[hackerspaces] hackerspace demographics

[Matt Joyce]

Sounds good to me man.  And yeah outreach beyond your own community is
hard.  Totally like discussing strategy there.

On Thu, Jan 17, 2013 at 7:05 AM, Edward L Platt <ed at elplatt.com> wrote:
> Matt, it sounds like we mostly agree on things.  Yes, core values are
> important.  Yes, outreach is important.  Cool.  There's just one point that
> I want to reiterate and clarify.
>
> Newcomers who perceive themselves as different are likely to self-select
> out, even if they *do* share your core values, and even if no one is trying
> to exclude them.  This has the effect of disproportionately pushing away
> valuable members who don't match a group's demographics or other superficial
> traits.
>
> This is why I've always been a fan of Nate B's universal greeting to anyone
> who comes in the door at i3: "Welcome to i3! What do you make?"  We greet
> newcomers with an enthusiastic welcome, as well as an enthusiastic,
> open-ended, and inclusive statement of our main core value.
>
> -Ed
> --
> Edward L. Platt
> http://elplatt.com
> http://civic.mit.edu/users/elplatt
> http://i3detroit.com
> @EdwardLPlatt
>
>
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