[OSList] New Animal from London - "The Fly"

[Harrison Owen]

A thoughtful piece, Harold. Thank you. The Fly is definitely a whimsical
addition to the OS menagerie - pretty much what one might expect from the
fertile mind and puckish spirit of Phelim. And as you point out, The Fly is
actually not a new comer. The recorder/observer role is one that has been
played, in one way or another since the very first Open Space. And of course
it is also very much present in our everyday life. So what else is new?

 

All that said I think there are some issues here worthy of discussion. And I
am not really sure that the metaphor of the Fly will take us to where we
need to go. After all, just think about what attracts flies. or even worse,
what flies leave behind.

 

The real issue for me is the role of technology in all its forms. in the
opening and holding of space. On the one hand technology is very much with
us, inescapably so. In any gathering of two or more folks in Open Space or
anywhere else - there you will surely find at least a cell phone in their
midst. As long as the technology serves life (our lives) it is wonderful,
but when the relationship is reversed (our lives governed by technology) -
it seems to me that we got trouble in River City.

 

Over  the years, proponents of various technologies have approached me with
the proposition that their technology is the absolutely perfect fit for use
in Open Space. More often than not, however, it seemed to me that their
technology was in search for an application and not in service to the
community. Really good technology for me is subtle and invisible. When it
takes over, I get really uncomfortable. Think for example of two folks
sitting side by side, texting each other. They might just try talking!

 

So when it comes to things like video, etc - subtle invisibility is my
criterion. And our resident videographer in London totally met that
standard, I thought. He was a real pro, but I never thought of him a  fly.
Rather more a participant in a different way and realm. That is high art,
and the product of many hours and much intention. Subtle, invisible, and
sensitive - and unfortunately, somewhat rare characteristics in the
electronic graphic arts world. But totally wonderful and contributory when
they appear.

 

Harrison 

 

Harrison Owen

7808 River Falls Dr.

Potomac, MD 20854

USA

 

189 Beaucaire Ave. (summer)

Camden, Maine 20854

 

Phone 301-365-2093

(summer)  207-763-3261

 

www.openspaceworld.com 

www.ho-image.com (Personal Website)

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From: oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org
[mailto:oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org] On Behalf Of Harold Shinsato
Sent: Thursday, October 18, 2012 6:16 PM
To: oslist at openspacetech.org
Subject: [OSList] New Animal from London - "The Fly"

 

In London last week Phelim formally introduced a new animal to add to our
familiar butterflies and bumblebees. As noted in an earlier post, Phelim
called it the Fly.

There was a sketch of the Fly on the wall - an insect with huge eyes, wings,
and a camera. When Phelim introduced the creature on one of the morning
openings, the fellow with the large high quality video camera came to
demonstrate an aspect of "the Fly". When the fly came close to Phelim, he
shooed it away. And then soon it came back. And he shooed it away again,
repeating several times.

Having video taped a number of sessions and events in Open Space before -
not with as excellent equipment - the Fly metaphor is really resonating.
We're like the proverbial "Fly on the Wall" that provides access to events
that others wish they could have seen. But the Fly can also detract. Some
people get annoyed. It hampers their safety in being able to share.
Sometimes people want to swat the Fly so they can just be present in the
moment.

It felt like we had a professional "Fly" at WOSonOS 2012, and I look forward
to some of the sweet stuff he captured after it gets digested.

But it also seems like the Fly is not a new animal at Open Space Technology
events. In some ways, "The Fly" is part of the documentation story, not just
for video but even for notes, drawings, audio recordings, and photos. Even
written notes help those not present to be "the fly on the wall", yet it can
be annoying to be quoted, or even to be the notes taker. Phelim even warned
folks that the notes are visible to the whole world - so be sensitive to
what you share!

I'm thinking of adding the Fly to our crew of insects to help remember some
aspects that come up especially for videographers as they record and
document. The metaphor empowers the participants to have a dialog with the
recorders, empowers them to shoo away the flies, and prepares the flies that
they may indeed be invited to stop recording in a light and fun way. 

Does this metaphor fit? Is there a better one?

-- 
Harold Shinsato
harold at shinsato.com
http://shinsato.com
twitter: @hajush <http://twitter.com/hajush> 

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