Proposal: MetaTalk(s) October 9, 2020 12:49 PM Subscribe
I have learned a ton from the community here -- from pure knowledge stuff like how airplanes or viruses or financial systems work, to lived experience stuff like what some aspects of life are like for disabled folks, how to better spot my biases, how to be a better ally. These are just a very small sampling of the immense quantity of stuff I have learned from you all.
The thing is, a lot of that learning has been diffused over 18 years of being here. And a lot of the knowledge transfer has been implicit, from just participating and being exposed to social norms of which I was previously ignorant. This makes the huge gains I have enjoyed less accessible to a new user. I think it would be neat to be able to watch / listen to a talk from a MetaFilter member who is a subject matter expert on topic [X]. A Metafilter Member Seminar Series, of sorts.
Implementation-wise, I think that this could likely live in FanFare. If a post over there went up, say, a week before the talk, it would give users a chance to submit questions for a Q&A. If MeFi would host and stream the video / audio, it would also mean a growing library of talks from users on lots of topics which continue to be a resource in perpetuity.
This could be a once-per-month thing, perhaps. The user giving the talk could offer up something like a ko-fi link if attendees want to tip them a couple bucks for their time and effort.
Just an idea. I'm curious to know what opinions you all might have.
The thing is, a lot of that learning has been diffused over 18 years of being here. And a lot of the knowledge transfer has been implicit, from just participating and being exposed to social norms of which I was previously ignorant. This makes the huge gains I have enjoyed less accessible to a new user. I think it would be neat to be able to watch / listen to a talk from a MetaFilter member who is a subject matter expert on topic [X]. A Metafilter Member Seminar Series, of sorts.
Implementation-wise, I think that this could likely live in FanFare. If a post over there went up, say, a week before the talk, it would give users a chance to submit questions for a Q&A. If MeFi would host and stream the video / audio, it would also mean a growing library of talks from users on lots of topics which continue to be a resource in perpetuity.
This could be a once-per-month thing, perhaps. The user giving the talk could offer up something like a ko-fi link if attendees want to tip them a couple bucks for their time and effort.
Just an idea. I'm curious to know what opinions you all might have.
This seems like a great idea to me with all of the fascinating people who are on the site. I don't have much expertise in any one relevant field, but I would love to help make this happen.
posted by holmesian at 1:19 PM on October 9, 2020
posted by holmesian at 1:19 PM on October 9, 2020
A friend of mine not on here has been doing a great little "Unconventional Conference of Niche Interests" where everyone gets 15 min to talk about a thing they are passionate and excited about. Can have slides or not, supporting docs or not. They did the whole thing on Zoom and recorded it and then put it all on YouTube. So people could attend live if they wanted (and chat and do other things) or people could just see the talks. I learned about pickle making, adaptive fashion and I gave a talk about moss.
posted by jessamyn (retired) at 1:37 PM on October 9, 2020 [20 favorites]
posted by jessamyn (retired) at 1:37 PM on October 9, 2020 [20 favorites]
Given the state of the world right now, I have been turning down a lot of opportunities to speak about diversity issues because it is dangerous to publicly talk about my experiences as a marginalized person. I know others in the same boat. So, my suggestion would be to use the features the site already has and make this audio/podcast, rather than video, so users are not immediately identifiable if they don’t want to be. I think this would increase engagement at least in regards to marginalized users contributing their experiences and insights. Also, some people just may not want their face linked to their MeFi username.
Love the idea, though.
posted by brook horse at 1:39 PM on October 9, 2020 [9 favorites]
Love the idea, though.
posted by brook horse at 1:39 PM on October 9, 2020 [9 favorites]
If anyone is interested in doing this but is uncomfortable or unable to record it themselves, or wishes to remain anonymous, I'll volunteer to record myself reading your script. I'm an excellent reader with a good audio setup and some voice experience. Feel free to MeMail me to discuss.
posted by Greg_Ace at 2:54 PM on October 9, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 2:54 PM on October 9, 2020 [5 favorites]
So this is like the Metafilter version of Reddit's AMA?
Funky!
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:16 PM on October 9, 2020
Funky!
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:16 PM on October 9, 2020
A friend of mine not on here has been doing a great little "Unconventional Conference of Niche Interests" where everyone gets 15 min to talk about a thing they are passionate and excited about. Can have slides or not, supporting docs or not.
I like this scope a lot, especially as a place to start and play with.
posted by lazaruslong at 7:30 PM on October 9, 2020 [2 favorites]
I like this scope a lot, especially as a place to start and play with.
posted by lazaruslong at 7:30 PM on October 9, 2020 [2 favorites]
Somewhere, under the mountain, the "Out of the Blue" podcast feed stirs.
Is it time?
No, not yet.
But the time is coming. Soon.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 6:57 AM on October 10, 2020 [3 favorites]
Is it time?
No, not yet.
