• First: As of May 15, the price of a day pass is going up to $10/day. The Hashtag is always there for your one-day hackerspace needs, but we want to encourage full membership. That way we can stay focused on you fine folks who spend lots of time here.
• With summer fast approaching, we’re especially aware of humanity’s ongoing struggle with the sun. And we have a new weapon in the battle: You can now control the window blinds. The self-explanatory remote (up and down) is located by the XM controller.
• We now have a bucket of courtesy iPhone and Droid USB cables for those times you forget your charger at home. The Hashtag cables are marked with red tape, so they’re easy to spot (and so you won’t accidentally take one with you when you leave).
• We expect the long-awaited pay-as-you-go printing services to be available in July. Once they’re up and running, you’ll be able print those contracts, term papers, and whatever else you need, right here at The Hashtag.
• We have a stage (for standing on). We had it built just for us, so you can expect even more “staged” events at The Hashtag in the coming months. (Did someone say “#FreakingBrilliant”?)

Pretty cool stuff, right?

One last thing: Before The Hashtag even opened, 20 Genius memberships were offered to early adopters at a reduced rate ($200/year, which is 58% off the normal price). Now, a year later, six of those $200/year Genius spots have opened up. That means six new people are going to get a killer deal, and here’s how we’re gonna do it: the first six people to sign up at this rate will become Geniuses. That’s it—no gimmicks.

But with great power comes great responsibility. Those first 20 Geniuses believed in The Hashtag before there even was a Hashtag. As such, they hold an honored position of trust. They’re relied on for feedback and they act as (unofficial) advisors. If you feel you’re up to the task, then don’t wait a second longer! Claim your spot before it’s too late.

That’s all for now. But we’re always working on ways to make The Hashtag your favorite third (or second) space. If you’ve got ideas, get in touch. And together we’ll make the second year even better than the first.

And Rogue Festival is a celebration of performers and artists of all types.

How about an ArtHop Reception dedicated to the marriage of these two?

In preparation for NOCO Rogue Show 2012, NOCO has produced a series of posters to be displayed at Tower Theater.  At each ArtHop more of the posters will be moved to The Hashtag to display the series as a whole. With the help of  Joe Osejo’s photos and the NOCO design team, we’re excited to exhibit the posters for a larger audience. Join us for NOCO’s Pre-Rogue ArtHop as we celebrate the kickoff to 2012 Rogue Festival!

Refreshments will be provided by: P*DE*Q

NOCO Pre-Rogue ArtHop
Thursday, March 1, 2012
The Hashtag
1298 N. Wishon Ave. (north of Olive)
Fresno, CA 93609
6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

For more information about NOCO (fresNO dance COllective) visit:
www.nocodance.org

Enter: Irma
Enter: 59DaysOfCode

Okay, I’ve known Irma since about 2007. She was a geek working for one of the companies at CVBI. She was odd. She is odd. I saw her, and Ian, try to help a very smart guy create something that…well…Irma and Ian really tried. We’ll leave it at that. Irma then tried to help another entrepreneur. Yeah. That didn’t work out so well. At this point, I knew one good programmer in town. It was Irma. I knew Ian had skills, but he was in this transition from nerdy high school genius to a Rockstar swigging, motorcycle riding, booth babe casting, technology player. Dude has mad skills and can wear a tux like a boss.

59DaysOfCode started with a question: Are there any developers in the Fresno area who aren’t named Irma or Ian? I would get calls from entrepreneurs on a weekly basis who had an amazing idea they just couldn’t realize because they couldn’t write code. Hell, most of them couldn’t even write a business plan…or an executive summary. They were looking for a tech guy who will work for equity to help create a disruptive product. Problem is, most “tech guys” don’t give a rats ass about your vision. They don’t. Therefore, I wasn’t interested in holding a tech event just to identify people I could throw to the wolves (aka cheap-ass entrepreneurs). I wanted to change the mindset of an entire community. Irma and I both wanted that. If the talent didn’t exist, fine. All the studies would prove to be right. Fresno sucks.

