Two quick points re. the suggestion to take AOIR 5.0 "virtual". Firstly, as we know, much of the most important action at conferences takes place f2f and outside the formal proceedings - networking in hallways, ad hoc dinners, late-night drinking, etc. Obviously this puts colleagues with limited travel funding and/or from distant locations at a disadvantage, but I doubt these dynamics and interactions can be easily replicated in cyberspace (oh oh, I may have just started something ;-)). Secondly, on the technical side (and in response to Bernie's helpful intervention), the degree of technical and logistical complexity should not be underestimated here. Just setting up cybercafes, ensuring internet and/or wireless access onsite etc. can be a challenge (often involving negotiating with hotel management and tech staff etc.) Past AOIR local organizing committees can speak to this I'm sure. Webcasting would seem to be a feasible option, provided good tech resources and support are in place, and it still offers a certain degree of interactivity. In principle, AOIR should do what it can to take advantage of technology to increase remote access to conference proceedings, but this effort should be complementary, as opposed to one which seeks to substitute for f2f conferences altogether. In addition, technological initiatives should not be allowed to drain undue energy and resources from the effort of mounting the f2f event, which is a danger. Perhaps others could propose and coordinate pilot initiatives (along the lines of the AOIR Toronto conference blog), and report back to the membership and executive re. their effectiveness. These could feed into a more formal plan to virtualize aspects of the AOIR conference in coming years. My two cents worth. Graham -- Graham Longford, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Community Informatics Faculty of Information Studies 140 St. George St., Rm 652 University of Toronto Toronto, ON M5S 3G6 Tel: 416-978-4715 Fax: 416-971-1399
Have you heard of the movie "Ocean's 11" ? In the movie, eleven thieves work together to rob a Las Vegas casino, an act that was essentially considered impossible before because it is just to huge and complex a task. Well, I'm not saying that any of us are thieves or crooks, but I'd like to introduce you to "Air's 13" : 11 people on the exec, the program chair, and the local person. Essentially, it is the work of these 13 people (and whoever they can push into volunteering) that makes our conferences happen. Think about that. That's really a pretty remarkable accomplishment, and all of them are doing it on a volunteer basis, with no compensation, and many of the 13 do it without even getting release time from their employers/universities. I've been around AoIR long enough (first as a student volunteer for the first conference, then as an exec member) to realize that if the people in charge COULD accommodate all the wonderful ideas that are raised on air-l and air-conf and air-meet every year, they WOULD do it in a heartbeat. But it's just not possible without help from you, the conference attendees and/or members. We've been able to do some things (in addition to improving and growing our conferences). For example, we have a video with conference scenes from the first conference, even streamed, created by some of my students from back then as a student project. We had a CD-ROm once with conference papers on it. Both of these were volunteer projects. So, if you want AoIR to go virtual now *and in the future*, then someone has to step forward and take on the responsibility of investigating that option and then we can decide whether we'll try to implement it or not. Then we'll need a bunch more people who help implement it. Similarly with access to the conference papers. Jeremy ends up having to put all of them online himself, because despite his call for volunteers, no one stepped forward. And Jeremy already spends several hours a week (if not day) working for AoIR. I'm feeling a little like I'm wagging my index finger in your faces saying, "You bad, bad child." And I do want to make you feel a little guilty. I want to remind you that our association and our conferences are operating at a level of professionalism, scope, and quality that far exceeds what you would normally expect if you knew that there are only 13 people behind it, Air's 13, and their (mostly student) recruits. Please continue to discuss ideas, as the exec learns from that. But if you want to make sure that any of them get implemented, you need to pick up that keyboard and start by writing to Nancy or any of the other execs and giving them a concrete idea of what you *can* and *will* contribute. For much of our work, it doesn't matter where you are, whether it's Budapest or Cairo or a non-English speaking European country or Tokyo or the US. Ulla
