Meeting #1 July 2, 2020

Suggested Agenda:

1. Checkin

2. Round of short personal introductions.

3. Round of sharing how you are personally related to the theme of welcoming people to Microsolidarity in a remote/online environment.

4. Open conversation about crew culture to create a shared vibe that we can evolve and tune as we move together.

5. Open conversation about the exploration we wish to undertake in this work cycle.

6. Checkout

Translocal way

A different kind of remote work (intention, scale, impact)

Impact point

lurking -> participating

1-9-90

What accelerates a face to face meeting? Can we do that on-line?

Introducing myself three times at the microsolidarilty loomio group

Participated in Microsolidarity Week and the sub-group

Gaming environment, you go around, from lurking to engaging

(design protocols?)

record, credit of contributions at different levels - scorecard

microsolidarity game server

(microsolidarity play server)

Profile is not a one time thing but a process

processes that happen playing

Minimalistic when introducing myself, discourse/identity dynamics are exhausting

I do care on being spaces in which I am seen and known

What is the more generative coordinated activity?

What specifically accelerates face to face? Alternatives? Do we want to accelerate?

How can we hold space to be seen, not just the space holders but anyone joining

Playing like you play music

play your way the rm rules, like you play the score music sheet

rm = remote microsolidarity

Audiobased??

Set of instructions of how the space is going to be

Rules/protocols for navigating the space. Not free-scale rules.

Playful and learning about tools

Music , listening, seeing others

solidarity - what you do is secondary to how you do together something you all need

Create the container that becomes the work

Generative processes

sequence of transformation

(morphogenesis?)

Example of Japanese tea house generative process

First cycle for sketching

Second cycle for building a beta

better to have the experience in the first place, that the concept

Loomio thread, echoing what is left in you after the meeting, not really documentation of the meeting

Start sub-threads for different subjects

Something more mobile-friendly for chatting? Rocket?

Only half (3 out of 6) participants showed up to the meeting (myself, @Toni Blanco & @Alex Rodriguez ) and we decided to embark on this journey together. We were already somewhat acquainted with each other and so jumped right in.

I was a bit disappointed that people who made the effort to read the invitation and take an interest did not show up ... and offered that as an opening question:

is there really a need for a process that helps people transform from strangers to crews?
are people available to make the effort to come together or are they finding satisfaction in fleeting interactions?
is this just me projecting my needs into the space?

@Toni Blanco offered his organizational experience and offered that this is how it goes ... only a few people, of those who show an interest, actually show up. We can do the work that calls to us and if the outcomes of our work appeal to others it will continue to grow and take on a life of its own.

I shared an image that came to me and induced the invitation to form this crew. The image was born from my direct experience in the Microsolidarity Loomio space:

• I was asked to introduce myself three times (in three different contexts in the same space)... and resorted to copy-pasting-adjusting.

• Being in the space created opportunities for me to connect and converse with people.

• I participated in the virtual meetup meeting.

• I participated in the 1st Microsolidarity week.

• I watched some videos of Microsolidarity conversations that Richard posted.

• I attended the launch event of the Maastricht congregation.

From looking at this experience this image emerged:

• A Microsolidarity "gaming server" where people can participate in events (=play games) in different scales (watching a video on my own, learning a skill such as authentic relating in a small group, attending a course, etc.).

• As I "play" in Microsolidarity I learn about it, acquire skills, get to meet people, get to learn about people, get to present myself and become known to people.

• A personal "scorecard" ... introducing myself becomes a continuous activity. As I interact with other people and hear them introduce themselves, I may want to introduce myself differently. Questions people ask me as I "play games" may cause me to view myself in different contexts.

• Other people describing how they view me can complement my own introduction. There are things that I don't feel comfortable saying about myself but are better said by others about me.

• As I participate in activities I acquire a history, skills and presence in the space and that too can appear in my "introduction".

Can the "unofficial" experience I've had in Microsolidarity be made more explicit (without compromising its liveliness) in order to increase the odds of seemingly random meetings between people converging into meaningful cohesive groups?

