Here is an article in the January 17 edition of the online Silicon Valley Business Journal:
http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2014/01/17/furcon-silicon-valleys-last-best.html
It discusses the Further Confusion 2014 convention, and its financial and cultural impact on the Silicon Valley area.
Greg Baumann
Editor in Chief- Silicon Valley Business Journal
Furries mean a lot of things to Silicon Valley. Their annual gathering in San Jose will fill thousands of hotel rooms and they’ll spend more than $3 million eating, drinking and shopping.
But the impact of furries, those folks who dress up in fuzzy animal costumes for fun, goes waaay beyond economics. Furries represent Silicon Valley’s last, best hope at getting weird.
I use the word advisedly. In the sense that Silicon Valley should be most eager to embrace.
A flood of 4,000 people dressed in animal costumes injects a desperately needed spore of creativity into Silicon Valley’s monoculture. A psychological realignment is forced on office workers when they have to cede the sidewalk to a group of pedestrians comprised of a marmot, a fox and a faerie wearing green tights.
Steve Jobs said his acid trips expanded his consciousness. Furcon does the same for Silicon Valley.
Furcon, this year titled "Further Confusion vs. The World: 2014" runs through Jan. 20 at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose.