Different strokes for different folks
Marc, that’s not what an unconference is!
They’re very structured affairs. http://www.bloggercon.org/iii/newbies Please, check it out. It’s not what you think it is.
If we do an unconference, there will be a grid, and discussion leaders, and lots of planning. I think it would be great if you would come to one, but please, don’t come with these expectations. What you’re describing is something I would not participate in myself, because all anyone would talk about is “business models” and that’s just more powerlessness.
I want to talk about Amazon S3, and what we can build on it. And S3-alike systems. And what namespaces do we need for RSS. And how to bootstrap the next layer of the web. Real stuff, not airy fairy stuff.
Well I guess that ain’t gonna fit into a bar. 
Dave is gonna solicit office on the downtown area (they’re already solicting him) - and we’ll line up the right sort of facilitators (Jeff Jarvis - you gonna be around?) - and I promise not to talk too much and dominate the conversations.
I agree that having the agenda set by the mob - creates pure chaos. Great for parties - but not for “getting things done”.
So I guess the first question is: “what needs to get done?”
Here follows are my own set of issues I’d like to see ’solved’.
1. We need open APIs on everything. We need those APIs to be two-way - so we can both read and write data to and from these web services.
2. Every single fucking social network out there needs to be open - with Open APIs and support ’some sort’ of data structure to facilitate the movement of your end-user’s data. Your customers have lists of friends, what blog posts they’ve created, their media galleries, their fav lists, etc. You don’t own this data (I’m talking to those few social network operators out there who I KNOW are reading this.) The end-users own their data. And they wanna move it to otehr social networks. And if I was large three lettered company about to release a social network - I’d make SURE you supported open APIs and data structure (like FOAF and XFN/hCard) to move your end-users data between systems.
3. StructuredBlogging.org. This is the organization and initiative we helped setup and the plugins for Wordpress and Moveable Type that we created. The notion of SB.org is to create a compatibility box of standards - and make sure that no human ever has to worry about which ‘version’ of events, reviews or lists they’re supporting. Its 1,000,000,000,000,000,000% microformats.org compatible - but we’re also making sure that compelling end-user solutions get built - to show people why structured content is so important and what to do with it. We’re about to relaunch the SB.org site - with fresh new tutorials, bug fixes, better explanation blah blah blah. Give us til Monday on that one.
4. RedirectThis.com - the universal “BLOG THIS” button. A web service which enables folks to specify WHICH tool they wish to move the post that they wanna blog about. Right now - these sort of buttons are cropping up on Yahoo - and it sends the post to Yahoo’s own blogging tool. But every end-user needs to have control over WHERE they send the content they wish to blog about and RedirectThis enables them to specify that.
5. OutputThis.com - how many blogs do YOU have? Wouldn’t it be coolio if you could post to any or all of them - dirctly from your blog tool? And wouldn’t be even cooler is ALL blog tools had a series of checkboxes underneath your blogging form - to enable you to route your post wherevr you wanted it to go? So OutputThis is a web service that enables you to define what your destinations are. Then the blog tool picks up that list and makes a checkbox for each destination. Change your destinations master list - and all your blog tools get updated. Simple and coolio.
6. I’d definitely like to talk about what namespaces we need for RSS. I’ve been trying to get Dave to do that - for years now. And how to use OPML to create file formats for microcontent - that would be a coolio session.
7. I’d also like to advocate for things International. For our sisters abd brothers around the world who won’t be able to be there. Amercians are so bigoted and close minded - I find it essential to take an outside view of everything - rather than see it as “the U.S. Congress is giving away…….” - or “our country needs to…..” or “the rate of U.S.broadband penetration has increased……” or “last week Wall St……..” I’m just sick and tired of everything being so dam U.S. oriented and dominated. Take a trip - and get a fresh perspective on things.
So if you’re the type of person who likes to hear sponsored speeches blab on about the same old same old - then you need to go to Supernova.
But if you’re an active developer, user or advocate and you care about these issues - then come to our ‘unshow’ ‘unconference’ ‘unevent’ ‘unhip’ ‘unun’. Each to his/her own.
April 7th, 2006 at 1:25 pm
I am confused Marc? You are an open supporter of microformats and structured blogging so why support OPML, RSS and FOAF? I prefer XoXo, hAtom and hCards when combined with other microformats. Here is a great example from Dan Connelly of how this semantic web mashup 2.0 might work. - http://austin.adactio.com/
April 7th, 2006 at 1:56 pm
What you are proposing is known as an open space event:
http://www.openspaceworld.com/brief_history.htm
It works quite well despite what some people might claim. But then again these same people only know their prior art when they think it is theirs
April 7th, 2006 at 2:45 pm
I’ve been doing events in Open Space (or participating in them) for over a decade. Michael Herman (who runs the website - http://www.openspaceworld.org/ ) will be helping me with the Open Space part of MeshForum in May - I’d be happy to connect you with him for advice/suggestion/etc on Open Space events.
And the unconference format Dave’s suggesting is certainly one option, but definitely not the only model (and may/may not accommodate the aspect of open space that supports the “law of two feet” - i.e. explicit permission to leave one discussion and join others when you feel that is what you want to do)
Shannon
April 7th, 2006 at 2:51 pm
Dang, now THAT is something I might pay for out of my own pocket. Here’s a suggested addition and the coolest thing I’ve come across in a while - SPARQL
http://www.oreillynet.com/xml/blog/2005/09/sparql_web_20_meet_the_semanti.html
Take 15 minutes, do some reading and grok it Marc. It fits with Structured Blogging like chocolate chip cookies and beer.
April 8th, 2006 at 3:14 am
Arrrgh.
It’s not an Open Space thing.
Gregor, PLEASE read the FAQ.
Thank you.
April 8th, 2006 at 10:19 am
On your points 1 and 2:
I wholehardedly agree with you. I’m not going to rehash what I said about social network APIs, but the jist of it was that social networks are in a strange catch-22. Without an API, they’re too closed off. With an API, however, they won’t force people to their ad-ridden sites and can’t monetize their huge readership.
April 8th, 2006 at 7:04 pm
Love the list of issues to solve. Very nice.
April 9th, 2006 at 3:21 pm
Creating compelling business cases for open APIs would do lot to “solve” 1) and 2). “This is how open APIs will make you money…” will open more APIs than declaring that users own their data–especially because that declaration is not true until the vendor opens an API. Opening the API transfers data ownership to the users–that’s the whole reason we want them (I think).
I often get groceries at Albertsons. I generate a lot of data. Wells Fargo, my bank, has an overlapping data set. Because those services don’t give APIs–though they might–I don’t own that data. One of WalMart’s principle competitive advantages is owning the data its customers (users) produce. With compelling business cases for user-owned data, could we open those APIs too? What if Target had an API?
April 9th, 2006 at 5:13 pm
Gawd, I’d love to come. Your coast is just so damned far away….