Where have all the wierdos gone? I have been troubled with the lack of community for a while. For some time Web3's DAO folks was a refuge, a gathering place. There were weirdos challenging all kind of assumptions about how society works: - what if we had a global jurisdiction for conflict resolution? - what if we could eliminate CEOs and presidents and give control to the people? - what if organisations could be fully open instead of closed and secretive? - Etc Sure most of it was naive and misguided but the sheer scale of the ambition was VERY exciting. That energy and community in 2016-2021 made me feel incredibly alive. Then scammers took away the spotlight and the whole thing is now becoming corporatised (so still full of scammers just more mindful of compliance). Before web3/DAO, I had found sandbox.is, where wierdos and misfits would gather. They would recognise fellow trailblazers and invite them to join, and together make each other feel less alone and more empowered to pursue the strange, non linear paths each took. You could feel that group would change something. Now it's been a few years that entrepreneurship got commodified, web3 became a more functional but also more pale version of itself (not sure if less dirty), and I'm not sure where my people have gone I still now a bunch of cool people, but it's all fragmented! Where to next? Where are the coals being brought together to keep the fire alive?
Do you think this may be an age-related phenomena? The internet has certainly produced several cohorts and cultures that are sharply defined. With Gen X finally taking on the mantles of power and Millenials in the throes of parenthood, these two critical leaders of internet culture are nore primed towards stability/conformity? And then there’s the effects of woke that quashed unsanctioned weirdness and “diversity” efforts that pushed conformity of thought… The weirdos might not be brave enough or simply can’t be bothered to be in more public or collaborative spaces… All idle speculation, but I think you do point to something worth noticing.
Yes, I also miss the energy of that era 🙁 Some of it reappeared in zuzalu but indeed some of the hopeful, creative energy is missing. I do believe Zuitzerland is building one of these places for weirdo energy …but I also miss the size and energy of that early audience. I think many of the people that gave energy in that era have left crypto completely and are disheartened by the scams and manipulation.
Look, some of them are here, but it’s true - I haven’t found any place, event or forum where the most forward-thinking weirdos hang out! Department of Decentralization https://dod.ngo/ The Collective Intelligence Project https://cip.org/whitepaper#introducing Dark Matter Labs Radical AI Founders Community by Radical Ventures https://radical.vc/masterclass/ai-founders-faqs/ Foresight Institute RadicalxChange https://www.radicalxchange.org/ Existential Hope https://www.existentialhope.com/existential-hope-worldbuilding
saying "web3" on LinkedIn makes me pretty weird 😊
I’m your huckleberry. It’s time we talked…
They haven't dissappeared, they've just all moved to Solana
Running clubs :)
Real weirdness hides in the ordinary—especially when you're in a rush. It takes time to see it, just like it takes time to find real friends. There's no fast food version of connection...
We are gathering in Czechia this August, and at many Gatherings next year... Bringing together those who recognise that we need hoth technological evolution and an evolution of culture to build a new world... https://the-gathering.earth/czechia
Future of work and venture building
1moRuben Coetzee man I hope this is an Ai posting and not you because it's very tone deaf.