But the time is coming. Soon.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 6:57 AM on October 10, 2020 [3 favorites]
A friend of mine not on here has been doing a great little "Unconventional Conference of Niche Interests" where everyone gets 15 min to talk about a thing they are passionate and excited about.
A similar-sounding format: a thing I heard of called PechaKucha. Wikipedia; PechaKucha Inc. site
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 7:11 AM on October 10, 2020
A similar-sounding format: a thing I heard of called PechaKucha. Wikipedia; PechaKucha Inc. site
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 7:11 AM on October 10, 2020
I’m a professional events producer who’s been primarily working via Zoom since March. I’m currently organising a free to attend 4 day conference on urban planning in London with lots of international speakers. (Would drop link here but not sure about self-linking etiquette; it’s hosted by Centre for London.) If there is demand for this I would be happy to share some of my resources on how to organise an online event, advise the people doing it, or help personally depending on what’s needed. Metafilter is my online happy place - I don’t want to disturb it but it would be nice to big up the amazing knowledge people are generous enough to share here.
posted by Concordia at 7:37 AM on October 11, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by Concordia at 7:37 AM on October 11, 2020 [5 favorites]
This is such an awesome idea and I would love listen to it!!
posted by zdravo at 7:56 PM on October 11, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by zdravo at 7:56 PM on October 11, 2020 [1 favorite]
Maybe we could start with some informal surveys of areas of interest, for both presenting and listening.
Also another reason people might not want to be identifiable is that it potentially mixes up professional and private stuff that some of us like to keep separated online.
I don't really care if some of you know or guess who I am as a research scientist but I also don't want my real name used in my publications also linked to a casual MeFi video. Yes I know I may be weird in that regard but there it is.
posted by SaltySalticid at 8:55 AM on October 12, 2020 [2 favorites]
Also another reason people might not want to be identifiable is that it potentially mixes up professional and private stuff that some of us like to keep separated online.
I don't really care if some of you know or guess who I am as a research scientist but I also don't want my real name used in my publications also linked to a casual MeFi video. Yes I know I may be weird in that regard but there it is.
posted by SaltySalticid at 8:55 AM on October 12, 2020 [2 favorites]
I like this idea!
I am an expert on some stuff (though I expect not stuff anyone would be that interested in) and would certainly think about contributing if it looks like I can do something that fits.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 3:36 PM on October 12, 2020 [1 favorite]
I am an expert on some stuff (though I expect not stuff anyone would be that interested in) and would certainly think about contributing if it looks like I can do something that fits.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 3:36 PM on October 12, 2020 [1 favorite]
In fact I will go further and will volunteer to help organise this, if there are a couple more folk who can also join in?(This may be a terrible mistake on my part!)
I don't think it needs any MeFi resources except maybe an agreement that we can use a fanfare thread or something for them?
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 3:44 PM on October 12, 2020 [1 favorite]
I don't think it needs any MeFi resources except maybe an agreement that we can use a fanfare thread or something for them?
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 3:44 PM on October 12, 2020 [1 favorite]
I could help with scheduling or suchlike. If anyone wants to listen to a talk about how to get obstinate people to do things on a schedule I could do that too, lol.
posted by wellred at 5:51 AM on October 13, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by wellred at 5:51 AM on October 13, 2020 [2 favorites]
This is a really fun idea.
It sounds like it’s early yet to talk about topics, but I would absolutely love to give a talk about what I learned working in a kitchen store that provided months of extensive hands on training on everything from cookware to obscure bakeware tools. That job absolutely broke me (busy retail for rich entitled people when I couldn’t get a graphic design job right out of college) but it taught me so much about what to look for in cookware and knives. My most favorited comments are about that subject and I feel like I could do an informative 15 minute presentation with visuals...actually using the graphic design skills that languished while I worked that job!
Maybe it will help me stop having nightmares I went back to work there!
posted by the thorn bushes have roses at 11:23 AM on October 13, 2020 [3 favorites]
It sounds like it’s early yet to talk about topics, but I would absolutely love to give a talk about what I learned working in a kitchen store that provided months of extensive hands on training on everything from cookware to obscure bakeware tools. That job absolutely broke me (busy retail for rich entitled people when I couldn’t get a graphic design job right out of college) but it taught me so much about what to look for in cookware and knives. My most favorited comments are about that subject and I feel like I could do an informative 15 minute presentation with visuals...actually using the graphic design skills that languished while I worked that job!
Maybe it will help me stop having nightmares I went back to work there!
posted by the thorn bushes have roses at 11:23 AM on October 13, 2020 [3 favorites]
that's a great example of some of the sorts of harder-to-list-on-demand knowledge transfer opportunities that can be captured here. i'm absolutely 100% here for, let's say, physicsmatt giving us a 15 minute overview of the recent noble prize winners in physics. i'm also 100% here for learning about what you learned in that kitchen store gig!
posted by lazaruslong at 1:55 PM on October 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by lazaruslong at 1:55 PM on October 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
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posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 12:53 PM on October 9, 2020