Internal knowledge, or, make it easier for others to participate

brad — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 15:28:30 +0200

It has struck me for a while that South Africa, and generally Africa (See Jonathan's mention of Ghana in this post), has a problem with with wrapping stuff up in what I call Internal Knowledge. I define Internal Knowledge as the knowledge needed to operate within a system which is inaccessible (or poorly accessible) without that knowledge.

Now, The Internet definitely represents as tool that internal knowledge is necessary. Okay, almost everything in our lives needs some form internal knowledge. I think the difference is that it is relatively easy to learn the knowledge necessary to operate The Internet. There are courses about The Internet, we teach it in schools and universities, and endevour to expose every unsuspecting rural or uneducated person to The Internet. So that is an example of something that requires internal knowledge, but there is a clear, accessible path to learning that knowledge, you can look it up in books, there are adverts, internet cafes will offer courses in it, or refer you to someone who does.

But, in South Africa, we have a wonderful, efficient, heart-in-your-throat good taxi system. Except as a foreigner to the system (not only to a Dutch or German tourist visiting) it is barely fathomable. There are dedicated street corners, there are routes, sometimes you need to go to a rank and move between two routes (a lot like a train system). The point is, people who have grown up using the system know it backwards, it is the easiest thing in the world. People using the taxi system are generally helpful and friendly, so you can always get some hints how to accomplish what you want. But, like the Ghana system of addresses, you can't really write it down, it is often relative information, it is somewhat organic, and the only way to figure it out is to use it. This is not ideal, as it generally makes people start by learning the exact path they need to get from home to work and back, and not how to generally use the system. You can't pick up a book in the tourist info office that spells out how the system works, and what popular pick up/drop off points are.

There are more examples, I am sure if you look not-too-hard. I have been a tourist in a foreign country. It is not easy, and it varies country to country.

So, I think we can all be accused of creating some kind of system that excludes others purely on the basis of the knowledge they need to know in order to participate. We have the choice to alter the system so that the barrier to entry for potential participants is lower, or create independent, accessible, knowledge/information about how to work out the system.

This thread has been floating around my head for a while, and when I was looking over the booking page for the Kirstenbosch summer series of concerts on the tunegum internet website. I am glad to have an on internet booking site for tickets for what usually amounts to awesome concerts, but (being a family man who doesn't have time to keep up with all the hip, cool bands of today), who the fuck is 'Zebra and Giraffe'? Surely they could provide links to a service like last.fm, or have a 100 word mouse-over, or something. The point is that to understand that list of bands you have to have internal knowledge of the South African Band Scene. They don't provide you tools to find out the information right then and there. Maybe this is not the most striking example of relying on internal knowledge, and assuming all participants know what the game is, but it struck me, and you have to read what I have written here in case there is still some good stuff coming at the bottom of this post.

I don't want to google for Zebra and Giraffe. I want to believe they are some hip-ironic-indie-but-a-little-bit-grungy band pushing boundaries and enlightening their crowds by challenging assumptions about the South African condition. But a part of me knows they are actually some band for 2-8yo kids, and they literally are a big, plushy, Zebra, and an equally plushy (but not proportionally big) Giraffe who sing along to prepared tracks, and encourage the crowd to clap a lot, and sing along. They will never be a Raffi, and they both know it, and it crushes their spirits every time they sing along and smile for kids who don't know any better.

So, your mission: consider how something you assume is easy is actually difficult for someone else, and take some steps towards making it easy for others to be involved (unless you don't want others involved, and would rather be a closed group for ever), or change the system to be inherently easier to access. And get naked on Thursdays (even if conversations in the office kitchen will be uncomfy for the first few Thursdays).

ghana

Internal knowledge, or, make it easier for others to participate