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Ask HN: How can I volunteer my software skills online?

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Re: Ask HN: How can I volunteer my software skills online?

#51

Post by janwillemb »

bonniemuffin wrote: post #49
janwillemb wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Although "effective altruism" sounds reasonable and should always be considered, it does neglect the human side of things. How many years do we add to the life of a lonely elderly couple by visiting them?

I think the point is that people with a surplus of money can be most effective by well-targeted monetary donations, while people with extra time should be spending it with the elderly. We can be collectively more effective with some specialization.

That's a good point

Re: Ask HN: How can I volunteer my software skills online?

#52

Post by tps5 »

user5994461 wrote: post #41
visakanv wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Relevant LessWrong article – Purchase Fuzzies and Utilons Separately: http://lesswrong.com/lw/6z/purchase_fuzzies_and_utilons_sepa... > There is this very, very old puzzle/observation in economics about the lawyer who spends an hour volunteering at the soup kitchen, instead of working an extra hour and donating the money to hire someone... > If the lawyer needs to work an hour at the soup kitchen to keep himself moti…

Disagree with all of it. Money and time are not interchangeable at all. One can take 1-2 hours of his time, when he has time free. One cannot give 1-2 hours of money, when he has to pay for his rent, bills and family. There is noone who can decide to work one hour more at his workplace and get paid for it, then donate the money to charity.

I get paid per hour. This isn't a freelance thing either, it's just how my company does things.

So yes, I could absolutely work one more hour and get paid for it at the end of the pay period.

Re: Ask HN: How can I volunteer my software skills online?

#53

Post by palehose »

I'm not affiliated with Taproot, but am aware of them and that they have been successful with their model.

Taproot Foundation - WHAT WE DO: The Taproot Foundation connects nonprofits and social change organizations with passionate, skilled volunteers who share their expertise pro bono. Through our programs, business professionals deliver marketing, strategy, HR, and IT solutions that organizations need to achieve their missions. https://taprootfoundation.org/

Re: Ask HN: How can I volunteer my software skills online?

#54

Post by llccbb »

I have posted this before, countless times, but techies who want to volunteer their skills and knowledge to advance the democratic process should think about joining the PROGRESSIVE CODERS NETWORK[0]. They are a non-profit that helps organize and direct volunteer coders, programmers, designers into open-source political projects. They are about connecting and facilitating projects, not dictating what projects should be. They are party-neutral, but seek to empower the people and provide tools for running successful campaigns and being engaged as a citizen.

If you can take away the need for millions of dollars to run a campaign then policy makers aren't beholden to the few wealthy supporters that helped get them elected.

They help connect volunteers to projects that range from building an open-source voter database to an Uber-like app that helps the mobility-limited get transportation to vote. They are extremely transparent and always interested in growing the network. Many members of the network are engineers, product managers, or independent coders.

[0]http://progcode.co

Re: Ask HN: How can I volunteer my software skills online?

#56

Post by brilliantcode »

I'm in the process of launching http://letsopensource.com which is a commercial software alternative marketplace. It will be also relevant towards data science, design projects not just software.

You can contribute your time towards open source projects that people request and will fund.

You can contribute your money towards open source projects you need and other features and functions for your business.

My vision is to help developers who have a track record of open source work but also looking to help fulfill business open source needs.

You get money or portfolio cred backed by real references from backers. You get business value from open source software developers contribute to in a much more directed way. You can vote on features and functions with money.

Re: Ask HN: How can I volunteer my software skills online?

#57

Post by barnacs »

visakanv wrote: post #33
patio11 wrote: post #15

(Disclaimer: not trolling.) Consider specializing in making money and donating the money to people who specialize in $PICK_A_CAUSE_DEAR_TO_YOU, if your primary concern is about impact and not about personal fulfillment. NGOs are often not well set up to metabolize the labor of developers, and at some things which you think are helpful will be perceived by the organization as a threat (e.g. at many organizations, anyt…

Relevant LessWrong article – Purchase Fuzzies and Utilons Separately: http://lesswrong.com/lw/6z/purchase_fuzzies_and_utilons_sepa... > There is this very, very old puzzle/observation in economics about the lawyer who spends an hour volunteering at the soup kitchen, instead of working an extra hour and donating the money to hire someone... > If the lawyer needs to work an hour at the soup kitchen to keep himself moti…

I think too much specialization in the name of economic efficiency is harmful as it causes alienation and apathy.

If say this lawyer is required by a law firm to work on cases that end up harming the poor and then donates some of their salary to help the poor, is it really net useful?

If this lawyer spends an hour volunteering at a soup kitchen, he learns about the process, the people, their circumstances and needs. It may be something that he can then apply to guide his professional work. Or he may spot and improve some legal inefficiencies in the operation of the soup kitchen. Or he may be reminded that he can actually donate his own excess food instead of throwing it out.

Generally, I think we need more communication and cooperation across professions and "social classes", not less. The experience, perspective or education one brings to the table may be just the simple thing the others need to improve.

Re: Ask HN: How can I volunteer my software skills online?

#58

Post by robinsongreig »

First - I run a platform that connects creative/technical volunteers with non-profits for project-based volunteer opportunities. There's a bunch of organizations looking for people like you - take a look: www.project501.com

Second - really interesting conversation here. It's incredibly important to make monetary donations, but that isn't an option for anyone. It's also possible that your time/expertise could save the organization far more than what you might have been willing to donate.

I'm a fan of the guiding ideas of effective altruism (few have mentioned it already). Basically, give what you are able to give to the cause that needs it most. There's plenty of behavioral issues though that might prevent us from giving more of our money than we probably could - it seems easier to donate our time when doing what we love doing and do best.

Re: Ask HN: How can I volunteer my software skills online?

#59

Post by arvind_devaraj »

Consider sharing your knowledge to help graduate students and guide them take good career decisions. This is a forum for discussing computer science careers with more than 150,000 students. https://www.facebook.com/groups/core.cs It is like stackoverflow - but for students who can't express their questions in a rigorous format expected by the stackoverflow community. We help students with their questions on various CS topics like algorithms, datastructures and programming. We are a group of 30 moderators answering thousands of questions posted daily and obviously our knowledge is limited and would like to expand to other areas like machine learning / datascience. It would be great if you can share your knowledge with the community. We believe that giving knowledge is the best form of giving, as it empowers the receiver for life time.

Re: Ask HN: How can I volunteer my software skills online?

#60

Post by visakanv »

SnacksOnAPlane wrote: post #43
visakanv wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Relevant LessWrong article – Purchase Fuzzies and Utilons Separately: http://lesswrong.com/lw/6z/purchase_fuzzies_and_utilons_sepa... > There is this very, very old puzzle/observation in economics about the lawyer who spends an hour volunteering at the soup kitchen, instead of working an extra hour and donating the money to hire someone... > If the lawyer needs to work an hour at the soup kitchen to keep himself moti…

I volunteer over the weekends to build Habitat for Humanity homes. Yeah, I could probably make money if I freelanced on the weekends, writing code, but honestly I need time away from the computer, and working with my hands to build something tangible feels good. In reality, I think that we do good things as much to make ourselves feel better as to make the world a better place. So with that in mind, do what makes you…

That is exactly the message of the post, hence "purchase fuzzies and utilons separately", and not "forgo all fuzzies for utilons"
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