On 08/18/2013 06:55 PM, Lodewijk wrote:
Another very different model that has been suggested
many times but nobody
has worked it out: wikimania wide speed dating. Set one plenary session
aside, and allocate people table numbers. Yes, this includes the keynote
speakers, Wikimania volunteers/organizers, board members and /all/ staff
members that are in town! And connect them semi-randomly (ideally avoiding
similar people somewhat). If we do that at the beginning of the conference,
I'm sure that the rest will be so much more vivid and effective! Because
after one hour of 8 x 5 min you know at least 8 people you never spoke
before and probably would not have talked with otherwise!
I can play "extrovert" when necessary, and this sounds fun to me, as one
option to help people understand my work and to better understand the
contributions others are making.
Another option: a "science fair" room (like the posters section of an
academic conference) where individuals set up and stand near posters and
demonstrations of their recent work. I went to an "open source science
fair" recently
http://opensourcesciencefair.com/events.html and loved
it. This is a nice format. Quieter people can drift around the room
looking and listening without having to speak up. It's like lightning
talks, but simultaneous instead of sequential, and allowing for more ad
hoc conversations.
--
Sumana Harihareswara
Engineering Community Manager
Wikimedia Foundation