDevHouse (Guadalajara, Mexico) on September 6, 2009 and 2 years later by a Dev House on Mérida, Mexico on February 28, 2010.

People, whether technical or creative, gather at a private home for not-so-serious productivity and socialization. Organizers say they're trying to "resurrect the spirit of the Homebrew Computer Club." It's a non-exclusive event intended for passionate and creative technical people that want to have some fun, learn new things, and meet new people. There is no admission charged; the event is paid for by donations and sponsorships.

The lifecaster and tech journalist Sarah Austin described the goals of SuperHappyDevHouse while comparing it to the Homebrew Computer Club:

I started attending SuperHappyDevHouse last year because I wanted to meet other people who are just as fascinated with technology as I am. It’s a place where young people collaborate to get our work done and do it together. It was started by my new friend David Weekly, founder of PB Wiki, in the spirit to bring back the Homebrew Computer Club in Silicon Valley. The club consists of mostly males, although the number of females is growing, and everyone seems to be either an engineer or a designer. At SuperHappyDevHouse we are driven to create because we want to help humanity and empower people. Just as every member to SuperHappyDevHouse comes from a different background, we come together for a common purpose. That’s what we want to do for others- we want to enable them to come together for a common purpose to help humanity. We see different parts of technology as different elements that come together to create a key that will unlock a door that will change the world.[2]

The original SHDH was in Hillsborough, California and later in Los Gatos, California.

As of August 2009, SHDH spawned HackerDojo to operate a Hackerspace in Mountain View, CA to allow for 24/7 programming, hackathons, classes, workshops, and lectures. SHDH now operates as an activity of Hacker Dojo Corporation.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Watkins, Cheree Renee. "What Is SuperHappyDevHouse? Party for Hackers and Thinkers Goes Global and Celebrates SHDH25," Suite 101, May 7, 2008.
  2. ↑ Austin, Sarah. "About"

External links

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