Dear Suzanne: Thanks for putting in so marvelous words what I also think - and also felt at the Radical Unconference and other "computer mediated events" (and the reason I don´t call them "virtual events" is because they are not "virtual"; they are "real events" - only "computer mediated" (see my blog post on that subject at the Radical Unconference site, here: http://rtvc10.ning.com/profiles/blogs/virtual-collaboration-virtual). And it was marvelous to receive your message through Corinne - even if I was disappointed that you were not in my session :-( (But you may see a summary of that session at the Wiki summaries (http://radicalrealtime.pbworks.com/Radical-(Transformational)-Change) and even the session recorded from Flash Meeting here: http://fm.ea-tel.eu/fm/d657a7-21821 - click "Replay"). Now, in what concerns HO and MMP pencil and paper observations and the importance of face to face events, I agree that face to face events are great and not replicable. But the question, as Suzanne pointed out, is not so much an "either this or that" but a "this and that". For instance, this "Radical Unconference would not be the same if it was before WOSonOS in Berlin as it was being held after WOSonOS, where many of the people that were at the Unconference had previously seen face to face in Berlin. And for a worldwide community, f2f meetings are very important but are not enough, mainly because the travelling costs and the "time costs" must be taken in consideration and one cannot have worldwide meetings more than once a year, and not all the people that go to one WOSonOS can be present in the majority of them. Let me ask you both: do you think that the OST community would still exist only with WOSonOS and without the OSLIST? Do you remember how we all feel when the BOISESTATE server is off? How do we all communicate when that happens? Do we use pencil and paper and stamps and snail mail or we just feel miserable? Do you think that the community would be the same without the openspaceworld.org site? Do you think that it would be equal if that site would still be in "US English only" (as it was 10 years ago) and not in "many languages" as it is now? Do you think that this community would be the same without the OSI's and specially the OSI-USA, that is there to support when needed but also "just in case" it is needed? And, for those of us that have been to no one or only one or two WOSonOS what are the main problems with the OSLIST? I name two: I cannot see the faces behind the names and it is imposed on me an effort to write in English and not in my mother tongue or the other languages that are easier for me. Indeed these are the two problems that the NING site (http://openspaceworld.ning.com/) is trying to solve, as a complement (and not a replacement) to this list. And may I ask again to those of you that are in the NING but have not yet uploaded a photo to do that please? The other way of contact that I think that has even more problems than an English only list is "group phone calls" because, like in this list, I don't see the faces and, the communication being synchronous, foreigners must do a supplementary effort to understand the others at the talking speed (and not the reading speed) without having the possibility to "replay". But now we have other tolls like DimDim (free version limited to 20 users and only 4 can be seen simultaneously), WebEx from Cisco (same limitations for the trial version), IBM Same time (trial limited to 14 users). And the one I prefer: Flash Meeting, developed by the Open University UK, that have an almost free version limited to 60 users that can all be seen in the screen - they say: I have never tested with more than 14). So pencil and paper to take notes and the convenient tools for the rest. Always knowing that sometimes computers and connections fail - as do lamps, and the electricity supply. One can always have candles at home, but they are not very good to read, not to talk about seeing television... From a gray day in Lisbon (what are we all doing to climate, that now I don't have only sunny days in May and June in Lisbon? :-((( Artur
________________________________ From: Suzanne Daigle <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Sat, June 12, 2010 12:52:31 PM Subject: Re: [OSLIST] Radical Real-Time Annual Unc onference "Making t he Most of C ollaborative Worlds” - Saturd ay , June 5, 20 10 from 2pm to 5:30p m Technical.....face-to-face...have to say that it is not an "either or" but a beautiful "and and"! It's not about "paper and pencil" OR what happens in the virtual techie world. I will grant you, for me it all started with the "face-to-face" Open Space, the Real McCoy which nothing can replace because it activates ALL of your senses. But let's not miss the point here. When Open Space triggers or ignites something in you that FEELS so special, so natural and in some cases, so exhilarating, a bit like "falling in love" well you don't want it to be just a first date. Whether it is WIKI, NING or this exciting Radical Real Time Unconference, generously organized for free by the Radical Inclusion team, well to me it's all good. Yes I agree, there's no way we can capture the "experience" of what happens in face-to-face Open Space sessions, but there is such a thing as keeping the spirit alive and nourishing our human connections. Now let me tell you a story about a fine Saturday morning on June 5th, 2010. For weeks, I had been excitedly waiting for the big Radical Real Time event, enjoying the multiple emails from the Radical Inclusion team preparing me for the event technically, with such welcome from their heart. It felt like I was going