#GSjamEventifier - Service Design Emerging from Nothingness

On last Saturday the application timeline for #GSP15 ended, and I shared my experience about it (see the last post). Honestly lots of the energy I have had put into the application process since the beginning of it still resides in me and "looks" to be used effectively.

Screenshot via Eventifier

As a passionately believer in what technology can be capable to bring positive to society and the individual, this time not being to attend (in person) the Global Service Jam 2015 activities here in Dresden I decided to put up a trial on Eventifier to let the tool capture the ongoings during the event. "Unwise" (or perhaps unconsciously "wise") I included both hashtag #GSjam (global) and #GSjamDD (Dresden-based) into the form. This led immediately to the fact that about 2,000 (1,998 to be exact) tweets were imported by the Eventifier server, and no new ones able to stream in.

Screenshot via Eventifier #smw15

Unlike I did for the Social Media Week 2015, #smw15, where I did ask the team of Eventifier what had happened that the import of tweets stopped at a certain amount. I was not only advised about the restrictions of the trial but also offered that the server would be allowed to import all the information streaming in on the Web using #smw15. See for yourself here.

Screenshot via Eventifier #LichtjahrDD

This time I did not want to ask again for this favor (actually Eventifier is one of the sponsors of the Dresdner Lichtjahr here in Dresden, #LichtjahrDD (the hashtag used on social media) and the Eventifier page (where all info around the International Year of Light 2015, #IYL2015 and #LichtjahrDD are pulled in alike in order to make the global event more public around the public) on it.

In order open up all the information about the Global Service Jam 2015 on the social web to get included in the Eventifier "event" it is necessary to upgrade to BASIS for an amount of $49 (!) to enable it to stay public for one month.

So I thought, "Why not use the notion of creating a new service while the Global Service Jam is on - a digital one?"

As I had already some experience with #GSP14 I decided to use Eventbrite to make it happen via a mini-scale crowdfunding. A 1st prototype on Sunday did not raise much awareness nor supporters. With the trial still able to be explored in part for the next couple of days I decided yesterday morning to run a 2nd prototype with slightly different ticket types and changed text. In the morning I got support from a dear friend from Nigeria, Love Okochi, with whom I had been on team during the 'Technology Entrepreneurship 1' MOOC run by Prof. Chuck Eesley back in 2013. With his help we changed some of text and I put it online again.

Screenshot via Eventifier (mod.)

This time everything was kind of different, as the "event" started at noon yesterday. On a public Facebook community focusing on service design where I had posted the info with best intend earlier that day I got "strong" head wind. First I was kind of confused, could feel my heart race a bit higher than the normal pace. Over the course of the day, after I had made the point clear that this wasn't meant to make a profit rather to enable all people interested in the field of service design and this past Global Service Jam 2015, especially the ones who couldn't attend in person, or didn't know about it yet to get at least a glimpse of what it was about.

The prototype is coming to an end tonight at midnight (UTC +1) and if you got curious of what this is all about have a look at this Eventbrite-page and check on how you'd become part of the journey.

PS.: I am grateful to my friends Göran Nitsche (Germany), Christian Meyer (Germany), Bruno Winck (France), Ulrike von Rücker (Egypt), Love Okochi (Nigeria), Angela Incampo (Italy) who have supported me along the journey and have given me the mental strength to stay focused

Modifications and events since original posting of 2nd prototype (decreasing order timely):

• Article on Pulse - recent article on the journey and learning around it on Pulse
• No 3rd prototype - all done thankfully to @GSJLeeds on Eventifier
• Platinum Sponsor - fixed amount ($52 incl. fees) for one month BASIC plan, one sponsor ticket