KEFair 98 opens with a burst of energy!!

It's been a little over 24 hours since the kickoff of KEFair 98, the first virtual conference dedicated to the exploration and sharing of insights on Knowledge Ecology, and although many expected participants are still just arriving, the wealth of excitement and contribution to our Fairgrounds can certainly be felt by all!

Registrations roll in hourly from communities all over the world! Presently we join over 250 participants from 17 countries at KEFair 98 (http://www.tmn.com/kefair ). Although we have an entire month ahead together, we wanted to take a quick moment to look at what we can look forward to after just one day!

In the Community Cafe, we've arrived to sit around a "virtual fire"; browse the rich greetings and introductions from participants who share the experience and interest that brings them here; we recommend our favorite books and resources to each other; discuss current events and our reflections and struggles with the news; identify with each other based on shared experiences and location; and practice with as well as pose questions about the new technologies that we experiment with in KEFair 98!

A bold few have jumped right in to start a discussion in the Open Space Circle. Join John Paul who introduces the topic, Organizational Intelligence in Family Owned Businesses; Paul J. Lareau who poses the thought, " "If only we knew what we know", in an item created on Knowledge Retrieval; Douglass Carmichael raises the question of the Year 2000 and the Social Reaction; Mark W. McElroy invites you to participate in a discussion on the Use of Ecological Metaphors in Knowledge Managegent; and Sandy Manne introduces Learning Ecologies: Facilitating Informal Information Sharing. Feel free to start your own topic of interest in the Open Space Circle -- chances are someone else here has a thought or two to add!

We will hear from an amazing cast of keynoters and workshop leaders throughout our month together, (for a glimpse, go to http://www.tmn.com/kefair/keynoter.htm ) and we're already off to an impressive start! On the first day, we welcome two distinguished keynoters. George Por, Founder and Senior Consultant of Community Intelligence Labs--not to mention the visionary for KEFair 98-- creates the framework with, "Knowledge Ecology and Communities of Practice - Emerging Twin Trends of Creating True Wealth". Join with George in your own framing of Knowledge Ecology. And, if by any chance you're still wondering... what exactly is Knowledge Ecology?...then you definitely want to engage in this conversation! Also in the Keynoter's Conference, we have the opportunity to hear from Yogesh Malhotra, Founder & Principal of @BRINT Research Initiative. Yogesh leads us in a presentation on, "How the synergy between humans and machines can result in a different kind of intelligence." Join the Keynoters Conference and join the dialogue!

Don't forget to visit the beginning workshops! Arian Ward presents, "Futurizing -- Exploring What You Don't Know You Don't Know" a look to how we fit with and can impact the future. Michael Ray and Todd Porter lead us in a workshop in Creativity in Business -- expanding on your personal creativity! And Mike McMaster begins a discussion on the Beginning Formulation of a Source Document and Call for Creating a Knowledge Ecology Network: Dreaming Collectively an Emergent Culture into Being.

We're really just beginning! If you have any questions at all about KEFair 98, please don't hesitate to contact us at 703-243-6622 or 800-277-0414, we'd love to meet you voice to voice! And if you have specific questions on the navigation of the environment, please post them in Item 3 (Tips on using this Software) in the Cafe, because if you wonder about it...other's may too! We'll watch that item frequently and keep you informed!

Once again, we wish to remind you that KEFair 98 is a participant driven, collective initiative. We invite you to ask the questions, raise the issues, and create the conversations that are relevant to you and your communities. Please feel free to contact us with any suggestions and insights as to how to make our time together this month the most beneficial.

We're thrilled by the interest and commitment of all present and look forward to our inquiry together!

    Amy Eunice, Metasystems Design Group

© Copyright, 1999, Community Intelligence Labs, Ben Lomond, CA