43
Coders brought together in new group
YOUNGSTOWN
Local software developers and coders are coming together in a new group that meets monthly.
Code Youngstown’s second meeting took place Tuesday night at the Youngstown Business Incubator, 241 W. Federal St., downtown. About 15 people attended.
The group brings area software developers, computer coders and computer programmers together to share ideas and projects and to socialize.
It was founded by Nick Serra, a developer for Quick Left Inc., which has offices in Oregon, California and Colorado. Serra graduated from Youngstown State University in 2010 with a degree in computer science.
Serra said he was inspired by similar groups in other areas and decided to start one in Youngstown. The first meeting was in September at the Erie Terminal Place building, 112 W. Commerce St., and drew 30 people.
“I like to keep it casual,” Serra said.
He said he’d like to see the group evolve and become more structured, with lectures and workshops in the future. He’s also looking at a couple of other locations for the monthly meetings.
The group attracts a variety of people from different backgrounds. Among those at Tuesday night’s meeting was Josh Blackann, a hardware design engineer at Turning Technologies, an information-technology software developer company also based downtown.
Blackann said he was looking for a community to work on software-based projects, to learn about new software and to support local groups such as Code Youngstown. He eventually sees the group developing into a makerspace with a software focus.
“I think this is a good way to develop a culture of creators,” said Joe Duncko, a YSU sophomore in computer systems information and entrepreneurship. He’s also the director of Hack-YSU, an event in which 24 or 36 hours are devoted to create anything such as software, hardware, a business plan, art or a design that’s exhibited in a showcase at the end. Duncko promoted the event at the meeting, which is set to take place April 17.
Duncko said the group consists of people who are self-motivated in learning about software developing and programing. He added that he sees the group as a medium through which people can share ideas.