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Micah May 6th

Just Like A Yoga Mat.

Tonight, I had the pleasure of participating on the Titans of Tech panel during the ElephantJournal.com‘s Walk The Talk Show.

Here is the scene: Brad, Jeffrey and me sitting at a table with Hosea (winner of the Top Chef competition and Head Chef at Jax…whew thats a long name drop!) surrounded by 400 people who participate in the yoga lifestyle (Still not sure 100% what that is).

After a performance and a great interview of Hosea, Brad, Jeffrey and I were joined by Gwen on stage for an interview by Waylon. (I have decided to stop using last names. They are so January 2009).

Here is how it went (at least how my muddled brain remembers it):

Waylon: “Hey Micah, do you do anything good for the world? Does technology?”

Micah: “OMG WTF LOL!”

Waylon: “Hey Micah, in yoga language, what makes technology important?”

Micah: “Namaste. Yoga butt.”

Waylon: “Hey Micah, are you going to let other people talk?”

Micah: “There are other people?”

Ok, I kid. In truth, we had a very interesting, albeit short discussion around technology and its effect on the world. Here are the highlights:

The tech community, is a community first. People seem to forget that. Because the majority of the tech community is made up of Nerds and Geeks, who by definition tended to be loners, are extremely accepting of anyone that is interested in being a part of the community. There is no committment to being part of the community, other than being accepting of people.

Boulder is a weird place that loves weird people. Weird people love weird places. Entrepreneurs tend to be weird, so Boulder tends to be a great fit.

Technology is just a tool. It is no different than a yoga mat (or so I assume). If you can see it as a tool to facilitate communication and information, then the tech community becomes what it is: just a community.

At the end of the short group conversation, what I thought most interesting is this: Who said this? One of the people on our panel, or John Friend, local yoga master?

People create false barriers that create “different” communities. At the end of the day, we are one community with sub-groups that have different interests. Imagine that, one world, one community, with different people adding value in different ways.

Yeah, we arent so different after all.

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  • "At the end of the day, I don't want to be part of building an amazing company..."

    Micah, just want to echo this from your post, swine flu or not. As a co-founder of a growing "tech" company (Room 214) in Boulder, I can honestly say this rings true. Just yesterday, I was reviewing my business partner's comment on a Mashable post. He was basically defending one who might be perceived as a local competitor.

    Taking the high road is one thing, but going out of your way as part of recognizing and growing the value of your community is something different.

    We expect, as you say, to win. But at the end of the day, our company is not our baby. It is a means to an end, an asset that serves us - not the other way around. People are the ultimate currency in this economy - and I think I can speak for a lot of us when saying we are blessed to be a part of it.
  • Last night was very confusing.
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