But the talent did exist. Oh man, did it exist.

59DaysOfCode brought all kinds of geeks out of the woodwork. It’s hard to believe now that I didn’t know 90% of them at the time, because I feel like I’ve known many of them for some time. The crowd was there. The talent was there. The passion was there. It wasn’t in San Francisco, or Austin, or Seattle, or St. Louis (hehehe), it was in fucking Fresno.

Right after 59DaysOfCode in 2010, Irma and I talked about the critical mass of nerdery we just unsurfaced. We achieve our first year goal, we answered a question and we help engage a community. Now all these technologists were known and they were awesome. The awesomeness came from the tightness of the community. I’d like to think 59DaysOfCode played a role in that. If it didn’t, just humor me.

Now what?

Well, well, well, Irma had been thinking about a hacker space for about as long as I’d been thinking about co-working. If you know me and Irma, you know we like to jump in and move fast on things. We throw bad ideas away quickly, but good ones get done. We played with a few location and fell into the perfect spot on Wishon Row. When I say perfect spot…it was perfect. With a handshake lease, pulling in all 125 of Irma’s relatives, and with about three weeks of work, we opened The Hashtag #1298. The branding exercise via Google Chat was a thing of beauty.

We looked at other pricing models. Everything in the industry was too expensive for its members. We wanted to capture a higher percentage at a lower price. Cool, right? So we positioned it as a gym membership: $29/mo or $299/yr. We even gave 20 people the best deal ever: $200/yr. We like those folks. They took a chance and were the earliest supporters. With only one price increase, it is still an amazing deal at $39/mo. You should join.

We did it. We built a place for nerds, writers, designers creatives, entrepreneurs, coders, teachers, students, etc. to call their own 24/7/365. I remember early conversations with people about the hours. Yep, always open. Always.

Last week I sold my interest in The Hastag, LLC to my business partner, Irma, for an undisclosed amount. Well, it was actually $13. I negotiated with Irma and told her I wanted to sell it for my lucky number. I was lucky to dream, launch, built, and sell. There is something about always being known as a founder, or in this case co-founder. Too bad I had such a low lucky number.

Now I am off to explore St. Louis. Guess what? It’s pretty cool. It’s not better than or worse than Fresno. You know I am not that kind of guy. I absolutely love Fresno. I love what it has allowed me to do and what it continues to allow me to do. In St. Louis I am working for a Fresno-based tech start-up. Ironic. I also host a show on the recently launched GottaLoveFresno.com called See Saw Seen. That project actually brings me to Fresno every two weeks.
STL → DFW → FAT | 18 hours | FAT → DFW → STL

I will also participate in this year’s 59DaysOfCode and will forever be a member of The Hashtag.

I want to say thank you to all the Hashtag members, to the tech community, to the entrepreneurs, dreamers, and especially the doers. Keep doing.

Vision realized.

Reservations begin February 3rd.

In February we are kicking off a speaker series at The Hashtag that we are simply calling #FreakingBrilliant. We are bringing you a mix of local and out of town minds to chat it up about the world of entrepreneurship, technology and innovation. You don’t understand how stoked we are to kick off 2012 in this fashion.

Want to know how the evening will flow? Check it…

• 7:00pm Arrive & Mingle (make some connections)
• 7:20pm Welcome & Introduction
• 7:25pm Speaker Inspires (this is where the goose bumps set in)
• 8:00pm Q & A (seriously, pick their brains)
• 8:15pm Done…more mingling (make the connections you missed at the beginning)

Like all stuff at The Hashtag, this event is FREE for members. If you are not a member, it’s only the cost of a Day Pass; however, we have limited seating and members will be able to reserve their seat. Hint: Now might be a good time to join The Hashtag.

