West Coast Wikiconference 2011

WikiPedia turned 10 years old today. I attended a delightful unconference with a hundred Wikipedians at the Hub in San Francisco.

How’s this for a deal? $25 paid for breakfast, lunch, a full day’s events, presentations by Ward Cunningham and Kevin Kelly, and even a celebratory t-shirt.

Hundred of events like this are taking place around the world.

It’s hard to imagine a more unlikely success story than Wikipedia. From the Welcome to Wikipedia booklet:

Wikipedia is the largest encyclopedia in the world. It is created and maintained by more than 100 thousand contributors from around the world. Every month Wikipedia receives over 386 million unique visitors. Wikipedia features more than 16 million articles in over 260 languages. It is free to use, free to edit, and free of advertisements.

Eugene & Ward

Ward is also a leader in the Agile Software movement and the thought leader in Software Patterns.

We discovered a common interest in learning from pictures and video. Periodically his company’s software staff gets together for a day-long retreat. Quarterly was not frequent enough, so they invented “micro-quarters,” of which there are six a year. At the conclusion of each retreat, people draw pictures of what they’ve accomplished. With the camera on his laptop, Ward takes a video of each individual explaining his or her picture. He edits out the ums and ahs to prepare a fast-moving video documenting the event. People use these to review the event and check on progress when the next micro-quarter rolls around.

Ward’s original wiki was geeky beyond belief. It relied on CamelCase and oddball formatting conventions. It was not pretty. I mentioned that ten years ago, my glossary defined wiki as “a way to stop a conversation.” So I asked Ward how he felt about today’s spiffed-up, user-friendly wikis. He told me that a few days after he released the first wiki, another developer had hacked out a different version. Didn’t ask permission or anything. Ward thought about it and decided that was okay. He was happy to contribute the wiki to the public good. I’ll cover the content of Ward’s presentation in another post.

Eugene Kim introduced the open space session masterfully, getting the participants to explain the rules of open space. Whatever happens is what is supposed to happen. If it’s not beneficial, move on.

The first breakout I attended dealt with getting new people to create and edit posts. Many people approach Wikipedia who don’t realize they can edit the content. More fundamentally, they don’t see themselves as editors. I called up the Wikipedia home page on my iPad. It’s totally intimidating. There’s no on-ramp for new users. When I brought up instructional design, forty faces went blank. I suggested putting together a few simple videos showing a user explaining what’s going on. Some people liked the idea, but some Wikipedia foundation people began explaining how hard it was to change the front page. (There’s enormous perceived resistance to change by the elite contributors.) Did I know how tough it is to make changes when hundreds of millions of people were involved?

This evening I discovered that there are already dozens of “how to edit” articles on YouTube. Maybe someone can convince Wikipedia to point to them.

In another breakout, Gordon Mohr encouraged us to explore how to make Wikipedia “Broader, deeper, and edgier.” This may have to take place outside of the Wikipedia framework. We touched on many topics. Some new articles would be better positioned as “not ready” rather than “not good enough.” Wikipedia would feel less exclusionary without the distinction made between members and outsiders. Why not consider all users members — and therefore editors? It occurred to me that Wikipedia has scant room for discussion. It’s still just an encyclopedia; it might be better by adding commentary and a forum for discussion.

Another breakout discussed Wikipedia – the next ten years. What should evolve?

I wanted to be able to walk around in the knowledge space, sort of the Library of Alexandria meets Second Life.

I also pushed my current passion, the workscape. Why not give readers the option of checking a box that would prompt periodic reinforcement? Battle the forgetting curve with brief, spaced reminders built right into the system. One of the old hands said you could already do this. All it took was remembering what pages you’d viewed and revisiting them. Another Wikipedia said c’mon, nobody’s going to do that; they won’t even remember what pages they’d visited. I don’t sense the group was very interested in people learning things beyond their initial exposure. If you have encyclopedia DNA, it’s hard to think outside of the encyclopedia box.

Toward the end of the day, Kevin Kelly gave a closing presentation on What Technology Wants, his new book. I’d heard Kevin’s pitch two months ago in Berkeley and departed in confusion. I’ll detail today’s version in another post.

