Where are the Asian Hackers?

April 3, 2009

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Where are the Asian Hackers?

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hackerinside

Paul Graham of YCombinator and Lisp fame wrote about great hackers as people who really love to program and someone whom you definitely want around in your high tech startup.

In his essay, he notes that the “most important tool to a hacker is probably his office” and goes on elaborating why certain workspaces like cubicles aren’t ideal for hackers to be productive in.

Wired News published an article about “Hacker Spaces” which are areas stocked with tools and parts which hackers use to make stuff.

From the same article, you can find a link to a list of “Hackerspaces” worldwide:

From this list of 205 hackerspaces worldwide, I’ve counted:

1 x India

1 x Indonesia

1 x Japan

1 x Malaysia

1 x Vietnam

5 hacker spaces from a total of 205.

Do we see a trend here?

What makes a hackerspace? It could be as simple as just a simple room of tools and parts anyone could use.

With lots of money promoting entrepreneurship in Asia, there does not seem to be much hackerdom being embraced here.

While it might be easy launch a tech startup, let’s not forget the most important ingredient in one.

Add hacker, stir, mix and serve.

tagged

Mad Men and Middlemen

Both of us own 50% of our new startup? Wait a minute!

http://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=hko hko

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=maps+mountain+view,+california…
This comment was originally posted on Hacker News
http://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=alvinlai alvinlai

Haha, they’ve all flocked to the valley, you say? :p
This comment was originally posted on Hacker News
http://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=hko hko

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=maps+mountain+view,+california…;

This comment was originally posted on Hacker News
http://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=alvinlai alvinlai

Haha, they’ve all flocked to the valley, you say? :p

This comment was originally posted on Hacker News
http://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=hs hs

let’s not forget that russia is also part of asia
This comment was originally posted on Hacker News
http://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=hs hs

let’s not forget that russia is also part of asia

This comment was originally posted on Hacker News
http://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=patio11 patio11

I used to work at a technology incubator here in central Japan. Statistically speaking, you’ve used something from our startups — it was just buried deep in a car, navigational system, cell phone, video game, or movie.I was regretfully not as successful as I would have hoped getting the startups to think in terms a bit broader than producing components consumed by Japanese mega-corps. Oh well — working on it, one day at a time.
The guy next to me at the day job is actually planning a B2C startup, after being inspired by a lot of the US Web 2.0 darlings, particularly the B2SMB ones, and the absurdly easy replace-your-salary-math when you’re a 20 or 30-something Japanese engineer. I honestly believe that that realization could rock this country. (Imagine how attractive startups would be if a highly-motivated, well-educated hacker could expect a $2,200 a month salary straight out of college and, if he was willing to work a decade of 60~70 hour weeks, might break $4,000 by the time he was 30.)
Someday I hope to have the chance to test out a pet theory of mine: an American web application with Japanese visual design would be a galloping success. (There are small town pizza joints here whose flyer art rivals much of what I’ve seen on Smashing Magazine. Oh crikey the B2C possibilities…)
This comment was originally posted on Hacker News
http://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=patio11 patio11

I used to work at a technology incubator here in central Japan. Statistically speaking, you’ve used something from our startups — it was just buried deep in a car, navigational system, cell phone, video game, or movie.I was regretfully not as successful as I would have hoped getting the startups to think in terms a bit broader than producing components consumed by Japanese mega-corps. Oh well — working on it, one day at a time.

The guy next to me at the day job is actually planning a B2C startup, after being inspired by a lot of the US Web 2.0 darlings, particularly the B2SMB ones, and the absurdly easy replace-your-salary-math when you’re a 20 or 30-something Japanese engineer. I honestly believe that that realization could rock this country. (Imagine how attractive startups would be if a highly-motivated, well-educated hacker could expect a $2,200 a month salary straight out of college and, if he was willing to work a decade of 60~70 hour weeks, might break $4,000 by the time he was 30.)

