I’m a member of the GenX generation (born 1961-1981). We’re a generation that doesn’t spend a lot of time talking about problems, asking for permission, or waiting for others to agree and unite about what to do. We’re a generation that understands there is a lot of onerous, detailed work to do and that other generations typically don’t care to do this work. So, we just do what needs to be done. Much of this work is astoundingly geeky, detailed and anything-but-sexy; it’s the kind of work that rarely garners awards or celebratory acknowledgement.
So, it’s been with a piqued curiosity and fascination that I’ve witnessed the regional geeks come together and gather in larger and more public environments for “doing good” together. The most explicit example of this coming together is Digital Capital Week, a large-scale project coming out of the creative minds of Peter Corbett, CEO of istrategylabs; Jen Consalvo of Shiny Heart Ventures; and Frank Gruber, of Tech Cocktail and Shiny Heart Ventures.
Events this week in include CityCampDC Day, Media 2.0 Day and Gov & Org 2.0 Day. If any of these events catch your eye and you’re able to participate, by all means, do! The events organized and coordinated by these regional tech superstars are designed to be open, collaborative and participatory. Notes from meetings, links to resources and conclusions and findings from sessions are, in many cases, posted online and tagged in a way that others can access the information. Video streaming often occurs during such events so that people unable to attend — whether they’re two or 2,000 miles away — can listen in and get a sense of the what’s going on. And don’t forget Twitter! Tweets, tweets, tweets galore come out of such geek-tech-creative events. If you want to watch the tweet stream, Digital Capital Week event’s Twitter hashtag is #dcweek.
While this event may not particularly interest you, the who, what and how might. Of the three organizers, two are late-wave GenXers, those born in the last several years of the generation. Early-wave and late-wave members of generations often have, respectively, more social overlap with next-elder and next-junior generations and their interests provide insights about coming trends, styles and cultural preferences.
So whether you dive headlong into Digital Capital Week, scan the twitter stream, gather a team for the digital scavenger hunt, or come to the Tech Cocktail party, I recommend taking note of the how this event is being organized and conducted. There is a wealth of creative, geeky, tech talent in the region. Many people have attended DC Metropolitan area unconferences, barcamps, meetups and more. The capacity, will and leadership of the region’s tech community is a powerful and force of doing-ness expressing itself with creative, technology-rich solutions for many hyper-local and systemic problems only the good-hearted geeks can solve.
Rock on!
