07-13, 18:00–18:50 (US/Eastern), Marillac Auditorium
We all need community. Yet community is currently facing major challenges. Humanity faces major challenges. If we are to survive and thrive, an important key is solving problems in community. On top of how much hard work community always requires from us, mix in the rise of authoritarianism, manipulation through "social" media, the polarization of society, bad actors, trolling, the skyrocketing cost of real estate, the ability of all people (including left-leaning people) to fight one another - and the result is a serious threat to the future of our communities. Yet, our future depends on our ability to continue. How can we create communities that are resilient to the challenges we face? Can existing communities be made more resilient? This talk will draw from Mitch's extensive experiences with hackerspaces, as well as his lifetime of community organizing, to attempt to explore and answer these and other pertinent questions for our future.
Mitch Altman is an international hacker, inventor, entrepreneur, author, mentor, best known for starting Noisebridge hackerspace and inventing TV-B-Gone, which turns off TVs in public places. He did pioneering work in virtual reality in the mid 1980s and was co-founder of 3ware, a successful SillyValley startup in the 1990s. He has visited hundreds of hackerspaces around the world. He mentors, teaches soldering, and promotes open hardware and community wherever he goes. mastodon