@Alex Rodriguez highlighted sensitivity around scoring and identity. @Toni Blanco resonated with the playfulness;

@Alex Rodriguez introduced into the conversation a theme of "playing music together". This triggered a shift in me. Earlier in the conversation, the subject of "being seen" came up. "Playing music together" shifted my attention to listening ...which is needed in order to play music together ... and that shifted my attention to "witnessing" ... I feel I get more satisfaction from "seeing others" than from "being seen". This shift from "participating to get what I want/need" to "being in service of others" feels ... right!

The different scales within Microsolidarity (individual, dyad, crew, congregation) came up in conversation. We talked about needing different rules/dynamics for different scales. That made me reflect (yet again) on Microsolidarity and I expressed my feelings that the social constructs are an emergent property and not the real driver (the thing to aspire to). The real driver, in my mind, is the "solidarity" aspect ... the priority that is given to mutual care & aid while working together. The "work", though it may seem primary, is actually a backdrop for the mutual care.

What we do is secondary to how we do it together

We talked about possible outcomes for this crew-cycle:

1. We will NOT be tackling any questions of implementation. We will dedicate this cycle to exploring what is possible, attractive and likely to lead to desirable outcomes (strangers -> crews; lurkers -> participants).

2. We discussed the possibility of a "generative process" as an outcome and agreed to start next week with a discussion about this term (aka Japanese Teahouse).

3. We intend to present this outcome to the Microsolidarity space (and other relevant social spaces) in order to share, get feedback and reflect on possible future implementations.

We discussed carrying potential outcomes beyond the immediate Microsolidarity space into other community-aspiring spaces and in doing so implicitly allow the qualities of Microsolidarity to permeate other spaces.

During the next meeting, we will talk about using, in addition to Loomio some kind of short-messaging-chat tool to coordinate.

@Toni Blanco & @Alex Rodriguez I look forward to your comments/reflection to help complete the picture of the conversation and to bring forward things that shimmered for you.

thank you @Toni Blanco for capturing and posting the flow of ideas in the chat ... it helped to revisit parts of our conversation.

Hey guys, I'm a bit disappointed in myself for not showing up as intended which I signalled and set, though im not sure I made a hard commitment. That said, sorry for letting the side down, we had guests arriving so needed to pick them up - it looks like it was an awesome meeting with some great discussion so I hope to join at the next available opportunity (if acceptable given the requirements - context permitting I'd primarily intend to listen and catch up if so)

You are welcome to join at the 2nd meeting @Josh Fairhead :)

Some thoughts/notes after our meeting we can comment further during our next meeting:

• Sometimes microsolidarity practices, as described, look to me like very basic human support that one would traditionally get in the inner close circle of family and friends. At least in Spain. It keeps me a little bit perplexed (maybe a cultural shock?). 

• It would be important to clarify that there are three different relational basic spheres we want healthy; one of you with yourself, the one in which you have unconditional acceptance, and the other in which you have "credit of goodwill" in advance, and where you are at the end accepted because you provide value. I would not use language that blurry this distinction, and creates wrong expectations. 

• I imagine our future playful space as one in which you can find both the excitement of the jazz club and the parsimony of the rituals of the Japanese tea house. Maybe could be a sort of ongoing "Open Space" in which you can see and be seen, you can acknowledge-be acknowledge, and of course, ask-offer-agree microsolidarity practices, and make plans for crewing and congregating. I also like the format of "jam sessions", like microsolidarity jam sessions that would be even fun to attend as a spectator. And the idea of "collage" or "bricoleur" of microsolidarity practices/formats presented in advance. I would experiment also with audio-based exchange formats.

• This space would be addressed to anyone willing to explore/learn/experience in a fun way microsolidarity, and be attentive to individuals or collectives that feel right (sympathy, interests, skills...) for doing together things that matter.  

• I am opposed to any kind of social scoring, (and numbers are always played anyway), but I am open to exploring records as they exist somehow in timebanks.