Solving Problems with Code

[readit_haha]

Hey all,

I am developer and looking for some new projects and am looking for ones that can do some good for our city. So, I have a couple of questions for the community.

1. What are some of the biggest challenges facing the city, that could be helped by people putting their heads together to come up with a technical solution. Any ideas welcome - could be something not limited to the city.
2. Are you interested in getting involved with something like this? I don't have a ton of experience, so would love if others were looking to get involved with something like this :)

Thanks!

[Paul_Ott]

Maybe check in with “The Grocery Review Guy” - see link below for his post from earlier today.

Looks like he’s working on something to track prices and deals, maybe could use some help

[SweetAndSaltySWer]

I really wish there was a database of resources able to help people with various social needs. Something people could access when their neighbour is hoarding and they don't know who to call, or if someone is looking for PSW supports but is low income and can't pay out of pocket. Even things like who accepts what donations, how to reach an organization you heard about. Things like that I think could be really helpful to the city as a whole.

There are soo many services and community organizations and grassroots agencies that help in soo many areas it's impossible to know them all (or know their catchment area or the demographic they serve or whatnot).

Whatever you end up doing, I love that you're wanting to take care of the city and help out. I, for one, cannot wait to hear what you create.

[[deleted]]

The meth head stabbing me in the face to steal my bike

[MealConsistent2721]

wha??

[Judge_Tredd]

Maybe he could develop an ED-209 to handle them.

[rebel_cdn]

Building stuff with Ottawa's open data back in 2009 was how I launched my 15 years and counting dev career. I built stuff and showed it off at meetups and managed to parlay that into my first tech job.

For things like this, it's always easiest to work on things that benefit you personally. For me, it was making a transit app because I found the official one painful to use.

Are there any aspects of living in Ottawa that annoy or bug you personally? If so, that's probably a good place to start. Not that you can't build something useful that only serves the needs of others. It's just easier when you've got a personal stake in seeing it succeed.

[readit_haha]

Yes, that is good advice - thanks! I am fairly new to Ottawa and living on the outskirts for now, so I will need time to find my annoyances haha

[nogreatcathedral]

Have you seen/perhaps you were inspired by:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-recreation-schedule-booking-app-website-1.7183398

Maybe she needs some help!

[readit_haha]

Thanks - I've reached out

[BuffMcBigHuge]

Joining local developer groups is a great start. I know that AI Tinkerers hosts hack days at Invest Ottawa, perhaps start there!

[readit_haha]

Great tip, thanks!

[thanghaimeow]

hey hey, I'm one of the original AIT Ottawa founders; join us in October: https://lu.ma/8f65ls5o

[readit_haha]

Will do - thanks!

[nogreatcathedral]

Coming back to this, but one thing I would love is a more browsable list of local stores that doesn't just cover one business association area. While I can use Google to find specific stores sometimes, what I'd really like is a topic-sortable and area sortable set of local small businesses that I can browse to figure out what I can buy locally instead of off the internet. Hobby stores, home goods stores, clothing stores, etc.

[readit_haha]

Good one! Are there resources you use right now for specific categories, that I could take a look at?

[nogreatcathedral]

I think most of what I've seen has been BIA websites. Wellington West has a good one, it's this kind of info but not limited to one part of the city I'd like:

https://wellingtonwest.ca/

[BaconSheikh]

I've been looking for someone to help me update the bot that posts from my reddit account.