Tech-Minded Creatives Attempt to Make the World a Better Place
The Baltimore Node hackerspace first started in 2009, and back then, the few members it had worked together in a small room on North Avenue. They often had individual projects that they were working on and could be seen making progress with unwavering commitment and focus. These days, the Baltimore Node has four different locations, as well as a 2000 square foot loft with every type of tool they could need. The other thing that they have is a whole community of tech-minded creatives working together on individual projects to hopefully make the world a better place.
The idea for a tech-inspired space like this where like-minded creatives could work together came from Twitter, where a thread talked about creating a hackerspace – somewhere where tech-savvy people could come together and share their ideas, and work as one for the greater good. Adam Bachman and Mark Huson responded to the thread, met for a beer, and the rest is history.
Sharing Resources Together
These days, the Node has a $50 monthly subscription, which allows its members access for 24 hours to their state of the art, high tech tools. You also get to make the most of the workplace that they have created where entrepreneurship, creativity, and technology can come together to create something wonderful.
Todd Blatt wanted to join the crew after he realized that he needed access to a bandsaw, to complete his mission to replicate some of the set of Inception. Through using their resources, he quickly came to realize that the biggest asset the Node has was the community. He was able to learn so much more from other members of the community, and while the machines were helpful, he simply considered them a bonus.
Vice president of the group Phil Edwards says that the space is all about offering people an alternative to throwing products away after using them once. He also says that it appeals to people who want to fix things they’ve got, or even build things from scratch using technology that wasn’t around a few decades ago. He says that members are responsible for their own safety, and everyone is expected to keep the space nice and tidy, and well organized. He also explains that this hackerspace has some of the least red tape he’s seen, which is, of course, appealing to many.
Protecting One Another From External and Internal Threats
Creating a space for the community where they can learn more about the technologies of the modern era is invaluable, as we learn to integrate technology into everyday life more and more.
It’s also a great way to learn how to use technology safely, and in a way that can protect us from harm – especially when we are online. One example of this is insider threat detection software. This type of software makes it easy to protect your invaluable data from internal threats – factors that you may not have even considered before. Protect your community both virtually and in real life, and learn how to integrate new types of technology as a team.