UrbanHonking Workshop
We did the UrbanHonking Workshop for the TBA on Monday and I think it went pretty well. We were nervous because we weren't sure what people wanted to know. I figured most people wouldn't know much about UrHo, so we did a recap of that, and then let the questions guide the talk.
I think if we had sat in a circle and done it as more of a conversation it would have worked better. The most interesting moments were when we were really thinking about a question, and having a conversation about the ideas. I ended up enjoying it, and look forward to the noon-time chat.
I was surprised to read what PICA blogger Fredrick H. Zal said about it:
(Excerpted from the PICA blog)
Yesterday started with a presentation by Urban Honking. They are the folks that are hosting this bLog site for PICA Well, the funny thing is that I was a touch late for the talk, as I was writing the bLog from the day before, and their website was having some serious bandwidth problems. That basically means, that it was as slow as molasses, and then crashing out. A technical term for, "Hey, guys, time to spend some more money and upgrade your software and connection speed!". Well, this became a topic of our discussion. "The life of the web"...
These three housemates thought it would be fun to start up a bLog site, and have some of their friends write articles. Over time, it has grown and taken on its own life, which is both wonderful and sometime difficult as the parent of the organism.
This is something that happened with Tribe.net. About a year ago, they were purchased by Pepsi, and the site was ‘corrupted’ with advertising. Then they were PG-13 filtered, but not to the extend of MySpace. Now they are getting back on their legs, and the community feels strong again. The owners of that site, after selling Tribe started a site called Zaadz. They started the site with the intention of a sustainable community. They learned from Tribe, and wanted to find a sustainable commercial method, much like Patagonia and some other environmentally conscious companies. Sometimes it goes well, sometimes not. This is what is happening with Burningman these days. It is also what could happen with Urban Honking if they are not more sagacious parents. They say that they do not want to go commercial, but they also do not want to have to pay for extra bandwidth out of their own pockets. After all, this is just a hobby for them, it is not their day job. I really question this. If you do not really care, then don’t do it. It is quite a bit of what we were discussing with Sara Greenberger Rafferty the day before. Be an artist, or get out of Hell’s Kitchen!
Well, we will have to see what happens with Urban Honking.
My prediction is that they will find some other hobby in a few years, and this will be a random memory for them. But, we will have to see...
I am glad Fredrick attended our talk, blogs for PICA, and is offering his opinion. Of course I completely disagree with him. UrHo isn't going to be a random memory for any of us in "a few years." We've been doing this for seven years! If Mr. Zal would like to put his money where is mouth is, I'll bet him that in three years UrbanHonking is both still running and still active. If it is, then he has to pay the full hosting bill for the next three years, and if it's not, then he can have the domain and the website. :)
We didn't go into detail about the current technical issues as it wasn't a technical talk. Just to clarify, we pay about $500.00 a year in hosting, and the current problems are not bandwidth-related, but hosting issues. DreamHost doesn't work well with Movable Type. We have already paid for a new hosting company, Media Temple, and plan on migrating UrHo after TBA (we can't move in the middle of TBA as there will be some downtime).
Also, comparing UrbanHonking to Tribe really bothers me, because I don't like Tribe. UrbanHonking isn't a social networking site that Pepsi wants to buy full of people going out to the desert to create a model of a utopian society. Tribe.net is used mostly by Burners as a means of communicating with each other in a relatively closed environment. We don't work like that, and it's a poor analogy.
I'm upset with myself for giving the impression that UrHo is just our "hobby". Hopefully no one else came to that conclusion.
I am glad Mr. Zel wrote this up, as it shows where we need to improve our own presentation about UrHo. The impressions he formed were a direct result of his personal interaction with us, and I imagine our humility with UrHo came across as a lack of commitment? So, no hard feelings (no mean comments!). From his website, it's clear that Mr. Zel is an educated man who spends a lot of time in the arts world.
<< | Posted by kmikeym at 4:50 PM | >>
Dude,
I didn't feel that way and I doubt anyone else did. Frederick has been harsh on many performances--just his style of critique, I suppose.
I was planning to write on the workshop and will, I just haven't had the time yet what with all the performances to see. But I liked it and learned a lot. I thought you all did a particularly good job of emphasizing community over capitalism, and content over tech tricks.
Mike,
Don't be so hard on yourself for what you see as a failure to represent UrHo accordingly. I think this particular critique of UrbanHonking (at least from my perspective which may be closer than your average uninitiated critic) is more indicative of the inherent complications involved in the relatively new crossover between traditional art critique and new media endeavors.
It's difficult to apply a Litmus test for how dedicated you are to something...especially when the indicator is apparently a willingness to forfeit an essential principle of a project in order to keep it going. It's contradictory, and unfair to apply it to Urban Honking, which actually is much more analogous to a gallery, workspace or studio than to a single piece of art.
I take issue not with the fact that he assumes UrHo is "just a hobby", incorrect as that may be, but with the notion that if something is "just a hobby" then one must not really care about it and should therefore give it up. This is like saying that personal interests outside of earning a living are without value and not worth pursuing if they do not lead to commercial success or financial gain. Not everyone can--or wants to--make a living by making art, or running a web site as it were. Where would we be as a culture without all the things that people choose to do for fun, because they have a passion?
So I'm not really buying the Hell's Kitchen remark. Just because you're not earning a living as a chef doesn't mean you shouldn't cook your own dinner.
I totally agree!
Maybe you aren't a chef because then you'll be stuck making things that "sell" instead of making things that are amazing and new!
Exactly. It's "Make it Happen", not "Make It Cash-In". In light of this discussion, I'm even more excited to see Andrew Dickson on Friday, and I'm glad all of these thoughts are floating around just as I begin my thesis year at PNCA. This is directly relevant to those of us who are about to have to make big decisions about how we are going to survive as passionate, creative people in an unsympathetic and insensitive economic climate.
On a personal note, keep Making It Happen, Mike. Your ethos is inspiring.