So last night we had about 40 people join us for Open Mic Night to talk about leadership, and I have to say, it was a really interesting conversation. The key question that stuck out for me, at least, is whether or not effective leaders have to have a strong vision for the uses of social tools and technology in general in the learning process, or whether it’s more important to be open to facilitate that vision as a community. (At least that’s what I took away.) Both would be great, but it seemed like those types of leaders aren’t very easy to find. Anyway, I’ve posted the chat in below, (full doc format is here) and here is a link to the Elluminate archive if you’d like to listen.

It’s been interesting to moderate these Open Mic nights over the past few weeks. Shelly Blake-Plock, my co-moderator, said after last night’s session that they seem to be getting better and better, and I have to agree. As much as I like putting my own opinion of the world out there, I also like the listening/prodding role that comes with being “just” a moderator. (The idea is that Shelly and I don’t voice our own opinions, though we did drop just a couple into last night’s conversation.) And the whole idea of Open Mic is to give people who want to a chance to just have a conversation about whatever the topic is, not to have someone presenting to the group. Kind of like an unconference session. Anyway, I’m enjoying the result so far; if anyone has any suggestions or ideas for improving it, just let us know.