Comments on: Conceiving FAILCamp http://ash10.com/2009/06/conceiving-failcamp/ Pete Ashton helps you understand how the Internet works. Mon, 01 Mar 2010 18:10:55 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Anna http://ash10.com/2009/06/conceiving-failcamp/#comment-10866 Anna Fri, 03 Jul 2009 20:23:36 +0000 http://ash10.com/?p=518#comment-10866 How about thinking about diversity issues? Asking some awkward questions about class and ethnicity of social media community...talk to Dr Z. How about thinking about diversity issues? Asking some awkward questions about class and ethnicity of social media community…talk to Dr Z.

]]> By: Jason Hall http://ash10.com/2009/06/conceiving-failcamp/#comment-10849 Jason Hall Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:48:28 +0000 http://ash10.com/?p=518#comment-10849 Love the idea - have been thinking of something similar for a while, following chats with @tobybarnes. Also off the back of the fact that the Suxorz panel @ SXSWi was probably the most entertaining and informative. Can I make a plea that it's not just restricted to Brum or even WM-based case studies, though? Overdoing the naval-gazing about "the Brum interwebs" could be a session in itself. The work that goes on here - good and bad - needs to be put in more of a national and international context, methinks. Would love to see a session on lessons learned (or not!) from major music industry fail over DRM, for example. Saw a great - and very honest - talk on this from some guy from Sony at a NESTA event last year. Would be a good'un. Love the idea – have been thinking of something similar for a while, following chats with @tobybarnes. Also off the back of the fact that the Suxorz panel @ SXSWi was probably the most entertaining and informative.

Can I make a plea that it’s not just restricted to Brum or even WM-based case studies, though? Overdoing the naval-gazing about “the Brum interwebs” could be a session in itself. The work that goes on here – good and bad – needs to be put in more of a national and international context, methinks.

Would love to see a session on lessons learned (or not!) from major music industry fail over DRM, for example. Saw a great – and very honest – talk on this from some guy from Sony at a NESTA event last year. Would be a good’un.

]]> By: Ben Whitehouse http://ash10.com/2009/06/conceiving-failcamp/#comment-10848 Ben Whitehouse Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:42:17 +0000 http://ash10.com/?p=518#comment-10848 Even though you were tweeting drunk you managed to get my surname correct. Good work Pete! I'm very excited about this idea and it seems to have legs. Lots of positive energy flowing to the idea. Even though you were tweeting drunk you managed to get my surname correct. Good work Pete!

I’m very excited about this idea and it seems to have legs. Lots of positive energy flowing to the idea.

]]> By: Laura Hyde http://ash10.com/2009/06/conceiving-failcamp/#comment-10847 Laura Hyde Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:52:33 +0000 http://ash10.com/?p=518#comment-10847 Great idea! We can certainly learn a lot from failure...the sad thing is that people tend to hide their failures from others - that somehow to 'fail' is in someway unacceptable! We blogged about this topic a while back on the Chain Reaction blog - 'What Do We Learn from Success Stories' http://bit.ly/MqtSg I think this a great idea! Great idea! We can certainly learn a lot from failure…the sad thing is that people tend to hide their failures from others – that somehow to ‘fail’ is in someway unacceptable!

We blogged about this topic a while back on the Chain Reaction blog – ‘What Do We Learn from Success Stories’ http://bit.ly/MqtSg

I think this a great idea!

]]> By: Clare White http://ash10.com/2009/06/conceiving-failcamp/#comment-10846 Clare White Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:33:20 +0000 http://ash10.com/?p=518#comment-10846 I would love to come to FAILCamp and am happy to bring along my failed business plan and any failed funding proposals I can fish out. The idea that by bringing together lots of failures some people might be able to find in the gaps something successful is good enough, but so too is the possibility of some failure champions (oh God, I said it) who can help change the culture that makes people involved in failed projects/ideas feel like curling up into a corner and never darkening anyone's doorstep again. My biggest failed project forced me to shift and change direction in a way that no other support structure could have done, and it improved my confidence, hard as it was at the time. I would love to come to FAILCamp and am happy to bring along my failed business plan and any failed funding proposals I can fish out.

The idea that by bringing together lots of failures some people might be able to find in the gaps something successful is good enough, but so too is the possibility of some failure champions (oh God, I said it) who can help change the culture that makes people involved in failed projects/ideas feel like curling up into a corner and never darkening anyone’s doorstep again.

My biggest failed project forced me to shift and change direction in a way that no other support structure could have done, and it improved my confidence, hard as it was at the time.

