So, tonight is the last night to get your application in. Tomorrow, applications close to become a Knight-Mozilla Fellow in 2014. Maybe you still don’t know why you would apply. Why you should join us on a ride of a lifetime. Why you shouldn’t be afraid of what happens after.

The 2013 Knight-Mozilla Fellows at the MIT Media Lab. Photo by Laurian Gridinoc

I spent a few days at OHM recently, sleeping in a tent, woken by the sun at an absurd time after listening to the heavy beats of breakcore late into the night. Fibre was laid into the ground, and Data Toilets had been set up as access points to provide internet out to the distant trees. People hacked on hardware, software, locks, rings, beer and ham and cheese toasties.

In that green field I hacked too, and when OHM was over I went home to Berlin to hack. The fellowship has allowed me the privilege of meeting those who are in the news technology community from all over the world, to observe, hack and make journalism as a part of this ever growing community, regardless of which field they are sitting in.

My fellowship feels a bit like an extended OHM, a summer camp, surrounded by a tight-knit community in a world that sometimes seems like magic. I think you should apply and join the community. It is not too late.

If you are a coder, seething with passion and an ability to make and create. If you want a year freely exploring a newsroom and hacking on journalism. If you want to join a community of passionate people at the intersection of technology and journalism. This is the place for you.

* Nearly a year. A bit like summer camp.