Welcome to the deep dive. So glad you could join us today as we kick off another
exploration.
And before we really get started, a big thank you to our supporter, Safe Server.
They handle
the crucial hosting for software, like the one we're discussing today, and they're
fantastic
at helping organizations with their digital transformation. You can check out
everything
they offer at www.safeserver.de.
Okay, so let me ask you this. Have you ever been in a meeting, maybe for work or a
club,
something like that, and it just feels chaotic? You know, papers everywhere, nobody
sure what
motion we're on. Votes take forever to count. Everyone's kind of lost track of who's
speaking
or even what the agenda point is. It happens, right? Super inefficient, drains your
energy.
Well, you're definitely not alone feeling that way. Today, we're taking a really
close
look at a solution designed to fix exactly that. Open slides. They call it the
digital
motion and assembly system. Sounds a bit formal, maybe. But honestly, the core idea
is making
these complex meeting tasks really quite simple, easy to grasp, even if you're
totally new
to this sort of thing. That's spot on. Our goal here is really to unpack how open
slides
does more than just tidy up those traditional meetings. It actually transforms them
into
these dynamic digital interactive experiences. We want to show how it makes even
complicated
assembly stuff feel accessible, feel easy to understand for anyone. Doesn't matter
if
you're a pro at procedure or just trying to get a local group organized. And just
so you
know, everything we're discussing comes straight from the open slides website and
their GitHub
repository. So, reliable sources. Okay, great. So let's really get into it. What is
open
slides? Fundamentally, if you boil it down, it's basically a free web based
software.
It's built specifically to manage and project everything you need for a meeting.
Your agenda,
formal motions, elections, you name it. Yeah. For pretty much any kind of assembly
or gathering.
Think of it like, I guess, a shortcut to having really organized digital meetings
much smoother.
And a key thing, something that really helps its adoption is how accessible it is.
Picture
this. Every single user, doesn't matter where they are, they access all their
committees,
all their meetings through one central web address, one URL.
Okay. So no complex logins or different apps. Exactly. It makes it incredibly easy
to use,
especially for people who aren't, you know, super techie, no installation needed.
Just
click the link. That single access point is huge for getting everyone involved
easily.
Yeah. That single URL idea definitely sounds beginner friendly. And you mentioned
intuitive
design. So it's taking all that complexity, the paper, the emails, the separate
voting
gadgets and pulling it all together. Precisely. It streamlines everything all from
one source, as they say. It's designed to let people focus on the actual discussion,
not struggle with the tools. Makes sense. Reduces that mental clutter.
So how does it actually pull this off, especially for maybe bigger organizations
with complex
structures? It starts with committee management. The software
lets you map out your whole organization structure, however it's set up. You can
create as many
committees and meetings as you need. No limits there.
And critically, you get really fine grain control over permissions. Who can forward
motions, who can see what documents, that kind of thing.
Right. Security and proper procedure are key. Definitely. And it also archives all
your
past meetings automatically, which is invaluable, you know, for looking back at
decisions or
just keeping that institutional memory. Yeah, I can see that. Okay, so that handles
the structure. What about the agenda itself? That's often where things get messy in
real
time. Absolutely.
And OpenSlides makes the agenda really dynamic. Forget those printed sheets that
are instantly
out of date. Here you can add items, change them, even just drag and drop to reorder
things
on the fly. Oh, wow. So if something urgent comes up.
Exactly. The chair can adjust the flow right then and there. It automatically
handles the
numbering and links items to like speaker lists and timings.
Ah, smart. Less manual work. Way less. And a neat touch. You can add hidden
items to the agenda, like maybe scheduled breaks or internal notes for the
organizers.
They don't show up for everyone, but they help manage the schedule behind the
scenes.
Keeps the main agenda clean. That is clever. Okay, so agenda sorted. What
about managing who gets to speak? That can be tricky. Yeah, the list of speakers
feature
handles that really well. It cracks who wants to spook in what order, and it
manages speaking
time very precisely. Down to the second, actually, with a visible countdown timer.
Oh, nice. Keeps things moving and fair. Totally. Prevents anyone from dominating
the
conversation. And for events that are projected or streamed, it can automatically
generate
those lower third graphics, you know, the speaker's name and title at the bottom of
the screen. Oh yeah, like on the news. That looks professional. It really does. Adds
a
layer of polish and clarity, especially for remote viewers. Okay, now this next
part sounds
really powerful. Motions and elections. You said this is core. Definitely. This is
where
open slides can make a huge difference. So first, just getting proposals or motions
into
the system is easy. You enter them, add amendments, give them categories, numbers,
keeps everything
tracked. Right. Standard procedure, but digitized. Exactly. But the real power is
the electronic
voting. It handles votes on motions, proper elections, even quick polls. And you
can control
who votes. Yep. You can specify exactly which user groups are eligible, maybe only
board
members or delegates from certain regions. Total flexibility. And anonymous voting
is
possible too. Absolutely. You choose nominal where you see who voted how or non-nominal,
which is anonymous, depending on the rules in the meeting and the speed. Ballots
are
processed instantly. Results pop up right away. Think about how much time that
saves
compared to getting paper slips. Yeah. Hours sometimes. Yeah. No kidding. That
keeps the
momentum going. Okay. Connecting that to bigger events. The projector system and
live conference
features sound important. They really tie it all together, especially for larger
assemblies
or hybrid virtual settings. It's built for multiple screens with really good
projector
controls that are easy to use from the web interface. You can project slides, even
edit
them in real time if needed. And the video integration. That's a huge plus. It
integrates
live video streams directly so participants can watch the proceedings right inside
Open
Slides. All in one place. Exactly. And for fully virtual events, participants can
even
make their speaking contributions via video conference through Open Slides. It
really
becomes this all in one platform. No need to juggle Zoom, voting tools, documents.
