The Last Shall Be First

In the end, The Last HOPE turned out to be only the beginning.

Contrary to the perception that this would be the actual last HOPE conference, the enthusiasm and spirit of the attendees, speakers, and staff made such a prospect all but impossible.  While many were fooled by all of the talk of the Hotel Pennsylvania's pending destruction along with various inadvertent symbols of death and hopelessness on our website, the intention was never to put an end to something that has proven to be such a rallying point for the community.  We simply meant to use the word "last" to denote "previous" or "most recent."  So, the conference that occurred this July was the last HOPE conference, as in the one that just happened.  The next one will appropriately be called The Next HOPE and will take place in the summer of 2010.

We realize that this might get really confusing in another two years when people use "Last" and "Next" without actually meaning "last" and "next."  But we still have some time to figure out how to fix that.  For now, let us be happy with what happened this year.

And what was that precisely?  The one word answer is magic.  We've almost come to expect it after one of our conferences.  Each time we do this, we wind up sharing something really special and unique.  Thousands of people gathering in the heart of Manhattan for three days of fun and learning and seeing for themselves what the hacker mentality is all about - that is about as cool as it gets.

This year was definitely the biggest of them all with well-attended talks and constant activity around the clock in the hacker area downstairs.  We also tried a lot of things for the first time: RFID badges, an imported and addictive German hacker drink, an onsite radio station, a "hacker space village," and an unprecedented four speaker tracks.  That, added to all of the existing activities (lockpicking, Segways, a huge network area, videos, merchants, etc.) that we had brought back from previous HOPEs, made it virtually impossible to be bored or to want to get any sleep.

We had a terrific keynote address from (((Steven Levy))), author of Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution (published back in 1984), who was able to put the development of the hacker culture into a perspective we could appreciate.  Adam Savage from MythBusters also added his sense of adventure and wonder to the proceedings as did returning favorites like (((Jello Biafra))), (((Kevin Mitnick))), and (((Steven Rambam))).  But this doesn't even begin to scratch the surface.  We had participants from all age groups, backgrounds, and parts of the world in attendance and up on stage.  If you were there, then you don't need us to tell you how incredible it was.  And if you weren't, don't feel too bad.  You still have the DVDs, audio files, and something really cool to look forward to in two years.

As with the magazine itself, we rely solely on individuals like you to make things happen.  It's not a commercial operation filled with sponsors or corporate grants.  We like it that way and we think it makes a lot of what we do possible in the first place.  That's one reason you won't see a huge publicity blitz complete with PR firms luring attendees to find out "what the hackers are up to."

We find the best results come from those of you who participate, telling others about your experiences and getting more cool people to show up.  To those in the commercial world, none of what HOPE accomplishes is even possible.  To get so many people to show up and volunteer their abilities to turn an empty space into a thriving community in the course of a few hours just isn't realistic.  Nor is having so much content for such a low admission price.  Nor, for that matter, is having a conference like this right in the middle of New York City.

You could listen to such people tell you for hours why this is an impossible project and, no doubt, why so many other idealistic endeavors simply don't make any sense and are a big waste of time to even think about.  Obviously, we're dealing with radically different perceptions of reality, something which should be kept in mind whenever you pursue any dream.  With determination and a vision, there's little that can't be accomplished.  If HOPE teaches us anything, it's to not listen to the naysayers and to do what we want to do even if it's been defined by the sensible as impossible.

Isn't that what hacking has always been?  Doing those things that you want to do, that the mainstream will never appreciate or try for themselves, just because you have a feeling it could work.  This applies both on an individual and a collective scale and it will continue to do so for as long as the determination to succeed exists.  Plans are already in the works for next year's outdoor conference in the Netherlands, most likely to be held in August.  It's called Hacking At Random or HAR.  Updates will be posted at har2009.org.

If you want to experience the fun and magic of a HOPE conference and meet people from all over the world, this is your best opportunity until The Next HOPE.

Once again, we want to thank everyone who made this summer a lot of fun and a real milestone in the hacker community.  We have all of the audio available for free download at www.thelasthope.org and you can buy the DVDs of any of the talks as well.  It's also never too early to start planning for The Next HOPE.  Our website is already online at www.thenexthope.org.  It's hard to imagine how that one will top this one.  Fortunately, the field of imagination is one area where our readers and attendees possess a great degree of skill.