January 28, 2012 11:00 AM. 37 attended.
Python Web Scraping 101 for Journalists
Roll up your sleeves: We're going to get hands-on this month with a coding workshop!
Jackie Kazil, a web developer and an organizer of DC PyLadies, and Serdar Tumgoren, a news app developer at The Washington Post, will introduce the fundamentals of Python using a simple web scraping example. This will be a basic session aimed at folks who have some familiarity with Python. It will move pretty quickly through fundamentals such as looping, variables and data types before moving to scraping.
The event will run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m and is sponsored by International Center for Journalists. We have limited seating, so please RSVP promptly. We have a waiting list and are looking into ways to include more people -- we'll follow-up if anything changes.
Please bring a laptop with Python installed. For more on that, check out the official Downloading Python page. Python Anywhere is a cloud-based solution that doesn't require local installation. If you need help installing Python locally, please comment below or message Greg and we will have a pre-workshop session at 10:30 a.m. to make sure everyone who needs assistance is ready to start.
Also, here are some resources to prepare/get up to speed, if needed:
Hope to see you there!
Update
- We're considering whether to divide this event into beginner and intermediate sessions at Sunlight, in addition to exploring a possible larger venue. Please stay tuned for a quick survey of your skills.
- Thanks to sponsorship for this event by International Center for Journalists, we'll be able to buy some pizza for lunch. ICFJ is a non-profit, professional organization that promotes quality journalism worldwide in the belief that independent, vigorous media are crucial in improving the human condition.
-
-
John Kabler
Just a comment based on my experience attending meetups like this in the DC area: There is a tendency for a a significant number of people who RSVP "Yes" to simply not show up and never change their RSVP. We remedied this in a group I was in by keeping track of who showed up and booting anyone who flaked out of the meetup group. I'm only mentioning this because there are 36 people on the waiting list, and I am absolutely positive that at least 5 or 6 people who have RSVP'd yes will not show.
Posted January 25 at 12:20 PM -
Greg Linch
Thanks, John. Yes, we'll be keeping track to see who does and doesn't show up, based on their RSVP. Also, now that we know there's so much interest in technical workshops like this, we plan to find larger venues right off the bat. Unfortunately, we weren't able to secure a bigger space for this one.
Posted January 25 at 9:02 PM -
Matt Hu-Stiles
I can't be there, so someone can have my spot. I changed my RSVP to no.
Posted January 26 at 8:14 AM -
Greg Linch
Thanks, Matt. Sorry you can't make it. Meetup automatically moves the next person on the waiting into your spot.
Posted January 26 at 8:30 AM -
Katya
You 3 were awesome!! Thank you Jackie, Serdar, and Jeremy for your incredible instruction and unlimited help today. Totally invaluable.
Posted January 29 at 2:19 AM -
-
-
John Kabler
Thanks for all your work in running the workshop. I'll be contacting you in the future regarding a hosting location in Crystal City that can seat 50.
Posted January 30 at 10:57 AM -
Greg Linch
Glad to do it, John. And thanks for the offer! Sounds like a good space for future workshops.
Posted January 30 at 12:32 PM
-
Greg LinchEvent HostHoneybadger, Co-OrganizerThanks to the instructors, host (Sunlight), volunteers and everyone who participated!
-
Ben ColmeryEvent HostI know I was a co-organizer, so I'm self-rating here, but I had a great time. Fun atmosphere, fun to talk to everyone, great that everyone was pretty into it, the more knowledgeable people were very helpful of those in need of help. Thanks, everyone!
-
-
-
-
Michelle MinkoffSolidified my own techniques with great input from presenters, was inspired to see others picking this stuff up, starting from a variety of levels. Nothing like getting into the code with great teachers and organizers -- thanks for making this happen! More, please.
-
Yong LeeHappy with the experience. Serdar, Jackie, and Jeremy were awesome, I'm impressed that so much was done in such a short time. Would love to see follow-ups (working with APIs, Django) and maybe even meetups with different experience levels. Impromptu/casu
al meetups -- eg, at a coffee shop -- would be fun, too!
-
-
Chad BouchardUtterly fantastic. The hands-on style worked surprisingly well. For this kind of material, a lecture or discussion would have been crap. Still, it was an incredibly ambitious session. A room full of people using different versions of the software on different operating systems...like, wha? There were lots of bumps in the road, but noobs like myself were swept along by raw enthusiasm and the team of smartypants troubleshooters. What a great vibe there was in that room!
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
A former member
People in thisMeetup are also in:
-
-
-
1,277 People Interested in the ONA
Next Meetup:
Tuesday, May 29 -
165 Tech Designers
-
-
Hi, if you guys need a volunteer to help out -- I'm decent at python and could help out folks who are learning.