How To Make A Scene

Stewards of more than 15 different Austin scenes are actively engaged in the ATXequation. We thought we'd let you in on what they're doing and why ... and please consider this an open invitation to join in anytime.

The purpose of “making a scene” is to facilitate cross-community collaboration that breaks down barriers and enables communication, resource sharing and innovation. When a scene truly becomes a scene, it is no longer perceived as (or perceives itself as) a collection of related communities, but as a nimble, decentralized collective with shared motives and goals.

The scene-making process is undertaken by “scene stewards” and their collaborators. Scene stewards are subject matter experts who have a desire to expand their awareness beyond their known communities and in so doing expand the awareness and capacity of others.

So what is the role of the Scene Steward?

To galvanize communities in loose affiliation with one another, in order to strengthen and create greater synergy and collaboration among them.

To coalesce the scene itself by elevating the perception of those involved from an individual or community mindset to the larger scene perspective/mentality.

To lead the process with the good of the whole in mind, keeping individual or business interests in the background. Personal gain will result from the process, but should not be the motivating force for engaging in the process.

Scene stewardship consists of methods and action to identify, describe, and develop a scene. Scene stewards loosely organize their activities in the following categories:

• Mapping
• Convening
• Evangelizing

Mapping: creating a visual representation of the scene, the organizations that make it up, influence it, the participants and stakeholders.

Consciously identify the known players and communities occupying the same “space.”

Seek out the history of the scene, to inform the current scenario.

Map the known entities and players as documentation of the collection and connections.

Use the ATXequation protocols and tools for mapping and data gathering to ensure consistency with others maps. Contact us for instructions and access.

Convening: calling scene participants together to communicate, nurture relationships. An event of cross pollination and relationship building.

Share the map with all stakeholders in one form or another. It is preferable to convene people as a group, or have small group discussions. Explain the overarching ATXequation initiative, and how mapping the scenes is an attempt to strengthen Austin by identifying opportunities to collaborate and synergize, and shifting our mentality to the “scene” perspective.

Identify gaps. Get feedback on what is missing and where the connections could or should be. Re-map based on feedback.

Get others engaged in the mapping discussion, and more. Decentralize when you are comfortable giving other people edit rights to the map. Allow it to grow and expand.

Stay connected with your stakeholders. Update them when the map gets updated. Invite them to periodically check in.

Evangelizing: Advocating the scene and its developments both to itself and to people and communities outside of the scene.

Scene stewards have the unique opportunity and challenge of “leading” this decentralized effort. A few thoughts on how to successfully take on that role:

As mentioned before, lead the process with the good of the whole in mind, keeping individual or business interests in the background. Personal gain will result from the process, but should not be the motivating force for engaging in the process. Decisions should be made by and on behalf of the scene itself, representing all constituents.

Keep a spirit of curiosity about the process. It is not a prescriptive process, but one of true innovation. Loosely guide and let the process emerge as you go. Use your intuition about when to intervene, and be prepared to “let go” a little more than you would in other endeavors.

Keep in mind this process may be foreign to some, even to yourself, as many of us are accustomed to a more centralized or “command and control” approach. Be prepared for pushback, factions, dropouts and informal fans and leaders to naturally emerge. Information about the stages of group development may help at this stage.

To help with information exchange, use http://www.atxequation.com/ as a central repository for blog-posts, links to articles, maps, etc. Mention @atxequation in your twitter feed or #atxequation when you are at an event that inspires you.

Create a loose system of communication with your stakeholders such as a google or yahoo group. Keep them posted on your efforts. Ask their suggestions and ideas, even if you don’t feel you need them. Always err on the side of inclusion.

Encourage others to document the results of your efforts, and keep your own documentation.
The proof in the pudding is the actual collaborations, new connections, innovations, friends and products that result from scene mapping and discovery.

Participate in the Scene Lab, online discussion and other events made available by the initiative overall. Scene Lab meetings and updates are communicated via twitter and the blog.

Stay in touch with other scene stewards, within and outside of the framework provided by the initiative overall. The true power is in the connection between the scenes, which is the next evolution of this work.

Have fun and give us feedback! This whole thing is a work in progress. We’re eager to hear about your adventures in the equation.

Converting Experience Into Expertise

As our Austin Equation community continues to pioneer the process for Scene Mapping and Stewarding, the Scene Lab meetings are being used to share lessons-learned to convert our experiences into expertise.

In the June 14th Scene Lab, we applied a variation of a fishbowl conversation to excavate experiences, knowledge and lessons from Brandi Clark Burton (Sustainability Scene Steward) and Bijoy Goswami (Entrepreneurship Scene Steward). In this format, a set of open-ended questions were posed to both, with the rest of the attending stewards and community members seated around them, and engaging in structured and broad dialog.

