What if we could create an economic system where the barnraising was the paradigm, rather than the war or the mining operation. Which featured GPS and special ops, but directed towards those ends that result in POSITIVE EXPERIENCE, for ourselves and for future generations? Here’s how Joe Edelman describes the motivation behind the Groundcrew project:… Continue reading
Date archives "February 2009"
The Evolution of Domination After Eden
Should be of interest in the context of a to be developed “P2P Hierarchy Theory“: Book: After Eden: The Evolution of Human Domination. by Kirkpatrick Sale. Duke University Press, 2008. From the publisher: “When did the human species turn against the planet that we depend on for survival? Human industry and consumption of resources have… Continue reading
Open sourcing business, hardware, and government
The February issue of OSBR is dedicated to “Commercialization” and is very strong. I recommend in particular the three following contributions: 1. How Open Source Strengthens Business Models. By Tony Bailetti: the author argues that open source software is NOT a business model, but can be an adjunct to one under certain specific conditions. 2…. Continue reading
New breed of internet-connected TV threatens cable
I witnessed a Netflix-connected television on my recent trip to the US, and I must agree, this will lead to a fundamental shift in viewing habits, especially when such players also allow for delivery of internet-based open content, such as the Netgear example quoted below. Via Globe and Mail: “a new breed of Internet-connected televisions… Continue reading
Should we worry about the information triumvirate?
Via Nicholas Carr: “What we seem to have here is evidence of a fundamental failure of the Web as an information-delivery service. Three things have happened, in a blink of history’s eye: (1) a single medium, the Web, has come to dominate the storage and supply of information, (2) a single search engine, Google, has… Continue reading
It is time to establish Abundance as a field of study
Abundance: The Journal of Post-Scarcity Studies This is an absolutely important initiative, forwarded by Joseph Jackson. I would consider the launch of this journal, which represents a necessary break with the scarcity-paradigm of the current economics profession, to be a civilisational and scientific milestone. More details, including a list of possible members and a plan… Continue reading
How the netroots helped Obama’s rise to power
Book: Netroots Rising. How a citizen army of bloggers and online activists is changing American politics. by Lowell Feld and Nate Wilcox. 2008 I missed this book when it came out. It’s recommended as one of the best accounts of the grassroots movement which was an essential feature of Obama’s victory. A recent review: “…it… Continue reading
Book of the Week (1): The Long Descent: A User’s Guide to the End of the Industrial Age
We will excerpt this important book in the coming days: Book: The Long Descent: A User’s Guide to the End of the Industrial Age. By John Michael Greer Amazon gives two useful first reactions to indicate its importance, one by Bruce Sterling in Wired: “SeattleOil.com: The Internet writings of John Michael Greer – beyond any… Continue reading
How the markets really work
Laugh (because it’s very funny) and weep (because it’s all true) with this conversation between John Bird and John Fortune.
How does Kiva work: the (video) story of a loan
Eleven minute ‘story of a Kiva loan’: (background here) A Fistful Of Dollars: The Story of a Kiva.org Loan from Kieran Ball on Vimeo.
Towards a Peer Production of a Macroeconomic Architecture
A new process worthy of the name Bretton Woods II ought to be nothing short of a broad reconstitution of macroeconomics suitable to the requirements of at least the next several decades. But clearly, the current elite is not going to do this … So the BrettonWoodsII.org site proposes nothing less than working on that… Continue reading
Introduction to the Geospatial Web
There is also a boom in the development of mapping tools based on “open standards” and “open-data” services such as Geonames, which consist of vast geographic databases available for download under Creative Commons licence that users can edit and expand using a wiki interface. There are certainly numerous communities for “open source” geosoftware and there… Continue reading
Jeff Vail on energy and hierarchy
C-Realm Podcasts interviews Jeff Vail to talk “about how growth-oriented hierarchies start to come unglued when they run up against the energy and resource limitations that prohibit continued growth.” Listen to it here.
Virtual political districts for participatory government
Via Matt Cooperrider: This new paper examines the potential for a social network platform that empowers citizens to manage government. It is authored by Britt Blaser, David Weinberger, and Joe Trippi, for submission to the Digital Governance Society of North America 2009 conference. What the paper doesn’t tell you is that this platform is almost… Continue reading
Dave Pollard’s gnostic approach to worldchanging
A commentary on Dave Pollard: Like facilitation, consensus decision-making is a capacity that can be learned, but one that must be practiced over a lifetime. We owe it to ourselves, our fellow humans and to future generations to get better at it, and start using it in every aspect of our lives. Nothing less than… Continue reading