Ah! You reached out and talked to so many great people in the scene. Great article Steven. And Alex looks soooooo dreamy.
Lauren Galanter
· 11 months ago
Thank you, Steven, for writing this article! As a fellow Philly geek I'm glad to see the scene in general get such in-depth coverage and see so many familiar names get cred.
Just thought I'd let you know, there's a typo in "...they’re likely to strike sparks with other Philly braniacs." Though I'm sure there are fiber geeks out there too. : )
Soimya Dada
· 11 months ago
Where's the typo??? Don't geeks eat a lot of bran? Fiber clears out the system - "bran for brains" I always say.
K
· 11 months ago
Great article, and, um, nice to see so many familiar names!
"Geeks in other supposedly more glamorous cities fantasize about living here...Philly’s scene is unique and, apparently, the envy of the geekosphere."
I agree with @DotEd, this makes my week. Philly is the geekdom, and this is an article that brings light to how much of a tech sector and talent core the city has. Philly is the real deal, not just a few corporate walls.
alexknowshtml
· 11 months ago
Steven, Our interview together was a blast, and I really appreciate the angle you took on this piece. You touched so many of the wonderful corners of the Philly geek community, and made each one shine.
The "pissed aliens ripping a Victorian city apart" are starfish (from the Starfish and the Spider metaphor) taking over the city of Philadelphia. I think that metaphor is a strong underpinning of how you described Philly in the article, a strong and growing network of networks. One leg cannot take out any of the others. It's one of the defining factors of what makes Philly special.
mikemaney
· 11 months ago
One of the best stories I've read in a year (and I'm counting '08). Great reporting and, man, just really well-written. I couldn't send the link around to enough people fast enough.
Tim Canny
· 11 months ago
Great article! Living on the outskirts of Philly I wasn't familiar with a number of the people and groups mentioned.
Just one correction. The Crayonator is 10 years old! I know because he's my son. We entered the Art Buggy Derby as a team. He used much of the money to buy an iPod and lots of LEGO. We can't wait for next years competition.
As a dad one thing I'd like to see or hear more about is how geekiness is being nutured in the next generation in Philly. My son and I are doing what we can with our web show, WREXLabs (http://www.wrexlabs.com). And the people at Make Philly and the Hacktory have always been very welcoming to us.
Gabriel Weinberg
· 11 months ago
If you are interested in startups (especially Internet startups), check out:
Things sure have changed since the Punk Philly scene days of Hot Club, East Side Club and Kennel Club. All we wanted to do was get high, drunk and see the hippest band before they sold out.
CMD
· 11 months ago
Good stuff. Thanks for bring the Geek, or do I mean Nerd? Anyway, fun article and great video. ;)
Truly awesome article. The stars are right indeed. Bar Camp Philly, Geeks who Give, UX Book Club - those are just a few more bits of geekery that created real bright spots in 09 and hopefully will grow even brighter in 09.
Mark Schoneveld
· 11 months ago
Philly geeks, FTW!
Fave quote: "a serene Yoda to Hillman’s impulsive Luke Skywalker" - Go Geoff! LOL
Tara
· 11 months ago
Excellent article. I like how this also covers a lot of the crossover you find in Philly...community centric, music nerds, etc. What can I say? I'm a LARPer, and I love it here.
All Comments
Just thought I'd let you know, there's a typo in "...they’re likely to strike sparks with other Philly braniacs." Though I'm sure there are fiber geeks out there too. : )
seriously.
wait, there's proof: http://twitter.com/doted
I agree with @DotEd, this makes my week. Philly is the geekdom, and this is an article that brings light to how much of a tech sector and talent core the city has. Philly is the real deal, not just a few corporate walls.
Our interview together was a blast, and I really appreciate the angle you took on this piece. You touched so many of the wonderful corners of the Philly geek community, and made each one shine.
The "pissed aliens ripping a Victorian city apart" are starfish (from the Starfish and the Spider metaphor) taking over the city of Philadelphia. I think that metaphor is a strong underpinning of how you described Philly in the article, a strong and growing network of networks. One leg cannot take out any of the others. It's one of the defining factors of what makes Philly special.
Just one correction. The Crayonator is 10 years old! I know because he's my son. We entered the Art Buggy Derby as a team. He used much of the money to buy an iPod and lots of LEGO. We can't wait for next years competition.
As a dad one thing I'd like to see or hear more about is how geekiness is being nutured in the next generation in Philly. My son and I are doing what we can with our web show, WREXLabs (http://www.wrexlabs.com). And the people at Make Philly and the Hacktory have always been very welcoming to us.
http://startups.philadelphia.groupomatic.com/
http://www.phillystartupleaders.org/
http://www.founderfactory.com/
More here:
http://www.kraftcreation.biz/2008/02/fabhome-do...
Fave quote: "a serene Yoda to Hillman’s impulsive Luke Skywalker" - Go Geoff! LOL