We discussed how each:

• initially mapped their scene
• collected feedback and critiques of their mapping work
• convened discussion groups of scene participants
• evangelizes for the mapping process and their scene
• poses their 'elevator pitch' about their scene and the stewardship work
• articulates their challenges and next steps

... and the discussion was unsurprisingly rich and enlightening. We've captured the conversation in notes and video and are distilling the shared lessons into collaborative documentation, which we will be sharing here and in the Google Group.

Coming soon:

• Date for next Scene Lab
• Google Group-shared documentation on suggested and required Scene Map data for mappers to collect
• Google Group-shared documentation about talking points/elevator pitches distilled from Scene Lab discussions for getting started mapping your scene
• Tweaks to this site to increase usability and clarity

As always, please send Robert Matney your queries, ideas, and feedback on the Scene Lab (rmatney AT g mail).

The Evangelist Test

The best indication that a message is on target is when others articulate it better than you do! This has been happening a lot in the first 3 months of 2010 for the Equation.

In January, Bijoy gave a talk at Ignite Austin and GigaOm's Stacey Higginbotham posted a wonderful blogpost of the Equation highlighting the stewardship of Austin's Entrepreneur Scene.

In March, when Heather and Bijoy facilitated a SXSW Core Converation on "Austin, the Killer App," the participants (half visitors to Austin) beautifully articulated the equation with little guidance from us. Blogger Joey Martin captured the equation and applied it to the nonprofit world.

Brandi Clark, wrote in the Austin EcoNetwork's March newsletter about the importance of mapping the various scenes, including, of course, her Sustainability Scene Map.

And most recently, Barbara Kiviat of TIME wrote a cover story on Austin's unique ability to weather the economic downturn. While not explicitly stated, she perfectly described our high-functioning set of scenes, particularly Entrepreneurship. (with a mention of Bootstrap Austin on page 3!)

We'll keep looking out for awesome articulations of the Equation - and encourage you to answer the question: what is the Austin Equation to you? (And let us know so we can highlight it!)

Locking & Loading the Equation

Late February marked the first meeting of the new ATX Scene Lab lead by Rob Matney. In the Lab, scene stewards and mappers gathered to set expectations and priorities for the year. The scene mapping process continues, with a few new additions to the list of scenes active within the project. Decisions are underway about common mapping tools, thanks to leadership by Charles Knickerbocker.

So far, March has been a big month for the Equation. Heather and Bijoy have been busy evangelizing, taking advantage of the amazing opportunities Austin makes possible. During the RISE conference for Entrepreneurs we chose to shift the emphasis of the presentation to focus first on the entrepreneurship scene, using the "Locate/Engage/Wow" sequence from our Bootstrap Experience model. The group was highly engaged, and we gathered a great deal of good feedback and insight. We're looking forward to a transcript of that workshop as the basis of the our first article.

Most fun so far in March has been our "Core Conversation" at the South by Southwest Interactive conference - aptly named "Why Austin is the Killer App," (#austinkillerapp). The conversation was an exciting opportunity to test the equation wtih a global audience. The focus was on impressions of Austin by native Austinites, first-time visitors, and those who have been back for more several times. These impressions served (as always) as an excellent backdrop to the conversation about what makes for great experiences, strong communities, and thriving, healthy scenes.

We know there is still a great deal to learn about Austin, and what makes it special. But after these latest two large scale opportunities to present the equation to new audiences, we believe that the equation itself - Experience + Community = Scene - has been consistently proven over time to the degree that we are ready to "lock it in." This is an exciting phase of this work for us, which will give rise to a new phase of documentation, now that the initial research phase of 18 months + feels complete.

Check out these fun SXSW interviews by Josh Baer of METV - click on Austin Equation to see ours!

ATXeqation at RISE: Austin's Entrepreneurship Scene

Heather and Bijoy lead a RISE session on Austin's thriving Entrepreneurship Scene. Is RISE the SXSW for Entrepreneurship?

ATXequation - plans for 2010

The Austin Equation initiative is in full swing for 2010 - we've been streamlining our plans, writing, reflecting and organizing for the year ahead. Here are some highlights:

Articulation and Evangelism

Bijoy's talk at Ignite Austin went well and we should have the video up shortly; this will serve as a good 5-minute introduction to ATXEquation. Watch this space for it!

Bijoy and Heather are spending the first 6 months of the year articulating the equation in a longer document, summing up what has been learned. We'll be sharing our progress (and soliciting feedback) as we go along. This blog will be used as process documentation as we go along.

Birth of the "Scene Lab"

The group formerly known as "Scene Mappers" is expanding its charter to Scene Stewardship, not just mapping. Anyone interested in stewarding a particular scene (mapping, convening, evangelizing, etc.) is welcome. As such, we've changed the name to "ATX Scene Lab." The "lab" also reflects that this will be a place - both online and in meetings - for self-directed volunteers who are interested in stewarding scenes to share their progress and practices. It will not be a forum for discussion of the details or theory behind the ATXequation model. Instead, in the Lab we'll roll up our sleeves and discuss tangible examples of scene-building on the ground. Scene stewards will be responsible for progress (or lack thereof!) of their scenes.

