Currently a developer's professional profile is made up two components:
- Github
LinkedIn shows your work history, and Github shows your craft. I believe there's something that is missing, which sits in between LinkedIn and Github. I'm hoping punchcard.io can bridge it.
It takes a high level of commitment to attend user groups consistently. Almost all the user groups meet after work hours so no one gets paid for attending, and yet, there are many people who attend regularly. Those regular attendees, from my experience, are generally really versatile developers. This level of effort should count for something.
At punchcard.io, you can build a track record of attendance for tech user groups. Every time you attend a meeting, you check in and punchcard.io builds a developer profile for you. This profile helps tell others about what happens between your day job and your side projects. The community and connections that help make a good developer wildly effective.
The goal is not to compete with meetup.com or whatever you decide to use to organize your group. The important thing to remember is that you don't have to move your group hosting in order to get benefits from it.
The product is in an MVP stage right now. It does just enough to work. If there is enough interest from the community, I will invest more into the project.
If you like the idea, you can help out. The system can only be good if there are users. Check-in to the meetings you attend. If the group you are attending is not part of the pilot, please have the organizer email me. If you find a bug or want to suggest a feature, you can do it here:
https://github.com/aaronfeng/punchcard-io-feature-requests/issues
The idea for punchcard.io came from organizing / attending various tech groups in Philadelphia for many years. I have gained valuable technical knowledge by attending tech user group meetings. At the same time, I have made many important professional connections that have helped shape my technical career to date.
Not sure how this gist became anonymous, but a slightly updated version is here:
https://gist.github.com/4453666