Lunch 2.0 at eROI

I went to Lunch 2.0 held at eROI on Wednesday.

I didn't see all of eROI's new office space, but what I did see reminded me of HotWired - old building, warehouse-type space, wood floors, bright-colored couches. And the area they are in reminded me of the South of Market area in San Francisco, where HotWired was located. Though there are some parts of my HotWired experience I don't wish to re-live (e.g., the dismantling of the web site, the 3 failed IPO attempts...), I do miss the environment.

About 70 people met for lunch. Of the people I met (and the ones I already knew), it hit me that a surprisingly large number of them are working on ways to improve (or replace) our educational system. And that ties in with Rick Turoczy's recent call to action to make a difference in education. So I wonder if what I'm seeing is an indication of something big going on - and, if so, is it just in Portland, or is it more wide-spread?