Ben Franklin was a Hacker

Ben Franklin was born in Boston. Based upon his lifestyle, what he liked and what he accomplished, he would be called a hacker by today's standards. Check out the list and see what you think.

He came up with the ideas that later became some of the big ideas of the web:

Napster: He created a network of individuals that shared media (books) The Junto was interested in a wide range of ideas, from economics to solving social woes to politics to science. But they could not turn to books to increase their knowledge or settle disputes, as between them they owned few tomes. But they recognized that via the Junto's combined purchasing power, books could be made available to all members.

Linkedin: Active in the community, [Franklin] founded a discussion group called the Junta (1727). "The Junta was like a modern day networking group founded by Franklin to create ties with serious business connections.

He was a prankster.

He liked puzzles.

He was an entrepreneur. He retired at age 42

He was a publisher and most assuredly would have been a blogger.

He was an open source inventor. "In a philanthropic gesture, Franklin never patented any of his inventions, saying, "I never made, nor proposed to make, the least profit by any of them." It was a matter of principle with him that, as he had benefited from past inventions and discoveries, present and future generations should be able to benefit freely from his inventions." http://www.historynet.com/

He used social engineering: Using myriad persona's such as Timothy Wagstaff, Franklin would write letters to various publications with the intent to change or form public opinion.

He had erratic sleep habits staying up into the dawn, and napping 20 minutes at a time anytime he became tired.

He was a musician.