Consensu Crypto and Web Conference - Sol.ladies Solana Hacker House

Consensus has been on a mission to bring more women into the space. From the several women I met who were also first-timers, I would say it's working.

I work in tech, so I figured attending wasn't completely foreign. I've even dabbled in crypto enough to recognize I don't know what I'm doing. When I asked a well-known financial management firm, they said they couldn't discuss it. They referred me to a link to learn more. I know crypto (like many things) has made some people some money. Like many financial instruments, there is potential for abuse. I don't know how they work or anything more than that. No matter what, I figured attending couldn't hurt me, personally or professionally.

A week or two before they sent out an email with the official (and unofficial parties). I'm excited. Especially since I didn't attend SXSW this year, only skating by on the free events I learned about. Tech parties are wonderful. Good food (sometimes), good drinks, and interesting people usually results in good times, more times than not.

While it's impossible to do everything at Consensus, I was drawn to the Creators Summit. It covered Web 3.0 and marketing, and influencers. Different industries use it to create stronger customer relationships. Think about a rewards system for your top fans (who may or may not be your customers) and customers. So here's how it went:

Sunday (3 days before the kickoff event) - I got approved for the Sol.ladies Hacker House. It says there are talks, an NFTs gallery (digital art), coworking, and food all day long. It's at the Fair Market in downtown Austin. I go, and they scan my QR code ticket. (Consensus loves QR codes.)

I'm greeted by house music. I'll listen to House, but not so much that I know the flavors. I'm immediately told I can get free USDC (US dollars in crypto-speak) to buy Creature Coffee or merch if I scan a QR code and get a wallet. I head over to the F&B (short for food and beverage, because why spell everything out if you can use an acronym - iykyk) station, just past check-in. Smells of grilled Pimento cheese sandwiches and BLTs permeate the air. The macaroni salad and grilled vegetables complement the main dish. Yum. I never knew Pimento cheese sandwiches existed. They were good. They were so good. 

For a moment, I thought about my weight. Eating that would be bad, very bad. Then I thought about my terrible experiences with online dating from the beginning of the year and threw all self-judgment to the wind. I'll be a single cat lady. So far, it's been far better than the alternative. Every time I meet men online, my single life looks better than ever.

After eating, I went to the merch booth to see what the $3.00 USDC would buy if I downloaded another app. They call this app a wallet. It stores your crypto. I can buy a Hacker House black bucket hat for $5.00. I'm in. At this point, I don't know that USDC is US Dollars (also called fiat currency). But all their other merch is free. They have a ladies' cut shirt, but they only have small and medium sizes left. I missed the first three days because I attended the Moontower comedy festival, so I wasn't surprised the swag was a little cleaned out. I love that they have ladies cut shirts. I've been in tech for a long time. I've gotten less than a handful of ladies' cut shirts out of hundreds. Those ladies cut shirts have gotten a lot of wear.

I pick out a sol.ladies bandana, and they give me some Circles socks. I'm coming back for that bucket hat once I figure out how to download the app. Then I walk over to the NFT gallery. It's so beautiful and bright in another-wise darkened room.

About half of the room are men. I visit the restroom before settling in. There's a bunch of care items, hairspray, lotion, q-tips, etc. when a trans person walks in.

She looks like a man. I was a little stunned by it. In the old days, I would have kindly told her she was in the wrong bathroom. Today I had to examine my own biases. For a moment, I feared her, not because of who she was. I feared she was a hetero-male. I've known gay, trans, drag, etc., and they are some of the nicest people I've ever met. One in 5 women is raped, by guess who? Not the LGBTQ community, but by heterosexual men. I learned something about myself that I didn't like. Now I know better, I can do better. I guess I can also understand the issue a little bit more holistically as well. 

I head out to find a seat, put my Kate Spade tote down, and crack open my laptop. The snacks, water, and hum of house music have me ripping through my emails. I'm so fast and bopping to the beat. I wonder if this is what heaven is like. Probably not, because I'm sifting through 80% junk mail. Yet the ambiance feels so alternative, industrial. Like if everyone finishes their work, they will pull the tables aside and be rewarded with a rave.

A guy who used to work for Intel stopped me to ask if I work for Intel. I'm wearing a ladies cut Intel golf jacket I won at their new processor release party for my employer. No, I don't. He says he now works in cybersecurity. I'm not surprised. It's big business. Many of the men I met at the conference do. As one man told me, "I'm a white-hat hacker who conducts security audits for companies." Yeah, I'm completely out of my element. I feel like I'm in a Matrix movie, but I could make it home.

The talks start with female leaders and artists in NFTs discussing how they got into the industry and its challenges (see article header for pic). Because it's so new, everyone seems to share their origin story. There was, at one time, quite a bit of money made in cyber art.

Like many industries, it's been hit by lower spending. I made an ugly jpeg of my now late chihuahua once and joked I was on my way to making an NFT. Seeing the beautiful art before my eyes, I now know my cringy beginner art didn't stand a chance. 

Sometimes I say things that people find funny. Then, later on, like sitting in the Hacker House, I feel like kind of a jerk because NFTs are beautiful creations. After the talks, it's getting late, and it doesn't appear they are serving dinner, so I leave around 7ish.

I download the wallet and am given the USDC and 50 in no-name crypto with a cute logo. All 50 Samoyed coins are worth $0.20 cents in total. I have no idea what I'm doing.

They grab an Aussie dev to demonstrate it to me. He talks to me in simple terms. I get my bucket hat by scanning a QR code. So many QR codes. He asks if I'll be back tomorrow. Probably not. I work in sales, so I can't do open coworking. You know, top-secret deal stuff, so we maintain our competitive advantage. Otherwise, I would go in a heartbeat. Plus, I'm sure customers would be curious about the house music playing in the background.  

I know I would be intrigued. Leadership, probably not so much. I will write a series of these articles covering what it's like and why I plan to go back.