Technology, at least at its birth, offered the promise of predictability. Without humans to muddle things up, a machine could organize data in an orderly fashion.
But, really, technology -- more specifically, the Internet -- is not predictable, said David Weinberger during his keynote talk Monday, setting off Startup Week Chattanooga.
The Internet is a dimension, like time, filled with surprises that can't be anticipated. The only way to discover them is to live through them, said Weinberger, an author and a senior researcher at Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet & Society.
The Twitter hashtag, for example, was the creation of a user who casually suggested using the number sign to identify groups. Nobody could have predicted its creation, let alone what it has become; now the little "#" symbol is ubiquitous on newsfeeds, social media posts, you name it, he said.
Nor -- and this might cause consternation -- can anyone predict that the Internet will survive.
"Absolutely not," Weinberger said.
But that statement didn't dampen prospects for the crowd gathered at the Chattanooga Public Library. The point is: the future has expanding possibilities, he said.
That's how attendee Jamie Myers felt.
She was among about 150 intent listeners, some of whom are coming to Startup Week simply to get a sense for the startup world.
Myers, a retired social worker from the Memphis public school system, heard about Startup Week during a morning radio show and thought it could help her figure out what all is available online in terms of opportunities for creating children's books. The Chattanooga resident is planning to attend a class on Etsy that's offered Wednesday.
"I'm a good writer," Myers said. "I have some creative ideas."
More than 50 events round out the city's inaugural Startup Week. Some are pure fun (social mixers), some require preparation (come with an elevator pitch), some inform (this list is long: finding funding, handling human resource issues, tracing a supply chain), and some make you think (Weinberger's talk is among them).
On Monday, empty hammocks hung in circus-top colors outside of Miller Plaza. If the weather clears this week, event organizers hope attendees will relax in them between events. Basecamp is inside the plaza too, every day, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Attendees can get the event schedule, along with snacks, swag and an Internet connection, though it wasn't fully up and running until the late lunch hour.
"We hope for the Chattanooga startups to learn from one another and see how much they have in common ... and for other entrepreneurs and investors to see what a great community we have," said Meghan O'Dea of Lamp Post Group, one of Startup Week's sponsors.
Some events require registration, which is still open. To that end, it's not clear how many people are attending this week's events. But numbers don't matter most; many events are workshops geared toward smaller groups with specific business needs.
"We've been impressed with the turnout and enthusiasm," O'Dea said.
Contact staff writer Mitra Malek at mmalek@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6406.