Day 104 – 10 June 2014
According to Wikipedia, an unconference is a participant-driven meeting. The term “unconference” has been applied, or self-applied, to a wide range of gatherings that try to avoid one or more aspects of a conventional conference, such as fees, sponsored presentations, and top-down organization. This morning we held our first one. It was an extension of the ongoing work we have been doing to help stimulate demand and improve digital inclusion as part of the Digital Durham programme.
There were no fees, no sponsored presentations, no stands and hopefully bottom-up organisation. There were lots of participants however from many of the organisations that are trying to solve these problems across the region.
We started with three very short presentations. I gave an overview of where the programme was up to, including some exciting map-work, and was followed by Deborah Matthews from Coast and Country Housing. She talked about the work they have done with digital inclusion so far and her role as the Go ON ‘North East Martha’ (as in Lane-Fox). We met back on 2 April at the ‘North East I Made A Difference Awards’ but I was wearing a beard then and so was unrecognisable. I liked her Prezi presentation (if that’s not repetition) and the video of Martha at Westfield Farm was great.
Anna Robson from Livin was up next and provided an overview of their digital inclusion work including ‘Digital Me’ video. She used Vimeo which was one of those videos which looks like someone is drawing a cartoon. It was a simple story and very well told. It is clear that the housing associations are playing a large part in digital inclusion and I’m delighted that they are on board.
Next up was the unconference bit. Four tables were laid out and each had three subjects, so that made twelve subjects in all. Everyone got to choose which subject they wanted to talk about by sitting at the table of their choice. We had twenty minutes chat and then each table facilitator gave some feedback.
I was facilitating table 2 and our first subject was broadband. There was some concern about how effective the fibre to the cabinet solution was going to be in the more rural areas but our greatest concern was around affordability for those who are already struggling with household bills. We had a few ideas around making Wi-Fi more accessible and aggregating demand.
After the switch we talked about breaking down barriers. There are so many things that get between users and technology including the technology itself but also social issues, fear, uncertainty and lack of understanding. It is obvious that we don’t fully understand all of the barriers that exist which prevent people making more use of digital and more work is required.
Finally my table talked about technology itself. We get bogged down in technology too much rather than focussing on what it does. When we go on holiday we don’t talk about the transfer bus. Instead we talk about our experiences and how much we enjoyed it. Content is key and focus needs to be on making this relevant for the target audience we are trying to attract. We need to think about the sizzle in the sausage.
It was a great unconference and in the afternoon I caught up with all those things I’d been trying to avoid.
I started reading ‘Drive’ by Daniel H. Pink. It was one of the books that was recommended at Thinking Digital 14 and promises to reveal the surprising truth about what motivates us.
Learning points for today: Ingotise is not a real word but then again neither is stickeronerer but I like that one; the Digital Durham bus looks fantastic; broadband delivery is not linear; Pors the broadband hound is making an appearance and; my faith in human nature is restored.
Today’s enjoyment rating 10/10 – always great events.
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 