Introducing Tinderbox

Christian Nelson ·

Check out our new meetup Tinderbox.

We created Tinderbox because we wanted a forum about creating products using software (and sometimes custom hardware). Tinderbox is technology agnostic because we all use a variety of tech to build things. At Carbon Five, we’re building with Ruby, JavaScript (client and server) and Objective-C/iOS, but we dabble with other things and in some cases use them on real projects. We know great products are built with other tech too.

Tinderbox is also a place for designers and product folks to collaborate with developers. We believe that the best products are built by a balanced team, possessing all of the skills and talents necessary for success.

The goal is to tell the story of using tech to build products. The narrative is as interesting as the outcome, if not more so. We hope Tinderbox grows into a place where people talk about what they’re doing, why they’re doing it, and how they’re doing. All of Tinderbox events will have an eye towards these goals.

Upcoming Events

Hack Night at Carbon Five – November 28th

Our quad-weekly hack nights continue, now cross-promoted through Tinderbox and the SF Ruby meetup. The event is great for experienced and new developers. We’re going to continue to experiment with the format. If you want to give a mini talk or run a casual workshop, let us know.

Design & Thinking, a film screening with Q&A with the film’s producer – December 3rd

By now you’ve likely heard the term “Design Thinking” being bandied about in various ways throughout disparate disciplines; yet the term is still ambiguous. What exactly is “Design Thinking?”

The documentary Design & Thinking addresses this very question by courting the insight of designers, businessmen, professors, and social change-makers. Interviewees stem from Ideo, Standford’s d.school, AIGA, Mission Bicycle, and Metropolis Magazine to name just a few. Taken together, their criticism—both pro and con— of the burgeoning practice helps situate it theoretically and pragmatically. Is design thinking a novel and useful methodology applicable across diverse problem sets, or, rather, is it just a newly coined buzzword and an empty concept?

Official film trailer: http://designthinkingmovie.com.

Project and Technology Showcase – December 11th

Let’s check out some neat projects and hear the stories behind them.

Box2D Deathmatch – Alex Cruikshank, C5 resident mad-scientist.

Deathmatch is evolutionary simulation built using HTML5 technologies as an exercise in creative coding. Alex will be demonstrating the results of this application while discussing the motivations behind building it and some of the ideas and algorithms used to construct it. Tech: JavaScript, HTML5, Riak

Other projects to be announced. Contact me on Tinderbox if you have something you want to show off.

Hope to see you on Tinderbox and at the events!

Christian Nelson
Christian Nelson

Christian is a software developer, technical lead and agile coach. He's passionate about helping teams find creative ways to make work fun and productive. He's a partner at Carbon Five and serves as the Director of Engineering in the San Francisco office. When not slinging code or playing agile games, you can find him trekking in the Sierras and playing with his daughters.