Where did all those weeks go?

breath in, breath out. Repeat.

We're starting to suspect there may be a little bit of time to breath, which is a relief, cause the past three days have been a whirl wind. But we don't suspect this relief will last long.

Did you know that we're studying collaboration? Well we are, and more and more we're realizing the most important methodology we have is field action research- what we call studying ourselves.

The best thing we have going for us is MOTIVATION. We are so passionate about what we're studying we're willing to pull all nighters, go for the gold, do whatever it takes to communicate our findings.

Perhaps our biggest mistake? We forgot the golden rule: keep it simple stupid. We have bitten off a gigantic, interdisciplinary topic and are barely able to scratch the service. In hindsight, we probably should have SIMPLIFIED OUR PROPOSITION. But what can you do- we're learning and despite the pain- we're loving every second of it.

I guess what it always comes down to is time. There's never enough time... it's a pretty familiar feeling. I think everyone who's concerned about global poverty, climate change is concerned with every second wasted.

So we're doing our best to push through, do the most we can with the little time we're lucky enough to have, and hope that we can all learn something meaningful along the way.

Top Internet Security Threats

Some of you may have been wondering where your daughters, girlfriends, friends, peers that make up FAR thesis group have been hiding. I'll tell you: we've been behind our computer screens furiously transcribing interviews and digesting all the amazing tidbits we've gleaned from our interviews. We've been busy- but have learned a lot. We're more excited than ever about the potential of the collaborative Internet to help us tackle some of our global sustainability challenges. We're also more aware than ever that the future of the Internet is really uncertain. So here's just a few threats we should all be aware of...

Top Open Internet Threats: Censorship to Warrantless Surveillance
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2009/03/wireds-top-inte.html

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Nils says:

I tried to post these in a comment on your blog about a week ago, and I couldn't get it to work (the Captcha wouldn't load), and now I can't decide where to post them as a comment... so I'm just emailing you all.

Thing #1: Kevin Kelly's 2007 EG talk (via TED): http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/kevin_kelly_on_the_next_5_000_days_of_the_web.html

You'll like this, I think. The Future!! The next 5,000 days of the web will not be "the web, only better", just like the past 5,000 days were not just "TV, only better". .... We, and everything, will all be connected in a giant web, where the price you pay for instant info and connectedness is... no privacy, much transparency. Very interesting. (Plus, the guy co-founded WIRED magazine and was its exec editor for a long time, and has done lots of other cool stuff... and doesn't have a college or university degree!)

Thing #2: http://radar.oreilly.com/2009/02/anatomy-of-connect.html

David Recordon seems like someone to look into more. [Note: for a real kick, click the 'listen' link to the right of the post title in the link above... it's by far the best computer text reader I've ever heard; really amazing.]

[Other note: O'Reilly Radar is a great blog and worth watching, too, not that you aren't already overloaded with content, I'm sure.]

Hahaha(mirthful) says Alice, I am more powerful than the captcha...

Life in FAR land is in full swing.

Having cornered Johnie Moore, Keith Sawyer, Mark Klein, Peter Gloor, Roland Harwood and Andrew Keen this week, we've learn't heaps and are eager to get stuck into next weeks medley of interviews.

With regards to a few complications using googledocs, it turns out that Fei was not the problem in question, it was infact Alice, who is looking rather shame faced, as she had spearheaded the movement to rename Fei simply VIRUS.

Transcribing all these interviews is proving a lengthy yet necessary task, however revisiting them is a really great way to consolidate and pass on all that juicy learning. Look out for Podcasts of a few of those comming soon.

The Collaboration Ninjas circle is widening with the arrival of many geeks to help us make a super cool website. You can find them at: http://collaborationninja.ning.com/ where they are currently discussing what the site will be able to do, and how to best design it.

As a last note, the importance of planning and how it can give us hope was highlighted in this happy news story of how Captain Chesley B. Sullenberger III - the pilot of the US Airways flight that landed in the Hudson River, made plans and was ultimately successful in saving the lives of his passengers:

"We never gave up. Having a plan enabled us to keep our hope alive. Perhaps in a similar fashion, people who are in their own personal crises —a pink slip, a foreclosure— can be reminded that no matter how dire the circumstance, or how little time you have to deal with it, further action is always possible. There's always a way out of even the tightest spot. You can survive."

Backcasting from success in action

HOPE for FAR

'Exactly what I'm on about' says petitepeche - 'What? said Roxfei...

' the web doesn't save people, - people do'

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/sherwin_nuland_on_hope.html

COINs - tools for PEOPLE