homepage: http://www.speakeasy.org/~lion/

blog: http://lion.taoriver.net/

primary online hangout: http://communitywiki.org/en/RecentChanges

Thing's I'm worrying / fretting about right now, that I want to do something about:

• The Announcements List -- We need to start shipping people out to conversational spaces like *YESTERDAY.* Several people are dying to talk, and there's no good outlet for them. People want to be heard, seen, and loved, and that's basically an impossibility at this point.
• The wiki. This wiki is horrible to our purposes, because it's as if it were engineered to be hostile to theory building. People's names don't link to name pages on RecentChanges, rather, they link to e-mail addresses. You can't even describe the nature of a change?!? YIKES! God only knows how to link to RecentChanges itself without manually attaching a URL, LinkLanguage is practically impossible in the GUI system that everybody wants to use; I fear for the wiki. At least it doesn't segregate "talk" pages from the pages themselves. Holding Leslie's (Leslie's, right?) recommendation to scrap the wiki in place of a new one close to heart, but fearing that she means towards something even more wysiwyg, or something.
• Organizing regional lists. Seattle list is very partial right now.
• Getting my own thoughts out there. Evolutionary Spirituality. Contacting Gabriella, to work on her movie and her website. Writing out my experience.

I once wrote a paper that people found interesting, regarding action organizing on the web.

Do you live around Seattle? Meet me on a Saturday, at the Saturday House.

0. "What blew your mind?"

When I started, I had written down a list of things that would blow my mind. One of them was, "Something unknown." One of the things that blew my mind, was the realization that I should focus more on writing, communicating, explaining, rather than on programming. I realize that a lot of people have difficulty understanding how the technology world is essential to their efforts as activists, and the sorts of things that are possible with technology- quesitons such as, "How does my project relate to the global environment?" People are used to thinking of their efforts just in their local, without seeing the larger world of activists, the global project space. Just geting this story out, of global projects, strikes me as one of the greatest things I can do. There were other changes, largely inner in nature.

1. (no notes recorded here)

2. "How has the experience made a difference for you? What tangible outcomes are you inspired to persue (ie, commitments to action, new relationships, new ideas)?"

The shift has been sudden, and I'm presently in a planning stage- "How is this going to manifest?" So the first act is planning, reconsidering what it is that I want.

One tangible project is a \"theatre of mediums,\" to exist online. This should make it utterly clear: "What is the appropriate medium? Why do I care about wiki, blog, mailing lists, and how do I choose between them?"

3. "What did you learn at the gathering that you most value? Was it something about the process, or stories, evolution, relationships, taking action, or something else -- even that unnamable quality - call it grace or spirit? Perhaps you have a mix of insights that emerged for you. Please tell me about them."

What most struck me is how the group meets and thinks. There is a shock of recognition: This is a reflection of how my own mind thinks! We're one heart, one brain. I feel renewed.

So it is the unnamable quality.

4. "What, if any, post-gathering activities wuld you like to do with other participants?"

Seattle gathering, within the next 6 months. Making the Storyfield NW e-mail list. note: the e-mail list is made now -- 2007-09-07.

5. "What advice would you have for making future gatherings as powerful as possible?"

Sincerely, this use of (modification of?) Open Space Technology is the best process I've seen yet. I cannot think of how to improve it.

Perhaps we could own our own space? Perhaps we could buy the Columbia Tower?

Both circle time and break-out time are important. The banquet was great fun, as well.

6. "On a scale of 1 (unsatisfactory) to 10 (mind and heart blowing,) how would you rate this conference? Why?

9, even though my heart and mind were blown, because I like incompleteness.

Lion Kimbro. Interviewed by Kathleen.