Hacking in the South
An open conversation with friends
We live online. Most of our lives take place online. Either we born online or we evolved into an online daily life. We are used to talking in UTC, use the * to bold a sentence or use emojis to translate our thoughts easily.
What happens then when we say “Let’s meet in…” Well, it’s a whole new window of expectations. It’s a different screen where we will share for a limited time with the ones behind the avatars. The excitement is aggravated if you have never met physically with your online friend, with a member of your own team or with someone you really admire.
Now, imagine a guy participating for the first time in a hackathon.
Does it resonate with you? Keep reading; these lines are for you.
I’m not a coder myself. I’m obviously female and we don’t even share the same generation. From my diversity, as I always say, my job is “To Translate,” I spend my days translating to others what Developers are building, connecting dots of collaboration, getting the message out and of course, learning and experimenting about the best ways of Governance.
If I were to translate the meaning of “Let’s meet in…” I would find myself limited to my own words. We have built an amazing community which I couldn’t be prouder to be part of. Therefore, I’ve brought some friends who can help me express the message in a broader spectrum before you meet them one-on-one hacking in the South at ETHBuenosAires.
Are you ready to be part of this conversation? Let’s get started.
Hey guys! We are all excited about ETHBuenosAires. Let’s chat about what it means for you from your experience.
@maria
Luis, I wrote about Aragon about a year ago. By then, I remember I tagged you as one of the “not-so-new kids on the blockchain” Let’s go before Aragon, your early days. What was your first hackathon? Can you tell us about your experience?
@luis
My first hackathon… I think it was in Madrid, although I don’t clearly remember. I think I was like 12 or 13. I remember that more than coding I was probably hacking, in the sense of introducing hacks everywhere! Looking back I think it’s a miracle that stuff worked.
@maria
Now, let’s imagine a hackathon in Buenos Aires. What do you see? Give me the first thing you see in a word or a couple of words.
@rhys The Voltaire House!
@maria
Oh, that was fast Rhys! Now, you are a reference for all of us building communities. As an organizer of ETHDenver and so many other initiatives, how would you apply the #ETHCommons to ETHBuenosAires?
@rhys
ETHBuenosAires embodies the #ETHCommons mindset it’s focused on cross-project collaboration, not competition. :)
@lane
Luis, Aragon is building the future of the organization and the future of human cooperation. What lessons can Aragon take from Argentina and from Latin America in this endeavor, and what can it teach the local community about topics like governance?
@luis
I think Argentinians and many people in Latin America know very well the risks that centralization of power entails. Decentralized governance is a topic that people are much more likely to understand if they lived through corrupt governments and hyperinflation. That’s why I see an amazing opportunity for people here to organize grassroots movements and create local change.
@maria
Lane, you’ve asked Luis about Latin America. You’ve got a point there. Go ahead!
@lane
Rhys, Latin America generally speaking has been a bit underrepresented in the Ethereum community to date. There is enormous potential to grow the community in the region. As a community builder and someone who thinks a great deal about values and culture, what steps can we take to help this process?
@rhys
Hmmmm. This is a good question. I think it depends on which perspective you’re coming from. From the perspective of Latin Americans themselves, they can do all of the “classic” local community building work to build personal connections: meetups, events, co-working spaces, etc. (This applies to any local community btw, not just in Latin America. Also, they’re doing most of this already as far as I can tell :) From the perspective of the global Ethereum community, I think it comes down to intentionality. We should constantly ask ourselves: what events am I going to and why? e.g. Should I go to Buenos Aires or yet another event in NYC? If decentralization is a primary goal, we need to globally decentralize our time and attention.
@maria
Lane, you are an Ethereum core developer, but you also founded Crypto NYC. What “seed” of curiosity do you think you can bring from the East Coast and plant it in South America? What would you like to see built “from the South up”?
@lane
From the very beginning Ethereum was intended to be a global community. “Global” does not mean “wealthy North American, European, and East Asian,” global means global. At Crypto NYC, we meet many “crypto curious” types and hold their hands and lead them down the rabbit hole. I hope that ETHBuenosAires can have a similar role within the Buenos Aires and broader Latin American ecosystem: that we can share the excitement and energy and incredible ideas that are coming out of NYC and the rest of the global Ethereum community, and that that energy inspires a generation of new Ethereans to take the plunge and come down the rabbit hole. Argentina was a very early leader in the blockchain space so I’m also excited to learn from the local community about the values that made that happen.
@maria
Let’s say each of us have to bring a present for the teams. That gift comes in the form of a piece of knowledge. What would you put into that box?
Rhys: The idea that no one knows what they’re doing — we’re all continuously iterating towards a meaningful, joyful, and clear life. Enjoy the process: understand yourself, embrace your texture, then find alignment with the world. Repeat.
Lane: The idea that balance is important. On the one hand, we have before us a set of tools and an opportunity to truly take humanity to a new level. On the other hand, we cannot ignore thousands of years of research and ideas and experimentation in fields such as governance, law, and finance. Let’s be humble and move forward with open minds and open hearts.
Luis: Focus is super important. There is so much stuff to be made in this early space, but if we want to get anything done, we need individuals and teams who focus on these pieces that will create greater impact. But we need to collaborate between teams and reuse common standards.
Maria: The practice of humility. Acknowledging that you are not always right and learn from others is the key to collaboration. And collaboration is the path to create great things. Enjoy creating and be humble, a beautiful combination.
Let’s keep the conversation going
If you’ve read this far, you may consider yourself part of this conversation. Let’s keep it going by moving it to Buenos Aires. May 25 to 27 is your opportunity to support and build the decentralized future we all are working on.
Are you up for hacking in the South? Let’s meet in Buenos Aires ! 🙌
Thanks Luis Cuende , Lane Rettig and Rhys Lindmark for a great chat! 🙏 Thanks Martin for your energy organizing EthBuenosAires. 💚
