Greetings Friends of Seasteading,
This is an exciting time for the seasteading movement. As announced in last week’s newsletter, Patri Friedman is switching from Executive Director to Chairman of the Board in order to pursue a seasteading-related venture, and two seasteading researchers, Max Marty and Dario Mutabdzija, are preparing to launch Blueseed, a shipsteading venture.
My name is Michael Keenan, and after years of volunteering, I am honored to lead The Seasteading Institute as the new president, along with Senior Director Randy Hencken. I would like to introduce myself and tell you a little about what is coming up. You are also invited to speak with with me at our virtual town hall at 6 PM PT, Monday August 15, 2011.
Originally from New Zealand, my background is in software development and entrepreneurship in New Zealand, the UK and Taiwan. I’ve been involved with seasteading since before The Seasteading Institute was founded, and flew from Europe to attend the first conference in 2008. Both of my parents are economists and I have been deeply interested in improving governments from the time I first picked up economic texts from their shelves when I was a teenager.
While the staff have changed, the Institute is moving full steam ahead towards our mission. Our latest legal, business and engineering papers are undergoing final review and will be released soon. We are sharing excerpts of Patri Friedman’s upcoming seasteading book with agents and publishers. Our two engineering interns are making great progress on their breakwater and wave power generation projects, and another intern is starting this week to advance our legal research. The ambassadors program is active and expanding, with our network of volunteers spreading knowledge of seasteading across the world and the internet. (In fact, if you would like to officially represent The Seasteading Institute and promote seasteading, please visit our ambassadors web page.) Meanwhile, we’re beginning preparations for a 2012 seasteading conference and focusing on how we can maximize our impact by enlisting the support of academics, interns, and volunteers.
We stand confident that with continued support from the community we will inspire and prepare pioneers to set off from land and demonstrate to the world that floating cities with innovative governments are not only possible, but an important leap forward for humankind!
It’s a thrill to have so many opportunities to engage the world about seasteading right from the start. I’m presenting seasteading in a variety of talks and exhibitions, including the World Future Society Conference in Vancouver. In October, the Monterrey Institute in Guadalajara, Mexico, will sponsor a lecture, after which 150 students working in small teams will develop proposals for simulated seasteading communities over two days.
We at The Seasteading Institute are grateful for your contributions. With your support, we will fill the oceans with diverse, innovative societies, and unleash the incredible potential being constrained by the increasingly inadequate systems on land.
To a seasteading future!
Michael Keenan
P.S. For those of you in the San Francisco Bay Area, I hope to meet you in person at our seasteading gathering at Fiddler’s Green Irish Pub and Restaurant at 7pm on Wednesday August 17.
With over two million dollars in donations, where did the money go? There is no tell tale of how the money was used or invested. If this is a non profit institute, what do you with over two million dollars. I am new to the site and reading up on the information you are bringing forward. I will be commenting and looking for feedback, hopefully sooner than months apart, to questions I have. Seasteading looks very promising, though on one hand you talk future, but display old ideas. One piece of information that almost turned me away was the video interview with Mr.Patri on Seasteading, when he exclaimed he would not live on one until there were more than a thousand people on it? This says to me he is not passionate about his vision and does not want to take the risk of an entrepreneur. Would like to continue discussions as long as feedbacks are not months apart. You are looking for new talent and ideas?
Thank You
Sam7