The Speakeasy Café is the first in a series of Cafés that will provide a unique forum for communication and entertainment through the medium of the Internet. The idea of computers in a café is one possible answer to increasingly pressing questions: How to provide the general public access to the methods of communication and volumes of information now available on the Internet, at a cost they can afford and in such a way that they aren't socially, economically, or politically isolated. The goal is to provide a service that is not simply entertaining, but educational, enlightening, and most of all empowering.
The Speakeasy Café in Downtown Seattle is the first step in a network of cafés in the Puget Sound Region and around the world which will bring new definitions to our idea of community. Rather than simply embracing the technology, we will seek to utilize and define avenues by which every individual will benefit. Through completely new concepts and designs in user interface and open platforms we will enable anyone to navigate the Internet, what is soon to be the nexus for communication, information and commerce. The Speakeasy Café will bring us closer to “open-access” than any other medium to date.
As our world becomes more complex, crowded and antagonistic, it becomes increasingly necessary for people with diverse interests and backgrounds to gather, recognize our common humanity and communicate with one another. The Speakeasy Café, in concert with the Internet, is that place.