Ethereal Forestβs first ππππππππ₯ππ π βππ£ππππ€ event was successful!Β
A quick reflection π§΅Β
March 10, 2024 First published on twitter here.
What We Did Right
Provided casual space of ~90 minutes to settle in before circling, set a framework for imaginative actualization (borrowing from Chaos Magick), a fire for atmosphere, provided only the loosest of prompts to stimulate diverse discourse.
We heard a concept for a public goods laundromat powered by web3 from @christypdxeth, which stimulated talk of how urban spaces can simultaneously make use of open source tools and follow the structural patterns of open source culture.Β
Antonio shared a vision of open hardware hacking that extends the values and cultural reach of web3, after which we all shared a collective vision of what a robust urban DIY/reuse/hardware hacker visual and tech culture might look like.Β
@bettercallzaal gave his theory of a music industry for the new economy; Langdon invited us to a gift economy experiment; Quinn & @exeuntdoteth both shared speculative fiction vignettes, the latter a vision of βa biomechanical democracy, the sky unblanketed.β The FOOM reading led to an extended discussion about distributed intelligence and the need for technological counternarratives against Silicon Valley, which led our friend Teva to ask how colonial logics might inform our thinking about technology in fundamental ways.Β
What We Could Improve
The temptation to free discussion was strong, and the circle suffered from a lack of deliberate facilitation as the night went on. [Tyranny of structurelessness.] Confident voices tended to hold the spotlight, while discussion far beyond the planned 5 mins meant some werenβt able to share, or shared after most had left.
@0xd2_eth started the night with some words of caution about hyperstitioning, & in retrospect it may have been valuable to take that to heart by embedding more structure to show respect for our labor of imagining.Β
Our crew is experienced in using hand signals in certain governance contexts, and this practice, along with some more clear expectations for the circle to self-manage facilitation would have helped (as noted thoughtfully by @xHodlon π).
Overall, though, we got a group together, broke some Overton windows and talked about shit, and for that success we are grateful! Also grateful to @MacksWolf for hosting. β€οΈ
Our plan is to hold another circle in 3-6 months. In the meantime, why not try your own, anon? π₯Β
