

Ask HN: The best way to put technical skills to the greater good? - slapshot

What's the best way to contribute technical skills to the greater good?  How can hackers keep their day jobs but contribute skills/time/energy to good causes too?
======
ryanwaggoner
_"Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it.
Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."_

-Howard Thurmon

~~~
Eliezer
Sounds too good to be true, and by golly, it is! What makes me come alive is
writing fiction. This is not what the world most needs from me.

Not everything that sounds like deep wisdom is wise.

~~~
ryanwaggoner
Yeah, all those damn authors who wasted their lives writing supposedly great
works of fiction like Ulysses and The Grapes of Wrath and A Tale of Two
Cities. They should have been digging ditches in Africa or volunteering at
their local soup kitchen or whatever.

Give me a break. You think the world is really better served by you giving up
on your dreams? It's a good thing not everything felt as you did or the world
would be pretty bleak indeed.

~~~
apsec112
"They should have been digging ditches in Africa or volunteering at their
local soup kitchen or whatever."

No, what they should have done is written their books, then donated a large
fraction of the money they earned from writing them. If you're _that_ good of
an author (keeping in mind that 99.99% of people aren't), you can help the
world a lot more that way than by volunteering at soup kitchens.

"It's a good thing not everything felt as you did or the world would be pretty
bleak indeed."

If everyone felt as Eliezer did- that it was better to spend at least _some_
effort doing what the world needed most, rather than what happened to feel
good- then maybe we would not have hundreds of millions of people in constant
danger of starvation.

~~~
ryanwaggoner
_If everyone felt as Eliezer did- that it was better to spend at least some
effort doing what the world needed most, rather than what happened to feel
good- then maybe we would not have hundreds of millions of people in constant
danger of starvation._

I sincerely doubt it. What has charity really done for starvation and poverty?
There's only one thing that has ultimately had a big, lasting effect on those
things: capitalism. I'm sure many will disagree, but I'd like to see the
evidence that giving $1m to developing economies has more effect than
investing $1m in businesses in those economies that can then grow and hire
more workers.

I don't presently see the case for charity, but I'd like to see more data on
the subject.

~~~
obfuscate
Then substitute "invested" for "donated". Or, hell, "invested in figuring out
how best to help developing countries" (like <http://www.givewell.net/>). The
stereotypical ways to help people do tend to suck (lending the original quote
much of its plausibility), but there are other options.

~~~
ryanwaggoner
But that's my point: they're not the same thing. The primary motivation for an
investment is what I get out of it. If it helps other people, that's great,
but I'm after a great return. And the reality is that this self-motivated
economic system has done more to help the less fortunate that any direct
action designed to help them.

------
mechanical_fish
Build something people want.

Whether or not that's your day job or not is immaterial.

My favorite parable about the societal role of an engineer's technical skills
is this story about Steve Jobs:

[http://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&s...](http://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&story=Saving_Lives.txt)

Steve's pitch is an attempt to capture the essential paradox of engineering:
You have a lot more leverage than you think, or even than you can believe.
When you improve (say) the Linux kernel, you improve a lot of people's lives,
and they in turn improve other lives.

Even trivial things improve people's lives. I watched the Ig Nobel Prize
committee award a prize to the Japanese electrical engineer/jazz musician who
invented karaoke. It was a surprisingly touching moment.

------
tezza
* I do a lot of work with IT4C[1] here in the UK.

Its basically a listings board where charities advertise for tech people to
help them.

Through various "Meet the Charities" nights I've met lots of charity founders
and I help them in detail. Some charities are looking for any sort of help
available, not merely tech.

* I help out old aged homes installing easy to use computers for their occupants.

* I write software for disabled people to interact with the computer more easily (my cousins child has quadraplegic cerabral palsy)

\--------------

[1] <http://www.it4communities.org.uk/it4c/home/index.jsp>

------
edw519
I've always thought that the best way to put your technical skills to the
greater good is through your day job, not instead of it.

Some of my days jobs have been to write software to ensure that:

    
    
      - people get the right prescription medication on time
      - firetrucks and ambulances get to where they're supposed to be
      - parts that go into cars and planes are properly certified
      - prisoners are kept in jail
      - those same prisoners get proper medical care
      - electronic equipment gets assembled properly and on time
      - medical supplies get dispatched to where they're supposed to
      - insurance claims are processed properly
      - quality data is properly maintained for food items
    

You don't need to do charity work on the side in order to contribute to the
greater good.

OTOH, if you don't think that the work you do during the day contributes to
the greater good, then maybe you should consider doing something else with
your valuable time.

Do good and get paid. You _can_ do both at the same time.

~~~
slapshot
Absolutely. My day job does make the world a better place. But it doesn't
resolve a lot of the very serious issues in the world.

~~~
neilk
So what serious issues did you have in mind? Or are you shopping for
$MEANINGFUL_LIFE?

Sorry if this feels a bit pointed, but a meaningful life is not something that
others can give you, or even recommend to you. I could tell you that third
world literacy is the number one cause you should support, but that's what _I_
believe.

Figure out the causes that matter to you, research those, then maybe you'll
find some angle of attack.

Incidentally, a guy who did this wrote a book "Leaving Microsoft to Change the
World". He was a marketing guy, but he does run his charity with a lot of the
style of a tech company. Maybe that book will give you ideas.

<http://www.leavingmicrosoftbook.com/>

------
vanessa
I’m working to startup a web service called Catchafire that connects
professionals who want to volunteer their skills with non-profits and social
ventures who need them. Catchafire just finished a pilot program in NYC – I
was able volunteer my tech skills then and it was a great experience – and
we’re currently working on alpha. We’re always looking out for development
help, so feel free to contact me (info in my profile) if you’re interested or
have questions or suggestions.