Someday I hope to have the chance to test out a pet theory of mine: an American web application with Japanese visual design would be a galloping success. (There are small town pizza joints here whose flyer art rivals much of what I’ve seen on Smashing Magazine. Oh crikey the B2C possibilities…)

This comment was originally posted on Hacker News
http://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=mechanical_fish mechanical_fish

Uh, do the folks running the Asian equivalent of a "Hacker Space" use the word "Hacker Space"?Is there an equivalent of a "hacker space" in every culture in the world? Could this be like asking "where is the USA’s professional Starcraft league?" [1]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/StarCraft_professional_competit…
It’s really nice that the hacker concept is as international as it is. (Thank you, giant worldwide Internet!) But I wouldn’t be astonished to find that it is not perfectly cross-cultural. Especially since the idea of a "hacker space", by that name, is only a few years old. (Before that it might have been called a "ham radio shack" or a "model railroad club", or perhaps a "Homebrew Computer Club".)
I assume that lots and lots of Asian hackers are busy building lots and lots of Asian-language products to serve lots and lots of Asian-language-speaking customers.
—
[1] Man, I wish we had a pro Starcraft league. But I wish, much more strongly, that we had Korean-quality high-speed internet.
This comment was originally posted on Hacker News
http://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=mechanical_fish mechanical_fish

Uh, do the folks running the Asian equivalent of a "Hacker Space" use the word "Hacker Space"?Is there an equivalent of a "hacker space" in every culture in the world? Could this be like asking "where is the USA’s professional Starcraft league?" [1]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/StarCraft_professional_competit…
It’s really nice that the hacker concept is as international as it is. (Thank you, giant worldwide Internet!) But I wouldn’t be astonished to find that it is not perfectly cross-cultural. Especially since the idea of a "hacker space", by that name, is only a few years old. (Before that it might have been called a "ham radio shack" or a "model railroad club", or perhaps a "Homebrew Computer Club".)
I assume that lots and lots of Asian hackers are busy building lots and lots of Asian-language products to serve lots and lots of Asian-language-speaking customers.
—
[1] Man, I wish we had a pro Starcraft league. But I wish, even more strongly, that we had Korean-quality high-speed internet.
This comment was originally posted on Hacker News
http://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=mechanical_fish mechanical_fish

Uh, do the folks running the Asian equivalent of a "Hacker Space" use the word "Hacker Space"?Is there an equivalent of a "hacker space" in every culture in the world? Could this be like asking "where is the USA’s professional Starcraft league?" [1]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/StarCraft_professional_competit…;

It’s really nice that the hacker concept is as international as it is. (Thank you, giant worldwide Internet!) But I wouldn’t be astonished to find that it is not perfectly cross-cultural. Especially since the idea of a "hacker space", by that name, is only a few years old. (Before that it might have been called a "ham radio shack" or a "model railroad club", or perhaps a "Homebrew Computer Club".)

I assume that lots and lots of Asian hackers are busy building lots and lots of Asian-language products to serve lots and lots of Asian-language-speaking customers.

—

[1] Man, I wish we had a pro Starcraft league. But I wish, even more strongly, that we had Korean-quality high-speed internet.

This comment was originally posted on Hacker News
http://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=mechanical_fish mechanical_fish

Uh, do the folks running the Asian equivalent of a "Hacker Space" use the word "Hacker Space"?Is there an equivalent of a "hacker space" in every culture in the world? Could this be like asking "where is the USA’s professional Starcraft league?" [1]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/StarCraft_professional_competit…;

It’s really nice that the hacker concept is as international as it is. (Thank you, giant worldwide Internet!) But I wouldn’t be astonished to find that it is not perfectly cross-cultural. Especially since the idea of a "hacker space", by that name, is only a few years old. (Before that it might have been called a "ham radio shack" or a "model railroad club", or perhaps a "Homebrew Computer Club".)

I assume that lots and lots of Asian hackers are busy building lots and lots of Asian-language products to serve lots and lots of Asian-language-speaking customers.

—

[1] Man, I wish we had a pro Starcraft league. But I wish, much more strongly, that we had Korean-quality high-speed internet.

