Linchpins Meetup 2010 Plan B: we met virtually

One of the meetups had a virtual venue. Here is the story that began on the meetup.com site: 

When: Monday, 2010-06-14 20:00

Where: #Junto (alpha) emergent discussion platform  
  Yokohama City, Japan

After after quick round of introduction, first meeting topic:

“Wouldn’t it be great if . . . ”

inspired by Linchpin Magazine We can then take it from there.

72 h before the planned time, a number of Linchpin Meetups in Japan have only one single member. In case you want to connect to remote Linchpins, virtually, here is Plan B:

Get your webcam ready, with mic and headphones. On http://junto.cc, click the center graphic to open the lobby. Enter your name, login. No password, the door is open. Select the #LINCHPIN room, click join. Allow the flash plug-in access to your mic (built-in, USB, or so) and your cam (usually USB). Picture and sound get better if you switch from Modem to DSL. The delay remains. Try out and explore for yourself before the event. Here is what to expect: http://vimeo.com/12314442

Once we are there and connected, we can listen and talk, watch the small faces, type and read, share links. Enjoy. Nice to meet you, virtually.

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So we met virtually,

because plan A meet in person did not work out. Charlie, Joshua, Yukie, and me, CoCreatr, from all over Japan. Later, Charles in Seattle, AleFernandez in UK and Sam from New Zealand joined in for part of the 90 minutes I thought right for such a meeting.

About an hour after the meeting ended, Frances from Canada mailed me through triiibes.com. Via Skype, I helped her into the virtual room. She could see the chat log we left behind and she listened to my draft summary. So all in all we were eight and counting - now you as a reader join in the wake of this conversation.      

What did we decide to do

Decisions came near the end during our session review. One of us will start a blog. One has started two weeks ago. One will look for a group that helps with nutrition and exercise. One wants to connect with people in the book business. Wants to ask Seth when Linchpin will be released in Japanese. One wants to get a webcam. Almost all said they want to connect again. Topics of choice introduced ahead of time so the conversation can roll smoother. Sorry, all I had given was “Wouldn’t it be great if ... ”.  

We came up with an improvement for the Junto Alpha platform we were using to get virtual meetings more focused: a chess-clock, like a time budget you can use wisely. When time is up, you are muted until everyone's time is up.   

What did we not talk about?

Strange question to begin with, you are right, but I find it remarkable that this group of almost-strangers who "faced" each other live for the first time gave no attention to smalltalk, big etiquette, bragging (one of us reads a book a day, two enjoy audiobooks at double speed), pitching, critique and the like. There was a silent trust and long stretches of silence as we explored gifts we exchanged. More on that later.

Then, what did we talk about?

Initially, and just briefly about this new tool that connected us. Once settled, it faded into the background of attention and we just used it as or room.
  
Introduction, we all read Seth's books (that is why we are here). How long we were in Japan - all four of us here had lived out of their home country for a year or more. Doing what is right.

“Wouldn’t it be great if . . . ” we all do what we love. Would make us happy. We received a first gift of many book recommendations and weblinks: Start with Why by Simon Sinek.

People often do not know what they want, what would make them happy, motivate them. Secrets of successful marketing and selling. Two of us shared training and professional sales experience, one of us studies for MBA. Our main points of agreement: Listen first, sell later (where have I seen that before?). How to sense where a need becomes apparent and why you never push a sale if you do not feel you are helping your customer. Hint: it is better to leave politely and keep permission to call again.

The difficulty to find Jobs in Japan, or entrepreneurship, especially as a foreigner. To open your own business, it seems you have 30X the paperwork than in other countries.  

How one guy who does not fit in opened a restaurant in Japan with $20,000 and made it successful by sticking to his art and by visiting other people's pages on the most popular social network here, mixi.jp. Mixi is by member's invitation only and it shows you who who visited your page (didn't know that). Once people found the restaurant awesome, they talked about it, brought their friends, and the idea spread.

How we are building personal skills, how virtual life can be affecting family life, with everyone virtually absent more often. Why blog in English if it is not . Part of the reason is to keep it off the family

Food and nutrition, how to find a group that helps with this. What about exercise? All four in Japan do, regularly.

About great books and web sites, we shared 15 active links and some book titles. At times our unconference looked like a study group. Quiet for a minute, everyone reading, exploring the virtual gifts one of us had found valuable for the topic we were on. Very focused recommendations. Reminder to be actionable.

How you can get aggregated highlights of Kindle books (link below). 

Near the end of our 99 minutes, Sam from Auckland popped in, telling us about the Linchpin meetup with some 30 people that had just ended. About half the people at the meeting had read Linchpin, the other half were curious.

So, what do we share

Yukie: start with why, by simon sinek

CoCreatr: http://www.startwithwhy.com/

Joshua Maciel: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geert_Hofstede 

Joshua Maciel: http://r.tabelog.com/hyogo/A2804/A280402/28007749/

Yukie: I have account in mixi (http://mixi.jp in Japanese only)

CoCreatr: http://www.wearethelinchpins.com/ (Yukie's blog)

CoCreatr: http://joi.ito.com/weblog/2010/01/26/interview-qa-be.html

Charlie: http://www.amazon.co.jp/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?__mk_ja_JP=%83J%83%5E%83J%83i&url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=seth+godin&x=0&y=0

CoCreatr: blog post of mine http://u.nu/72bb (on food and nutrition)

Charlie: http://zenhabits.net/

Joshua Maciel: http://www.amazon.co.jp/Power-Less-Essential-Productivity-Principals/dp/1848501161/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=english-books&qid=1276516885&sr=1-1

Joshua Maciel: http://www.amazon.co.jp/Switch-Change-Things-When-Hard/dp/1847940315/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=english-books&qid=1276516948&sr=1-1

CoCreatr: http://www.slideshare.net/roxallen/10-days-to-faster-reading-my-fast-favorite-tips-presentation

Yukie: http://www.readingforyoursuccess.com/

Joshua Maciel: http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2010/05/the-most-highlighted-nonfiction-passage-on-kindle.html

Yukie: A.J. Jacob's "Guines Pig Diaries" explains about outsoucing as well

Charles: http://gooseeducationalmedia.com/Default.aspx

Charles: http://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action.html

Thank you for joining the conversation,

Charlie, Joshua, Yukie, all over Japan; Charles in Seattle, AleFernandez in UK, Sam from New Zealand, and Frances from Canada. Feel free to add points you find important or remarkable to the summary. I left things out.

Junto Alpha platform brought to you by @aquarious at http://dave.parsons.edu as inspired by @venessamiemis at http://emergentbydesign.com