Fri, Mar 24, 2006
Guy Kawasaki at NTEN: How to Make Meaning #
LedaDederich posted a great summary of GuyKawasaki's NTEN keynote in Seattle. She writes: (KEJ)
When we talk about nonprofits using technology, which is what this conference is about, I want to see a strong and intentional connection to a real-world theory of change. Because if that's not what we're here for, then what the hell? (KEK)
This is mostly lacking in this space. (KEL)
Lots of great people and ideas. But not a lot of talk about what it means to affect social change, and how technology supports (or does not) support this. (KEM)
I went into this morning's speech ready to be bored and/or offended. To my surprise, it was the venture capitalist among us who was the first to talk about changing the world -- what it means to make revolution, evolution, meaning. (KEN)
/talks | Posted at 6:15pm
Jazz in Alameda Next Friday #
My friends EmyTseng and AndrewBrown? are playing with their jazz band at the Emerald Garden Vietnamese Restaurant in [Alameda]? next Friday, March 31, from 6:30-9:30pm. I'll be there, and hope to see you as well! (KEI)
/personal | Posted at 5:28pm
Fri, Mar 17, 2006
Blogging as Knowledge Work #
The process of writing my entry on community engagement and DynamicKnowledgeRepositories reminded me of ChrisDent's recent post on "Effective Reading." He writes: (KE4)
I proceed from the assumption that as knowledge workers our primary job is to communicate. Communication is not overhead, it's the work. Things like writing code are reifications of previous communication. The quality of the code mirrors the quality of the communication and comprehension that precedes the generation of the code. (KE5)
We often think of the act of summarizing as additional work. On one level, that's true. But, if we reframed it as a critical part of the knowledge synthesis process, then it no longer becomes additional work, it becomes the work. Not only does it result in a useful artifact -- what DougEngelbart calls the "knowledge product" -- but it helps us synthesize what's already in our head. The synthesis is even more important than the artifact, because it's what makes knowledge meaningful and actionable. (KE6)
The payoff for writing this blog has been enormous on a number of levels. It offers a lens into my values, thinking, and activities, which has helped establish my credibility and reputation. It's allowed me to have valuable conversations with others that would not otherwise have happened. It's strengthened my professional social network. And because it's public, it's enabled some serendipitous connections (LeaveATrail). (KE7)
All of these things are great for business, and so on that level, writing this blog has obviously paid off. But its biggest impact has been directly on me. The act of writing this blog has made me smarter. I know a lot more about collaboration, and I can articulate what I know much better. This alone has made writing this blog more than worthwhile. (KE8)
As a KnowledgeWorker?, when I blog, I'm not doing additional work. I'm simply working. (KE9)
/collaboration | Posted at 10:30am
Thu, Mar 16, 2006
Community Engagement and Dynamic Knowledge Repositories #
One of the benefits of working on the Hyperscope is not just working closely with DougEngelbart, but also with many of his long-time colleagues, not the least of whom includes ChristinaEngelbart, his daughter and former business partner. Christina and I recently had an off-the-cuff exchange on community engagement and maintaining a DynamicKnowledgeRepository (DKR), and it's started to evolve into a full-fledged discussion. Rather than continue it over email, I thought I'd post some of my thoughts here, especially since they relate to my recent post on LeaveATrail and stigmergy. (KDW)
On the surface, maintaining a DynamicKnowledgeRepository and community engagement would seem to be two separate actions. Christina suggests that the former is a more tangible entity, whereas the latter is a process. I agree with this distinction, and I would also note that the artifacts of community engagement are part of a DKR. So you've got the engagement itself (process), and you've got the artifacts of the engagement (part of a DKR). (KDX)
The distinction starts to blur when the engagement occurs over a digital medium. If I exchange email with someone, then is that community engagement or is it part of maintaining a DynamicKnowledgeRepository? It's both, because the act of engagement also results in an artifact! (KDY)
Why is this important? Because when we think of the two as distinct actions, then doing both means double the work. When we think of the two as having significant overlap (via relatively minor shifts in work practice), then we get (at least) twice the benefit for half as much work. (KDZ)
This conflation is central to methodologies like DialogMapping. JeffConklin talks about the importance of SharedDisplay as being part of the conversation. When the screen is physically part of the conversation, then participants engage with the screen as if it were another participant. That creates shared ownership over the artifact, which makes the artifact far more valuable than a meeting summary that some guy in the corner scribbled onto his laptop and emailed out afterwards. (KE0)
The benefits multiply even more when you take into account LeaveATrail and scale. Having a closed DKR for a small team is valuable, but opening that DKR up for the entire world to see increases the potential for serendipity and emergence. (KE1)