I'm jumping on Graham's band-wagon here and agreeing that "AOIR should do what it can to take advantage of technology to increase remote access to conference proceedings, but this effort should be complementary". How about web-casting the presentations (at a minimum) to AOIR members? And perhaps on a payment basis for non-members? This would be extremely advantageous for those us that just can't make it that year to the conference. Kylie Kylie J. Veale | Brisbane, Australia GradDipInvEnv, MInetStds(Design) PhD Candidate Media & Information, Curtin University of Technology email: kylie@veale.com.au www: http://www.veale.com.au -----Original Message----- From: air-l-aoir.org-bounces@listserv.aoir.org [mailto:air-l-aoir.org-bounces@listserv.aoir.org] On Behalf Of Graham Longford Sent: Thursday, 7 October 2004 3:34 AM To: air-l-aoir.org@listserv.aoir.org Subject: [Air-l] Why not make Aoir 5.0 "Virtual conference"? Two quick points re. the suggestion to take AOIR 5.0 "virtual". Firstly, as we know, much of the most important action at conferences takes place f2f and outside the formal proceedings - networking in hallways, ad hoc dinners, late-night drinking, etc. Obviously this puts colleagues with limited travel funding and/or from distant locations at a disadvantage, but I doubt these dynamics and interactions can be easily replicated in cyberspace (oh oh, I may have just started something ;-)). Secondly, on the technical side (and in response to Bernie's helpful intervention), the degree of technical and logistical complexity should not be underestimated here. Just setting up cybercafes, ensuring internet and/or wireless access onsite etc. can be a challenge (often involving negotiating with hotel management and tech staff etc.) Past AOIR local organizing committees can speak to this I'm sure. Webcasting would seem to be a feasible option, provided good tech resources and support are in place, and it still offers a certain degree of interactivity. In principle, AOIR should do what it can to take advantage of technology to increase remote access to conference proceedings, but this effort should be complementary, as opposed to one which seeks to substitute for f2f conferences altogether. In addition, technological initiatives should not be allowed to drain undue energy and resources from the effort of mounting the f2f event, which is a danger. Perhaps others could propose and coordinate pilot initiatives (along the lines of the AOIR Toronto conference blog), and report back to the membership and executive re. their effectiveness. These could feed into a more formal plan to virtualize aspects of the AOIR conference in coming years. My two cents worth. Graham -- Graham Longford, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Community Informatics Faculty of Information Studies 140 St. George St., Rm 652 University of Toronto Toronto, ON M5S 3G6 Tel: 416-978-4715 Fax: 416-971-1399 _______________________________________________ Air-l-aoir.org mailing list Air-l-aoir.org@listserv.aoir.org http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
money+labor is why not, if you can find a way to resolve those conundrums, then there are possibilities. but remember that you have to have equipment, you have to have connections, and you have to have people to run the equipment. it isn't a why not? or a how about. it is a who will, as in who will do the work and in the end, who will pay for it. On Oct 7, 2004, at 12:25 AM, Kylie Veale wrote:
I'm jumping on Graham's band-wagon here and agreeing that "AOIR should do what it can to take advantage of technology to increase remote access to conference proceedings, but this effort should be complementary".
How about web-casting the presentations (at a minimum) to AOIR members? And perhaps on a payment basis for non-members? This would be extremely advantageous for those us that just can't make it that year to the conference.
Kylie
Kylie J. Veale | Brisbane, Australia GradDipInvEnv, MInetStds(Design)
PhD Candidate Media & Information, Curtin University of Technology
email: kylie@veale.com.au www: http://www.veale.com.au
-----Original Message----- From: air-l-aoir.org-bounces@listserv.aoir.org [mailto:air-l-aoir.org-bounces@listserv.aoir.org] On Behalf Of Graham Longford Sent: Thursday, 7 October 2004 3:34 AM To: air-l-aoir.org@listserv.aoir.org Subject: [Air-l] Why not make Aoir 5.0 "Virtual conference"?
Two quick points re. the suggestion to take AOIR 5.0 "virtual".
Firstly, as we know, much of the most important action at conferences takes place f2f and outside the formal proceedings - networking in hallways, ad hoc dinners, late-night drinking, etc. Obviously this puts colleagues with limited travel funding and/or from distant locations at a disadvantage, but I doubt these dynamics and interactions can be easily replicated in cyberspace (oh oh, I may have just started something ;-)).
Secondly, on the technical side (and in response to Bernie's helpful intervention), the degree of technical and logistical complexity should not be underestimated here. Just setting up cybercafes, ensuring internet and/or wireless access onsite etc. can be a challenge (often involving negotiating with hotel management and tech staff etc.) Past AOIR local organizing committees can speak to this I'm sure. Webcasting would seem to be a feasible option, provided good tech resources and support are in place, and it still offers a certain degree of interactivity.