It's
all integrated. That sounds much less confusing for participants. Yeah. Speaking of
keeping
things simple, tell me about this autopilot feature. Right, the autopilot. It's a
really
neat concept. It basically acts as a guide for everyone in the meeting. It always
shows
clearly what's happening right now. Which agenda item, which motion is up for
debate,
who's speaking next. Ah, like a status display. Pretty much. It also shows what
vote might
be in progress. And what's currently being shown on the main screen or projector
just
simplifies things immensely, especially if you're not used to formal meetings. Keeps
everyone on the same page. Reduces that, wait, what are we talking about? That
feeling. Yeah,
I can see that being really helpful. And underpinning all this must be some solid
participant management,
right? Controlling who can do what. Absolutely crucial. It has sophisticated rights
management
built in. You define exactly what different user groups can see or do. Maybe only
certain
people can view sensitive files or only registered delegates can vote. Makes sense.
Security
and control. Exactly. And beyond that, just managing the list of delegates,
tracking attendance,
it makes that admin side much more straightforward, which is vital for bigger
meetings where you
need to confirm quorums and voting rights properly. Takes away a lot of that manual
headache. Okay, so it sounds incredibly capable. But does it fit all types of
meetings? What
if my group mostly meets in person? That's a great question. And the answer is yes,
absolutely.
It's versatility is a major strength. It's designed for all formats, traditional in-person
meetings, hybrid ones, and fully virtual ones. For those face-to-face meetings, it
streamlines
things digitally. Real-time updates, digital decision capture, enhances the
physical meeting,
doesn't replace it. And hybrid, that's often the tricky one. Right. Trying to keep
remote
and in-person folks on the same level. OpenSlides is built for that. It allows
truly interactive
participation for everyone, wherever they are. Voting, speaking lists, agenda
access,
it works the same whether you're in the room or at home. That's key for making sure
remote
participants feel included, not like second-class citizens. A genuinely unified
experience.
And then for fully virtual events, the integrated livestream makes it that all-in-one
solution
we mentioned. You avoid juggling different platforms. Speaker lists, video,
streaming,
it's all coupled together intelligently within OpenSlides. Makes for a much
smoother, more
professional virtual event. Less tech stress for everyone.
Okay, this all sounds fantastic, but is it expensive? How does the open source
aspect
work? Good point. OpenSlides is free Libre open source
software floss. It's under the MIT license, which is very permissive. Basically,
the software
code itself is free to use, modify, distribute. You find it all in GitHub. It
actually has
a decent community following. Their last check was around 557 stars, 164 forks,
which is
pretty healthy. So anyone can download and run it themselves. They can, yes. But it's
important to know the OpenSlides team doesn't offer free technical support if you
go the
self-installation route. You're kind of on your own there unless you have the
technical
skills. Ah, okay. So what's the alternative if you don't want to manage the tech
side?
That's where their services come in. They offer a software as a service or sauce
option.
You basically just book it and it's ready to go. Hassle free. Exactly. It's usually
available quickly. Comes with all the features, automatic updates, backups are
handled, performance
is optimized. It's the easy route if you just want to use the software without
worrying
about servers and setup. Removes that whole IT burden. And what if an organization
needs
more, like training or specific help? They offer professional support services too
on
a paid basis. Things like training sessions, workshops, even on-site support for
really
big or critical events. Plus, technical support, phone support, and even custom
development
if you need unique features or integrations. So options for everyone. From small
groups
using the free code to large organizations needing full service. Pretty much, yeah.
It's
a flexible model. Okay, so who's actually using this in the real world? Does it
have
a track record? Oh, definitely. The user base is really diverse and quite
impressive. You've
got global NGOs like Amnesty International using it. Major German political parties,
the FTP, the SPD, big trade unions like DGB and Ver.di, even student groups like
the European
Students Union. Wow, that's a wide range from politics to nonprofits to unions.
Right. It
shows it's robust and adaptable enough for very different and often very demanding
organizations.
Yeah. And you mentioned German organizations specifically. It's apparently known as
the
most widespread motion and conference tool in Germany, which knowing Germany's
focus
on efficiency and proper process says a lot about its reliability. Good point. It's
clearly
proven itself in the demanding environment. So wrapping things up then, what's a
big takeaway
for our listeners? I think it's that OpenSlides is this really powerful yet
surprisingly user
friendly tool to managing meetings digitally. It doesn't matter if it's a small
committee
or a huge assembly. It brings efficiency, transparency, and makes participation
easier.
It just smooths out so many rough edges. And maybe a final thought to leave people
with.
Wonder how tools like this could do more than just make your meetings run smoother?
How
could they genuinely foster more participation? More transparency in your own
organization
or community? Imagine making democratic processes not just efficient, but truly
accessible and
clear for everyone involved. Kind of empowering, isn't it?
That's a great point. Definitely food for thought. If you're curious and want to
see
it for yourself, definitely head over to the OpenSlides website. They have demos
and much
more information could be the answer you've been looking for.
And one last time, a huge thank you to SafeServer for supporting this deep dive.
Remember, they're
experts in hosting and digital transformation support. Find out more at www.safeserver.de.
Thanks for joining us on the Deep Drive, and we'll catch you on the next one.