Excerpted from Marwaan Macan-Marker, who cites analysis saying new technologies aided the opposition in the last election: “Weeks after a watershed general election in Singapore, the influential role played by social media to dramatically transform political debate in this affluent city- state continues to reverberate through cyberspace. “Social Media in Singapore Politics: It’s Serious Business… Continue reading
Date archives "May 2011"
Software + data as business models
Insight on how open source software has changed the game for software businesses, excerpted from Stephen O’Grady: “The data is clear: while there is substantial money in software, the difficulty of employing it as a primary revenue mechanism is increasing. This supports our observations of generational shifts in attitudes towards the importance of software [coverage]…. Continue reading
The communication commons against corporate social media and the ‘recuperation’ of the Internet by capital
Just as capital’s introduction of new technologies, by potentially freeing huge surpluses of time, has opened up prospects of liberation from work – so its expansion of new communications technologies inadvertently opens up a world of counter-usage. As computerization makes possible either intensified exploitation of labour or subversion of the wage form – so too… Continue reading
The education of the French citizens movement at the Bastille, May 29th
Video report on the forceful evacuation of peaceful gathering at the Bastille: Commentary by Philippe Aigrain: “Evening stroll yesterday to Place de la Bastille. A Promenade du soir hier à la Bastille. A line of security police blocks the access to the part of the square in front of the Opera. Selective filter: they leave… Continue reading
Background to #spanishrevolution #asambleabarrios #europeanrevolution
Amaia has done a new post looking at the background of the events in Spain: [View the story “#spanishrevolution #asambleabarrios #europeanrevolution” on Storify]
Thesis of the Week: Alternative Futures of Globalisation and the Emergence of a Planetary Self
Really good PhD thesis from Jose Ramos, on the history and prefigurative future of the alterglobalization movement: * Dissertation: Alternative Futures of Globalisation. A Socio-Ecological Study of the World Social Forum Process. José María Ramos. Queensland University of Technology Division of Research and Commercialisation. May 2010 First, see the prologue, explaining his personal motivation, followed… Continue reading
Using sound canons against partying students
Testing riot gear and tactics against peaceful partying students in front of their homes, in Illinois:
P2P Foundation wins Ars Electronica award for Choke Point Project
We are very pleased to announce that our Choke Point Project has been selected as 2011 winner of [the next idea] voestalpine Art and Technology Grant as part of the Prix Ars Electronica 2011: “As an upshot of recent revolts in the Arab world, the Choke Point Project raises the question of who actually exercises control over the… Continue reading
Towards post-growth economics and politics
The original article by Jules Peck comes with many useful documentary links. Excerpt: “Surely it makes sense for our economy to move on to defining prosperity not as more “stuff” and money but more wellbeing? If you disagree with that idea, you won’t like what follows, but I hope you will read on. Why do… Continue reading
From Syntagma Square, Athens #europeanrevolution
From a correspondent in Greece: Hello from Greece, This is the fifth day and the crowd is increasing in Syntagma square in Athens. There must have been more than 30.000 people this evening and there are still there more than 10.000 at 11.30 pm (today). As a genuine gathering of the multitude there are not… Continue reading
Twitter’s Online Oral Psychodynamics
Excerpted from Zeynep Tufekci who argues Twitter and other social media cause a return of communication and media dynamics from the oral traditions: ” Keller is actually trying to complain about the reemergence of oral psychodynamics in the public sphere rather than about memory falling out of favor. If the latter were the case, his… Continue reading
David Bollier on commons-based innovation
But the commons is showing that you don’t need markets or government to create something that has great value. The commons is, in fact, a very different value proposition, one that is dedicated to generating indivisible, socially embedded common wealth. The commons are not “tragic,” but highly generative – it’s just that the common wealth… Continue reading
How to avoid openwashing?
“Openwashing” is a term derived from ” greenwashing” to refer to dubious vendor claims about openness. Openwashing brings the old “open vs. proprietary” debate back into play – not as “which one is better” but as “which one is which?” Excerpted from Klint Finley: Klint asks: What does it mean to be open? And how… Continue reading
Spain is Ground Zero for the P2P Revolution
Within Spain, the organization of these camps is striking: they work like small kibbutzim where everybody shares what they have and where the decisions are adopted by consensual agreement. Their posters carry slogans as imaginative as those from May ‘68 in Paris: “Our dreams are too big for their polls”, “I think, therefore I disturb”,… Continue reading
The good news of the Hargreaves UK Intellectual Property report
Excerpted from John Naughton in the Guardian, who is very happy with the Hargreaves report on copyright policy: ” The notion that laws framed in an era when copying was difficult, imperfect and expensive could work in an era when copying was effortless, perfect and cheap was a proposition that only imbeciles and industry lobbyists… Continue reading
Dutch Scientists say GSM could be networking tool
Bill St. Arnaud points out that there are unused opportunities for networking in the GSM mobile phone chips we carry around in our phones. In his article New business and research opportunities in building 5G Internet networks – Dutch lead the world he identifies GSM as a networking opportunity that is not being utilized. “Freeing”… Continue reading