Electronic follow up
koos de heer
koosdhr at auryn.nl
Fri Jun 18 15:22:57 PDT 1999
At 09:28 18-06-1999 -0400, Steve wrote:
>As for electronic follow-up, I don't think it has as much to do about skill
>or confidence but lack of intimacy. On-line web sites are a far cry from
>intense face to face interaction.
I think both are true. A few thoughts that I have been thinking
about this:
- This mailing list is a great example of an electronic Open Space.
The exchange that takes place here is almost always interesting
and very often inspiring. Sometimes the intimacy of the things
people share here is moving me. And when a topic does not
interest me and/or I do not feel I can contribute, I follow the
law of two feet and ignore it. The people on the list are always
the right people, and so on... both in form and in content, it
resembles Open Space closely.
- There are also great differences. The whole dynamics of being
together, the sharing of coffee and meals, the listening and
speaking to each other in person, the process of determining the
schedule for the day, etc. all add to the OS experience and we
don't have any of that on line. I have been trying to imagine what
it would be like to get the people on this list together physically
in a real OS. To add the power of the personal encounter to the power
already there. Wouldn't that be great?
- It might not be. Because the power of this list could just lie in
its occasional character, its loose structure, its almost anonimous
bumblebee-like atmosphere. Or maybe partly. I have had experiences
with people I knew through email and chat and who felt close to me
in the electronic communication, while the friendship did not work
at all after we met in person. It would certainly be an interesting
experiment with this group.
- In order to share personal experiences and stories through a certain
means of communication, one has to be reasonably familiar with annd
have a certain amount of trust in that means of communication. When
you are not comfortable with internet, you will not easily use it
for sharing. It might even be awkward to read other people's personal
stories when for you it would not feel right to communicate similar
things in that same way.
- I think for an OS event to have an electronic follow up (maybe
combined with an electronic exchange beforehand), it is also necessary
to create a connection between the real and the virtual part of the
conference. I think that could be done by:
- making the virtual conference part of the invitation - it has to be
an integral part of the whole project;
- letting the electronic conference run continuously from before the
physical conference, during it and a while afterwards;
- having internet computers available at the meeting site(s) so that
participants in the physical conference can communicate with those
not physically present and the proceedings of the physical conference
can be shared with the electronic participants;
- putting pictures of the physical conference on the internet site of
the electronic conference, both for those not present to get a visual
impression and for those present to view afterward, maybe even have
one or two webcams in the main meeting room;
- and maybe more (ideas welcome).
Those are my thougts at this moment. Any comments, experiences, or
invitations to discuss trial projects welcome ;-)
Koos
------------
koos de heer
auryn management advies
utrecht, netherlands
mailto:koosdhr at auryn.nl
http://www.auryn.nl/
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