There have been many articles on this blog about Unconference(s) but just like it, there is information scattered on the topic across the internet. There couldn’t have been anyone better than Kiruba Shankar to write a book on Unconference. Before I start the book review, let’s see what exactly is an Unconference:
An unconference is a facilitated, participant-driven conference centered on a theme or purpose. The term “unconference” has been applied, or self-applied, to a wide range of gatherings that try to avoid one or more aspects of a conventional conference etc. [Source : Wikipedia]
To keep it simple, An “Unconference” is a gathering where every attendee is a speaker & it is a conference of the attendee, by the attendee & for the attendee.
About the Author
Kiruba was one of the organizer’s of BlogCamp, Chennai [the first Blog Unconference in India] that was held in 2006 & under the non-profit organization “The Knowledge Foundation”; he & his team have organized many successful unconference’s namely BarCampChennai, BlogCamp, Proto.in, SearchCamp, WikiCamp, FailCamp & many more…
Detailed Review
The book starts with the basic topic of “Introduction to unconference” given that many of the readers might not be familiar with the concept of Unconference itself !!! The concept is very well explained along with the origin of Unconference [excerpts from the book below]
As stated by Dave Winer – “The sum of expertise of people in the audience is greater than the sum of expertise of people on stage” and called Fundamental Law of Conventional Conferences. If a random group of people were picked from the audience & were put together to discuss the same issue of the conference, it is likely that there is greater energy, enthusiasm & learning. Thus, the idea of unconference’s was born.
For many, it might seem that unconference is similar to “Conference with MORE Freedom” hence the author has explained the “Differences between conferences & unconferences“. Some excerpts from the topic below:
The best time in a conference is during coffee breaks. Unconference is like one big coffee break. Great conversations are definitely expected in unconferences !!!
Rest of the book dives into different methodologies to spice up the meetings & gives details into how “Boring” meetings/conferences can be transformed into “Interesting & Interactive” unconferences. These topics help the reader to organize meetings [with smaller i.e. < 5 members as well larger audience i.e. 50+ more] in a more intuitive way so that every person in the audience takes something back from the meeting !!! Some excerpts from the book on these methodologies below [PS: Every chapter on these topics are sub-divided into a) Uniqueness of the methodology. b) How to organize it. c) Case-Study]:
Open Space Technology
Open Space runs on two fundamentals: Passion & Responsibility. Passion engages people in the room. Responsibility ensures that things get done.
– Harrison Owen, Creator of Open Space Technology.
Four principles of Open Space Technology:
- Whoever comes are the right people.
- Whatever happens is the only thing that could have happened.
- When it starts is the right time.
- When it’s over, it’s over.
Appreciative Inquiry
Appreciative Inquiry leverages the most positive possibilities by involving all the voices in the community.
– Bliss Browne, Founder – Imagine Chicago
It focues on what is possible rather than what is not. It starts with the belief that every organization & every person in that organization has positive aspects that can be built open. It is one of the best methods to build an “OPEN” company culture !!!
Dotmocracy
Dotmocracy is a free-flowing, flexible idea-machine.
– Herb at BikeCamp
Participants write down ideas on specially designed paper forms cakked “Dotmocracy Sheets”. Each idea is written on a sheet with categories such as “strong agreement”, “agreement”, “neutral”, “dis-agreement”. Each participant marks one dot against one category for each idea sheet. It is one of the best methods for “Idea Generation” !!!
Unpanel
It’s not just the questions & answers that are crowdsourced. It’s the panelists too !!!
– Unpanel Participant
An Unpanel is a type of unconference that involves fast paced presentations from a set of panelists on their areas of expertise. The panelists talk about a particular topic of interest and the duration is usually kept small. This provides a platform for people to share their thoughts by developing conversations.
Birds of a feather [BOF]
People are like birds. They flock around people who have similar interests.
– Unconference Book Researchers.
BOF refers to an informal meeting during or after events where like-minded individuals get together & discuss various ideas without pre-planned agenda. BOF has been derived from the proverb “Birds of a feather, flock together”. BOF enables audience interaction. The interest level among people is high as they meet & discuss ideas with like-minded & passionate individuals. It also provides excellent opportunity to network & meet people who have similar problems or interests.
Rest of book covers other interesting unconference techniques like “Speed Geeking”, “FishBowl”, “Knowledge Cafe” just to name a few…
Improvement Areas
It would have been great if a pictorial representation of each unconference was included at the end of every chapter; it would have been a great complimentary to the case-studies provided in the book [Pictures speak louder than words !!!].
Final Thoughts
The book unleashes excellent methodologies for organizing an “Unconference” & the best part is that the author himself is already involved in organizing many such unconferences, so “experience does speak” in the book !!! As stated before, 150 pages makes a quick read & a handy reference to “Unconference” & it can be easily termed as “Unconference Bible” 🙂
Where to buy the book
The book is available on Flipkart here If you have read the book please share your thoughts in the comments section !!!
Himanshu, thank you very much for a detailed review. Enjoyed reading it. I appreciate the review all the more because I know that you have been a regular unconference participant and you speak from experience of having attended many. Thanks a bunch.
@Kiruba, Thanks for the book 🙂 I really enjoyed reading the book. Unconference has really changed the way I approached things & I was lucky to meet you at the First BlogCamp way back in 2006.
@abychristian:disqus Thanks for the comment. True, the book is short & interesting. I refered it as the “Unconference Bible” !!!
Thank you Himanshu for sharing this. I have recently been reading the Lean Startup by Eric Ries. Have you got a chance to read it? I am sharing the source of the article where I came to know of the book:
http://smallbusinessindia.intuit.in/the-next-mile/articles/small-business-owners-read-lean-startup/.