Author Description

Our collective cultural fabric has been unraveling for decades. The result? A staggering 75% of Americans aren't satisfied with their friendships. Nearly 1 in 4 Americans don't have someone to confide in. Civic engagement is at an all-time low. And the consequences are dire. Loneliness is as deadly as obesity and smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Isolation doesn't just lead to personal health issues—it creates a breeding ground for toxicity and harm. And technology continues to get better at removing us from reality—with ever-improving addictive social media algorithms, AI chatbot girlfriends, and Apple's fancy new VR googles on the horizon, the temptation to slip away from society altogether grows. But there's hope. We can counteract these effects through simple activities and gatherings that anyone can engage in, anywhere. Why we can make a difference Throughout my life, I've seen how good ideas can spread like wildfire and make a world-changing impact. Take Amit Gupta's casual Jelly coworking sessions, for example. He started them out of his midtown Manhattan apartment in 2006, and they quickly caught on. Friends and strangers alike found a solution to their need to get out of the house and work alongside interesting creative peers—and it was a hit. Not only did friendships and collaborations emerge from that project, the idea grew. When Amit open-sourced Jelly in the fall of 2007, new groups started sprouting up in dozens of cities all around the world. Many of these communities formed the initial cultural cores of their cities' first coworking spaces. I was fortunate to witness firsthand just how powerful this simple idea was when it was run well and when others were inspired and empowered to remix the idea and start their own versions. I've seen that happen with the greater coworking movement—which transformed the world's relationship with workspace—and programs like BarCamp, which have been held in hundreds of cities, and many others.<b