I would argue very strongly for folks to think about community engagement and maintaining a knowledge repository as part of the same bucket, because they should be very closely tied to each other. For example, when I add content or refactor the public Hyperscope Wiki, I consider that part of my community engagement strategy. That said, these two concepts are not identical. This is important to remember also. Simply dumping information into a public repository is not a very effective community engagement strategy. However, proactively reaching out to people and encouraging them to interact in the public repository is a great community engagement strategy. (KE2)
Jeff's framing is probably the best way to think about it: Your knowledge repository should be thought of as a participant in your collaborative process, not just something external. (KE3)
/collaboration | Posted at 4:43pm
Wed, Mar 15, 2006
Jenna Johnson: A Yellow Thread #
BillPlaschke doesn't know a damn thing about sports, but he's got the art of the tear jerker down pat. His latest is the inspiring story of JennaJohnson, a 22-year old production assistant for the George Lopez Show, who collapsed and died while training for the L.A. Marathon. (KD5)
Here's what Plaschke says about Jenna: (KD6)
On the set of ABC's top-rated situation comedy, she was the 22-year-old kid with the lowly job and the heavenly spirit. (KD7)
She was a cheerleader to the camera guys, the "Hello" to the dolly grips, a "Boom" for the mike operators, a direction for the directors, a joyous energy that even awed George Lopez himself. (KD8)
"Her job was as low as you could get, but nobody ever saw her like that," he said. "She had a presence. I've seen studio executives who didn't have that presence." (KD9)
... (KDA)
In Sunday's L.A. Marathon, nearly half of the 100-member cast and crew of "The George Lopez Show" is going to run the marathon, relay style, in her memory. (KDB)
"She started it," said Frank Pace, the show's producer. "We have to finish it for her." (KDC)
One mile per person. (KDD)
... (KDE)
Black, white, Latino, directors, script coordinators, a dialogue coach, everyone speaking the same language, in a dialect rarely heard amid the often petty hierarchy that is the entertainment industry. (KDF)
The last shall be first. (KDG)
All of this for someone who made $575 a week and made the runs to the studio-lot Starbucks. (KDH)
"Most of the time, the people running around getting coffee, nobody knows who they are," said Hope Erickson, an assistant production coordinator who coordinated the run. "But everyone knew Jenna. She was so happy, so positive, it rubbed off on everybody." (KDI)
... (KDJ)
Her framed University of Miami jersey, No. 6, will be in the background in future episodes. (KDK)
She is receiving the producer credit for her last episode. (KDL)
And she should receive a director credit for bringing so many industry types together for something that does not involve a camera. (KDM)
Do they give an Emmy for Best Family? (KDN)
"Jenna Johnson moved people in ways that are hard to define," producer Pace said. "And now she's doing it again." (KDO)
Jenna is a classic example of a YellowThread, someone who makes those around him or her much, much brighter. It's sad that it takes a tragedy like this for YellowThreads to take center stage. My deepest sympathy goes to Jenna's family and friends. (KDP)
/collaboration | Posted at 12:25pm
Mon, Mar 13, 2006
Usability and Encouraging Expert Usage #
I was at SuperHappyDevHouse last Saturday with the rest of the Hyperscope crew. At around 2am, a group of us started having this great conversation about usability. Late night serendipity -- you've got to love it. (KCT)
TonyChang asked us what we thought the most frequently pressed button was in Microsoft Office. We all guessed wrong. The correct answer is "Paste." It turns out that practically no one uses Ctl-V to paste in Office. This, of course, was stunning news to all of us developer types, because we all use Ctl-V regularly. (KCU)
Tony's point was that real-world data trumps so-called expertise, a point that was hammered into all of us over and over again at the FLOSS Usability Sprints. (KCV)
Microsoft's response to this data was to enlarge the Paste button. (See JensenHarris's BayCHI talk for more on Office usability.) This response troubles me. On the one hand, it enhances the usability of the application for novices, which is a good thing. On the other hand, it does nothing to encourage users to learn the keyboard shortcuts. (KCW)
DougEngelbart often decries the misguided notion of "user friendliness everywhere" by saying that we would not want a world where everyone rode tricycles. Tricycles serve their purpose, but eventually, most people upgrade to bikes. (KCX)
How can we design our apps that are usable for novice usage, but that also encourage expert usage? In other words, How do we design bikes with training wheels rather than bicycles? In the Office example, I would argue that there's value in encouraging expert behavior and that emphasizing the Paste button is counter-productive in this regard. (KCY)
PieMenus are an excellent example of usable design that encourages expert usage. They address a novice need, but they also encourage expert behavior, because calling commands is associated with a physical gesture that becomes part of a user's muscle memory. (KCZ)
