Launch: The Open Anthropology Cooperative
Open Source Dot.Communism
The Open Anthropology Cooperative (OAC) was launched on Ning, to seeming success, with over 200 members in a day. It seems to me that the world of anthropology is really heavily invested in really tackling the issues of open source and open access, and I think conservators and the heritage field as a whole could learn a lot from their approach.
On the influential antropologi.info blog Lorenz Khazaleh described the basic premise of the OAC as:
* A place to share ideas
* A place to find like-minded anthropologists
* A place to collaborate
* A place to hold virtual conferences
* A place to host podcasts
* A place to ask questions
* A place to learn about new tools for anthropology (online tools, field tools, etc.)
* A place to find resources (e.g. databases, good grad programs, upcoming colloquia, software, field opportunities)
* A place to publish
* The idea of an engaged anthropology for the 21st century in relation to the digital revolution
* Group blog with posts from both Keith and others
* Forum for discussion
* Online press to publish longer pieces
* The incorporation of Twitter, social bookmarking, wiki, etc
Some blog posts of relevance:
Lorenzo. 2009. The Open Anthropology Cooperative – A Worldwide Anthro-Community in the Making. On: antropologi.info blog. 28/05/09.
Maximilian Forte. 2009. Open Anthropology Co-operative. on: Open Anthropology blog. 2009 MAY 28.
…… Which is a brilliant blog by the way, and if you’re at all interested in what it’s about, it’s worth reading the openanthropolgy blog about section.
The Memory Bank Discussion: http://thememorybank.co.uk/?q=node/148
The OAC like all web 2.0 initiatives is based on participation, so if you have an interest in anthropology and the aims of the group… get involved! You’ll find my page on the NING site, amongst the very many others.
NOTE: EDIT AS OF SEPTEMBER 30th 2009.
I have now left this organization, and was very disappointed in how it developed. I would also like to point anyone who finds this post now to two posts from Open Anthropology Blog about some despicable behaviour on the part of the OAC:
1. Plagiarism on the “Open Anthropology Cooperative”.
2. Permission to Copy Denied to the “Open Anthropology Cooperative” (OAC) (1.1)
The Environmental group that started on Ning, have started an off shoot wiki http://oaceanth.wikidot.com/
I’m continually amazed at just how fast this whole OAC thing is developing.
I either did not realize, or had forgotten, that you left as well. This basically means that none of the people that I cared to interact with in there are left in the network. One way or another, it is an experience with many valuable lessons (and I am not necessarily saying that with a look of bitter irony on my face). It forced me to reflect on, rethink, and in some cases unthink what I am doing, and what I plan to do over the next three to six months. In the end I think that, although the nastiness could have been avoided, it is better to air differences and confront things head on, rather than face stasis, or muted grumbling.
Hi Max,
Yeah, I stopped posting when everyone else interesting left the network, but, decided not to remove my membership until after all the dates of all the things I had posted had passed… as I understand it was automatically removing posts when people left. I periodically check out to see what’s going on, and then I saw this whole nastiness with your work being copied.
It was only this evening when reading your blog that I remembered I had this post, and that people might find it and automatically presume (quite sensibly) that I supported the network, and so I thought I should add in an edit.
You live and learn, as the saying goes. (Well at least that’s what we say in England). Which I’ve always found a terribly nice way of saying… dammit. lol.
Cheers,
Dan