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“WEaseling”, a post-heroic varmint

This short explanation was requested manifold by those who heard me use this hairy little  neologisms of mine: “WEaseling”*.

The term proved helpful in pointing to a phenomenon in groups and group-processes, that quickly creates a feeling of joint direction but, on the flip side, leads to disappointment and disengagement afterwards.

Especially in groups that gather for a couple of days around a topic that is important to all participants, there often emerges the urge to refer to that present group as something substantial and coherent, which seems to suit the individual needs. This seems ever more virulent when people come together to talk about such broad and far-reaching topics like money, currency and the economy. Continue reading ““WEaseling”, a post-heroic varmint”

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The Ven – From Karma to Carbon

Sporting a plethora of brilliant attributes and a track record of several world firsts in the sphere of new currencies, the Ven has been an issue of inspiration and discussion far afield. As with most currencies, user stories often illuminate as much of the currency design and mechanisms as driving a car illuminates about engineering. With the Ven, much of the language shared with many other community currency solutions has produced some level of identification and, by the same token, confusion, particularly for those interested in what´s under the hood of currency design mechanisms. Iconically, this even extends to the name and identity of its issuing company “Hub Culture Ltd.” and their local event-pavilions called (pop-up-)”Hubs” which are often mistaken for the league of co-working spaces also called Hubs under the umbrella of www.the-Hub.net for which I was working in 2010/11. (The two being ever more convoluted, since a Hub Culture Pavilion is now based at “the-hub” in Westminster, London.)

Last year, Matthew Slater and I met with Stan Stalnaker, Founding Director of Hub Culture and the Ven, to clarify some recurrent questions we had encountered about this currency.*

Here is a brief harvest of the what´s available about the Ven online and some additions from the interview. Continue reading “The Ven – From Karma to Carbon”

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“Man kann die Welt nicht nicht verändern!” oder: fairventure heißt “Vertrauen wagen”

(Eröffnungsbeitrag fairventure Kongress 2012)

Man kann die Welt nicht nicht verändern!

Jedes mal wenn ich darüber nachdachte, was es hier und jetzt an dieser Stelle zu sagen gäbe, kam ich auf diesen einen Satz zurück.

Natürlich kann man ihn sofort kritisieren und Abwägungen anstellen welche Handlungen und welche Anschauungen denn nun wirklich etwas verändern würde. Aber dabei übersieht man viel zu schnell an welchen Veränderungen man unbemerkt teilhat wenn man eben nicht engagiert und seinen Träumen und Idealen folgt.

Denn unsere Welt verändert sich, jeden Tag.
Und nun kommt es darauf an, wie bewussten man die Veränderung in die eine oder andere Richtung mitträgt. Continue reading ““Man kann die Welt nicht nicht verändern!” oder: fairventure heißt “Vertrauen wagen””