Battling Cash Cows : Conversation with Bee

me: picking up wedding present this afternoon
Barbara: yay
I was worried about the bureaucracy and the whole thing going back from where it came
it’s just a little intro to Brazil…you have to read and then try to find out and listen
was reading your blog post
i ing
in ning
also read Gibran…had not read him for a long time
me: same
Barbara: so many interesting things happening here
meeting people locally…finally
Sent at 11:05 AM on Thursday
Barbara: I saw you are going to present at TCC with Edupov
me: yes….but they didnt process our regsitration in time
Barbara: eh?
me: we didnt get all the bits together in time
they wanted $99 USD from us to present
Barbara: oh no
me: by the time we got the payment through it was too late
Barbara: what?
Sent at 11:09 AM on Thursday
Barbara: to present…oh well, I paid bloody 300 or sthg for Tesol..argh
it’s preposterous
me: ridiculous
why are they c harging us to present ?
they should be paying us to present
Barbara: it’s the established order…totally ridiculous
agree with you
have been protesting every time I can
it’s a honour they say
gives you visibility
me: blah
I have visibility
they depend on us
Barbara: totally agree
parasites
me: like art galleries depends on its “stable”
told my gallery to go get f&^%$
they relented and brought my commision down from 50% of takings to 33 1/3
the government gets 33% tax
Barbara: do not think TCC is a profit making conference…but still…
me: which leaves me to make a profit of 33% of the 33% legt over
bah
they all run at break even
we dont
they know better
we have become part of the cash cow
gives me another idea to blog to WIAOC
Cash Cows : Small Bits Of The Bigger Picture
Barbara: blast
Sent at 11:15 AM on Thursday
me: blast ?
Barbara: I have no idea
running out of creative juice
have 2 keynotes in 2 weeks
me: lol
speak deeply
look to the everyday
relate…
Barbara: by force of speaking deeply all the time I banalize it
understand what I mean?
it’s the strange loop

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strange_loop

Sent at 11:20 AM on Thursday
me: http://webheadsinaction.ning.com/profiles/blogs/cash-cows-small-bits-of-the
oh yes
I understand it
trying to speak from the common denominator but look for which “signifiers” count
Barbara: signifiers?
me: ciphers
Barbara: eh?
me: could be integers
but more often they are small symbols
Barbara: lol
me: sometimes know as co-joined text
which form words
strung together often resembling expletives
Barbara: Alex
me: banality can come of the most pragmatic prose
Barbara: yes
me: poets dont know-its
never did
Barbara: very few are poets
me: they only know which wine to recommend
Barbara: poets do not know what wine to recommend..they drink anything that comes their way
me: lol
Barbara: and create from that
me: thats why I stayed named as “Artist”
or “Educator”
denotes wine comes incasks, kegs or bottles
Barbara: does it matter what you name yourself?
me: generally the labels count most
no…naming is not our privelege
only that of others
Barbara: unfortunately
do not care about naming
you name yourself
me: which brings us back to banality
Barbara: ad this is what you believe in..yourself
me: the further we expound our literal fears the sooner we realise we are creating them
Barbara: what are your literal fears?
me: so all it takes to keynote is to be yourself
speak deeply
fear = speaking ones truth
Barbara: oh…have no truth
me: lol
Barbara: that’s my fear
everyone else’s truths are true
if they are not lying
me: then it need not matter
Barbara: absolutely
it matters for me
and this is the worst battle
me: then speak it
Barbara: it’s a private affair
me: aha
Barbara: between I, me and myself
me: so the battle of wills ?
and wonts…….
Barbara: whatever
me: in Australia that retort particularly from a female means….”go get fucked ”
I’m sure thats not your intent
Barbara: it’s a trying of making sense of the world..which is equivalent
lol
me: whatevvvvverrrrr
lol
Barbara: is the sense of the world
lol expresses it best
me: cool…nice title
Whatever : Making Sense of the World
maybe compose a whole string of title for your keynotes
Barbara: see..gave you a title for the keynote
not whatever…but LOL
me: then work away from them
Barbara: Alex…too much wine permeating my thoughts tonight
in vino veritas
me: lovely ………..enjoy
I’m blogging this conversation
….if I may pretty please
Barbara: headache garanteed tomorrow
Alex
headache garateed after you blog…lol
mispelling words
jeez
me: stop
that will do
hehe
later
Barbara: lol
me: ciao
got to get on plane
Barbara: hugs
me: check my blog later
Barbara: stay safe
me: will avoid pestilence
floods have been covered
Barbara: peace and love
me: indeed

