I went to Emerging Tech this week, which was a wonderful opportunity to interact with hacker culture and technologists in general. It was also an odd reminder of what it’s like to be one of a small handful of women in a space. Although my primary reason to be there was to meet interesting people, one lecture stood out. Clay Shirky explicitly addressed the hacker community and related why social issues were pertinent to them. It was the first moment i’ve been in a tech conference and wanted to hug a speaker.

But the bigger question is… why didn’t i know about Clay Shirky before? He appears to be a demi-god in the eyes of some. Hmmm..