Robert Matney will be facilitating the Scene Lab meetings and online discussion on this Google Group for 2010. The next meeting is February 25 @ 5pm at the Leadership Austin offices - 1609 Shoal Creek, Suite 202. Mark your calendars! Lab meetings will occur on a quarterly basis. Please send Robert your queries, ideas & feedback at rmatney AT gmail.

Update - The Entrepreneurship Scene

In 2010, Bijoy is stewarding the Entrepreneurship Scene. We have regular meetings scheduled for the leaders in the scene. Heather and Bijoy shared ATXequation with this group at the January meeting. Bootstrap Austin is spending all of February on ATXequation and educating its members about the Entrepreneurship Scene. Every day a tweet goes out from @bootstrapaustin (starting yesterday) and the February 8 Bootstrap Austin Meeting is dedicated to ATXEQ and the Entrepreneurship Scene Map. Please feel free to attend this meeting and/or follow @bootstrapaustin to see how we are doing this. March is our "scene- level" experience - RISEAustin.org - and this will be great way to bring the entire entrepreneurship Scene together and put it on display for the Austin community and beyond.

We're looking forward to continuing to make progress on ATXequation in 2010! Many thanks to all the contributors, collaborators and interested parties who continue to show interest in this work. If you have particular feedback on any of the above and/or thoughts about your specific involvement with the initiative, please get in touch directly with Heather, Rob or Bijoy.

What is ATXequation?

Update: It has been a year since the ATXequation conversation began. Taking this moment to reflect on the frequently asked questions we get these days as the word begins to spread. Mostly "What are you doing exactly?" and "Why?"

We continue to explore our original question - what makes Austin special? We're intrigued by the many different discussions this one question prompts - and even more interested in the common thread woven across those answers. ATXequation was borne out of a desire to test the strength of that thread and witness the pattern of the fabric it weaves.

So we've been asking the question and sharing the various answers -- and our hypothesis on their commonalities. For example, we believe that Austin's uniquely-designed experiences and our rich, diverse communities combine to create lasting and powerful "scenes" that make Austin the thriving, vibrant city it is. Some say those scenes have just sprung up organically over time, that there is no method or science to how they've generated themselves. We think that scene-making can be deconstructed to inform those of us who want to continue Austin's legacy of being the best place to live. We think the "how" is important for those Austinites (and others) who are investing themselves now, or will invest themselves as future stewards of our city. Stewards who understand that a strength like Austin's isn't about happenstance, but a unique and special combination that -- like any good recipe -- is improved with each chef that attempts it, but always begins with a set of key ingredients. Thus, the equation: Experience + Community = Scene.

People like to talk about Austin, which makes spreading the word about how to "make a scene" fun and easy. It means encouraging people to elevate their thinking from an isolated, individual or singular community perspective to the scene mentality -- a mindset that means looking across a set of related communities to find what they have in common, and what they don't. By doing this, we can create quicker synergy, collaboration and results for the city we care about so deeply.

The question of what makes Austin so unique - what sort of city Austin is at it's core - brings forward so many different responses. But a very clear theme continues to emerge ... that it's a city that encourages us all to be who we are at our core - to fully express ourselves, and in so doing to connect with others. These connections are evident all across Austin's varied communities and scenes.

In fact, since we began, more than a dozen "scene mappers" have stepped up to document the many communities that make up Austin's scenes: music, arts, technology, entrepreneurship, non-profit and many other scenes are literally being mapped to reveal the connecting points, and places of disconnect. Because the mappers hope that by drawing the dots they'll learn more about how to connect them into a stronger scene. One that is aware of itself as such and sees the power and value in the collective. So far, the "ahas" of the scene mapping process have been many. "Oh really, you're doing that too?" "Why didn't we know about each other sooner!"

To what end is all of this? Perhaps it's best there not be an end, but a constant exploration of the creativity and inclusivity that makes Austin Austin. We can't bottle such a process, but we may be able to distill it's essence just enough for Austinites everywhere and maybe even those outside our fair town to take a sip and not only enjoy, but understand, and begin to share the formula.

We think we're on to something regarding the starting QUEST(ion), "What makes Austin special?" and that question has morphed into another: how do we steward Austin on its journey? Ours was an impulse of stewardship for the city and our real intent is that you take on the office for yourself. It's up to you to be a steward for Austin in whatever way you can imagine - whether that's within or outside of the Atxequation initiative itself. Our job is to lay the groundwork with the model - the "real work" of stewardship is up to us all.