Comments on: SpaceUp – A Space Unconference

By: @chris_radcliff

@chris_radcliff — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 20:10:32 +0000

Engineer in Houston: You're absolutely right that this isn't a PDR-level meeting. It's part brainstorm session, part lecture hall, part debate session, part demo stage. It's local, low-key, and frequent. It's also progressive; the debate from one session becomes a brainstorm in the next, and might be a demo at the next. (At tech BarCamps, that's where the VCs are seen circling.)

It's productive to the extent that standard ways of communicating aren't perfect. The conversations we've all had in conference hallways (or at those lunches) are the prior evidence. Here they're made the focus, among a group of people you might not think to invite. It can be nurturing, enlightening, unsettling, or all three.

Why an unconference for space, though? I postulate that there's an untapped well of capability, enthusiasm, and resources in the space community that's sorely needed right now. I want to connect up the scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, teachers, students, and advocates I've talked to over the past few years, and I hope SpaceUp will be a place for that. We'll see.

Kaliya's right, by the way. Open Space gave us with the Law of Two Feet two decades ago. (I learned it from her at MashupCamp four years ago.) BarCamp is a particularly successful implementation, still expanding globally, but it's just one of many. I doubt it's a fad, but either way it should last at least until spring.

By: Kaliya

Kaliya — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 03:04:41 +0000

So, The Law of 2 Feet comes from Open Space Technology and GOES WITH the Principles of Open Space. I hope that you will familiarize yourself with that method that is a precursor by 20 years to BarCamp . I have a lot of material on the unconference blog about running successful unconferences for professional settings. http://www.unconference.net

For the Engineer in Houston – well designed and professionally facilitated unconferences are regularly used in the information technology industry to get real work done across companies and industry niches – It helps if they have a clear purpose and a proactive invitation team. The internet Identity Workshop is one such event – http://www.internetidentityworkshop.com.

The Mass Technology Leadership Council has now hosted 3 of them and was written up in Inc. Magazine for their latest event – http://www.inc.com/magazine/20.....o-t…

By: Engineer in Houston

Engineer in Houston — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 04:45:02 +0000

OK, I'm missing something here. What is a BarCamp for? Obviously, it isn't for a PDR level meeting. I can't see this format being applied to any meeting I've ever attended in the last 25 years on Aerospace and Defense. It seems to me like something that might be viewed in a year as a passing fad an old buzz-word, left behind for the next new thing. It may be great for getting people excited and talking about stuff, if your goal is to … get people excited and talk about stuff. OTOH, if this is just another name for a sort of free-form or casual brainstorming, it doesn't seem to be any different than most lunches I've had with friends and co-workers.

Pardon my cynicism, but can you give me a "for-instance" – a few examples of where this style of meeting might be productive?

By: mrdoornbos

mrdoornbos — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 12:50:51 +0000

Great comments and thanks for supporting this event. Love your 10 reasons list

By: @chris_radcliff

@chris_radcliff — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 04:46:15 +0000

Thanks for the kind words about SpaceUp. Maybe with our combined efforts we can sway NASA toward opening yours up.

Oh, and I'm totally stealing your 10 reasons why BarCamp is better. It's the best summary of the format's strengths I've seen yet.

By: uberVU - social comments

uberVU - social comments — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 04:37:04 +0000

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