eekim.com: EEK Speaks

Sat, Nov 24, 2007

Babble Voice Privacy System #

KirstenJones recently pointed me to HermanMiller's Babble Voice Privacy System. Babble is a small device (about the size of a tape player) that takes sound within a certain radius and rebroadcasts it as nonsense. In other words, it allows you to have private conversations in open spaces. (MQP)

Babble is being marketed as a privacy device, but it's actually an important productivity device. People are good at ignoring white noise. When our brains hear sounds they don't recognize, they ignore them. People are bad at ignoring recognizable sounds. Every ambient conversation we overhear is a concentration breaker. (MQQ)

The list price for a Babble is $695, which is steep for most mortals. However, there's a simple trick you can use for similar effect: music. People do this all the time on their own: When they need to concentrate, they put on their headphones. However, you can do this for an entire space as well. (MQR)

The added benefit of using music in this way for OpenSpace-style events is that you can use this as a transitional device. Raise the volume when you want people to move, and lower the volume when you've achieved your goal. MGTaylor does this all the time, but they're not the only ones. OpenSpace facilitators often use Tibetan prayer bells to signal transition. AllenGunn (Gunner) will often start singing when he wants people to transition. (MQS)

/collaboration/tools | Posted at 12:04am

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EEK Speaks

A blog about collaboration, community-building, and the various goings-on at Blue Oxen Associates, with occasional digressions on food and other vital matters.