Information

Action Group 4 OAC

The purpose of this group is to have a peg in the OAC for people to share what they can do, or would suggest can be done to carry on the usefulness of having 5000 anthropologists linked (however protractedly).

 

Essentially Occupy it in the sense of bringing more life and meaning to a space.

Website: http://kularing.info
Location: Canterbury & Online
Members: 43
Latest Activity: Jun 13, 2013

WORKING GROUPS, PREMISES & PROPOSALS

**************************************UPDATE********************************************

PLEASE POST YOUR COMMENTS IN THE RELEVANT WORKING GROUPS

ONCE PEOPLE HAVE INDICATIVELY IDENTIFIED THEMSELVES AS

  • WANTING TO BE PART OF A WORKING GROUP 
  • OR HAVE SHARED THEIR SUGGESTIONS ON ITS COMMENT WALL
  • WE SHALL PROCEED DEVELOPING BETTER WORKING SPACES.

IMO - architects & techies

TIPI - relations to Occupy movement

AGARIC - offline activities

RHIZOME - members outreach

DIDGE - coherent media

Also see this discussion here: WHAT IS THE OAC FOR?

(you may need to repost your comments from the main thread)

Please still feel free to comment on the main wall.

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This group has been instigated due to the reading of this by Keith Hart - http://openanthcoop.ning.com/forum/topics/anthropologists-in-the-global-occupy-movement

This group has two premises that should be answered (in an on-going fashion).

a) that bringing together 5000 Anthropologists is useful

b) that 5000 Anthropologists can both maintain themselves as a community for the purposes of sharing/learning and conversing on great anthropological stuff 

Proposal: We would also like it to grow to be more able at making this learning more of a total social fact outside of an academic or online discourse.

Elaine summary AG4OAC 1 Dec.odt

Discussion Forum

Isolated Anthropologists 8 Replies

Am I alone? I am indeed alone, as the single anthropologist in a University that specializes in management and technology.  This leads of course to a sort of academic isolation and - with the best…Continue

Started by Charles Kirke. Last reply by Charles Kirke Jan 11, 2012.

Suggestions 15 Replies

a place to post suggestionsContinue

Tags: sustainability, practical, suggestions, action, anthropology

Started by Abraham Heinemann. Last reply by Adonia Lugo Dec 2, 2011.

What is the OAC 4? 11 Replies

We have had some discussion on the main thread concerning a possible mission statement or manifesto for the OAC, with some emphasis on an apparent contradiction between the need to clarify what we…Continue

Started by Keith Hart. Last reply by Adonia Lugo Dec 2, 2011.

Comment Wall

Comment

You need to be a member of Action Group 4 OAC to add comments!

Comment by Elaine Forde on June 13, 2013 at 2:24pm

Take 2-

Hi everyone,

Keith has reminded me of the difficulties of collaborating just using the message function. So, as regards "terminology of the week", I'm going to set this up as a group, and stick on a term every week for the first few weeks, and hopefully some of you mavens will join me. We can easily gauge the uptake by group membership. If it's dead in the water we can abandon ship... just thought I'd "float" this one (*groan).

Comment by John McCreery on February 9, 2012 at 9:26pm

To whom I may concern: Arvind, writing on AnthroDesign offers the following to those trying to start online communities.

I've always found Amy Jo Kim's principles for community building quite useful:

Nine Timeless Design Principles for Community Building on the Web:

1) Define the PURPOSE of the community

2) Create distinct, member-extensible GATHERING PLACES

3) Create MEMBER PROFILES that evolve over time

4) Promote effective LEADERSHIP

5) Define a clear-yet-flexible CODE OF CONDUCT

6) Organize and promote CYCLIC EVENTS

7) Provide a RANGE OF ROLES that couple power with responsibility

8) Facilitate member-created SUB-GROUPS

9) Integrate the online environment with the REAL WORLD

http://reinvention.intercreate.net/?p=52

originally from Kim, Amy J. (2000). Community Building on the Web: Secret Strategies for Successful Online Communities. 
http://www.peachpit.com/store/product.aspx?isbn=0321488911

Comment by John McCreery on December 21, 2011 at 9:10am

Beautifully said, Francine. Best wishes for a happy Christmas and a healthy and prosperous New Year.

Comment by Francine Barone on December 21, 2011 at 5:56am

The holiday period is always slow. One good thing is that January usually brings new energy. Maybe everyone who has participated in these discussions so far can think about at least one thing they can commit to in the new year, whether it's "big picture" planning/brainstorming, joining in more of these discussions, building a new project or taking some kind of action. There's space for people to take on both large and small responsibilities here (even becoming a regular meet-and-greeter as described by Elaine).

Comment by Oscar González on December 20, 2011 at 9:49pm

Keith & friends:

My comment was not only to say that you are great persons doing right and valuable job. I also tried to state something about people in different countries, sites and situations. They (we) do something to maintain and extend your ideas and intentions, even when personal situation may condition to put no more than a grain of sand. Also to say that people (members of OAC or not) are in a variety of political and social (local or national) contexts.

