Punk Software Hack Night: Dismantle Network Effects #SFTechWeek

“I have to be on <platform> because that’s where everyone already is.”

That’s the power of network effects, and the fiction that big tech monopolies rely on. But challenging this doesn’t have to mean convincing everyone to move at once.

You don’t have to build the next social network. Just something one other person would choose to use with you.

Join us for a night of building small, personal alternatives to the platforms we feel stuck with. Start with one connection—a friend, a collaborator, your group chat, or someone you meet tonight. What could you make that brings something useful, personal, or unexpectedly delightful to both sides?

Some starting points:

• A private messaging app built around your group’s quirks.

• A stablecoin-based way to split rent or settle up with friends across borders.

• A friends-only collection of travel recommendations

• A better way to find your people during Tech Week—and stay connected afterward.

• A place to share what you’re making that optimizes for connection, not eyeballs.

Come brainstorm ideas from hearing how other people live and work, build and demo a prototype, and get inspired by seeing what others have made. Work solo or team up. Bring an idea, or find one here.

SCHEDULE:

Doors close at 6:45 (BUT we fixed the intercom this time so buzz and we'll let you up)

6pm - 6:30pm — meet people, brainstorm ideas, grab food.

6:30pm — kickoff. Some quick words.

6:30 - 9:00pm — quiet time, work solo or in groups.

9:00 - 9:30pm — demos. We'll open up first to projects built today, then to work built on top of preexisting projects. Submit your projects by pushing to github and adding the topic tag #punksoftware.

9:30pm - 10pm — Try out other folks' projects and ask them questions about how they built it!

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This is #9 in our punk software hack night series, a biweekly evening event bringing together creators of varied backgrounds to work on projects that dismantle entrenched power structures.

Punk software can loosely be defined as: "software they (big tech monopolists) would never build"; or "software which stands against lock-in, walled gardens, and other forms of user capture".

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Imbue is an AI company building software that belongs to you. We’re building toward an open agent ecosystem where you can understand, modify, and verify AI agents, so they only work in your interest. Learn about our work and what we stand for: www.imbue.com or https://x.com/imbue_ai .

This event is a part of #SFTechWeek—a week of events hosted by VCs and startups to bring together the tech ecosystem. Learn more at www.tech-week.com.