biz2hack

Got it. So, in order,

1. Customer Development 2. Product Discovery 3. ??? 4. Profit!

Right?

I'd say the real value is in understanding that there are fellow hackers out there who you would like to meet, and actually sending them a message saying "Hey, how's it going? I noticed you work at Job A", or "I noticed you're interested in X"...

There's not really much value in friending directly, but if you make the effort to get to know new people, as I will, I think it's a good idea. There's always value in meeting somebody new.

Which is funny, because my startup actually revolves around two of the seven cardinal virtues. I think he hits the nail on the head because he's talking about how anonymity has allowed people to embrace more and more of personalities they would not have been able to otherwise in meatspace.

But as your real identity and your social graph ties closer with your online persona, I think we're going to see a shift in a different direction. I'll let you know how it goes.

Hey! I recommend you check out #hnbeginners on irc.freenode.net ! People there would be very happy to help when you have questions!

How are you supposed to know though, when your code is doing better then 'it works'?

I think article this may be too sparse in details for a subject that so important.

For better resources, please see:

http://www.bokardo.com - for design of social interfaces (please read everything you can, it's not that much)

and

http://buildingreputation.com/doku.php?id=bryce (for reputation systems. Bryce is the man here.)

Hey everybody, I just wanted to let you know I've created #HNBeginners for those who are just starting out and or those who would like to contribute and help other people out who are just getting started. Please drop by if you can!

Ricuarte, sorry about that. We're also going to start an IRC Channel where we can all get together and ask each other questions. My e-mail should be in my profile now.

100 percent absolutely. My e-mail is in my profile, and I would be very happy to be a part of this!

Thank you all so much! I will definitely keep you updated of my progress, and if there is anyone who would like to e-mail me to get in contact with me, my e-mail is in my profile. Thanks again!

Thanks Chris, will do!

Thank you so much jacques, and I will absolutely keep you updated. I hope that things will go well. Actually, (2) is the way that I previously learned finance, and it worked incredibly well. Thanks for the advice, and I'll be sure to follow through with that.

Would you have any suggestions for (3)? Someone had also previously mentioned railscasts, and I came across rails tutors, but I was looking for something that could help me get started on the basics.. My dad recommended programming for dummies, but that series usually seems to only cover cursory explanations. (Maybe I'm wrong?)

Would you happen to know a similar book available for Ruby, if you have any ideas?

Actually, no...unfortunately. I think while I am at the Hacker dojo, I'll make some more friends as I'm here. But that's a great idea, I just hope to make some friends that will tolerate questions that are rather basic..

Thanks for the reply. Do you have any resources you can recommend where I can learn more about programming in general? There seem to be a lot of things that people talk about that just go completely over my head.