RubySA: 3-2-offblast!

Good ideas are a good idea

It was pure happenstance that I met Angus Miller. I was not even going to check my email that evening, but the SABCs program lineup compelled me. Angus was looking for some help on a rails development project, and I had some free time on my hands. That was Wednesday 16th February.

By Saturday that week we had met in person. Angus' pet dog-bear nearly ate me, but it seemed more Yogi and less, well not-Yogi*.

Very soon after first starting work together, we realised that there was significant opportunity for collaboration. Saturday's meeting was all about that. The meeting went very well, and the rest they say is history.

Backtrack a bit

In 2009 I came up with an idea for a rails-specific market management application. It would allow allow people to meet, delegate and manage collaboration on rails projects. The project saw a prototype under the working name of "Bright Market", but nothing ever came of it. I got busy with paying projects, it gathered dust. But the seeds were planted.

Sidetrack

Angus has been sitting on an idea for a ruby/rails job portal. Inspired by the success of a sites like jobs.rubynow and workingwithrails, Angus felt there was a need for a local, homegrown ruby and rails jobs portal. Angus even had the foresight to register a domain, in the hopes of one day getting around to creating this app.

Back to the future

We meet, we talk, RubySA is born! The production version will be switched on on Monday, March 7th.

Ruby and Rails in SA

I think that Ruby and Rails are fantastic tools. In the words of Albert Schweitzer: I fancy it.
And I'm not alone. The ruby and (by reasonable extension) rails communities are growing at a steady pace. This is not a fad, it's not a flavour of the month. It's a good tool, and people are realising it and using it.

With RubySA we hope to give the the local Ruby crows in South Africa, a place to call home. For now it's a job portal, cause ruby developers have got to eat, what it will be tomorrow, is up to the crowd.

* pedobear? Nothing happened swear! It was just a lick.