Presentation from SXSW 2012 on how programmers and creators can bridge their cultural gap of understanding. Both have similar mindsets: They want to work with smart people on interesting problems that imapct the world. By Ben Balter (@benbalter) of the White House, Jennifer 8. Lee (@jenny8lee) of Hacks/Hackers, Raju Narisetti (@rajunarisetti) of The Wall Street Journal, and Andrei Scheinkman (@ascheink) of The Huffington Post

1. Content && Coding != Commodities
@ SXSW March 11, 2012

2. Ben Balter (@benbalter)• Hacks/Hacker & White House
Jennifer 8. Lee (@jenny8lee) • Hacks/Hackers
Raju Narisetti (@rajunarisetti) • The Wall Street Journal
Andrei Scheinkman (@ascheink)• The Huffington Post

3. — Problem —
Coders see content as
“stuff” and code as “art.”
Whereas creators see code as
“stuff” and content as “art.”

4. Technology view of content:
Low-touch.
Scale from quantity.

5. YouTube (historically).
Twitter.
Flickr.

8. Creator’s view of content:
High-touch.
Scale comes from quality—hits.

9. Twilight.
Harry Potter
Hunger Games.

10. Technology can
make a difference!

12. Exciting! Impactful!
But then you click through...

13. ?

14. Is that describing the same job?

15. There is a culture gap. But...

16. Coders and “Contenters”
actually have a lot in common.

17. Both want to work
with smart people
on interesting problems
that have impact.

18. If you truly grasp that,
you have won half the battle.

19. Our Hack and Hacker
Manifesto
for how to work
together effectively.

20. 1. Coders and creators are
not short-order chefs.

21. Don’t just give orders.

22. A front end developer is needed for an interesting video
project by Sii Media, a new video journalism startup
founded by Saul Hansell,. The task is to make a working
As leaders of the Hacks/Hackers
demo of an innovative interactive video newscast format.
group, I figured you might be able
Skills required are HTML, Javascript (including
modifying an existing HTML5 video player), and creating
to help me track down a developer
a very simple Web front end to our back-end CMS using
API calls. The overall work is probably one person-week
with a bit of time to do a fun
of time or so for a good developer, and this needs to be
journalism project…
completed before the end of February.
Anyone interested should contact saul@sii.tv..Thanks.

23. Collaboration is key.

24. Talk in terms of problems.
Don’t just assign your solutions.

25. 2. Understand the
creative mind of a coder.

26. Coding can be an art.
Code can be like poetry.

27. 3. Speak in a language that
motivates writers and creators.

28. Craft and quality
(not just quantity) matters.

29. Quantity = Scale (of audience).
Getting their work
in front of a lot of people.

30. Btw.
Writers hate the term“CMS.”

31. Content is not
something to be “managed.”

32. “It reduces the heart and soul
of journalism — stories, photos, graphics,
the news — into generic ‘content,’
something akin to the unidentifiable
filling in a Twinkie. Ick.”
— Washington Post Ombudsman

33. 5. Acknowledge contribution
on both sides.
(Bylines! Credits!)

34. This is how we get to
work that is ...

35. On the Web
vs.
Of the Web.