Which one?

My friend Fiona in Indonesia asked me if I could only attend one conference, what would it be? In fact, I think she actually asked which one was the most useful – I can’t remember that well cos, like my previous post, we were exploring the workings of the world with the aid of a particularly fine bottle of McLaren Vale cabernet sauvignon.

I pondered the Asian Facilitation Conference I attended this year, but as good as it was, it doesn’t quite match the annual Applied Improv Network Conference. This year it’s in Banff and I am really looking forward to it. My friends Andrew Rixon and Christine Carlton are making the trip. It will be good to have a couple of Aussie mates. And I’m also looking forward to catching up with others I’ve met over the years at annual improv conferences.

So why are they so good?

They’re smallish (about 100 or so) which suits this introvert – and like the Annual Open Space on Open Space Conferences (next year it’s in San Francisco) I can hear from, and talk with, people I might never ever meet if I stayed here in Bells Beach. Sure, I can read blogs and books – but nothing beats meeting, and learning from, real people.

Thinking

Dave Pollard has a link to a great resource for thinking tools.

I’m also rather partial to good company and a bottle of red.

Drafts

My ‘write page’ has lots of unpublished drafts. Is this common in blogging?

Risk

I want to take more risks. I want to succeed spectacularly or fail miserably. My greatest fear is to be mediocre – safe. And I want the resilience to ride out the failures. What’s your advice?

Take 5 – watch this!

To blog or not to blog…

I’ve just been chatting to my friend Geoff Brown – who I’m pretty sure won’t mind me blogging about our conversation, will you Geoff?

*Ah, that’s OK Viv*

Phew – I’d hate my friends to stop talking to me because they might think I could blog our conversation.

Geoff’s recently become the proud father of son number three, so I was surprised to hear him say how important reading blogs had become to him – to stay connected. So then we chatted about the pros and cons of blogs versus discussion lists. I feel much more freedom to express myself on my blog than I do on a discussion list. On a list there’s a sense of responsibility to NOT waste people’s time with trivia etc. On a blog, you visit voluntarilly, when it suits you – if there’s something interesting you stay, if not you bugger off. Bit like Law of Two Feet in Open Space really. Maybe that’s the real reason I enjoy writing and reading blogs – the Law of Two Feet in action in cyberspace.

Oh, and it’s also good to be of service.

*You’re welcome*

*Raises glass*

What I’m talking about of course is the wondferful connections that play out via blogging. Like recently the Anecdote boys finding Sketchcast which I blogged about and which Geoff (bless his heart) not only looked up, but practiced for hours, and used to invite folk to a forum on evaluating sustainability that he’s been working on. Great stuff!

Open Space on Open Space

Open Space on Open Space (OSonOS) Registration I’m helping to organise a gathering of Open Space facilitators, learners and enthusiasts – to meet old and new friends and colleagues to explore, discover, share and learn from one another * in * Open Space, * about * Open Space.

Melbourne – Friday 7 December (in the evening) and all day Saturday 8 December – You can check out the flyer and registration up there at the start of this post or just click on OSonOS over there on the left.

Powerpointpoisoning

As someone who once spent eight (part-time) years of my life gaining a BA in Media Studies I just can’t help having an interest in all things media. The Melbourne Age has a weekly Green Guide (they once changed the colour and there was such an outrage that they changed it right back again!). It’s so much more than a radio and TV guide – although it does do that very well. It’s full of technology and interesting and witty columnists (such as Marieke Hardy) and of course, Macman – Garry Barker writing about all things Mac, right opposite Charles Wright and his Bleeding Edge (PC) column, which even for this Mac aficionado is worth a look.

This week, Garry wrote about only the third Aussie to be invited to present at Macworld, Les Posen. He’s been invited to Macworld to run a series of workshops on Keynote. This was enough bait for me – I toddled off to Les’s blog – you can see a link to it over there on the left. Les coined a phrase that describes that feeling of trapness when confronted by yet another bloody awful, bullet-pointed powerpoint presentation: powerpointpoisoning. Thanks Les.

Sketchcast

I love this! Sketchcast is a way of drawing and talking – check it out! And thanks to the Anecdote boys for the heads up.

Out of the loop

Yesterday I joined Facebook – it’s an interesting diversion (as if I need another one!!!) and interestingly, I can find very few of my friends. I suppose it’s an age thing. Or else I have very few friends!