Participants at Educa are enthusiastic:

You can watch a longer version of the party video here. When did you last see this enthusiastic a group of learning professionals?

Six of the Business Educa track sessions in Berlin were streamed and recorded:

The Opening Conversation

Social Media & Mobile Learning

Learning from Experience

Games: Should you be doing this at work?

Working Smarter with Learning Networks

Preparing for Business Educa 2011

Overall Business Educa Video Archive

Tony O’Driscoll was up at 5:00 am to present his thoughts on learning in 3D from North Carolina. The Tech Staff do not recognize that Macs exist and did not have the right cable to bring in the Skype session. Here is my implementation hack. We could hear Tony clearly; seeing his face on the screen was a bit tough.

Show’s over.

Gnomedex X

Community

It’s hard to describe what gives Gnomedex its mojo: while it is irredeemably geeky, and often covers trends in technology and society before they hit the mainstream, it’s neither a dry technical meeting nor a science-fiction con. In a way, it’s like an annual online-community family reunion, except all you need to do to join the family is show up. I’ve made lots of friends and deepened other friendships there.

Derek has terminal cancer. Three years ago he addressed the crowd from his hospital bed. Yesterday I asked Derek how he was doing. He’s thankful for every year he lives. He’s not going to get better. I asked if he was doing everything he’d always wanted to do. Were this not Gnomedex, I wouldn’t ask something like that. By the way, Derek wrote “The Gnomedex Song.”

Listen to the Gnomedex Song

Facilities

Gnomedex takes place at the Bell Harbor Conference Center. The food is superb. Snacks, ice water, coffee, and soda are always available. There are plenty of nooks, sofas, and meeting spots to foster conversations. The main meeting room is just the right size for our 300 people. Rows are tiered so everyone has a view. Chairs are comfortable.

Sound is professionally monitored.
Professional sound

Tiered seats remind me of business school

Two very important elements which should be de rigeur  at any tech-oriented event:

1. Electrical outlets are close by every seat.
2. Wi-fi is free, ubiquitous, and trouble-free.

Format

All presentations take place in a single room. Concurrent events would water down the focus and energy level. Presentations are held to 20 minutes. Most are catalysts for questions. There is always time reserved for questions. Runners take portable microphones to the questioners and don’t let go of them; not giving up control of the microphone insures it’s being held in the right place. Sex educator Violet Blue delivers her 20 minutes. She told me this was the rare conference where people weren’t hitting on her. We gave Violet a standing ovation for her voice against censorship.

The backchannel is very active. Between sessions and during announcements, the Twitterstream is projected onto the main screen. Tweets add viewpoints and keep people on their toes. I sometimes learn as much from the Tweets as from the core presentation.

Twitter backchannel on the big screen

Diversity

Both genders and all ages take part. This year four eleven-year olds blew everyone away. They conducted interviews with Scoble and many others. They manage a business remotely. They are astute at tracking their web stats and reacting strategically. They get a lot more page-views than I ever have.

Documentation

Geeks and cameras go together. A vast array of high-end SLRs, pocket cams, video cams, and Flips are continuously recording events and interviews. All of Gnomedex is streamed live. You can view recordings of every session after the fact. As a result, the influence of Gnomedex reaches far beyond the 300 people meeting in Seattle. Furthermore, we’re green; we didn’t have a printed schedule this year.

What Doesn’t Work (for me)

I don’t like sloppy presentations, something you rarely see at Gnomedex. But at the other extreme, I don’t enjoy presentations that are too slick. For me, this guy qualifies:

He began with a great analogy: how people at the airport crowd the baggage carousel, making it impossible for the rest of us to see. So let’s be more considerate. Back up a few steps. We’ll all be better off. Spread the meme and the whole world wins.

This message is being delivered flawlessly. No ums. No ahs. Perfect pitch. Dramatic movement around the stage. To slick. It almost lulls me into overlooking the subtest: Buy my book. Hire me to help you figure this out. Give away copies. The e-version’s only $15. Trickery! I was about to barf.

