Craigslist.org, y el poder de las redes comunitarias (...and the power of community networks)

Craigslist.org es un website de anuncios clasificados sin fines de lucro. Es quizás el website de este tipo con más éxito en los Estados Unidos. Muchas compañías han tratado de comprarlo, de la misma forma que han comprado YouTube y MySpace, pero su creador y dueño, Craig Newmark se ha resistido. En esta entrevista con Jon Stewart, Newmark explica, entre broma y broma, por qué su modelo de servicio comunitario ha crecido tanto, y porque se ha resistido a venderlo: Si Craigslist.org pasa a manos de google, o yahoo! u otra gran corporación, perdería su naturaleza de website comunitario:

(If you speak english, you probably know all about craigslist.org. The above text is to try to explain it to my Spanish speaking readers)

En las últimos días he estado en una campaña de presentar el modelo organizativo de red (opuesto a un modelo en forma de pirámide) para el sistema de orquestas de Guatemala que la Fundación Música y Juventud promueve. Creo que tiene mucha lógica (no es mi idea, y para muestra un botón):

"...[E]l asunto es que las organizaciones que estan esparcidas, que esparcen el poder entre mucha gente, son más resistentes, son más robustas. Si le quita la cabeza a una organización centralizada, esta se muere. Pero si la organización es una red, y tiene muchas cabezas, no se puede morir."

In the last few days I've started a campaign to present a network organizational model (as opposed to a pyramid shaped model) for the Guatemalan Orchestra System promoted by the "Music and Youth" Foundation. I think it makes a lot of sense (not my idea, as is the theme of this blog):

"...[t]he deal is that organizations which spread out, which spread out power among lots of people [...] are more resilient, they are more robust, [...] if you cut the head of a centralized organization, they are dead. But if the organization is a network, and has a lot of heads, [you] can't kill it"

Opera in/en Guatemala

Ok, lots of Opera all of the sudden, great. Do we really want to see it? (at least this many times?)

Ok, mucha Opera de repente, magnífico. De verdad queremos verla? (al menos verla tantas veces?)

"L'Elisir d'Amore" last night gave me the impression that the market is saturated. Too much offer, not that much demand. Less that half of the seats were filled. I'm not sure many people will come tonight either (the second and last show).

"El Elixir de Amor" anoche me dió la impresión que el mercado está saturado. Mucha oferta y la demanda no es tanta. Menos de la mitad de las sillas estaban llenas. No creo que mucha gente vaya a ir hoy tampoco (la segunda y última presentación)

On top of everything (and everyone show face it): La Ermita is not a concert venue, much less an Opera venue. Sound sucks and it will always do, no matter what you do. Plus it is far, and cold, and damp. The novelty of its charm is gone. We know how it looks, but no matter what Opera they present, it will always be La Ermita on the background of Verdi, Puccini or Donizetti. Get over it people!!!

Encima de todo (y todo el mundo debería aceptarlo): La Ermita de la Santa Cruz no es un buen escenario para conciertos, mucho menos para Operas. El sonido es una mierda, y siempre lo será, no importa lo que hagan. Además queda lejos, hace frio, cae el sereno. La novedad del encanto de La Ermita ya pasó. Ya sabemos como se ve, y no importa que Opera se presente, siempre va a ser la Ermita de telón de fondo para Verdi, Puccini o Donizetti. ¡¡Ya déjenlo ir, gente!!

I believe in market economy. So soon we should have enough Operas to satisfy the demand. Unless some presenters keep using it to get tax benefits, using a phony mission of benefiting the arts in Guatemala, presenting expensive shows with houses less than half full (ridiculous!) People have to remember that presenting arts is not only to benefit the artists and the producers, but the audience, too.

Yo creo en la economía de mercado. Así que pronto debería haber Operas para satisfacer la demanda, nada más. A menos que algunos productores las sigan usando para obtener beneficios fiscales, apoyándose en una misión de a mentiritas de ofrecer apoyo a las artes en Guatemala, presentando espectáculos caros con la mitad de capacidad de público (¡ridículo!) Hay que recordar que presentar arte no es nada más un beneficio para los artistas y los productores, sino tambien para el público.

"Atol con el dedo", or "Feeding Tomato Soup with the Finger"

"The Soprano is Russian, and the violins are electric": This is the type of sound bites I heard for promoting the biennial IX Paiz Arts Festival, in Antigua Guatemala (don't bother trying their website's english version, it's empty).

Well, it is understandable that artistic integrity is compromised in one of the major arts festivals in Guatemala, where your social status is measured by the size of the brand label on the clothes you wear (as in "How big is you Banana Republic?"). Many arts events are still organized as oportunities to show off (even by presenters, in this case: the Paiz Foundation).

Needless to say: the soprano turned out to be 3rd class-ish, the conductor got lost more than once very obviously. But because he talked to the audience in English (he is British) and she is Russian, they got a standing ovation (Bravi to the people that walked out in the middle of that concert!!)

I'm not going anywhere near the electric violins. Hopefully in two years, the Paiz Foundation will go back to the idea that is more about the arts and less about social status or getting tax breaks for a supermarket chain.

This is it, Kids...

GONE! FOREVER...

Holidays/Fiestas