💖 I'm hosting an event

🚨 I’ll l be at ETHDenver at the end of this month from Feb 27- March 3

If you see me there, please say hello. I’d love to meet you!

I’m also hosting a small event with up to 30 people, and it’s filling up fast. Read more about it below in this issue and sign up if you wanna hang out!

Want to sponsor or speak at the event? Reach out and I’ll get you onboard.

I’m Hosting a (small) Event at ETHDenver

I didn’t get the chance to go to a single event last year.

This year, that changes.

Sometime around November, I sat down to think about all the events that the onchain (crypto/web3) space puts on. Some really stand out as marquee events year after year. Some…not so much.

Here’s the thing: nearly every major conference is characterized by side events. While a few, like Permissionless and Consensus, are mainstays for panels, we all love side events where we get to intentionally meet with community members.

One of my favorite side events from my years attending comic conventions was a morning walk and breakfast with a few of the writers and artists who were in town. Year after year, a bunch of women got together to walk as a group before the conference started. Simple, painless, harmless rituals that never failed to leave lasting memories.

Just in case you’re reading this and have yet to attend a crypto or web3 conference, most side events are essentially parties. Sure, some are well-scheduled out with breakout groups, speakers, and scavenger hunts. For the most part, they’re generally loud, messy, and overflowing with people, and personally, it’s kind of difficult to do any networking at these events.

As for me, I love hearing people talk about things they’re passionate about. I also simply love hanging out with people who just get it. They get the vibe, they get the tech, and they most certainly get the need for change. These conferences are full of people there to learn and to be inspired. At ETHDenver, they go to build.

ETHDenver is the largest web3 hackathon in the world. Last year alone, builders, developers, and idea guys traveled from all over the globe to meet in the Mile High City, with 48,000 people attending from over 115 countries.

I decided to firmly plant ETHDenver on my vision board because, for one, I’ve never been to Denver, and two, I wanted to attend a conference with diverse projects converging for the sole purpose of building. Whether it’s relationships, hacking new projects together for cash prizes, or learning, I wanted to be in the thick of it this year.

So Why Host a (small) Event?

Why bother hosting an event for 2.5 hours that only fits a maximum of 30 people when every other event is jam-packed?

1. ETHDenver has many options for technical builders, few for the non-technical marketing and community professionals attending

2. Small, intimate, cute, chill spaces offer the opportunity to really get to know someone and just breathe for a minute

3. Intentional meetups like this offer a spark for thought as we send builders out into their communities near the end of the conference

I came across a few articles this week detailing just how dire the togetherness depression has become. We’re well into pretty bad times when it comes to being in community with others, and it's not just America; it’s a worldwide problem.

In the Atlantic, Derek Thompson talks in detail about why Americans suddenly stopped hanging out. There’s no denying that young people are hurting, and poor people are experiencing inequality on the togetherness front just as bad. According to his research looking at data from the University of Michigan’s Monitoring the Future, from 1972-2022, the number of 12th-grade boys and girls who hang out more than two times a week has declined by about 30 percent.

On Feb 9, Jancee Dunn asks the question: Why Don’t We Hang Out Anymore, in a NY Times piece giving us a rubric for hanging out more often. She mentions a rise in people asking for a “couch friend,” and it’s true; I’ve seen an uptick in this ask myself. We’re calling out on social media for a friend to simply sit with or the ability to magically teleport to where our friends are, since we’re all so spread apart. I think we’ve all wished to be beamed up at some point in our lives, and maybe that’s in our future!

It’s our job as community professionals to zoom out and take a holistic approach to combat the extractive nature of the spaces we operate within. To help connect, care for, and love the people we bring together for rituals that give them meaning and purpose.

By bringing these professionals together, we can start on a path to explore what’s next for onchain communities. With that in mind, I’ve devised a few topics for us to explore:

• Finding Meaning Onchain: Seeking a Digital Identity

• ​Ephemeral Sensemaking: Niche of the Day

• ​Social Trends Driving Purposeful Engagement

• ​Governance + Community: Making Impactful Decisions

Since announcing, we’ve already secured a few really incredible community builders to offer their expertise on governance, DAOs, and seeking an identity (beyond PFPs) in the future of onchain community.

As we go out into the world to build brand communities, communities of practice and ritual, to bring loyalty and innovation to the people we serve, these conversations will lead to a greater understanding we all seek.

And maybe the next event I’ll plan more than two weeks ahead! In the meantime, look out for the green building on Saturday, March 2, in the Santa Fe district in Denver.

Of course, I’ll also issue a special edition Disco credential to each person attending!

Hunting and Gathering 🔗 

Watch This

• The Psychology of the Magician, by Eternalised

Read This (from the text)

• Why Americans Suddenly Stopped Hanging Out, The Atlantic

• Why Don’t We Hang Out Anymore?, NY Times

• Read Write Own, Chris Dixon - for the in-flight book (also available to Spotify Premium users in audiobook)

Bringing Scouting Onchain ☁️ 

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