Ask HN: Any hackers in small markets working on any local projects?

5 points·404error··2 comments

I've been wanting to work on a side project for some time now, but would like to work on something that my local community can use. Have any hackers out there in smaller markets <= 100k had any success in launching a local product/project?

To make things more difficult I work for a newspaper. It seems like every time I run something by my department head it's a conflict of interest.

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I'd say its easier to impact the local community because you can get real offline feedback and compare it to your web analytics. Just focus on giving people value. Do something that is not available locally. Then promote the hell out of it in churches, clubs, schools, businesses, and depending on what it is, niche stores that cater to that specific market. Though it will require for you to hit the pavement. And most hakcers are allergic to that.

Thanks for the advice. I work for a newspaper which makes it difficult to avoid competing with my employer. That in turn makes it difficult to come up with any project ideas.

Rental, Classifieds, Real Estate, Retail, Events, and News projects are all considered conflicts of interest. If I was able to work on any of those project the next challenge would be to direct traffic my way instead of Craigslist.

I will have to do some brainstorming/ research this weekend.

Thanks again.

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