Ask HN: Hacker News Person Of the Year

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6800515

by baby • 13 years ago

70 62 13 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

Who is the HN POY for you? Since the Times selection is pretty limited.

baby• 13 years ago

I'd personally go for Satoshi or/and Edward Snowden.

onion2k• 13 years ago

Edward Snowden.

david927• 13 years ago

Nice idea, but let's clarify, it should be someone in technology, as opposed to politics or entertainment.

I nominate Bret Victor.

pestaa• 13 years ago

Bret Victor has been fantastic inspiration for me. I believed no programming video can make my jaw drop any longer, but Bret pulled it off. Hugely recommended: http://vimeo.com/71278954

codeonfire• 13 years ago

Aesthetics can be fun and entertaining, but a video has to have some new and novel ideas before its called jaw dropping.

tobltobs• 13 years ago

Edward Snowden

rekenerd3• 13 years ago

I nominate Satoshi Nakamoto.

kul_• 13 years ago

Satoshi Nakamoto is not a real person.

icebraining• 13 years ago

Well, if this is modeled after the Times' POY, then it's perfectly fitting. Former winners include You, The Protester, The American soldier, The Middle Americans, The Computer, etc.

rekenerd3• 13 years ago

I know that. I mean to say 'Creator of Bitcoin'.

joeconway• 13 years ago

Bill Gates

samweinberg• 13 years ago

Satoshi couldn't be person of the year, he hasn't been heard from since '10! /s

gtt• 13 years ago

And there is a chance he is not person.

user24• 13 years ago

That didn't stop TIME magazine in 2011 ("The Protestor"), or 2006 ("You").

bernatfp• 13 years ago

DPR

D9u• 13 years ago

I second the nomination of The Dread Pirate Roberts.

wielebny• 13 years ago

Richard Stallman

devonbarrett• 13 years ago

Aaron Swartz

davidw• 13 years ago

Is this a HN person, or any person selected by HN? I think the former would be more interesting.

Udo2• 13 years ago

Elon Musk - SpaceX and Tesla have been on HN pretty consistently this year, and it's an inspiring option, too.

Snowden is not a bad choice, especially since he'll probably be snubbed by the Times in favor of the politically safe Miley Cyrus, but he's not really in tech. Satoshi Nakamoto should have been the HN POY last year (or next year once BTC goes really mainstream).

insickness• 13 years ago

How can you say Snowden is not "in tech"? He revealed the entire global internet to be something different than we thought it was. It is political but that doesn't mean it's not technology.

Udo2• 13 years ago

There's no question that the information he leaked concerns technology, but at the same time it's clear this is a throughly political problem. So that's how I can say that Snowden is not in tech, because he's not and the whole NSA storyline is only incidentally about tech. Believe me, I'm as pissed off about the whole affair as anyone, but this is a world stage event and I was thinking a HN POY could be, at least in principle, "one of our own", as poorly defined as that concept might be.

seivan• 13 years ago

Michael O Church.

extaxa• 13 years ago

Edward Snowden definitely, not for only personal acts but as an icon. This year has definitely been a year of surveillance scandals and we can all thank this man for taking the brave step and showing light on what governments really do. Small step for a man, giant leap for mankind, no less.

1angryhacker2• 13 years ago

Satoshi Nakamoto

let's drive BTC up to $10,000 before the crash!

Cthulhu_• 13 years ago

I'm guessing you have a few you'd like to cash in on? ;)

1angryhacker2• 13 years ago

Unfortunately not. I just enjoy watching technology eclipse another aspect of society.

mpclark• 13 years ago

I don't feel comfortable voting unless you make me log in with Facebook or Twitter...

netman21• 13 years ago

That was a great way for Time to ensure that not a single vote would be cast for Snowden.

phaus• 13 years ago

He was still winning the other day, so I'm not sure how that was a great way to keep people from voting for him.

wallzz• 13 years ago

NSA

TeMPOraL• 13 years ago

Edward Snowden / Bret Victor / Elon Musk.

miriadis• 13 years ago

Aaron Swartz

brudgers• 13 years ago

Reg Braithwaite

kushti• 13 years ago

Edward Snowden, undoubtly

mnml_• 13 years ago

Edward Snowden

cjfont• 13 years ago

Someone with sufficient karma should take the results here and re-post this as a poll.

RyanMcGreal2• 13 years ago

As requested: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6801294

sidcool• 13 years ago

Elon Musk, in my opinion. He is my modern day hero.

danso• 13 years ago

Lonnie Johnson http://www.ajc.com/news/business/super-soaker-creator-awarde...

wozniacki• 13 years ago

Elon Musk, by far.

wtpiu• 13 years ago

Bitcoin. easy.

subsrim3• 13 years ago

Narendra Modi.

rekenerd3• 13 years ago

We are suggesting 'Hacker News Person Of the Year', not 'Politician of the Year'. 'Narendra Modi' is nominated for 'TIME’s Person of the Year'. http://ti.me/1i3OkHT

subsrim3• 13 years ago

Narendra Modi

jaboutboul• 13 years ago

It's a toss up between Snowden and Elon Musk. While I do believe Elon Musk will change the world we live in tomorrow, Snowden has dramatically changed our perception of the world we live in today.

subsrim3• 13 years ago

http://www.narendramodi.in/category/testimonials/

leoplct• 13 years ago

Jack Dorsey

RyanMcGreal2• 13 years ago

The suggestions made here in an HN Poll:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6801294

pmcpinto• 13 years ago

Elon Musk

mkramlich• 13 years ago

1. Elon Musk

2. Satoshi Nakamoto

3. Edward Snowden

priyakanth024• 13 years ago

Edward Snowden.

Lot's of Elon Musk's though. Let's vote him as Person of the Century.

GuerraEarth• 13 years ago

POY: the nucleus group of Aaron Swartz, Edward Snowden, and someone we should not forget to thank, Assange. Where, pray tell, would we be without them?

daragao• 13 years ago

Aaron Swartz Edward Snowden

Bocker• 13 years ago

Elon Musk.

Pengu• 13 years ago

Snowden isn't real, a 'Facebook Ghost Profile' is.

embro• 13 years ago

Elon Musk for sure.

slimbling• 13 years ago

Edward Snowden

contextual• 13 years ago

The answers here expose the lack of gratitude and ethical backbone of certain HN readers. Snowden risked his life to expose the surveillance programs of the most powerful countries in the world. You could argue he did more for civil liberties than any other human being thats ever lived.

No one else even comes close in terms of taking personal risk for the benefit of the world.

Snowden FTW.

MrGando• 13 years ago

John Carmack, leaving Id and join Oculus was awesome.

Ask HN: Hacker News Person Of the Year

Related Stories