In principle, AOIR should do what it can to take advantage of technology to increase remote access to conference proceedings, but this effort should be complementary, as opposed to one which seeks to substitute for f2f conferences altogether. In addition, technological initiatives should not be allowed to drain undue energy and resources from the effort of mounting the f2f event, which is a danger. Perhaps others could propose and coordinate pilot initiatives (along the lines of the AOIR Toronto conference blog), and report back to the membership and executive re. their effectiveness. These could feed into a more formal plan to virtualize aspects of the AOIR conference in coming years.
My two cents worth.
Graham
-- Graham Longford, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Community Informatics Faculty of Information Studies 140 St. George St., Rm 652 University of Toronto Toronto, ON M5S 3G6 Tel: 416-978-4715 Fax: 416-971-1399
_______________________________________________ Air-l-aoir.org mailing list Air-l-aoir.org@listserv.aoir.org http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
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jeremy hunsinger jhuns@vt.edu www.cddc.vt.edu jeremy.tmttlt.com www.tmttlt.com () ascii ribbon campaign - against html mail /\ - against microsoft attachments
[note - I just saw Jeremy's post as I was about to hit send - I'll send anyway!] Webcasting is great in spirit, but its a very expensive business, and would take the conference budget away from more pressing needs, like internet support for conference attendees, renting laptops for presentations etc.... Even videotaping and archiving the presentations is not cheap, mic rental must be factored in, as must technical support. And it is logistically complex. At present, the paper archive for each conference year is a great resource on the cheap (and its made me the #1 google search for "media multiplexity", surely because people are linking to that site in general). Finally, there is the sort of social constructivist concern about recording sessions. It alters the dynamics of what can and will take place in the room, there is more surveillance, which can be good or bad, and there's a record, which will memorialize slips, bad presentations and all sorts of technical details. I like the idea of webcasting or archiving certain lectures, say keynotes or memorials, but overall its tough stuff, even for the most well organized and funded outfits. You'll note that Kylie Veale wrote the message below on 10/7/04 12:25 AM.
I'm jumping on Graham's band-wagon here and agreeing that "AOIR should do what it can to take advantage of technology to increase remote access to conference proceedings, but this effort should be complementary".
How about web-casting the presentations (at a minimum) to AOIR members? And perhaps on a payment basis for non-members? This would be extremely advantageous for those us that just can't make it that year to the conference.
Kylie
Kylie J. Veale | Brisbane, Australia GradDipInvEnv, MInetStds(Design)
PhD Candidate Media & Information, Curtin University of Technology
email: kylie@veale.com.au www: http://www.veale.com.au
-----Original Message----- From: air-l-aoir.org-bounces@listserv.aoir.org [mailto:air-l-aoir.org-bounces@listserv.aoir.org] On Behalf Of Graham Longford Sent: Thursday, 7 October 2004 3:34 AM To: air-l-aoir.org@listserv.aoir.org Subject: [Air-l] Why not make Aoir 5.0 "Virtual conference"?
Two quick points re. the suggestion to take AOIR 5.0 "virtual".
Firstly, as we know, much of the most important action at conferences takes place f2f and outside the formal proceedings - networking in hallways, ad hoc dinners, late-night drinking, etc. Obviously this puts colleagues with limited travel funding and/or from distant locations at a disadvantage, but I doubt these dynamics and interactions can be easily replicated in cyberspace (oh oh, I may have just started something ;-)).
Secondly, on the technical side (and in response to Bernie's helpful intervention), the degree of technical and logistical complexity should not be underestimated here. Just setting up cybercafes, ensuring internet and/or wireless access onsite etc. can be a challenge (often involving negotiating with hotel management and tech staff etc.) Past AOIR local organizing committees can speak to this I'm sure. Webcasting would seem to be a feasible option, provided good tech resources and support are in place, and it still offers a certain degree of interactivity.
