Thank You ALL!!!!

I am overwhelmed by the response to the AskUnionSquare project. I have been sitting at my computer for the last 4 hours, and everything I begin to write soon has two versions: short and long. So I am forcing myself to put up a post right now, under 200 300 500 words, stating the following:

1) more to come shortly

2) ASC succeeded in every important way, as the technical failures are now a part of the conversation that will happen on this website between now and the next ASC.

3) The next Augmented Speakers’ Corner will be sometime in late May/early June.

I want to sincerely thank all the participants of the ASC in Union Square for an excellent beginning. Also, special thanks to Patricia, Brian, Lucas, Matt, Lindsey, Liz, and Gabe for their time and energy. Thanks guys!!

While the ASC had several technical malfunctions which effectively disabled the implementation of the cell-based interactivity, I am proud to say that I plan on continuing to improve the interface based on what I witnessed in Union Square yesterday. The core of this project was to erode the barriers to honest & constructive public discussion, of which there are many. I theorized that using a cellphone would remove some inhibition from speaking on a microphone. Despite the technical malfunctions, ASC-US was able to get first timers to feel comfortable speaking, on the microphone. Part of that was the visual representation (”Amateurs Wanted” is a pretty good slogan for this project, if I can say so myself). I think the other part was the emergent nature of the conversation. I will be posting some thoughts on this over the next few days, as well as photos, video, and audio from the event. This site will be a place to discuss the evolution of the interface, as well as the implementation of future Augmented Speakers’ Corner events.

Congratulations to All!!

felipe