(click here for Part 2 of this article)

Do you have an idea for a website or web app that will help raise social awareness, inspire social change, or otherwise make the world a better place? Maybe you have an idea for a facebook application that issues environmental action alerts, a social network that helps connect those who suffer from Parkinson's, or possibly even a Firefox add-on that helps nonprofits fundraise? Whatever your idea, if you're not a coder, you're going to need help!

Your best bet will be to find a volunteer web developer to collaborate with. Developers are often busy working on their own projects and may not be interested or have the time to commit to your idea. But if you can find a developer who sees the value of your idea and is willing to invest in it, then a great partnership can result.

Below are ten tips for finding that unique developer who shares your vision and is willing to help you take your idea to the next level.

Note: Most of these tips are from my experiences finding developers to collaborate with on RaytTheNet. Much kudos to Mary Joyce of ZapBoom.com for setting the stage.

1 - Create a Mock-Up

It will be much easier to communicate your vision to a potential developer once you have a basic mock-up of your website or web application. A mock-up is a digital drawing that illustrates what you think your website or application should look like. For the purpose of recruiting a developer, your initial mock-up should be super simple and stress functionality over beautiful gradients. You can create your basic mockup in something as simple as MS Paint or go into more detail with PhotoShop (or it's free open-source, alternative - GIMP.) If digital illustrations aren't your cup of tea, you should really consider calling up your graphic designer friend for help.

Creating a mockup of your idea will not only help developers better understand your vision, it will also make it easier to spread your idea through the web. Your mock-up can also be the basis for a slideshow or a prop for a short video wherein you explain your idea and quest for developers. You can upload these to SlideShare and YouTube respectively.

Check out TechSoup's guide to Web Site Planning: http://www.techsoup.org/learningcenter/webbuilding/page5061.cfm

If you're project involves a web application – check out 37 Signal's Getting Real and Designing Web Applications by Joshua Porter (pub. Date – 3/22/2008).

2 - Create a Blog

Creating a blog for your project will enable you to have place on the the web to point interested developers to so they can find out more information. Creating a blog can be a lot of fun and setting one up can be a lot faster and easier than creating a website. Free blogging platforms enable you to create and organize posts that have to do with specific aspects of your project. For example, you could create a post detailing your project's values, another post talking about the problem you're trying to solve, or another post explaining your business model (if you have one). You can also upload the mock-up you made as well as display your youtube video and/or slidehow. Make sure to stress in your banner or somewhere else that's prominent that you are looking for interested web developers – you don't want this to be just a blog post.

Blogging regularly about your ideas will also encourage you to develop your ideas further and refine your pitch. This is extremely important since you need to make sure your idea is compelling enough to get web developers to volunteer their limited time and resources.

Unlike a website, a blog also enables you to create a community around your idea. Ask for feedback and engage in discussions in the comments section – this will help you to continue to refine your model and build buzz around your idea and campaign for developer support.

For more info. on starting your first blog – check out WikiHow's How to Start a Blog.

3 – Create a Facebook Page

You can use a Facebook Page to create a profile on Facebook for your project and campaign to find developers. Within your project's Facebook Page, you can also upload your mockup, your youtube video, and provide links to your blog. Anyone can then add themselves as a "Fan." And the cool part is that once someone becomes a Fan of your project's Facebook Page, the Page is announced in all of his or her friends' News Feeds. This makes it possible for your campaign to find a developer to spread virally through Facebook's network as more and more people become Fans!

You want to create a Facebook Page for your campaign because you want to create an easy way for technologists who like your idea to spread the word to their developer friends. This way, if you email a developer who digs your project but can't commit for whatever reason – you can invite them to become a “fan” and thereby alert all of their developer friends. Who knows – you might end up getting a call from an interested developer who's a friend of a friend of a friend of the original developer you were in contact with. Creating a Facebook Page is free and can add a strong viral element to your developer outreach campaign. Get started here.

Also, see an example of GreenPeace's Facebook Page here -- http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenpeace-International/7297163299

Note: Consider beginning the name of your Facebook Page with something like “Looking For Developers For...[Name of Your Project Here].” This will peak curiosity and make it clear that you're looking for help.

4 - Print Business Cards

Business cards will add an air of professionalism to your campaign and will make it easier for developers you meet in person to remember your web domain and get in touch with you. I recommend http://www.overnightprints.com. We used this service for RaytTheNet and printed a screenshot of our proof-of-concept on the back. You could do the same with your mockup.

Note: your local printer should also be able to do this.

5 - Network at Tech Events

Now that you have a mock-up, a blog, a facebook page, and business cards - you're ready to go out into the world in search of that magic developer! Tech events are great resources for accessing a large number of local developers who might want to directly contribute or otherwise help out with your project

Here's a list of sites where you can find some great tech events and meetups in your area:

http://barcamp.org/

http://www.netsquared.org/share/meetup

http://web.meetup.com/

www.upcoming.org

http://eventful.com/events/categories/technology

http://startupweekend.com/

You can also google the keywords “technology/web 2.0”, “event/conference” + “your city”

You might get lucky and your quest for developers will end with your very first tech event. The truth, though, is that most developers are super busy with their own projects. You may have to go to a bunch of events and even then – it may take other innovative outreach methods to find an interested developer. The good news is that tech events are great places to get feedback on your idea. For example, you might ask a developer what coding language your site/application would best be written in. If the answer is Drupal – check to see if there's a Drupal group in your area.

Make sure to ask friendly developers who can't commit to your project if they know a developer or two who might be interested. This is crucial since any given developer likely knows a lot of other developers that, chances are, you will never meet.

New to networking? – Check out this great article: How to Network for Introverts.

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Check out Part 2 of this article for tips 5-10!