ted's dead baby, ted's dead

I was having lunch with a mate a few weeks ago and we got onto discussing TED. Now don't get me wrong, there are lots of mighty fine talks on the TED site (and doubtless at the TED event). Inspiring, funny, clever, etc, etc. But we were both a bit sick of people going on about it and wanting to do copies. Y'know - fly in a few international speakers with books to their name, dress everything up in slick audio-visuals & charge $3-4k a head.

TED is interesting because it is unique. Which means that if you want to copy it you are missing the point. On the other hand, Interesting South tried something same same but different: Yes we have interesting speakers but they have a short period of time to make their mark. BarCamp also (punk) rocks - every man & woman is a star. Open Space offers a different model again.

For me there is a continuum between the pure performance that many trad conferences have fallen into and the emergent will-to-action of an Open Space. Given my personality, I prefer the local & the anarchic but it's up to you.

How do we make something better than TED? How do we make something new?

collaboration open space

So in the comments on the Open Publish post, Michael Sampson pulls me up. We were all talking about the human aspects of collaboration weren't we? I'd disagree. We were still talking about the human aspects of collaboration technologies. Which given the audience at OP is not necessarily a problem. But where in the environment for IT folks & KM folks & HR people & internal comms dudes & facilitators & suchlike. And even regular ordinary workers?

I'm not sure there is anywhere (please feel free to prove me wrong).

So I want to run an Open Space event around "collaboration". Only we probably won't use that term as such. Suggestions for a better one please. I dunno whether this will be 20 people in a church hall or 1000 people at the exhibition centre. You tell me.

I'll need the following:

• Volunteers/helpers/collaborators from different disciplines.
• Sponsors. I ain't gonna make any money out of this but if we want a big location then it's gonna cost $20-30k.
• And you. Yes, you.
  

open space innovation & consumer research

Jack Leith talks about Open Space Innovation - i.e. getting consumers and corporate (marketing/manufacturing/etc) types to interact and form patterns. I like rhythm to this - first consumers then corporates then consumers then corporates again. A few observations:

• It reminds me a lot of the two-stage emergence bit in archetype production. Complexity requires iteration.
• Is it possible to do part of all of this virtually? Using a mix of discussion, drawing, etc. (I'm thinking blended facilitation here - but more on that in a week or two)
• The contact points between the consumers & corporate types is important - esp. the importance of silence, listening & observation. There's an almost ethnographic quality to it.

I reckon this would be fun to do. Anyone fancy having a go in a relatively safe environment?

Thanks: Johnnie*

*Johnnie's Twittering suggests an absolutely top-notch Phoric in the pipeline.