to a big party with so many juicy topics and the anticipation of reconnecting with people I had recently met in Open Space like Thomas, Artur, Juan Luis, Hempal, Christine, Juliane, Holger, etc. etc. I had sent invitations to many of my friends, people I had met in Open Space AND through Open Space. You see it's like a web connecting people together. I was so excited when some folks who I had never even met in person responded they were joining. Wow, now they'd get to meet my Open Space friends too...those people I met in Berlin, or Taiwan or on the Open Space list. You see none of this could ever have happened had I not met this thing called Open Space a little over a year ago. Well in the midst of all this, my sister Monique and her husband Dan living in Canada called to say they would be visiting me in Florida. Wedl only have a few precious days together and there I am faced with the decision of Radical Real Time or being with them. Well I wanted it all and I got it all. We set up a big computer screen on my kitchen table connected it to my lap top and there we were the three of us, logging in 30 minutes before to be fully ready for this virtual circus of conversations. There were a few glitches but I did not despair one bit. It was all part of the technical experiment of connecting with people from all over the world and experiencing a ton of different virtual tools. I couldn't get into the first session I had registered for (so disappointed that I wouldn't be joining Thomas Herman's topic as I had planned) but like a bumble bee, I traveled to another group with Monique and Dan watching like butterflies. We landed in another session and by coincidence I ran into Kennan, who I had never met in person with whom we've been having extraordinary phone conversations boosting our courage to one day organize a world-wide Open Space on something that's super important. Using a combination of phone, virtual power point, audio conferencing and chatting on line, the energy builds. Monique and Dan are riveted. We then head off to another session on creativity and innovation, this time in Skype. Well by then, we're howling with laughter when we see all those little pencils furiously writing at the same time, bursting with what they want to say. As one line appears, you feel drawn in to add to the thought, the idea or the comment. It's like a party with 20 people all talking at once only this time is a big world-wide unconference. In the midst of it all, I get a side note from Corinne (young 20s) in Canada who I invited but never met face-to-face, asking what session I'm in as she describes what fun she's having as she participates in Artur's session. I quickly type back, "tell Artur I said hi, he's a friend". A few seconds later, I receive hugs back from Artur through her. Later he sends me a personal email. Well 3 hours later, it's over but it's not over... because the conversations continue with Monique, Dan and I. For the rest of the afternoon, the three of us are talking about life, work and job satisfaction or lack there of. They tell me how this short time opened up so much for them --something they just rarely get a chance to do in the rat-race of life and work. The next day and then a week later, we're still laughing about what happened on June 5th. So Harrison, mmp and others, I have to say again for me, it's not "either - or", it's definitely the "and - and" of keeping the Open Spirit alive once it's ignited. The fact of the matter is, too often, too many of us could be missing our lives when we opt to play it safe, choosing job security over passion and energy. So be it virtually or face-to-face, the important thing is to feed those connections when they happen, the connections that activate passion and energy, the stuff that "self-organizing" is made of. I don't want to expand the "feeling and experience" of Open Space. That's what virtual feels to me. I want it ALL: face-to-face, virtual, old-fashion telephone, paper and pencil. In the end, it's not about Open Space; it's about life and connecting in this human family and as living organisms in every possible way. Self-organizing! Cheers, Suzanne ----------------------- On Fri, Jun 11, 2010 at 3:44 PM, Harrison Owen <[email protected]> wrote: > Artur – Doubtless we have made mega-progress with things technical – but > somehow, flies do land in the ointment. (“Maybe I should have done that > before, but I was busy preparing the session I convened in that > "Unconference", with a lot of last minute problems, like my local network, > dying some minutes before the event...”). > > > > I am reminded of my good friends at Microsoft who brought together several > hundred of their senior folks to redesign their data centers. Needless to > say I left the electronic support to them, and they assured me that it would > be “state-of-the-art. I am sure it was (SOTA) – but there was a small > problem. Didn’t work. Back to paper and pencils! – but eventually I > suggested that we might just try WORD templates with finger drives. Worked > like a charm, as always. > > > > I am definitely in favor of charting new courses and trying new stuff, > indeed the first Open Space was documented on the predecessor to the > Internet in 1985 (DARPANET). And lord knows there is wonderful new stuff out > there. So have fun, but don’t throw away the pencils and paper. Could be > useful in emergency (smile). > > > > Harrison > > > > Harrison Owen > > * * ========================================================== [email protected] ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of [email protected]: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist
