Nicholas Thompson wrote circa 10-05-05 10:47 AM: > Anybody out there have any experience with it?
I've been to a few barcamps. It's refreshing in some ways; but ultimately, what matters is your internal state, not what's going on around you. If you're just not in the mood for whatever context you're in, then it doesn't matter how the context is organized. If, however, you are in the mood for it, then it also doesn't matter because you can knead the context until it suits you. And that's true even in seemingly stultifying formal conferences. There are people who can reorient themselves to learn/contribute in whatever context they find themselves and there are those who need the context to fit their predetermined pattern. Those who find organizing methods like this "set them free" seem to me to be less capable of manipulating their own state of mind. Similarly, those who find these sorts of ad-hoc "unconference" methods too chaotic are also less capable of manipulating their own state of mind. The method you choose if you're assembling a conference depends on the uncertainty about the types of people who will attend. If it's low uncertainty, you can organize the conference to meet the attendees' patterns. If it's high uncertainty, then use the unconference methods and let the attendees decide on the organization. -- glen e. p. ropella, 971-222-9095, http://agent-based-modeling.com ============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
