A Silicon Valley insider and prolific author for Fast Company, The Atlantic, and Tech Crunch, amongst other outlets, Greg Ferenstein stands out in the tech community for his intuitive understanding of the manner in which technology is impacting education, media, entrepreneurship, and — most importantly — politics.

With exclusive access to CEOs like Zappos’ Tony Hsieh and Reed Hastings of Netflix, along with a keen ability to connect trends in data and technology to the shifts we are seeing in politics and policy, Ferenstein has made a name for himself in the tech community and beyond.

A syndicated writer, educator, and investigator, Ferenstein also has his own widely read blog, the Ferenstein Wire. There, he shares his take on technology’s influence on the world around us. Ferenstein recently published an e-book, The Age of Optimists: How Silicon Valley will Transform Political Power, in which he uses data visualizations to describe what he sees as Silicon Valley’s political endgame -- a path toward overhauling the Democratic Party and orienting our lives toward innovation.

Please join Smith Soc_Boston for a salon dinner with Greg, as he discusses The Age of Optimists, the politics of Silicon Valley, and the state of the tech industry in general.