To acknowledge prior relationships amongst the Blur02
participants as
well
as identify useful patterns of interaction, the BLUR
02 workgroup
engaged
the expertise of Terry Naini and Stephanie Kaye of
Cognitive
Management, to
conduct a bounded network analysis of the Blur 02
attendees prior to
the
convening.
The matrices were generated from responses to a simple
questionnaire
and
follow up phone interview conducted by Cognitive
Management. The intent
was
to establish a useful inventory profile for each
invited participant in
relation to the other attendees. From the data,
several maps were
generated
to identify dominant modes of interaction (telephone,
face to face,
email
and instant messaging) and reasons for communication.
The various
motivations for communication reflect a range of
exchanges from the
sharing
of critical issues and problem solving to the
announcement of cultural
activities, invitations to collaborate or simply to
socialize. Lastly,
the
analysis organized the visual representation in
relation to Blur02
attendees
geographical location in relation to the various
factors that shaped
the
ties.
A bounded network visualization was printed out and
posted in the
convening
space. To stimulate collective assessment of the
patterns revealed by
the
network analysis, architect Scott Paterson was invited
to generate a
set of
simple marking and mapping materials (push inks,
colored thread,
post-it
notes, etc) to encourage the group to edit the map and
track the
evolution
of the network throughout Blur02. In addition, he
posed a series of
questions to encourage network map interventions and
generate dialogue
in
response to the process. Does a network visualization
via lines and
nodes
reinforce existing social structures and power
relationships? How can
this
structure be manipulated to change and/or animate
lines of
communication and
exchange? Can the diagram be modified to display the
currency of
ideas?
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