At RecentChangesCamp, WardCunningham talked about one of his challenges at EclipseFoundation. He observed that the core Eclipse developers used the tool much differently than most users, an experience that was far more powerful and hence, far more gratifying. In typical Ward fashion, he's trying to create a social space in which the core developers share their "aha" experiences with Eclipse as a means to encourage expert usage. (KD0)
There are definitely cultural aspects of encouraging expert usage, but I also wonder if there are affordances that we should be encouraging in the design of the technology itself. (KD1)
/tech | Posted at 10:21pm
PurpleFS #
PaulVisscher announced PurpleFS: (KCN)
PurpleFS is a FUSE filesystem that allows you to transclude PurpleNumbers. (KCO)
In other words, PurpleFS is a filesystem interface to the Purple library. Super coolness. (KCP)
(This, by the way, is an excellent example of LeaveATrail. Paul is part of the ChurchOfPurple, and there were any number of public places he could have announced this tool. I didn't happen to be on any of the ones he chose (although it's also possible that he just hasn't posted to any of those places yet). And that's perfectly okay, because he blogged it, and I follow his blog. He left a trail. It's nice and efficient for all involved. It's loose coupling, but it's tight enough to maintain a sense of community and to enable tighter collaboration in the future.) (KCQ)
/tech/purple | Posted at 5:26pm
Leave A Trail: Stigmergy and Effective Large Group Collaboration #
One of the challenges with large group collaboration is keeping track of what others are doing. With a small group, the project manager or group leader can take on the responsibility of keeping others informed. If it's a single organization, you can theoretically mandate a communication strategy from above, although in reality, this doesn't work effectively when the organization is large and diverse. For large-scale collaboration between different groups, neither of these are realistic options. (KCB)
How can large groups communicate most effectively? The answer is stigmergy, a term ChrisDent first introduced to me about four years ago. Stigmergy is a form of indirect communication where organisms react to signs left by others. Ants communicate by stigmergy. They leave a trail of pheremones that other ants pick up and react to. Stigmergy -- not centralized command-and-control -- is responsible for those amazing anthills. (KCC)
There is an equivalent pattern in effective large group collaboration: LeaveATrail. I've called this pattern ThinkOutLoud and VisiblePulse in the past, but I like "LeaveATrail" better, because of its association with stigmergy. (Obligatory karma reference: I first heard this name from PeterKaminski, who in turn credits ChrisMessina for explaining it as a principle of BarCamp.) MGTaylor calls this pattern ShipProduct? and often describes it in the context of StuartKauffman's work and patch theory. (KCD)
The idea is simple. When you work, leave an artifact somewhere where others can find it. An artifact doesn't have to be comprehensive; in fact, it's often better when it isn't. A brief meeting summary is usually more useful than a full transcript. A brief summary with links to specific instances in the transcript is even more useful. (KCE)
When you LeaveATrail, you're communicating to whomever wants to listen, which may effect how you express yourself. This can be disconcerting to some. People often point to the lack of response as a sign that tools like online forums, blogs, or Wikis aren't working. That's not necessarily the case. There may be a whole slew of lurkers who are reacting to the signs that you are leaving. (That said, ImmediateFeedback? is also an important pattern in OnlineCommunities?.) (KCF)
This can also be difficult when determining what kind of trail to leave. Because you don't know who will be reacting to your signs, you can't target them. The solution is to ScratchYourOwnItch. (KCG)
Emergence can't happen without LeaveATrail. However, LeaveATrail is just one of many conditions for emergence. You can't dictate whether emergence will happen, and when it does, you can't control what actually emerges. The best you can do is create conditions for emergence and hope that good things happen. This is disconcerting to many, and folks often react by trying to assert more control, which makes things worse. (KCH)
LeaveATrail and other principles are helpful in designing community spaces. For example, if you are trying to integrate blogs or Wikis into a community's practice, the best way to do that is to apply the tool in such a way that it scratches an individual's itch while also leaving a trail. For example, many good project leaders are good at doing meeting summaries. Instead of having them email a small subset of individuals, have them email a public, archived mailing list. Better yet, have them blog their summaries and email links to the blog. You're not significantly changing individual behavior in these situations, but you are significantly improving your chances for large-scale collaboration. (KCI)
/collaboration/patterns | Posted at 4:21pm
Thu, Mar 09, 2006
Augment Flashback #
This past Tuesday night, we had an Augment jam session. Here I am using a thirty year old ChordingKeyset to play with a forty year old piece of software. (KC0)