In principle, AOIR should do what it can to take advantage of technology to increase remote access to conference proceedings, but this effort should be complementary, as opposed to one which seeks to substitute for f2f conferences altogether. In addition, technological initiatives should not be allowed to drain undue energy and resources from the effort of mounting the f2f event, which is a danger. Perhaps others could propose and coordinate pilot initiatives (along the lines of the AOIR Toronto conference blog), and report back to the membership and executive re. their effectiveness. These could feed into a more formal plan to virtualize aspects of the AOIR conference in coming years.
My two cents worth.
Graham
--
About "virtual conference"... You can watch a model of virtual congres, and multilingüal (english too), about "knowledge society" topics, here: www.cibersocedad.net/congres2004 We are orcanization/technical commitee member. In two month we will be able to write a report of this experiencie... ;-) You can "experience it" by free registration...And you can present papers at any of 78 Work Groups (UNTIL 14 OCTOBER!). All online ;-) A short description of congress (deep link, whitout index, back tio the principal URL for folow browsering): http://www.cibersociedad.net/congres2004/info/en5min.php?idioma=en ---------------------------- Josep Vives Jounou jvives@cibersociedad.net 2nd OCS' On-line Congress: Towards what knowledge society? Technical Team http://www.cibersocietat.net Barcelona, Catalonia ---------------------------- "L'OCS és un espai per la reflexió, la documentació, l'anàlisi i la discusió del ciberespaci i allò cibersocial." Kylie Veale va dir:
I'm jumping on Graham's band-wagon here and agreeing that "AOIR should do what it can to take advantage of technology to increase remote access to conference proceedings, but this effort should be complementary".
How about web-casting the presentations (at a minimum) to AOIR members? And perhaps on a payment basis for non-members? This would be extremely advantageous for those us that just can't make it that year to the conference.
Kylie
Kylie J. Veale | Brisbane, Australia GradDipInvEnv, MInetStds(Design)
PhD Candidate Media & Information, Curtin University of Technology
email: kylie@veale.com.au www: http://www.veale.com.au
-----Original Message----- From: air-l-aoir.org-bounces@listserv.aoir.org [mailto:air-l-aoir.org-bounces@listserv.aoir.org] On Behalf Of Graham Longford Sent: Thursday, 7 October 2004 3:34 AM To: air-l-aoir.org@listserv.aoir.org Subject: [Air-l] Why not make Aoir 5.0 "Virtual conference"?
Two quick points re. the suggestion to take AOIR 5.0 "virtual".
Firstly, as we know, much of the most important action at conferences takes place f2f and outside the formal proceedings - networking in hallways, ad hoc dinners, late-night drinking, etc. Obviously this puts colleagues with limited travel funding and/or from distant locations at a disadvantage, but I doubt these dynamics and interactions can be easily replicated in cyberspace (oh oh, I may have just started something ;-)).
Secondly, on the technical side (and in response to Bernie's helpful intervention), the degree of technical and logistical complexity should not be underestimated here. Just setting up cybercafes, ensuring internet and/or wireless access onsite etc. can be a challenge (often involving negotiating with hotel management and tech staff etc.) Past AOIR local organizing committees can speak to this I'm sure. Webcasting would seem to be a feasible option, provided good tech resources and support are in place, and it still offers a certain degree of interactivity.
In principle, AOIR should do what it can to take advantage of technology to increase remote access to conference proceedings, but this effort should be complementary, as opposed to one which seeks to substitute for f2f conferences altogether. In addition, technological initiatives should not be allowed to drain undue energy and resources from the effort of mounting the f2f event, which is a danger. Perhaps others could propose and coordinate pilot initiatives (along the lines of the AOIR Toronto conference blog), and report back to the membership and executive re. their effectiveness. These could feed into a more formal plan to virtualize aspects of the AOIR conference in coming years.
My two cents worth.
Graham
-- Graham Longford, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Community Informatics Faculty of Information Studies 140 St. George St., Rm 652 University of Toronto Toronto, ON M5S 3G6 Tel: 416-978-4715 Fax: 416-971-1399
_______________________________________________ Air-l-aoir.org mailing list Air-l-aoir.org@listserv.aoir.org http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
_______________________________________________ Air-l-aoir.org mailing list Air-l-aoir.org@listserv.aoir.org http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
participants (6)
-
Bernie Hogan -
Graham Longford -
jeremy hunsinger -
Josep Vives - Observatori per la Cibersocietat (OCS) -
Kylie Veale -
Ulla Bunz