Every month, the NetSquared Community comes together offline at Net Tuesday events around the world to mix, swap stories and ideas, build new relationships, and collaborate to help the local community. Our local organizers are volunteers dedicated to helping create local opportunities for learning, sharing and using technology to make a difference.   In this Organizer Spotlight series we bring you interviews with organizers from around the world.

We're happy to introduce: Justin Massa!

Justin is a co-organizer of the Net Tuesday group in Chicago, IL.   You can check out his profile and ways to connect on the Net Tuesday Organizer Team page.   Are you in Chicago?   Connect to the Net Tuesday group here!

Tell us who you are in 140 characters or less:

I'm a civil / human rights advocate who's passionate about housing and technology.

 How do you spend your time when you're not organizing Net Tuesdays?

hmm - the bio hits all of the high points...

What inspired you to organize local Net Tuesday events in your community?

I had entered MoveSmart.org in the N2Y3 competition right after submissions were opened up and was looking to connect with potential allies / peers to improve our pitch and rustle up votes. After the first meetup I was hooked.

What's the hardest part of the job?

We've got a big group of co-coveners, and sometimes coordinating our activities can be a hastle. But honestly, there's not much that's dificult about this job : )

How do you measure the success of your events?

I look to the number of return attendees and the comments / feedback we receive from those attendees. There's a group of about 15-20 who seem to attend at least 75% of meetups and another 10 or so who show up occasionally, then at each meetup we've got another handful of random folks who we may never see again. The feedback we receive from our regulars is universally positive and constructive.

Tell us about the best Net Tuesday event.   What did you learn from that experience?

My favorite meetup had to be our speed-geeking focused session last fall. We had great attendance, everyone was super interested in the tools we presented on, and I left feeling that everyone (including myself) had both learned and shared something of value. An awesome night!

What is the local social-web-tech scene like in Chicago?

There's a large and growing set of folks in Chicago's social-web-tech scene and a growing number of forums / meetups where they convene. It's an interesting group, and fortunately Net Tuesday friend and all around awesome organization the Community Media Workshop has done a fantastic job of keeping us networked.

How do you envision Net Tuesday events evolving over time?

I'm not sure - it's quite an organic group and its direction is guided by the attendees and co-organizers. I do think that in the near future we'll tackle a bigger task, maybe a local challenge or another soup-up-my-npo project.

What's your change-the-world philosophy?

I strongly believe that when given the right information and tools, people will make the right decisions. The reason I am passionate about technology is because it is an equalizer, giving everyone the ability to manipulate information into formats that are relevant to their experiences and situations.

What music are you listening to now-a-days?

I'm a huge fan of The Hood Internet mashups, the new Kid Cudi record, The Sword, and was just turned onto the Night Marchers (former Hot Snakes and Rocket from the Crypt). I've listened to Neko Case's "Middle Cyclone" more times than I can count. And I am incredibly bummed that the Murder City Devils are not coming to the midwest on their reunion tour.

Learn more:

• Find Net Tuesday in your city
• Learn more about the Net Tuesday Organizers
• Start a group in your city