Previous Talks

February 22: Jeffrey Maggioncalda - Financial Engines -  CANCELLED DUE TO CONFLICT

Jeffrey has served as president and CEO of Financial Engines since August 1996 and as a director since March 1997. From June 1991 to August 1994, he served as an associate at Cornerstone Research, an economic and financial consulting firm. Mr. Maggioncalda received an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and bachelor’s degrees in economics and English from Stanford University. Financial Engines combines pioneering investment methodology with proprietary technology to provide all investors with cost-effective, expert advice and management—the kind previously available only to the world’s largest institutional investors. Jeffrey was a guest on CNBC talking about baby boomers, technology and retirement.

March 7: Rob Walling - softwarebyrob.com & author of Start Small, Stay Small

Rob is a local tech advocate and leader. His blog and book are full of practical tools that increase the chances of a successful launch. Rob is a true friend of the local technology scene as he’s judged 59DaysOfCode, spoken at various events, and will even chat it up over lunch (if time permits). Rob is a transplant from the Boston area, but has quickly established himself in the local tech activities. On a national level, Rob speaks at conferences and is recognized as a voice of reason. We all know how unreasonable tech start-ups can be.

March 21: Jake Soberal – Walter & Wilhelm Law Group

Jake is a Fresno Boomerang. He traveled to North Carolina for college, headed to Southern California for Law School and recently boomeranged back to Fresno to plant his roots. Jake is passionate about helping innovators wade through the waters of intellectual property. You have an killer idea? Protect it. Jake is a board member of Creative Fresno and Fresno’s Leading Young Professionals.

April 4: Dan Martell - Flowtown – CANCELLED

Dan skydives and snowboards and believes running is among the secrets to a fruitful life. But the 31-year-old  Moncton, N.B., native insists business is his sport. An award winning Entrepreneur, Dan recently co-founded Flowtown, a social marketing platform focused on helping small businesses achieve real results in the world of social media. Now living in San Francisco, Martell spends the majority of his time looking at ways to build a bridge between Silicon Valley and New Brunswick. As an informal angel investor, he is active in advising entrepreneurs using the Lean Startup approach to gain market adoption. Martell is a board member of Propel ICT and StartupWeekend, a startup advisor to YearOneLabs and 500Startups.

We think this will be fun. On crowded days members can take turns and hold a small playlist challenge. Or you can walk in, see a crowded room and try to guess the DJ. Most importantly, we want to give you control to make the space yours. Installation should take place within the next week.

Maybe we can feature playlists as part of your member profile (Travis creating work for Irma).

BTW, props to Anna Jacobsen (Hashtag Member) for the idea. You guys bring us ideas and we actually listen to you. We learned this in a very expensive customer service workshop (maybe that last part was made up).

Thanks for helping shape the space, Anna.

Y’all have any other ideas?

We are still researching printing services…

Were you there?

It was a perfect evening. The treats were shared, wine was poured, stories were told and Schmoozing & Boozing occurred. The Hashtag was pleased to host another successful ArtHop and the walk down memory lane was provided by the gang from the Fresno Advertising Federation. If you missed it…well, that is lame. Actually, you are in luck. There will be another reception in January; however, if you are a Hashtag member you can work | play | create right along side the art work. It will be on display for the next three months.

Let us know what you think. Did you have fun?

If you identified a favorite piece, there will be prints available for you to take home. Plan on coming back in January.

Come find out.

The Fresno Advertising Federation invites you to join them for the Schmooze & Booze Artist Reception for December’s Arthop. The show features the specially commissioned posters, created using various printing processes and papers and designed by some of the best designers in the business, that served as your invitation to five years of Schmooze & Booze events!

Come view over 25 posters and have a drink after work and schmooze with creatives and associates from the advertising and arts community. Mark your calendars for Thursday, December 1st, 2011 at The Hashtag in the Tower District.

Enjoy wine from A. Nonini Winery, fine cheeses from Whole Foods and dessert from The Cake Guy. FAF would like to thank AlphaGraphics, the FAF Foundation and the Hashtag for their generous support.

