I’ve been talking about the Fediverse, digital privacy, and sustainable computing for a while now — mostly in one-on-one conversations and the occasional blog post. A few people have suggested I should be doing it in front of a larger audience. I think they’re right.

I’m available to speak at community events, library programs, tech meetups, and similar gatherings. I’m not a polished keynote speaker with a production team — I’m someone who genuinely uses this stuff every day and can talk about it without making people feel like they need a computer science degree to follow along.

What I can talk about

A few topics I’m well-suited for:

• The Fediverse for regular people — what it is, why it matters, and how to get started without the jargon
• Getting off corporate social media — practical steps, honest tradeoffs, and what to actually expect
• Privacy basics that aren’t overwhelming — password managers, two-factor authentication, encrypted messaging, without the fear
• Self-hosting on a budget — running your own Mastodon, Matrix, or other services using something like YunoHost
• Linux and sustainable computing — why your “too old” laptop might have years of life left in it

I’m open to other angles in this space. If you’ve got something specific in mind, I’m happy to talk through whether it’s a good fit.

What to expect

I keep things practical and conversational. I don’t assume technical background — I started somewhere too. I do assume curiosity, which is usually the only thing that matters.

Format is flexible. I can do a short talk, a longer presentation with Q&A, a workshop-style session where people actually set things up during the event, or something else entirely. Group size doesn’t bother me.

I’m based in the Fredericksburg, VA area but I’m open to traveling for the right event, and I’m happy to do remote presentations as well.

Get in touch

If you’re organising an event and think this could be a good fit, reach out. Tell me a little about the event and the audience and we’ll go from there.