Let me tell you a story about a new friend and his quest to create an enlightened community….
My friend, like me, was inspired by a conference that we’ll call FRED.  Like me, he thought FRED was amazing:  a clearinghouse of innovation and enlightened ideals, free from the constrictions of zealotry and intra-disciplinary myopia.  He was so inspired that he started a FRED Meet-Up group.  He wanted to help form a community built around the intellectual and philanthropic topics promulgated by the FRED presenters.

One day, FRED’s organization contacted my friend.  FRED said my friend couldn’t use their logo without express permission, even if, as was the case here, it was used to directly promote the FRED conference.  My friend had to dissolve the FRED Meet-Up.
FRED later came back with a compromise we’ll call FREDy.  FREDy is an arm of the FRED conference, but it would be purely for enthusiasts.  Under the conditions of FREDy licensing, one can build FRED-style events, but they are not FRED events officially or legally.  It’s a win-win for FRED:  if the events are successful and high quality, they add luster to the FRED brand; if they are unsuccessful and poor quality, FRED can distance themselves from any ill repute.  Lastly, though a FREDy conference takes considerable time and effort, FREDy hosts are strictly forbidden from making money off the events.
My friend now has no community and a bad aftertaste from FRED’s branding policing.

We must not judge FRED too harshly.  Even though FRED embodies ideals many of us would like to incorporate into a community, it is ultimately a business, and businesses must protect the integrity of their brand.  It’s as if the local deli wanted to start calling itself 7-Eleven to attract business.  FRED never claimed to be in the community formation business—they are in the conference business, and they are doing well in that business as far as I know.  If they weren’t doing so well, they might not be able to deliver the top-notch free content my friend and I enjoy.
I started Lucid NYC inspired by FRED, but I wanted something more regular and accessible, such that a community could emerge.  I was hoping, in time, that Lucid would pay for itself.  But the commercial aspect—or perhaps my inability to navigate the commercial aspect—has been a thorn in my side.  There always seems a tradeoff between maintaining the mission and money (venue, drinks, time spent organizing, etc.).
The reason Lucid has been offline is because I’m trying figure out how to stay true to the mission while being economically sustainable (the current iteration is most distinctly not).
I’ll be coming back with something soon—whether it’s Lucid NYC or called something else.  Regardless, if you have any ideas if you have thoughts or ideas about the intersection of commerce and community—can it be done, should it be done, how it could/should be done—I’d love to hear from you.  I think we are in desperate need of enlightened ideals and community to support their realization.  How to create a community—one not pigeonholed by specific and limited ideologies, one not corrupted or beholden to outside enterprises, one that will last—I think, remains to be seen.
Until next time…
David