Puts a chill down your spine. Thanks to JohnDeneen for taking the pictures. (KC2)
The original Augment server is still running on TOPS-20, which is running on top of a PDP-10 emulator written by KenHarrenstien called called KLH10. All of this is currently running on a Solaris box sitting in DougEngelbart's office at Logitech. Doug often shakes his head with amusement when he explains that the current system running on emulation is many, many, many times faster than the original. (KC3)
The client software we're using in the picture is Java Augterm, written by HowardPalmer. It uses Augment's "dumb" protocol -- VAT0 -- to communicate with the server. There's a smarter protocol called VAT1 that has some more advanced capabilities. (KC4)
We don't know the exact date of the keyset (yet), but it probably dates back to the 1970s. It's still in fantastic condition, and it feels great. JonCheyer's friend, Brian, has been building USB adaptors for these keysets. Jon wrote the keyset driver in Java, which is part of the Augterm software itself. (KC5)
We'll be doing another jam session this Saturday at SuperHappyDevHouse, which is open to everyone, so come join the fun! (KC6)
/tech/hyperscope | Posted at 8:04am
Wed, Mar 08, 2006
Announcing the Hyperscope Project #
One of the new projects I have the joy of being involved with this year is DougEngelbart's Hyperscope. Doug recently got a bit of NSF funding to build an OpenSource prototype of his vision for a Hyperscope, and Doug asked me to lead the project. (KAT)
You can read more about the project on the project blog. In short, we're replicating the original hypertext system's (Augment) browsing (jumping) and viewing capabilities in FireFox. (KAU)
Why is this significant? Because even though most of the world knows that DougEngelbart built the first hypertext system in the 1960s, very few people have ever seen and experienced the system first-hand. And boy, is it a doozy. Doug continues to use the system every day, and it has capabilities that no other system has today. (KAV)
We want the world to see these features, and we want the world to have the opportunity to learn from them and to integrate them into their own systems. We also want the world to realize that these are not features for features' sake, but are part of a much larger vision of how society can (and must) get collectively smarter. (KAW)
This project -- and Doug's larger vision -- is about improving society's ability to collaborate. And that's why I'm involved. We're not building code for code's sake (although the code will kick ass). We are kicking off a larger community conversation about how we can improve collaboration, and how we can and should improve our tools to augment our capabilities. (KAX)
Join The Community (KAY)
We've got a fantastic core team in place. BradNeuberg is our lead developer. I've written about Brad's coworking efforts, but I haven't written about how he's a kick-butt developer who's doing wild things with AJAX. More importantly, he's also a deep thinker, which is an absolute requirement to be successful in this position, a leader in the OpenSource community, and a lifetime Engelbart fan (not a requirement, but it didn't hurt). (KAZ)
Also joining us is JonathanCheyer. Jon's a long-time member of the CollaborationCollaboratory, and he's also the tech lead for the ComputerHistoryMuseum's NLS/Augment Restoration Project. I'm pretty sure he's the most proficient Augment user under 40, and I'm quite certain he knows more about Augment's internals than anyone else under 40. (KB0)
What makes the project even more fun is that we've been working with folks from Doug's original lab. His daughter, ChristinaEngelbart, is program manager and is also sharing her insights into how the system was used as well as her knowledge of Doug's larger vision. JeffRulifson and CharlesIrby, the first software leads in Doug's lab, have shared a lot of their knowledge with us, as have HarveyLehtman and RaylenePak. These gatherings have not only been extremely educational -- stories galore -- they have been tons of fun, and we want to encourage other ex-ARC folks to touch base with us and be part of this new community. (KB1)
Some additional acknowledgements: MarkFinnern is one of Doug's biggest supporters, and he has given Doug a valuable forum at FutureSalon. He also hooked us up with BlakeRoss and JoeHewitt of FireFox fame, two very cool guys who spent some time with Doug and whom we hope will continually engage with this community. A big shout out also to PhilipGust, also of the NLS/Augment Restoration Project, DoraiThodla, who experimented with an early prototype of the Hyperscope in Java, and DaveThomas and his OpenAugment team. (KB2)
Please join us! Subscribe to our mailing lists and blog (and weekly podcasts), and participate on our Wiki. I'll mostly blog about the project on the project blog, but I'll also occasionally discuss stuff here. Brad is also blogging about the project. We'll also be at SuperHappyDevHouse this Saturday doing an Augment jam session. (KB3)
BlueOxenAssociates (KB4)
I'm involved with this project for personal and professional reasons. As I said earlier, this is not just about building a piece of code. It's about engaging with the community at large and building a movement that falls squarely within the mission of my company. The Hyperscope project will help ground larger conversations about how we can and should improve tool interoperability and usability. More importantly, it will ground larger conversations about process and the bigger picture. (KB5)
