A friend let me know about a party. He’ll be going and says it should be fun. “Interesting people.”  My friend is also “interesting,” so that term opens up a range of possibilities.  He is also notoriously late… up to, and regularly including, not showing up at all. 

I’m at the door. There are no windows to peer through, in order to steal some intel. No bass gently pulsing the walls to hint at house music inside. No rolling din of too-many revelers fighting to be heard over others fighting to be heard.  If I make the leap, the whole party will be visible to me, and viewing me, the moment the door opens.  There’s no way of knowing what I’m stepping into, and no way to make a stealthy or graceful exit if there’s a complete disaster on the other side.  I’ve stumbled into more than a couple disasters on this friend’s recommendations. Also more than a few magic nights I’ll never forget.  Curiosity needles the back of my neck and I sense my hand slowly reaching for the door…

That is a recurring dream I have.  I wonder if other introverts-disguised-as-extroverts have some version of that dream as well. Stepping blindly into the unknown is stressful, and I felt it acutely when I tip-toed into the world of web3 and the parade of acronyms that orbit it. I know more than anyone I know about blockchains, cryptocurrencies, and the like. But that feels like nothing more than the ticket to admission into this party.  I try to put myself in situations with people who know more than me as often as possible, but the initial plunge never gets more comfortable.  

I clearly decided to enter this Party with No Windows.  I found it more intimidating inside than even I had anticipated, but the promise of a new way to organize the world has kept me tethered.  This is a particularly attractive plant your (virtual) feet, given the suggestion that we may reshuffle the decks in a more democratic, communal way.

It is interesting to be here. I am trying to get my legs under me, and learn what feels like a completely new culture.  I find myself wondering if the culture is shapeless and forming before my eyes.  It’s so refreshing to hear clearly-brilliant-folks perceive many elements of this new type of community to be in gestative phases as well. 

There’s a common bromide outside of these spaces that “it’s too late.  The crypto ship has sailed.” Perhaps if you’re looking to make a mint on bitcoin by investing just nickels and pennies.  But, for what really counts, the community and culture that is forming around this new reality, I can’t believe we’re anywhere but the beginning.  And in just a few weeks now, I am overwhelmed  by the folks I’ve encountered and the community they’re intending to create.