"May you live in interesting times."
To say we live in interesting times would be a gross understatement. We live in absolutely batshit crazy times. We feel this abnormality deep in our bones, even if we try to ignore that deep feeling of dis-ease or if we simply do not possess the skillset to process such a daily onslaught of insane occurrences that lie outside of our control. Our nervous system feels all of it and our body tries to process everything, with or without our cognizant acknowledgement.
I am in crypto for a multitude of reasons, none of which are connected to the casino that lives on the surface of our industry and masks the reality occurring underneath. I am, and have always been, fascinated with subcultures and drawn to outright rebellion against oppression; wherever I find it. When I accidentally wandered into professional community building in crypto, I never would have imagined I'd eventually land in the upper echelons of this bizarre industry with a front row seat to both the collapse of trad systems and the regeneration of sustainable infra stemming from our tech.
Our technology thrives on collaboration and those who build our technological foundations gather IRL across the globe throughout the year to dive deep into concepts, ideas, infra and the philosophical underpinnings of the alternative systems we devote our waking days to building. In communities around the world, builders are gathering in small third places to talk about their passions for our tech and their visions for its impact on our communities. Those who have the privilege and ability (and hopefully the ability to travel freely will begin to seep into the Frontier Markets soon) to travel long distances to attend global "conferences" gather at key points throughout the year to connect and collab.
ETHCC is one of the pinnacle events for our ecosystem. Those of us who have chosen to build within and for the Ethereum ecosystem travel to this annual gathering to do, well, all the things. The main event, running a booth, facilitating side events, attending an endless stream of panels and talks, catching up with dear colleagues you only see in an async world and connecting with the team or organization you've chosen to dedicated your working days to. All of these things and more occur at ETHCC and the other major events. It's a Burning Man meets tech trade show meets hackathon and every year there's both an evolution and a degeneration of sorts.
Such events are also a personal barometer on how one is evolving through their journey in crypto. My first devcon was in January of 2018 for the NEO blockchain in San Francisco. I was at a small startup and our founder was a key builder in the City of Zion community. I then evolved into the Ethereum system of events through ETHDenver and last year was my first year on the ETH "Circuit" as my role at my former place of employment required my presence. And I was floored at the evolution of it all. In Paris in 2023, I walked into my first IRL ETH Global hackathon and felt like I had come home in a way. I was brought into crypto in a highly technical setting at a hacker house. And here I was, surrounded by hackers giving workshops about some of the most cutting edge technical shit I'd ever heard. I didn't realize, until that moment, how much I missed the engineering side of crypto. This world is more binary, as opposed to the ephemeral DAO world I'd been floating through for a while, and building community to support the brilliant engineers imagining and manifesting tomorrow's technology felt deep and grounding to me. This right here is why I fought so hard to be in the position I was in.
I also realized at the 2023 ETHCC that my calling in this space was to create environments for devs to thrive building on our tech AND to place this tech in the hands of the devs who need it most. The communities throughout the Frontier Markets who are deploying our tech to solve real world problems in their communities now-- TODAY. Not 5 years from now, not decades from now-- but right now. They are hungry for solutions that help them create real income to support their families and communities. These builders use our tech for exactly what it was designed for-- to bypass traditional systems of exploitation and oppression and support every member of their community. I was now able to create change on a scale I could never imagine as a photojournalist.
Twelve months later and my whole world had shifted. My division was dissolved due to horrendous leadership. My former mission was, for the beginning of 2024, unclear, and I had no idea if I was able to continue the path I had chosen to walk at last year's event. And a month before this year's event, I joined a small and amazing team of technologists at Fuel building a tech stack designed for the long haul. I hopped on a plane at the last minute and rolled into ETHCC with zero expectations-- hoping to see my dear colleagues from the past and eager to meet my new colleagues of the present.
And again, what a difference 12 months makes. The new humans I'm working with are amazing, brilliant and kind. Unlike my previous place of employment, this org cares deeply about one another and the tech they are building and they do this while managing to genuinely like each other. No stress drinking or partying until 2am. No triggered nervous systems and spiraling temper tantrums. No cut throat leadership, narcissism or gas lighting. Just real, authentic humanity coming together to move a mission forward. Mid week, after a long day of networking, meeting new community and talks, I stopped at a park and sat on a bench for an hour to watch dogs play offleash while their owners sipped wine at sun down. Unlike last year, where I had zero time to breath or regroup, here I was in a park, contemplating the amazing day I had and just watching humanity unfold in front of me. And, much to my surprise, not once did my nervous system become dis-regulated over the course of a week. Not. One. Single. Time.
I also clearly saw the true value in these events, a point that surfaced a few months prior at ETHDenver. The real work at the these events for folks like myself who have worked there way through the ecosystem, happens in the shadows. We thrive in the shadows, having quiet meetings with one or two power players in alignment with our missions of impact and we discuss the logistics of how we'll make it rain-- together.
Whether it happens over a fire-pit at midnight with a handful of impact makers or in a cafe on a cobblestone street in the middle of the afternoon over wine and pizza-- it happens. Those conversations are how change happens. Beneath the surface of the panels, the talks, the parties and the circus events, people are gathering in the shadows to visualize all that's possible with their vast network of resources and bringing it all to life. When you're in an ecosystem this closely intertwined for this long, your accumulated resources are more on the human layer-- the network of change makers you know and trust-- and are able to connect in a manner that amplifies change.
Change happens in the shadows and these large events create the opportunities needed for changemakers to connect. It takes a village and ETHCC is no different.
DevRels guiding devs to hack a solution that changes lives or an industry forever.
Founders gliding through meeting marathons to secure the foundations that allow them to build life-altering infra.
Connectors bringing humans together at beautiful events to share conversations and translate the curious into the committed.
The strategists meeting to visualize what's possible in a decade and reverse engineer the pathway to manifestation.
Systems architects building new frameworks to replace toxic trad infra when the last gasps of capitalism are whispered.
Conferences like this take all levels of engagement to thrive. And thousands of avenues of distraction exist for the attendees. This year the sheer volume of side events was too much and definitely diluted the main event. And maybe that's the evolution of it all-- hyper-local Ethereum events year round and large IRL events for connection throughout the year. But for the leadership reading this and planning community programming for these events, I implore you to pair it down. I spoke with colleagues at large corporations that were running 15 side events for their org with a very small team and in a 6 day period. There is absolutely NO REASON to put your team through such chaos and upheaval. Work smarter-- not harder.
And we, as an ecosystem, don't need to sit through an entire day of talks, panels and happy hours about your technology. Small intimate settings where community can connect, share ideas, hack, laugh and imagine what's possible is the direction we should evolve towards. Creating community gathering spaces that have loose programming that are designed to promote building, creation and conversation should be our evolution. Let us begin to plan for the health and strength of our communities-- not focus on quantity and overwhelm.
We are living through interesting times-- whether we like it or not. We have placed ourselves at the intersection of humanity and technology and we are building technological solutions to real world problems. When we gather IRL, let's make our time together intimate, powerful and meaningful. Let's do less, but lean into the areas of true connection and collaboration that amplify our intentions and impact. Let's leave space for serendipity and impact to happen organically, through connection.
Let's truly emphasize the human layers of our technology and come together IRL to create and connect and then return to our hyper-local communities to build.
