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Indy Media Crawfish Boil
May 26th, 2006
Christian Roselund hosted an Independent Media Crawfish Boil two Sundays ago. I’m finally getting around to posting the photographs. (My PowerBook is but a spectre now.) This photoset makes for an entertaining slideshow, so click on Becky and join us as we attend.
We arrived as Christian was headed out for potatos, so he turned around and led us to the backyard, where there was an assortment of revolutionaries, sipping beer, and waiting on potatos.
I was leery, as always, of Common Grounders, Pacific-NorthWesterners. Carpetbaggers of all stripes annoy but non so much as the upper-middle trash with ideals lifed from the back of a box of organic corn flakes. Saving the world with their disposable income.
Or so I’m told. One of the attendees informed me that I was looking everyone askance upon entry. I don’t doubt it. All you need is one shlub suburbanite with exaggerated sensibilites to lead the team in compulsive, politically-correct mirth squeltching. Choose your words carefully, or else have them chosen for you.
These were locals, however. Christian Roselund is not one to suffer fools gladly. It was a crowd of locals.
There was one ex-Common Grounder, but he went native. Took a job, no less.
Otherwise, when Katrina came, everyone in attendance took a bite. I dipped into my own carpetbag to chip in for longnecks and get settled. I showed deference. I’ve been showing deference since.
Why? Because, I’ve been practicing non-sense avoidance. It was a watershed meeting for me.
Then and since, I’ve my litmus test. It is, simply, do you work here?
We’ve been washed in a wave of pity since Katrina. There has been an outpouring of useless sentiments. We are not OK. Not by any means. But we are still a city, we are still Americans, and best of all, we still eat crawfish, expensive though they may now be.
This is a group of people who put their stake in the ground years ago. They have been very active since Katrina at the New Orleans Indy Media website. This website, like NOLA.com, became a clearning house during Katrina.
In this crawfish boil, people discussed independent media going forward, while I discussed Think New Orleans and civic information systems. There was a disconnect, since their focus is on producing indigenous media, while mine is the clerical side of the Internet.
Here I learned more about differences, where the line should be drawn. It clarifies my focus, toward civic groupware, away from recordings. Recording town hall meetings is a task for those with a background in radio production, while my focus should be scheduling those meetings, say, or helping to both post and print the accompanying documents, the agendas and minutes.
I know my place. It’s a do unto others revelation. I was fortunate to have a seat at this newspaper and crawfish covered table. It was six months of uncertianty and unpaid bills to earn a seat at this newspaper and crawfish covered table.
It was a crawfish Thanksgiving.
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Comments 
[...] How fortunate are we New Orleanians to have the crawfish boil. If we didn’t have the crawfish boil, we’d have to invent it. Pity those cultures that have to substitute highly-structured contrivances for civility. Crawfish Boil, New Orleans, Unconference Posted by Alan Gutierrez Filed in New Orleans, Aside [...]
Uhhh… you are a tool.
You mean like a box miter?
It’s great that you were willing to meet these guys, find out what they’re all about and find where you lie (where you want to lie) in the communications and media spectrum in NO right now.
As for one of our earlier conversations, I think blogging should be kept free (as indie as it gets), but if you’re providing a real service that cannot be reproduced easily by several different parties.
In other words, indy media should not become for-profit-based just because the wielder of that tool (!) at the time has no separate income.
And, remember, Alan, don’t feed the t(r)ools!
The Indy Media crowd is not looking to become profit driven. Some of them are interested in pursuing funding, however. They would much rather work on independent media than work for commerical media. They do want to work in media however, so either they find some funding for their efforts, or else they’ll have to abandon efforts that have been driven by out-of-pocket funding.
We are in agreement, Alan. [It takes a few tries for people to connect on a topic, but if they keep working at it, marvels do occur :-)]
As I said to you earlier, as a Project Gutenberg rep, funding for non-profit is absolutely necessary to sustain operations and recupe costs.
Ultimately, the question is: Is what I am doing a valid service that requires compensation, i.e. will it help serve my community in a meaningful way or is it just another pet project?
Good question, really. I’ve come a long way since I arrived, and “blogging” is not what people need here. I’ve never felt that it was. People in New Orleans rely on email for communcation. I’m looking for a hybrid.
Managing these Web Publishing Workshops is teaching me hard and fast what is needed to coordinate busy people. I want to create an email list with Constant Contact, so an announcement about a scheduling change can go out right now. It saves me time when I have to otherwise call everyone.
At the same time, I do want information on my web site where people can reference it.
Anyway, I’m going to learn by doing.
[...] Vince Keenan does not pass the litmus test I established at the crawfish boil, however. [...]