Online Artifacts

If you missed Gnomedex X, you can still listen in. Look at the Gnomedex site. Also, search for Gnomedex on Flickr and YouTube. Look at the MindMaps from Jeff Barr What went on? See The Sense of a Gnomedex and Notes Great events leave a healthy trail of breadcrumbs. The online artifacts of the event stay on line — enabling you to find people, links, and stories after the show is over.

Networking

What goes on in the hallways is more important than the presentations. Breaks are frequent. There’s a party every night. People get to meet and learn from folks they’d otherwise never know. You knew that.

Opening party

Over the years I’ve enjoyed shooting the shit with Mike Arrington, Adam Curry, Dan Gilmor, Steve Rubel, Robert Scobel, Charlene Li, Dave Winer, Jason Calacanis, Darren Barefoot, Steve Gilmour, Mark Canter, Sarah Lacey, Vanessa Fox, and other geek luminaries.

Clarity

Chris Pirillo has his fingers on the pulse of the social web, is a bundle of energy, and seems to know everybody who is anybody. Perhaps more important, he’s a straight-shooter. Chris sets the direction, recruits the speakers, plans the event, is master of ceremonies, and schmoozes with hundreds of people.

Family Affair

Chris’s mother Judy is the official timekeeper; Joe runs the microphone to those who ask questions. Both are all over the place helping out. This year, both of Chris’s brothers joined in. At the final session yesterday, the family trooped on stage for a reminiscence.

Joe and Judy Pirillo

Some of you will remember that Elliott Masie’s mom and father-in-law took part in his early TechLearn events. His wife and sister-in-law are heavily involved. Unless one was raised by wolves, inviting one’s parents to an event sends a real statement. It says “I’m proud of what I’m doing. I want to share it with you.”

End of an era?

Why was this the last Gnomedex? Essentially, there’s not enough Chris to go around. It takes too much to put an event like this on. Chris says the only way he’d resurrect Gnomedex is with solid sponsorship and a professional events manager. He fears any sponsor would want to take control; professional managers would be out for quantity, not quality. I’m not so sure it would have to be like that.

Funding Gnomedex would build a company’s reputation in front of influential geeks like nothing else. Putting on a two-day event in Seattle would cost a pittance compared to any ad campaign. Think of the value Robert Scoble brought Microsoft by giving it a human face. I expect Son of Gnomedex to appear in 2012. That will give us true believers time to crowd-source our thinking and find a sponsor with deep pockets, long-term vision, and a pure heart.

Why Do Geeks Gather Here?

Gnomedex, Chris Pirillo’s two-day intensive for geeks, takes place August 19-21 in Seattle. I’ve been to the last five — and I’ll be there again this year. Every time, I meet people who become movers and shakers in tech and move ahead of the curve for a while. Join me — it costs only $300 including parties and meals.

Chris’s single-track semi-unconference is described in Informal Learning. Last year was my first Pecha-Kucha:

I can see why Gina Bianchini resigned. This is not the deal we signed up for at all. From $0 to $50/month? I don’t think so.

This is the email I received today:

Hi Ning Network Creator!

As you may have already heard, we’re going to be making some big changes at Ning over the course of the next two months. We’ll be phasing out our free service so we can focus our attention on pleasing our most passionate and successful Network Creators – people like you. You can read more at http://about.ning.com/announcement

As members of the Strategic Relationships team, we wanted to send you a personal introduction and let you know that we’ll be here over the coming months to discuss these company changes with you and help you transition seamlessly into an offering that works for you and your Ning Network.

We realize that you’ll have a decision to make about how to proceed with your Ning Network and which pricing plan will work best for you, and we are here to help!

If you would like us to reach out to you to address any question you have, please take a quick minute to fill out our brief contact form. A member of the Strategic Relationships team will make sure to get in touch with you as soon as possible to discuss your options, answer your questions and help guide you in the right direction.

In order to help process requests as efficiently as possible, we ask that you please fill out this contact form no later than May 14, 2010. Click on the link at the bottom of this email to complete the form.

Thank you!