Has anyone else on HN been able to volunteer tech skills directly? What was
your experience?

~~~
jeremyw
After the dot-com bust I spent a few years traveling and ruminating. But I
also tried volunteering. I talked to the San Francisco Public Library, the Red
Cross and a short list of other organizations. I offered a large block of time
(up to 6 mos) and any kind of product or technical help up to engineering
management.

I got very nice responses from folks in these orgs who'd clearly dealt with
prior attempted tech volunteers. Each explained how they weren't built to
accept this kind of help. At the bottom of chart, there was an endless need
and clean ability for rotating staff. But in the middle? Not so much. Too many
egos, difficult knowledge transfer, etc.

I wish you better luck. There's clearly a support problem to crack.

~~~
vanessa
What a generous offer! Thanks for sharing your experience. One of the key
things Catchafire is hoping to do is guide non-profits to determine discrete,
short-term projects. Clear goals help them get organized and have been proven
to facilitate quality volunteer experiences. Obviously, though, it's not an
easy thing to accomplish.

------
sachinag
<http://www.codeforamerica.org>

~~~
jeremyw
Alas, they want full-time personnel from Jan-Nov 2011. I often have 30 days at
a stretch I could dedicate, but that's a bit much. (And the original poster
asks about extracurricular specifically.)

That said, thanks for mentioning it. A revolving door to municipal groups with
some support structure could get interesting.

------
raxiux
<http://www.rhok.org/>

------
Quarrelsome
Wikileaks were recently looking for some technical help.

------
portman
Digital Divide Data <http://www.digitaldividedata.com>

They are a nonprofit in Cambodia and Laos who hire and train the disabled -
people who otherwise would not have ANY job - to do data entry and other
outsourced IT.

And they're always looking for technical minded people to help out, either
remotely or (even better) on site in Southeast Asia.

My wife and I volunteered there for 18 months in 2003-2004, and it was the
experience of a lifetime. Please check them out.

And thanks for the opportunity (rare on most forums) to plug a good cause!

------
apsec112
Learn to think better. (www.lesswrong.com is a good place to start, especially
the sequences.) Learn new skills. Learn how the world works by reading books
that challenge you and by seeking new experiences. Work outside your standard
identity. Also, simply be kinder and better to the people around you in your
personal life, especially your children, and be less conformist but more
results oriented (most non-conformity tends to involve working from an
ideology rather than trying to accomplish good).

------
jeffmould
Check your local papers for volunteer opportunities. If you are located near a
big city, some of the local non-profits/government funded groups may be
looking for assistance with social marketing, web development, marketing,
etc.. These are usually part-time, low pay (or even no pay) jobs, but are
great opportunities to build your portfolio, skills, and make invaluable
connections/references. You can also occasionally get free press out of the
deal depending on the organization.

------
roundsquare
One software problem yo can try to solve: micro finance institutions are in
dire need of good systems. Many of them run on excel and have a horrible time
keeping track of data. If they need to generate a report, they often have
someone doing it by hand and the data comes back jumbled up. This hurts their
operations as well as prevents them from getting funding. Many of them are
small and can't afford good systems or to hire any developers.

------
rmijic
[http://lesswrong.com/lw/1hn/call_for_new_siai_visiting_fello...](http://lesswrong.com/lw/1hn/call_for_new_siai_visiting_fellows_on_a_rolling/)

"At bottom, we’re looking for anyone who:

    
    
        * Is capable (strong ability to get things done);
        * Seriously aspires to rationality; and
        * Is passionate about reducing existential risk.
    "

------
abyssknight
Hackers for Charity! <http://www.hackersforcharity.org/>

I also have a friend who runs a non-profit called Caring Compy:
<http://caringcompy.blogspot.com/>

There's a ton of things you can do to better yourself, and the world.

------
a-priori
I'm currently hiring a small team of developers at Philanthrokidz, a new
startup in Waterloo, Ontario. If you've got programming chops and want to use
them to make the world a better place, drop me a line. My email's in my
profile (behind a CAPCHA).

<http://philanthrokidz.com>

------
wgj
Assuming your technical skill is related to software: More and more non
profits, charities, and even for profit companies that are serving the greater
good, are using a lot of open source. Contributing to, or improving, open
source projects is one way to make a difference.

------
keefe
First, make sure your own responsibilities are under control so you don't
become a drain on society. Next, volunteer your time - maybe as part of an
open source project, something you think is valuable.

------
apsec112
<http://www.givewell.net/giving101/Changing-Someones-Life>

You can save someone's life for under $1,000.

------
Vindexus
I've always wanted to use my web skills to create a site that generates
revenue for a charity. Perfect example: <http://www.freerice.com>

------
maxklein
Who do you want to help? Human beings? Animals? Plants? Progress? Life in
General? Exploring?

What is a good cause for you?

------
tigerthink
<http://yudkowsky.net/singularity/intro>

------
jonnyrotten
<http://www.idealist.org>

~~~
dkarl
<http://www.volunteermatch.org/> is another one.

Not to mention that anyone who is a web jack-of-all-trades should find plenty
of work with local nonprofits.

~~~
biggitybones
Volunteer Match is great.. I worked with a non-profit to redesign their web
site and it was a great experience.

------
cjoh
come help the Sunlight Foundation. Please!

<http://sunlightlabs.com>

------
ddemchuk
Build a startup that creates revenue for both yourself and your clients.
Employ people, get your clients more capital to employ people themselves
because of what you can do for them, and help reinvigorate America's economy.

In a capitalist country, the best way to contribute to the greater good is
through productivity and excellence.

------
access_denied
Giving free courses / seminars on how to prevent computer fraud. (Like
explaining "password", "phishing", ect pp)