Schmooze & Booze Posters Artist Reception
Thursday, December 1st, 2011
The Hashtag
1298 N. Wishon Ave. (north of Olive)
Fresno, CA 93609
5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

After a night of caffeine (thanks for the Rockstars, Steve!) and electronica, we have a definite victory. These were the guidlines the teams had to follow:

Theme: Connections
Requirement: Mention Steve Jobs
Bonus: Use a hardware component
Prize: 1-year Membership to Hashtag (new member) & a Trophy (on order)
Deadline: Noon PST, October 29th, 2011*
*must be publicly accessible

SemiFormal Studios, designed, coded and launched their very first casual flash game on Saturday morning. The team of four is not new to the game-making business, however,  makers of Ensemble Online, they are also the 2011 People’s Choice Winner of 59DaysOfCode.

Here’s what they managed to pull off in just 18 hours:

GAME PREMISE

Zombies are trying to enter the city. Player 1 controls the zombies, Player 2 defends the city.

Play it here.

GAME MECHANICS

Player 1

Player 2

Play it here.

Congrats to Ian Kinsey (Hashtag member), Philip Dailey (Hashtag member), Jesse Martinez, and Neal Kinsey (new Hashtag member). They are The Hashtag’s first Hackathon winners.

Runner-up and definitely worth a mention: Joshua Woodward of of Woodward Media coded an extension for the Chrome App Store (installs only in Chrome, of course). Install it here: Broadwary: Paranoia’s Box.

It’s looking more like home everyday!

– @SteveYears

At 80 members we told you we would install new rugs. Two are in and one more will be put in shortly. You, the community, got us there. Thank you. People have already said that they notice a difference.

The next milestone is at 100 members, and to be honest, it’s been a bit slow. I mean, we are offering a $400 prize, and we asked you what you wanted added to the space next. We took a survey and it was overwhelmingly slanted toward pay-for-print services/capabilities.

So that is next. We hit 100 members and we will install printing capabilities. Irma is already shopping around. Dont’ get us wrong, it’s not we have money burning a hole in our collective pockets. We just want to continue to be responsive to the needs of the community.

The next six people who join (along with the referrer are eligible for the prize).

Call-to-Action

1. Refer people
2. Let us know what you think about the rugs
3. Refer people
4. Get ready for Hackathon v2
5. Refer people

We learned a lot from that night about teams and teamwork and what have you, but the single biggest thing that held us back was having everyone work on one platform/language. No Deal! It’s such a simple mistake now that we’re able to reflect on what happened. Asking programmers to work fast without the tools they are used to using is like asking a marathon runner to use a different stride and borrow shoes from a stranger before the race. Someone could get hurt!

We’ve learned, so this time it’ll be different.

GOAL:

As a group,
Build and launch something in one night.

…In small teams that compete against each other

All creatives are invited, and it’s FREE to everyone.

Friday, October 28th. 6:30pm – ???
Bring some caffeine to share.

Here’s how it’ll work:

We’ll spend 45 minutes to an hour talking about what we’re going to build, the rules, and getting to know one another.  Then we’ll split up into small teams and get to it. At some point, we’ll probably order pizza or something, so bring cash if you want to take part. We will also try to have chair massages available for purchase (by a real massage therapist!) All teams turn in their work before the end of the night, after we get some rest on Saturday, the projects are reviewed, judged and a winner announced.

The theme for what you’ll build will be announced that night, along with any parameters you need to work within. For instance, we might say you have to somehow integrate QR Codes into your project. You can choose your platform, tools, and team but you’ll probably want to have your team established before coming.

Rules/Notes:

• Team size can not exceed 4 people.
• Entries have to be built entirely at The Hashtag, no existing code going in. (Exception: building on top of a freely-available, established, open-source platform is ok.)
• Entries have to be in by 12p (PST) on Saturday, October 29th.
• We recommend having at least one artistic person on your team. Pretty earns points.
• Entries will be judged on completeness, visual appeal, and how bad ass it is.
• Judging is 100% subjective
• BONUS POINTS IF YOUR ENTRY HAS A HARDWARE COMPONENT

Prize

The winning team will get:

• A sweet trophy
• Bragging rights
• One 1-year membership to The Hashtag. Your team will have to figure out who gets it, but if you all already have your own, then it’s yours to give away and bring someone new into the fold.