In London last week Phelim formally introduced a new animal to add to
our familiar butterflies and bumblebees. As noted in an earlier post,
Phelim called it the Fly.
There was a sketch of the Fly on the wall - an insect with huge eyes,
wings, and a camera. When Phelim introduced the creature on one of the
morning openings, the fellow with the large high quality video camera
came to demonstrate an aspect of "the Fly". When the fly came close to
Phelim, he shooed it away. And then soon it came back. And he shooed it
away again, repeating several times.
Having video taped a number of sessions and events in Open Space before
- not with as excellent equipment - the Fly metaphor is really
resonating. We're like the proverbial "Fly on the Wall" that provides
access to events that others wish they could have seen. But the Fly can
also detract. Some people get annoyed. It hampers their safety in being
able to share. Sometimes people want to swat the Fly so they can just be
present in the moment.
It felt like we had a professional "Fly" at WOSonOS 2012, and I look
forward to some of the sweet stuff he captured after it gets digested.
But it also seems like the Fly is not a new animal at Open Space
Technology events. In some ways, "The Fly" is part of the documentation
story, not just for video but even for notes, drawings, audio
recordings, and photos. Even written notes help those not present to be
"the fly on the wall", yet it can be annoying to be quoted, or even to
be the notes taker. Phelim even warned folks that the notes are visible
to the whole world - so be sensitive to what you share!
I'm thinking of adding the Fly to our crew of insects to help remember
some aspects that come up especially for videographers as they record
and document. The metaphor empowers the participants to have a dialog
with the recorders, empowers them to shoo away the flies, and prepares
the flies that they may indeed be invited to stop recording in a light
and fun way.
Does this metaphor fit? Is there a better one?
--
Harold Shinsato
har...@shinsato.com <mailto:har...@shinsato.com>
http://shinsato.com
twitter: @hajush <http://twitter.com/hajush>
