Devanooga brings together local technologists of all skill levels

Devanooga is a brand new online resource for professionals and amateurs alike in and around the Chattanooga area who enjoy tinkering with technology. The non-profit organization started in January to help build and further the careers of “nerds” in town.

“We wanted to provide a place for technical people to gather and work on projects,” says co-founder Bobby Burden III. “We found it’s a great way to teach people different techniques in a relaxed atmosphere.”

The group is not only made up of developers but also software designers, tech recruiters, and even some amateur radio guys and girls.

“Teaching is what we’re about,” says Burden. “We call it the no judgment zone. You can ask any question, no matter how basic, and not worry about being embarrassed.”

Devanooga’s main resource is a Slack Team, where technologists from all around the region come together to share ideas, troubleshoot their projects, learn new things, or just hang out. Slack, for those unfamiliar, is a cloud-based software for teams to collaborate in real-time.

Devanooga developed their website as open source so anyone could contribute. Their blog is also very useful and is intended for all skill levels.

For example, in a recent blog post, Burton walks members through the development of a bot to translate Japanese on Mastodon, a free, open-source social network. The network had an influx of Japanese users so Burton developed the bot because he doesn’t know the language. Problem solved!

On the Slack site, the group can chat, connect with recruiters about current job openings, develop open source tools and also build bots.

“We also have fortnightly “hacknights”, where we get together and work on projects, learn together, or just socialize,” says Burden. “Hacknight is just the nomenclature we chose; we’re not actually hacking anything.”

These “hacknights” take place every other week in the new Workhorse shared space on the Southside. You can expect to see around 25 tinkerers of every stripe and background. But you don’t have to be a developer to join their community. They just want you to bring your curiosity and enthusiasm for technology.

“We have a few members that are just learning development, and we love helping new developers get into the community,” says Burden. “We’re also trying to help the new guys find jobs.”

Currently, Burden and his co-founders Alfonso Gómez-Arzola and William Roush are tutoring a welder who wants to get into developing.

“On Slack, we have a beginners’ channel, which is a great place to start for the novice,” says Burden. “We gave Javascript to our welder and are currently helping him work through it.”

Burden sees his group as community “organizers” and quickly added Kate Izell as a fellow senior member.

“We are brand new and are just trying to gain members who can contribute,” says Burden. “But we’re also functioning as a sort of think tank and encourage all knowledge levels to attend, especially the beginners. Come early and come often.”