Hi Phelim,
The problem with "Whoever comes are the right people" is: what does it mean "who comes" in these days? I have heard of companies that have made OST meetings with simultaneous gatherings in two or more different locations, connected by ITC. In my opinion all the people in any of those gatherings "came together" I have attended many conferences and meetings with people in many different locations. These people "come together," still being away from each other, in a "coming together" that was mediated by ICT and not by plane (with a lower ecological footprint, btw). We all know of "communities" whose members are far away and even never seen each other (the two of us, as members of the "OST Community", are a good example). And when someone in one place connects with many people in many different places, using Skype or any other tool - including the telephone - are they "coming together" or not? During the OSonOS of 2003 in "SvenMark" the reports of the breakout sessions were immediately putted in a Wiki and displayed in the web, were they could be commented by people not in the meeting and eventually re-commented by the people in the gathering. Being ill in bed with a lot of free time I was one of those long distance participants. IMHO those outside that followed and commented the event were also "coming", in a form of Jean Lave's "legitimate peripheral participation". If OST changed the way we do meetings, ICT is changing the way we "come together" and create communities. I am sure that we can have the best of those two worlds if we are able to think about that in an innovative way. I agree with Susanne's suggestion of creating an international support group to help the London Hosting team with that. Anyhow, I am planning to go to London, so this is not a personnel interest; it is something I think we must consider and the sooner the better. Care Artur PS: You also wrote about "being able to view something through a camera like a security guard". What I think you are missing is that people that are seeing "through the camera" are not security guards. They are OST facilitators, members of the community, that in many cases have already attended OST events and maybe even previous WOSonOS. If that was not true they would never know about the transmission, neither be interested in following it. ________________________________ From: Phelim <[email protected]> To: Artur Silva <[email protected]>; World wide Open Space Technology email list <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, October 22, 2011 4:21 PM Subject: Re: [OSList] Happy wosonos - From Chile to London Artur, Thanks for this lots of great things to consider. And prompts lots of thoughts for me... As we begin to explore how technology links us up ( and as someone who is slightly geeky I enjoy those possibilities) I also find myself fascinated how often something like Suzanne's simple reports bring me closer than being able to view something through a camera like a security guard! Perhaps more interesting than this would be a booth where people can go give personal reports at specific times. I'm thinking out loud here so.. I can hear lots of different sides to this... Whoever comes are the right people. Whoever went are the right people. Sometimes we have to accept we didn't make it there. A live feed doesn't always "feed", isn't always nourishing and also shouldn't mean we can expect to be fed! Being able to see a little bit makes us think they should be thinking about us more? Makes us want to be part of a party we didn't make it to? I think perhaps for those not there.. the communications that happen "Live" are less about information out... Than information in. What I mean for example is.. "Twitter" (and I know you say you don't like it) has really changed our D&D events by providing a stream of information and support from the outside world into the space. It has let the people at the event know there are people elsewhere thinking of us and proposing ideas. You aren't there but you can get messages in to people from outside. The twitter stream only seems to take off internally when the people who use it... Use it. Often it's the younger people who it's second nature for. So in the "twittersfere" it becomes like a party people can hear next door. Then the information starts to move outward... As ever you can't force it to happen and when it emerges it is both surprising and enjoyable. But being told to have a good time at a party and play a game you don't want to play can certainly slow down the fun happening. It's taken years for it to start happening at our D&D events but it did last year and brought a whole wave of new participants. This is like "atmospheric" communication out.. Like your being able to not hear whilst being able to see, it strangely stops us trying to imagine how we might join in the conversation.. (we can't in the same way as we are not there) but use our different senses to connect to the spirit of what is happening. So if we go down the technology route I think the information out needs a bit more creativity and form... Such as editing and filtering so people get the feel of the event whilst accepting their live contribution will be limited because they are NOT present. This needs time and energy and the stream out is more likely to happen after the event perhaps as a next wave. Also perhaps making any kind of live OUT stream just more obvious to be used when people WANT to. However.. rather like TV arrogantly thinking live theatre should accommodate it we should remember what makes OS special. I think we have to be sensitive to the beauty of the LIVE event. Knowing that I have cameras watching me and having to think about it can just be something that can get in the way of getting on with the important work at hand. I think what I'm trying to say is. We shouldn't get confused by these possibilities into thinking its about people who aren't there being able to join in better! Those possibilities are about communicating more elegantly to those not there what is happening! This doesn't mean we shouldn't have all those tools ready to be used when the new form emerges out of the energy of the group to say for instance.."Suddenly go live.. And talk to the world!" Or create the wiki that can be contributed to. Etc.. We can make the edges of the system more porous but those holding boundaries of the event are what make the event important in the first place. The edge between those who came and those who didn't. In terms of the event I know that the real out comes.. "Out-streams" are never the ones i think they are going to be. Who ever knows what ways opening space changes things? Some conscious.. Some mysterious. I do know the interface between technology and opening space is an interesting one and trying to catch ghosts on camera is always fun! Love Phelim X
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