This comment was originally posted on Hacker News
http://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=whoisterencelee whoisterencelee

I actually think that Asian hackerspace have more to offer than the western counterparts. For one the manufacturing facilities are nearby, that means not only are tools available, but industrial machinery and more importantly assembly workers are totally accessible.If anyone interested to start a hackerspace in Macau, let me know I have space and workers. http://www.goldentime.com.mo
This comment was originally posted on Hacker News
http://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=whoisterencelee whoisterencelee

I actually think that Asian hackerspace have more to offer than the western counterparts. For one the manufacturing facilities are nearby, that means not only are tools available, but industrial machinery and more importantly assembly workers are totally accessible.If anyone interested to start a hackerspace in Macau, let me know I have space and workers. http://www.goldentime.com.mo

This comment was originally posted on Hacker News
http://www.brilldea.com Timothy Swieter

Very interesting. I read the Wired article just a few days ago, but didn’t think about its application to Asia. I live in Hong Kong now, but will be moving to Singapore soon. Setting up a hacker space in Singapore could be fun!
http://www.brilldea.com Timothy Swieter

Very interesting. I read the Wired article just a few days ago, but didn’t think about its application to Asia. I live in Hong Kong now, but will be moving to Singapore soon. Setting up a hacker space in Singapore could be fun!
http://alvinlai.com Alvin Lai

Yeah, now we’d just need somebody to contribute a room + tools! :p
http://alvinlai.com Alvin Lai

Yeah, now we’d just need somebody to contribute a room + tools! :p
http://alvinlai.com Alvin Lai

I wonder if the universities can sponsor a room + tools, maybe the engineering or computer science departments from National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University and Singapore Management University could sponsor a room with tools.

That would be awesome!
http://alvinlai.com Alvin Lai

I wonder if the universities can sponsor a room + tools, maybe the engineering or computer science departments from National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University and Singapore Management University could sponsor a room with tools.

That would be awesome!
http://www.the-upperroom.com Kevin

There was once a hackspace in Singapore. It was a room in a underground bomb shelter. It’s an after school care in the day and hacker paradise at night. Most of those hackers already migrated.

Actually, there is another hackerspace on the island. These guys are rich. They have young ah bengs to modify playstations & X-boxes for them. They also own a freelancer group that manages project teams in Poland & Russia. This is Singapore, they won’t expose themselve by creating a website and get listed. Membership is strictly by invitation and they are mostly poly grads who don’t see the need to get a degree and has no temperture (passion).

Hackerspaces within locals institutions? Forget it man, who can be so uncool to wanna be associate with it?

Frankly, I’m not surprise if there are a few hackerspace in the homes of local Ah tiong.
http://www.the-upperroom.com Kevin

There was once a hackspace in Singapore. It was a room in a underground bomb shelter. It’s an after school care in the day and hacker paradise at night. Most of those hackers already migrated.

Actually, there is another hackerspace on the island. These guys are rich. They have young ah bengs to modify playstations & X-boxes for them. They also own a freelancer group that manages project teams in Poland & Russia. This is Singapore, they won’t expose themselve by creating a website and get listed. Membership is strictly by invitation and they are mostly poly grads who don’t see the need to get a degree and has no temperture (passion).

Hackerspaces within locals institutions? Forget it man, who can be so uncool to wanna be associate with it?

Frankly, I’m not surprise if there are a few hackerspace in the homes of local Ah tiong.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Mohan-Belani/227700817 Mohan Belani

@TimothySwieter: Let us know when you’re in SG :)

@AlvinLai: I think the local universities are too preoccupied with teaching etc. One good example of change would be Ben Leong’s facebook class where they learn how to make FB apps.. Nothing in taught in class, all learning takes place hacker style on their own.. But it’s very sad to see that none of the students follow on with their projects after class :(

@Kevin: Wow where’s this man!!??

I was at BarCamp KL over the weekend and I think the hacker community there is way more advanced.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Mohan-Belani/227700817 <fb:name linked="false" useyou="false" uid="227700817">Mohan Belani</fb:name>

@TimothySwieter: Let us know when you’re in SG :)

@AlvinLai: I think the local universities are too preoccupied with teaching etc. One good example of change would be Ben Leong’s facebook class where they learn how to make FB apps.. Nothing in taught in class, all learning takes place hacker style on their own.. But it’s very sad to see that none of the students follow on with their projects after class :(

@Kevin: Wow where’s this man!!??

