Thoughts On Gnomedex 9.0
August 27th, 2009
Have you ever tried wrapping your mind around the internet?
No?
Well try wrapping your mind around the fact that the internet (as we know it) is a mere 15 years old. Just a scrappy little teenager. We haven’t even begun to do anything. This is just the beginning. And for me, the Internet is so awesome RIGHT THIS SECOND. If it keeps getting awesome-er, I think my brain will explode.
Last weekend I went to Gnomedex 9.0 Conference as a volunteer. The conference theme was Human Circuitry. I won’t even pretend that I understood everything that was discussed during the event – there was this whole thing on life extension that was way way way over my head. I’m just not that smart. And I won’t attempt to regurgitate what people have already said – you can read a good synopsis of the conference here or see the agenda here. And if you really want to know more, just go here.
As for the other part of the conference (networking), I was woefully inadequate in that department. I didn’t try to meet people. I’m shy and introverted. I sat in the back. I didn’t go to all of the parties. I am not good at that kind of stuff.
But despite being completely ineffectual at the whole conference/networking/getting to know people objective – I did learn several things that I’ve been thinking about it ever since:
- I am not serious. Most of the people that were there are serious about what they are doing. They are passionate. I’ve just realized that I am acting small potatoes. And as a result, my results are small potatoes. I need to go bigger.
- It’s not too late. Just because I missed the tech bubble or wasn’t in on blogging during it’s infancy, it doesn’t mean shit. There are plenty of opportunities. It’s not about timing, it’s about perseverance.
- At the end of the day, the internet is just another cross section of humanity. It’s a community. People trying to relate to other people. This is what kills me every time I think about it. Through the hardware and circuitry, it always reverts back to people interacting with other people. It’s so important. I dare say, the most important thing about the Internet.
I need to do better if I want to get there. I need to work harder.
If you read my blog, you know that I have been having a no good, horrible, terrible August. On the bus into work I was checking my email and I found the sweetest note from a South African reader who lives in London (Hi Emma!). It completely made my day, changed the trajectory of my attitude. Just knowing that people in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Australia, Canada, Japan, Turkey, Sweden, Indonesia, Korea and Germany (among other places) read my blog everyday is a constant source of comfort to me. Having those people send me notes of encouragement while I am feeling blue or taking the time to comment (sometimes everyday) “just because” is completely overwhelming (in a good way). This is “Human Circuitry” at it’s best.
There are something like 80 million blogs out there. Times that by the number of people who read those blogs and write nice little comments telling complete strangers that “things are going to be better” is downright inspirational.
So thank you dear readers.
This entry was posted on Thursday, August 27th, 2009 at 3:14 pm and is filed under Daily. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Jackie Hall Says:
Susan Says:
