Monday, September 30, 2013

Burning man and Silicon Valley

Sep 25, 2013, 5:14am PDT

It's not what Silicon Valley does to Burning Man, it's what Burning Man does to Silicon Valley


Wandering the Playa at night, our course determined by whatever shiny bright art projects catches our eye at any given moment. Of course art cars such as El Pulpo Mechanico shown here give everyone pause and light up the night sky - spewing fire and heat to much screaming and applause.
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Chad Rooney
Wandering the Playa at night, our course determined by whatever shiny bright art projects catches our eye at any given moment. Of course art cars such as El Pulpo Mechanico shown here give everyone pause and light up the night sky - spewing fire and heat to much screaming and applause.
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Chad Rooney, Contributor
Someone asked me why the tech sector gravitates to the Burning Man.
Is it that the anti-establishment, evolutionary, DIY spirit of the event just falls in line with the gamer/hacker/inventor ethic of the Silicon Valley workforce?
Sure. And as more gamer/hacker/inventors make their way to Black Rock City, Nevada, each year, they bring with them other Silicon Valley denizens. Folks of every stripe and profession.
Partly because of that, the Burning Man conversation now includes worries that many visitors are drawn to the event more by partying and business networking opportunities than the allure of the Burning Man organization’s guiding principles.
A lot has been made of whether the dotcom presence is a positive one at the event. There has been mounting concern about the detrimental effects of massive catered luxury group camps, also known as “turnkey” camps— many of which are created and paid for by Silicon Valley employees.
As a long-time burner, the frustration of camping next to a walled-off fortress of RVs is very real and really does remove one from the event. These turnkey camps are not always the most considerate neighbors.
Burning Man representatives explain that, “The community dialog has made it clear that there is a broad spectrum of turnkey camps ranging from potentially exemplary to completely unacceptable.”
While that response acknowledges all points of view, it doesn't help most of us really understand how to think about the effect Silicon Valley's culture and money have on Burning Man's culture and economics.
I think a fundamental Burning Man principle, radical inclusion, holds the key to understanding Silicon Valley’s effect on the event.
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