Adrian Holovaty
| Adrian Holovaty | |
|---|---|
 Adrian Holovaty in 2009 (photo by Matt Biddulph) |
|
| Born | 1981 (age 31–32) Naperville, Illinois |
| Nationality | USA |
| Alma mater | Missouri School of Journalism (B.A., 2001) |
| Occupation | web developer, journalist, entrepreneur |
| Known for | Django Web framework |
Adrian Holovaty (born 1981) is an American Web developer, journalist and entrepreneur living in Chicago, Illinois. He is co-creator of the Django Web framework and an advocate of "journalism via computer programming."
Contents |
Life and career [edit]
Holovaty, a Ukrainian American, grew up in Naperville, Illinois. He graduated from the Missouri School of Journalism in 2001 and worked as a Web developer/journalist for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Lawrence Journal-World and The Washington Post before starting EveryBlock, a Web startup that provided "microlocal" news, in 2007.[1]
While working at the Lawrence Journal-World from 2002 to 2005, he and other Web developers (Simon Willison, Jacob Kaplan-Moss and Wilson Miner[2]) created Django, an open source web application framework for Python. He and Kaplan-Moss are the framework's Benevolent Dictators for Life, which means the two lead the frameworks development, resolve disputes and generally have the final say. Holovaty co-wrote The Django Book, whose first edition was published in 2007.
Holovaty is also a guitarist. In 1999, he recorded an album of his own guitar compositions,[3] and since 2007 he has posted videos of his acoustic guitar arrangements on YouTube, building an audience of more than 20,000 subscribers.[4]
Crime mapping innovations [edit]
In 2005, Holovaty launched chicagocrime.org, a Google Maps mashup of Chicago Police Department crime data.[5] The site won the 2005 Batten Award for Innovations in Journalism[6] and was named by The New York Times as one of 2005's best ideas.[7]
As one of the first Google Maps mashups, it helped influence Google to create its official Google Maps API.[8] Newspaper sites such as the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times have incorporated a map from EveryBlock, the successor to chicagocrime.org, into their Web sites.[9]
In 2007, Holovaty was awarded a $1.1 million Knight Foundation grant and left his job as editor of editorial innovations at washingtonpost.com to start EveryBlock, the successor to chicagocrime.org.[10] On August 17, 2009 EveryBlock was officially acquired by msnbc.com.[11] The terms of the deal were not disclosed.[12] On February 7, 2013 NBC News announced that it was shutting down EveryBlock.[13]
References [edit]
- ^ Goodbye hyperlocal, hello microlocal | Holovaty.com
- ^ Django committers
- ^ Music | Holovaty.com
- ^ YouTube - adrianholovaty's Channel
- ^ Announcing chicagocrime.org | Holovaty.com
- ^ Batten award
- ^ Do-It-Yourself Cartography
- ^ Official Google Blog: The world is your JavaScript-enabled oyster
- ^ Street Wise: http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/June-2009/Street-Wise/
- ^ Knight Foundation grant | Holovaty.com
- ^ Nieman Journalism Lab. "EveryBlock". Encyclo: an encyclopedia of the future of news. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
- ^ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32443365/ns/business-us_business/
- ^ "NBC News shuts down hyperlocal site EveryBlock". CNN. February 7, 2013. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