Comment by Abraham Heinemann on December 20, 2011 at 3:37pm

oh, and here is something to think about perhaps when designing a community space - http://vimeo.com/33942157 - indigenous production, ethnographically generated innovation and p2p sharing

Comment by Abraham Heinemann on December 20, 2011 at 3:17pm

Dear Keith, Elaine and John, 

Keith said: "Having participated in the flurry of activity sparked by Abraham (what happened to him?"

I am aware I have not been able to follow-up on this at the present time due to a final barrage of assignments and I am now abroad doing my fieldwork for dissertation with intermittent internet access. So what I want to say is that I have not disappeared out of not wanting to follow-up on the reasons for this group.

I am fully committed but once returning from fieldwork, I will be writing up what is going to be a very large dissertation, whilst organising the first national anthropology undergraduate conference - http://www.breakingbubbles.com/ (which I hope to invite OAC in some form).

However I am going to timetable better and set myself a once week period of a couple hours once I return in mid-january to put my web-experience and non-visible enthusiasm for OAC to some use. 

I hope this adds some small assurance to this endeavour :)

Comment by Elaine Forde on December 20, 2011 at 2:25pm

Keith says: Rather than try to change the OAC as a whole, I would like to encourage individual members in ones, twos or threes to try something new. We have hardly begun to explore what is possible here, but it can't and shouldn't be done from the top coordinated by the leadership, such as it is

That's a good point and something anyone can implement informally

John says: I suggest asking Elaine to head a project team to which everyone who contributed to the 56 messages you mention will be invited. The team will be tasked with coming up with a revitalization plan including specific, actionable steps by, say, the end of January. May work. May not.

I would consider it, but really I have limited knowledge of site functionality and potential- I've noticed a lot of "ideas" can simply happen anyway. Take meet and greet for instance, a quick search on recent members shows join date, name and location- anyone can drop a new member a line if they feel like it (now I greet UK people, especially those nearby or near my college as we may have something in common). And so on. I think a group summary will crystallise what active members want or want to say, then it's there for those who are in a position to respond. As for involving other group members, I did produce an interim summary of this thread which was mainly a response to claims that the thread was huge and partly as we'd agreed I'd do so at some point anyway it helped tp break the task down. Now, given that I'd just taken on the task to respresent the thread's P-O-V there seemed to be no response so either I did a *perfect* job of it or group members have simply lost interest after posting their views. But we will have a summary of what this thread was about to work with should interested parties spot something they like and can make happen.

Perhaps when we have a final summary of this thread and associated groups an admin could send it to every member for their consideration. I remember Keith did a mass-invite to this group and sparked as you say a flurry of activity. I'll probably start the task soon-ish and aim for January, since things have dwindled down to the usual suspects :)

Comment by Keith Hart on December 20, 2011 at 11:29am

I have a dwindling number of active helpers here and I usually respond positively to any initiative from members. I also have a long-term commitment to the OAC which I doubt is widely shared. Having participated in the flurry of activity sparked by Abraham (what happened to him?), I watched the talking shop reach a brief crescendo and die. So I posted a bleak alternative to my usual boosterism. Ideas are cheap. Anyone can sound off for a while and then disappear. I appreciate and supported Elaine's enthusiasm and willingness to do something, but I saw little evidence of support. She and I traded ideas on one of the special platforms of this group, but there were no other takers.

The subject of the thread is how to build the OAC as a new kind of social form and that is a lot more difficult. Oscar in essence said, Don't flagellate yourselves. There is a lot of good stuff here that people use in ways you can't see. I was agreeing with him. Rather than try to change the OAC as a whole, I would like to encourage individual members in ones, twos or threes to try something new. We have hardly begun to explore what is possible here, but it can't and shouldn't be done from the top coordinated by the leadership, such as it is. If any such initiative needs a change of status to administrator, I would be glad to consider it. If some advice or help from those who have been around here from the beginning and act as stewards would be useful, please ask for it.

And yes, timing matters. There are times to begin things and they do not include the onset of the holiday season. But the period from mid-January to May is good. Let's try more self-organization. There are very few barriers to it here and you don't need my permission to try.

Comment by John McCreery on December 20, 2011 at 2:40am
Keith, with all due respect, when the founder of OAC writes, " I sometimes think that beating our chests about reaching invisible people and making ineffective moves to coordinate the OAC are inconsistent with what we have become. Planned change is so twentieth century," the message seems pretty clear--those in charge are feeling burnt out. The feeling is understandable. The effect is decidedly off-putting.

In a livelier moment that might not matter so much. But coming at a moment when a first burst of enthusiasm is winding down, it blows out a flame in need of fuel. Unfortunate,too, that semesters are ending and holidays approaching. These are always quiet times on line.

What to do? I suggest asking Elaine to head a project team to which everyone who contributed to the 56 messages you mention will be invited. The team will be tasked with coming up with a revitalization plan including specific, actionable steps by, say, the end of January. May work. May not. But nothing ventured, nothing gained.
 
 
 

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