]]> By: Andy Mabbett http://ash10.com/2009/06/conceiving-failcamp/#comment-10845 Andy Mabbett Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:09:23 +0000 http://ash10.com/?p=518#comment-10845 Se you there, then; if I don't tun up at the wrong venue, or on the wrong day… Se you there, then; if I don’t tun up at the wrong venue, or on the wrong day…

]]> By: Clare Reddington http://ash10.com/2009/06/conceiving-failcamp/#comment-10844 Clare Reddington Mon, 29 Jun 2009 10:45:22 +0000 http://ash10.com/?p=518#comment-10844 Completely agree with the need to acknowledge and share projects that went wrong and this goes way broader than just social media. Can't remember which US company (Linden Labs?) asks that their employees wear shrek ears when they mess up. This isn't a bullying version of a dunce-cap but a way of encouraging people to ask what went wrong and share their knowledge. The challenge is around funded projects. Whilst we should embrace the sharing of our more 'challenging experiences', we are all too often in competition for tiny amounts of money which makes us afraid that admitting failure will prejudice assessment of our next idea/application. Completely agree with the need to acknowledge and share projects that went wrong and this goes way broader than just social media. Can’t remember which US company (Linden Labs?) asks that their employees wear shrek ears when they mess up. This isn’t a bullying version of a dunce-cap but a way of encouraging people to ask what went wrong and share their knowledge.

The challenge is around funded projects. Whilst we should embrace the sharing of our more ‘challenging experiences’, we are all too often in competition for tiny amounts of money which makes us afraid that admitting failure will prejudice assessment of our next idea/application.

]]> By: Jon Bounds http://ash10.com/2009/06/conceiving-failcamp/#comment-10843 Jon Bounds Mon, 29 Jun 2009 10:30:25 +0000 http://ash10.com/?p=518#comment-10843 Thanks for the phrase "radically insightful", I might start to use that in my publicity ;) That we learn more from failure than success is pretty much a given — but it takes time to get into a mindset where you can fail without it knocking your confidence to try something else. Tons and tons of things I've tried have gone tits up —  you do have to chuck enough stuff at the "wall" of the interwebs to find out what sticks. Thanks for the phrase “radically insightful”, I might start to use that in my publicity ;)

That we learn more from failure than success is pretty much a given — but it takes time to get into a mindset where you can fail without it knocking your confidence to try something else. Tons and tons of things I’ve tried have gone tits up —  you do have to chuck enough stuff at the “wall” of the interwebs to find out what sticks.

]]> By: Nicky Getgood http://ash10.com/2009/06/conceiving-failcamp/#comment-10841 Nicky Getgood Mon, 29 Jun 2009 08:44:33 +0000 http://ash10.com/?p=518#comment-10841 Lovin it, Lovin it, Lovin it. In fact I can think of a Big Fail of mine that actually made me learn a hell of a lot. Stick us down for a FAILpanel, babs. Lovin it, Lovin it, Lovin it. In fact I can think of a Big Fail of mine that actually made me learn a hell of a lot. Stick us down for a FAILpanel, babs.

]]> By: Katchooo http://ash10.com/2009/06/conceiving-failcamp/#comment-10840 Katchooo Mon, 29 Jun 2009 08:30:31 +0000 http://ash10.com/?p=518#comment-10840 It's brilliant (note backslap) and very British. Has the feeling of the Kebab panel at SXSW in shaking things up, going against the prevailing vibe but I can see it being very useful. Failure is easier to break down and understand. It’s brilliant (note backslap) and very British. Has the feeling of the Kebab panel at SXSW in shaking things up, going against the prevailing vibe but I can see it being very useful. Failure is easier to break down and understand.

]]> By: David Wilcox http://ash10.com/2009/06/conceiving-failcamp/#comment-10839 David Wilcox Mon, 29 Jun 2009 07:53:38 +0000 http://ash10.com/?p=518#comment-10839 Pete - I think this is a brilliant idea: drunk or sober. And sometimes you just have to wait a few years. One example: a bunch of us developed Communities Online back in the mid 1990s as a network for people developing local online communities ... got sponsorship, ran conferences, etc, but it failed because there weren't enough people online, the business/volunteer models were not sustainable, people in the group had different priorities and so. Now it would be different ... but there's a danger for anyone setting up a network of falling into the same traps. Telling stories of the past could help us focus better on the future. I grabbed an interview with Clay Shirky last year and asked how he would advise anyone interested in the way that social media brings social change to explore what really makes a difference. He said go and talk in depth to the people who have really tried, and failed. Instead of looking for lists of “best practices” look for the real stories of what works, and what doesn’t. http://socialreporter.com/?p=459 Pete – I think this is a brilliant idea: drunk or sober. And sometimes you just have to wait a few years. One example: a bunch of us developed Communities Online back in the mid 1990s as a network for people developing local online communities … got sponsorship, ran conferences, etc, but it failed because there weren’t enough people online, the business/volunteer models were not sustainable, people in the group had different priorities and so. Now it would be different … but there’s a danger for anyone setting up a network of falling into the same traps.
Telling stories of the past could help us focus better on the future.
I grabbed an interview with Clay Shirky last year and asked how he would advise anyone interested in the way that social media brings social change to explore what really makes a difference. He said go and talk in depth to the people who have really tried, and failed. Instead of looking for lists of “best practices” look for the real stories of what works, and what doesn’t.
http://socialreporter.com/?p=459

]]> By: Chris http://ash10.com/2009/06/conceiving-failcamp/#comment-10838 Chris Mon, 29 Jun 2009 02:33:27 +0000 http://ash10.com/?p=518#comment-10838 Revisiting the past at yet another talking shop is moving on and doing something new? Not saying it's necessarily a bad idea or anything. Revisiting the past at yet another talking shop is moving on and doing something new?

Not saying it’s necessarily a bad idea or anything.

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