MGD at MCON
MCON was…epic, immersive, friendly, and as their URL promised, fun. Collaborative potential bursting out of every corner of the Woods Boss Brewing Company and Carbon Cafe. If a conference in a brewery sounds odd, just take our word for it that it was a magical space that was perfect to brew up potential collaborations while drinking craft beer and/or cold brew.
Meta Gamma Delta, along with UberHaus and MolochDAO, held a happy hour called Drinks with DAOs, attended by about 200. Meta Gamma Delta members — a surprising number! — came to the front when we honored members of our community who supported the event — Giveth, Badger DAO, Upstate Interactive, Panvala League, and the party hosts. Specialty drinks included the popular Panvala Paloma, the Giveth Make a Splash, and the Meta Gamma Spritz. But the best part was of course the people and the conversations. The Rally Hotel was the perfect setting for the gathering (special thanks to Hunt Frye for working out all the details!
The conference itself had some great sessions. Kseniya Lifanova spoke with Austin Griffith about lowering barriers to entry, and participated in a panel of developers. Other MGD speakers included Sydney Lai, Chase Chapman, and Steff Browne. Videos from the conference are posted on YouTube.
There was a lot of discussion during and between sessions about creating more opportunity for women — we detected a growing enthusiasm in the community for this. We recruited some new members and there was interest from potential grant funders. Pussy Riot’s Nadya Tolokonnikova joined our Discord after she performed at one of the parties…so THAT happened.
And the parties! What happens in Denver stays in Denver, right? Let’s just say there were a lot of POAPs. (POAP = Proof of Attendance Protocol; these are fun!)
It might be wrong to say it was a “like-minded” group — there was such a diversity of thought amongst the people there — but every conversation seemed to be about making the world a better place, not settling for the old order, slaying Moloch, improving human coordination with technology tools, and how we could connect our work and collaborate with one another. To paraphrase a line from an old movie I love, Truffaut’s Jules and Jim, “Denver greeted them gently.”
This event was unlike any other conference. It had a unique flavor (a spicy chili flavor?) MetaCartel did a fantastic job of creating a beautiful event — kudos to them! Meta Gamma Delta will definitely be representing at next year’s MCON. We’ll bring our dancing shoes.