I was at BarCamp KL over the weekend and I think the hacker community there is way more advanced.
http://www.bjornlee.com bjornlee

MDA in Singapore has this thing called F11 and it looks awesome.. i wld say the hardware is thr but it remains to see how the community will embrace this or how policy from mda will be flexible to accomodate it..
http://www.bjornlee.com bjornlee

MDA in Singapore has this thing called F11 and it looks awesome.. i wld say the hardware is thr but it remains to see how the community will embrace this or how policy from mda will be flexible to accomodate it..
http://www.reddit.com/user/ThanatosD ThanatosD

First off, I like to believe that Asian hackers would end up being the best hackers, and as such, are undetectable. Secondly, the article is referring to hacker spaces being limited in the Asian countries. No kidding? Have you visited any of those places? There’s barely enough space to wiggle a finger at naughty hackers, much less start a hacker space.
This comment was originally posted on Reddit
http://www.reddit.com/user/ThanatosD ThanatosD

First off, I like to believe that Asian hackers would end up being the best hackers, and as such, are undetectable. Secondly, the article is referring to hacker spaces being limited in the Asian countries. No kidding? Have you visited any of those places? There’s barely enough space to wiggle a finger at naughty hackers, much less start a hacker space.

This comment was originally posted on Reddit
http://haller.ws/logs Patrick

FYI, We’re coordinating a Singapore Hackerspace at http://groups.google.com/group/singapore-tech

Basically, the list started as a tech interest list for singapore, and we quickly saw a bunch of things that we’d like to improve, and getting a space together is one of the big ones.

Patrick
http://haller.ws/logs Patrick

FYI, We’re coordinating a Singapore Hackerspace at http://groups.google.com/group/singapore-tech

Basically, the list started as a tech interest list for singapore, and we quickly saw a bunch of things that we’d like to improve, and getting a space together is one of the big ones.

Patrick
AngMoKio

I am interested in legal hackers spaces in s’pore.

I need a bit more space then my condo allows for my projects.
AngMoKio

I am interested in legal hackers spaces in s’pore.

I need a bit more space then my condo allows for my projects.
prince

hi am prince from Ghana i need a serious and good hacker which i want to deal with so he will be my persona hacker we will trade as many yrs goes..i want the hacker to do shopping for me creating account in dell and many electronics site any interested hacker should email me princedadzie@yahoo.com
prince

hi am prince from Ghana i need a serious and good hacker which i want to deal with so he will be my persona hacker we will trade as many yrs goes..i want the hacker to do shopping for me creating account in dell and many electronics site any interested hacker should email me princedadzie@yahoo.com
http://alvinlai.com Alvin Lai

Any Asian hacker for our prince of Ghana?
http://alvinlai.com Alvin Lai

Any Asian hacker for our prince of Ghana?
bollywood king kong

fuck off prince. just fuck off!
bollywood king kong

fuck off prince. just fuck off!
gespent

any real hackers there,, im from the uk, jus wanna know how they work, get back to me. thanks
gespent

any real hackers there,, im from the uk, jus wanna know how they work, get back to me. thanks
markprince

Hello.
supermen am in need of friends like you to make things happen. contact asap.
markprince

Hello.
supermen am in need of friends like you to make things happen. contact asap.
samuel ankomah

I need a good hacker to be my boss
Thank you
samuel ankomah

I need a good hacker to be my boss
Thank you
punchers

please i am in need of very good hacker so we can run things together contact my email address punchers247@yahoo.com please thank you
punchers

please i am in need of very good hacker so we can run things together contact my email address punchers247@yahoo.com please thank you
chollima

need a reliable and good hacker please email me @ chsunited@gmail.com
chollima

need a reliable and good hacker please email me @ chsunited@gmail.com
http://boot.hk Jon Buford

We are about to launch one here in HK – BootHK (http://boot.hk) It looks like it will be exciting, as it will be part of really kickstarting the startup community here.
http://boot.hk Jon Buford

We are about to launch one here in HK – BootHK (http://boot.hk) It looks like it will be exciting, as it will be part of really kickstarting the startup community here.

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