The Ning Strategic Relationships Team:

Charles Porch
Jonathan Hull
Peter Slutsky

* One-time annual pricing

Conference hosts should take a lesson or two from Matt Mullenweg. Today’s Wordcamp San Francisco was simply great. Great line-up of speakers. Glorious weather. Some participants were so enthusiastic as to call for revolution and world domination by WordPress. (They see it as a platform, not a mere blogging tool. Most participants were making money from designing or installing WordPress sites.)

Admission was $50. It costs about $250/head; the difference is made up by sponsors. I didn’t hear an attendance figure: I’m guessing we had 600 people in attendance.

Ex-Google, ex-Zillow Vanessa Fox gave great SEO tips. Vanessa has a new book out. She’s one hell of a good marketer. (Her personal site used to be “vanessafoxnude.com.” No, there weren’t any pictures, just lots of visitors.)

Barbecued brisket & chicken and live jazz and great conversations.

Many opportunities to schmooze.

Some people think Richard Stallman a god for writing Emacs and inventing Free Software. No matter what his accomplishments, he struck me as a mean-spirited jerk. Criticizing the Apple “iGroan” and the Amazon “Swindle” is one thing. Saying that anyone who doesn’t openly give away his code is malicious and manipulative is nutty.

Host Matt Mullenweg is friendly, suave, well spoken, and simply cool. His staff are super-competent happy people.

I would not miss this one for anything! Last year’s Word Camp was what a conference should be.

Great speakers, gracious host, scrumptious food, open bar, free t-shirt, groovy people, $50.

At DevLearn 09, Mark Oehlert led several days of non-stop workshops on social learning. Here’s ten minutes on the topic of identity and authenticity.

This is the first of a series of videos I shot for display at Online Educa.

Online Educa Berlin 2009 at the Interconti…

…couple of thousand people from nearly 100 countries…

Jerry Michalski, Roland Deiser, & Richard Straub at the Speaker Reception

Educa Party at the Wasserwerk

Charles Jennings, introducing Internet Time Alliance

Heike Philp brought Online Educa online…

…as Harold Jarche and Jon Husband in Canada joined Charles, Jay and Jane live in Berlin.

George Siemens began the day by challenging us to see the world as a set of trade-offs. What’s the optimal balance point?

Asking people to jot ideas on the white board, the line that divides presenter from audience began to blur. We’re all audience; we all presenters; it shifts back and forth. Few things are black or white; most are shades of gray. As George said, it’s nutty for only one person to do the talking among a group of 125 people. Group scribbling on the white board proved a catalyst to discussion. I think it’s like taking notes: you don’t have to re-read the notes to end up with stronger memories.

Internet Time Alliance took the stage to reflect on the overall event and to field questions. We had a rollicking good time — and I think the audience was with us.

The six of us began by recounting why we came together to form Internet Time Alliance. I preach collaboration — but found myself working in isolation. I was already turning to others for help: Jane Hart for social learning and tools, Jon Husband for KM and competencies, Harold Jarche for open source and design, Charles Jennings for the major CLO’s view, and Clark Quinn for learning theory, m-learning, and serious games. We started Internet Time Alliance in order to learn from one another.

Audience questions guided what we talked about today. We had the requisite PowerPoints at the ready but we ended up showing them in random order as questions arose.

Next we brought our customers into the loop. Six heads are better than one; seven or eight are better than that. Our engagements often begin with an organization presenting a question. Could we point out pitfalls in a new plan? Which supplier would we trust? How would we roll out knowledge in their organization? We help refine the question and then hash out solutions and observations as a group. We come back with recommendations and models. This is our loss-leader proposition. For as little as $1000, we return with consensus advice from six of the leading thinkers in organizational learning. Here’s what we’ve been pondering lately.

My conclusion from this event is that not only is learning the work, it’s also the most important work.

Chris also cautioned us against going off half-cocked:

You can learn more about the DAU story from Leading a Learning Revolution, a book by Chris and DAU Chief Executive Frank Anderson.

At one point, Chris showed a slide saying 20% of learning is formal; 80% is informal. He said he’d found no proof, only one person citing another. During his talk, I pulled together this page on the source of the 80 and the 20.