At a very concrete level, the Hyperscope falls well within our goal to bring these deeper ideas into existing tools. Not surprisingly, the Hyperscope should integrate very easily with PurpleWiki (as well as other Wikis), providing a new, slick and useful browsing capability. As the project progresses, I'm looking forward to evolving our tools, as well as seeing other folks evolve theirs. (KB6)
On a personal level, Doug is why I'm in this business. I've never been happier with my work than I've been in the past three and a half years at BlueOxenAssociates. I bring people doing meaningful work together, I help them collaborate better, and I do it in an open way that hopefully has a much larger societal impact. It's intellectually satisfying and emotionally fulfilling. And I wouldn't be doing any of this had it not been for Doug, who's been a mentor, a friend, and a cheerleader. (KB7)
In a way, starting BlueOxenAssociates was my gift to him -- a commitment on my part to carry out his larger vision. But working on the Hyperscope is a much more concrete way of returning the favor, and I look forward to doing this for him and for the community at large. (KB8)
/blueoxen | Posted at 10:31am
Fri, Mar 03, 2006
Mimi Yin on Getting Things Done #
MimiYin (along with MerlinMann) will be speaking on GettingThingsDone at BayCHI on Tuesday, March 14, in PaloAlto. Mimi is awesome. She works on Chandler at OSAF, and she has been one of our superstars at our past two FLOSS Usability Sprints. Sadly, I've got regular Tuesday night project meetings, so I won't be able to attend myself, but I highly encourage others to check it out. (KAQ)
/talks | Posted at 12:53pm
Wed, Mar 01, 2006
Glass Plate Game #
One of the hits from last month's RecentChangesCamp was DunbarAitkens's GlassPlateGame. Inspired by HermanHesse's GlassBeadGame, the GlassPlateGame stimulates interesting conversations, encouraging and capturing connections between different ideas that are raised. There are no winners or losers. The game serves as a facilitative device, encouraging civil dialog and learning, and in the end, you have an artifact from which you can transcribe the conversation. (K9X)
The game consists of a set of cards (which you can create yourself) that represent a number of different themes. There are also 24 wooden blocks, sequentially numbered, that each represents a "move" and the state of conversation. There are four possible states: "P" (permit the latest connection), "C" (challenge the latest connection), "O" (mutual understanding; move on to the next move), and "blank" (no resolution; move on to the next move). There are also several colored, translucent pieces of plastic that you use to make connections. (K9Z)
To start the game, someone picks a theme by placing the first piece and a piece of plastic on a card. Each move after that represents a connection between two themes (cards). You make a connection by placing a piece on another card and a piece of plastic whose color matches the plastic on a previous card. Once a connection is made, you have a conversation, turning the cube around throughout to represent the state of the conversation. Once the cube is on "O" or "blank," someone makes a new move/connection. The game continues until you reach the 24th move or until no one has anything to say. At that point, you are encouraged to transcribe the conversation, using the game board as a memory device. (KA0)
I actually didn't get to play at RecentChangesCamp -- I kept getting pulled away by other things. I regretted it even more after the conference, because on the car ride up to Seattle, MichaelHerman and TedErnst were saying really intriguing things about it. Fortunately, Dunbar lives in Corvallis, and on my way back from RecentChangesCamp and Seattle, JohnSechrest graciously hosted dinner and a game. (KA2)
I think the concept is brilliant, and judging by the number of folks who played it at RecentChangesCamp and ordered a set for themselves, I'm not alone. I plan on hosting salons to play the game and to contribute to Dunbar's compilations of transcripts (part of his bigger vision to transcribe a global, distributed GlassPlateGame). (KA4)
I also think the GlassPlateGame could be a powerful device at face-to-face gatherings. The facilitative principles are similar to those espoused by DialogMapping in that there is a grammar and that SharedDisplay is a big reason for its effectiveness. MGTaylor uses the principles of GlassBeadGame to great effect in their process. One of the best instantiations of the game I've seen was when I first worked with GailTaylor at the 2003 PlaNetworkConference. Each breakout group gets a white, 2'x2'x2' cardboard box, and they are encouraged to capture their ideas on one or more side. In the report-out, the groups are encouraged to make connections with each other by positioning or stacking their boxes next to each other. It's a great device that works really well. (KA5)
In particular, I think the game could work really well with WorldCafe. Instead of (or in addition to) butcher paper, crafts, and the other typical devices used for capture, you could setup GlassPlateGame at each table. I'm looking forward to experimenting with this possibility. (KA6)
/collaboration | Posted at 10:16am
