I’ve been in the New York Times newsroom at 5 pm on a Friday, when a reporter dropped in with brand new test score results from across the New York public school system – suddenly, it was like a machine springing to action. There were graphic designers loading SQL dumps of data, collaborating with developers and reporters, all working with the numbers to culminate and disseminate the information, and create factual reporting. It was truly amazing – even better than the afternoon I spent in the pits at a NASCAR race.

I bring this up not simply because of this fantastic article on nytimes.com about these Renegade Cybergeeks at the Times, but because I have seen what kind of great things happen when you put smart, motivated people together, towards great causes.

Last week, we got the chance to work with these developer/journalists (or perhaps journalist/developers) once again – and I couldn’t help but be simply thrilled to help, in a small way, by providing hands-on consulting and training to their Interactive and Computer Aided Reporting Teams.

We’re delighted to associate with these geeks.