Vancouver sits on the West coast of Canada, in the province of British Columbia. It's about four hours north of Seattle, Washington. Vancouver is known for its spectacular juxtaposition of ocean and mountains, but the city has also broken ground indoors, as the birthplace of cyberspace. Science fiction writer William Gibson, a Vancouver local, was inspired to coin the term "cyberspace" after watching teenagers absorbed by their video games in an arcade on Granville Street. Living up to this legacy, Vancouver has spawned many other Net-era innovations, including Geekrave, a networking event that builds social capital within the technology community. Alexandra is a former member of the board of another leading technology organization, the Vancouver Community Network. VCN is one of North America's leading freenets, and provides community Internet access and training.