FOC08 : Online As Convenience

[ image : FOC08 ]

Paradoxical you must admit but who ever questioned whether a living conversation had occured between two persons on either phone………outwardly facing vehicles like many an educational organisation and it’s parralelled policy particulars.

Responsible for it’s own reference. Facilitating a need for a wall…..to climb over.

I have to hand it to Leigh Blackall who’s efforts to network an open and OER FOC course are very cool….in as much as I’m interested in what I can contribute rather than what transpires. That’s a certain.

It’s the only time in my living memory that I’ve been listed in the ‘A’ section of a list of bloggers;

1. Alexander Hayes http://www.alexanderhayes.com/
2. Amy Lenzo http://allislight.typepad.com/facilitating_online_commu/
3. Bernadette Harris http://www.harrisbromly.com.au/
4. Brian Shimelonis http://bcsfoc.blogspot.com
5. Bronwyn Collins http://brononline.blogspot.com/
6. Bronwyn Stuckey http://bronst.wordpress.com/
7. Bruna Ori http://curlygrl.blogspot.com/
8. Cathy Deckers http://cdeck77.wordpress.com/
9. Concetta http://edusnacks.edublogs.org/
10. Craig Hansen http://nzsetrust.org.nz/?q=blog
11. Cristina Costa http://knowmansland.com/learningpath
12. Daryl Cook http://darylcook.com/category/personal/foc08/
13. Deb Thompson http://mediateachspace.blogspot.com/
14. Derek Chirnside http://lits.gen.nz/
15. Diane Holmes http://dianez.wordpress.com
16. Dreig http://www.dreig.eu/caparazon/eng
17. Elaine Dittert http://elainedittert.blogspot.com
18. Gabriela Sellart http://foc08.tumblr.com/
19. Greg Barcelon http://servant02.wordpress.com/
20. Greg Szczotka http://onlinecommunites.wordpress.com/
21. Illya Arnet-Clark http://illyasoet.wordpress.com/
22. Jan Hunter http://janfoc08.blogspot.com/
23. Jeffrey Keefer http://silenceandvoice.com/
24. Jennifer Verschoor http://www.jenverschoor.wordpress.com/
25. Joao Alves http://joaocarlosalves.eu
26. Joy Zhao http://joyzw.blogspot.com
27. Kay Lewis http://906703fockaylewis.blogspot.com/
28. Kirsten Marais TBA 6-8-08
29. Leigh Blackall http://facilitatingonlinecommunities.blogspot.com/
30. Lynn MacEachern http://www.facilitate2yes.com/
31. Malik Richardson http://mrarrah.teacherlingo.com/default.aspx
32. Maria Pophristova http://mimonche.blogspot.com/
33. Marie Casas http://sxyshandy.vox.com/
34. Mary Loftus http://livnlern.blogspot.com/
35. Mike Bogle http://techticker.net/category/foc08/
36. Mike Taylor http://foc08.wordpress.com/
37. Minhaaj ur Rehman http://minhaaj.blogspot.com/
38. Naketa Ferguson http://blog.core-ed.net/naketa/
39. Nellie Deutsch http://nelliemuller.blogspot.com/
40. Octavio Lima http://education.ning.com/profile/OctavioLima
41. Olubodun Olufemi J http://tutoring-e-online.blogspot.com/
42. Peter Efland http://phefland.wordpress.com/
43. Robyn Honeman http://rhoneman.blogspot.com
44. Russell Thorp http://russtreflect.wordpress.com
45. Sarah Stewart http://sarah-stewart.blogspot.com/
46. Sean McKee http://www.seanpmckee.net/blog
47. Shane Roberts http://shane-tech-teach.blogspot.com/
48. Stian Håklev http://reganmian.net/blog
49. Sue Wolffe http://suewolff.com/Perspectance/
50. Sylvia Currie http://blog.webbedfeat.com/
51. Tim Davies http://www.timdavies.org.uk/
52. Tom Murray http://www.tommurray.us
53. Valerie Taylor http://valerie.posterous.com/
54. Vida Thompson http://VidaFOC.blogspot.com
55. Vishal Roopun http://www.v-roopun.blogspot.com/
56. Wayne http://www.waynethinks.com
57. Nancy Riffer http://www.nowpracticingcommunity.blogspot.com
58. Olaug (Ollie) Gardener http://olliegardener.blogspot.com/

