This week Code.org officially launched with a great video by Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and more. The video covers how they personally got started programming, why it’s important, and where it can take you. Watch the whole inspirational video (click here if reading in email):
While I might have taken will.i.am out of the video and cut the minute that felt like recruiting for startups, I think it is extremely well done and an important message. One of the most powerful parts was hearing the first programming experiences of these big wigs. We put these entrepreneurs on a pedestal, but they all began with a curiosity and interest in making something of their own. Every journey starts with a simple first step, which we often lose sight of this considering how far they have come since then.
I hope Code.org is successful in their mission to spread the word about the current shortage of computer programming education. They are also attempting to create a database of all computer programming classes available. It’s slowly populating with data, but will be an excellent complement to our Bay Area Kids Programming Events Calendar.
I’ll leave you with a quote from the video about the immense power of a programmer:
To be able to actually come up with an idea and then see it in your hands and then be able to press a button and have it be in millions of peoples hands. I think we’re the first generation in the world that has had that kind of experience.
-Drew Houston, Founder of Dropbox