Has the hive mind entered a new memory, where the collective distributes before the individual has had a chance to say a thing or is it possible that ICT’s now offer a new opportunity for spiritual enlightment to those individuals who contribute to it’s ethereal architecture ?

Back to business. ‘A’ is for …hole right ?

I dipped into the Google group last night and added my bit on Facebook however there is just a huge wealth of knowledge being dissected here and the Facebook thing is just a distraction.

2 minutes today saw me lost in the world of Joao’s Netvibes compilation….there’s a lot to be said about RSS readers that openly aggregate as opposed to Google reader that internalises ( ok it has an out section too with difficulty )

Leigh rightly posed in the Google group;

I think your challenge has something in it that could be used for this 2
week question however – what is an online community? Perhaps you could write
or point us to writing that explores the notion of commercial entities,
marketing initiatives and surveillance organisations taking advantage of a
sense online community for reasons other than the shared purpose and
understanding of those actually IN the community. I’m talking specifically
about Facebook and their data collection methods and terms of service, not
to mention darker conspiracy claims beyond that… I think the concerns that
FB raised in critics last year can be extended to a consideration of online
communities generally, and the platforms and technologies we use to
facilitate them.

Well, I could go on forever on what Facebook and like-minded companies do with private album-of-the-day information ……but, hmmm, maybe what’s at stake here is something richer which I’d rather spend time talking to, around, with.

The nature of networked and online communities in themselves are no more or less the individuals value in contributing information , engaging in the luxury of indulgently re-defining that which has been a steady composition over the development of time or as some would attest regression of human behaviour.

Somewhere I’ve read that a very small percentage of the internet is formed by those that create and contribute content and the proportion of those who use the internet to foster and support networked communities that require facilitation is miniscule in comparison to the greater proportion of those who simply seek, navigate and consume contribution only or partially. Does that matter ?

For me facilitating online communities might be re-defined as;

• a bridge into establishing connections with individuals
• an effort fraught with change and contentment in varying degrees
• governed only by the ability of others to contribute
• value laden or value driven ( rarely both )
• ostensibly NOT technology oriented rather mediated ( filtered is a closer portal descriptor)
• generationally permeated with re-orienting helplessness into positive possibility
• circumstantial ( more epitaphs are written online than off )
• largely influenced by populace nomenclature ie. group, networked, guild, Society, committee

But of course , getting back to this weeks topic I have occasionally been asked ..”WHAT”… is online facilitation and tried hard to avoid describing it as ;

a fleeting series of Wikipedia entires governed by superbly clever and rogue 19 year old Russian mods.

Out comes the butchers paper. Circles, arrows, fancy words. So perhaps ICT’s thwart our learned states and challenge the manner in which we have otherwise locked our cloistered cafe’ conversations and colloquims up into.

A convenience.

Maybe an online community is a convenience.