From an interview of Steven Johnson, conducted by Steve Paulson: “Paulson: You have actually identified a new movement what you call the peer progressive movement, what is this? Johnson: Well I looked around and some point over the last couple years I realized there was this whole group of folks who I’ve been inspired by,… Continue reading
Video: Intermodal Shared Mobility and the Future of Transport
Via OuiShareTV: “The mobility sector is undergoing a profound transformation. Urbanization, demographic changes and environmental factors are bringing on challenges, which are requiring governments and private transport services to rethink their approaches to mobility in an intermodal way. Mobility experts working in ridesharing, peer-to-peer carsharing and service design tell us their visions of the future… Continue reading
A Zen View Upon the World (Less is More)
This article is inspired by the Alexandrine pattern 134, Zen View. The pattern states: “The archetypal zen view occurs in a famous Japanese house, which gives this pattern its name.” Let’s start with listening to the wisdom of A Pattern Language (Please note that the illustrations of the original text are missing): A Buddhist monk lived high in the mountains, in a small… Continue reading
The Avellano Castella Medieval Democracy Model in Northern Tuscany
Fascinating piece of democratic history by Alessio Bini: (look for Vellano in the province of Pistoia) “In the Middle Ages, in the north of Tuscany, the little towns were organized like a little state. There was no feudal lord: no boss, no emperor, no king that controlled the people. The little countries had ramparts and… Continue reading
An anthropological introduction to the emergence of the peer to peer relational dynamic
Republished lecture from a conference I participated in, in Milan on October 22 -23, 2010, i.e. “The Effects of New Communication Technologies upon Information”. This is the transcript of my lecture, which focuses more than usual on the anthropological underpinnings of p2p relationships. The spoken word nature of the intervention, may make it extra readable… Continue reading
Essay of the Day: the Limits to Technology
“Limits to Technology is a research project on the role of resource depletion and the ecological limits to human society within our future use of “technological systems” – a broad term covering both our use of computers and mobile technologies, but also the electronics, metals and chemical components of everyday goods and products, and the… Continue reading
Project of the Day: the Patient Innovation platform
Patient Innovation is a nonprofit, international, multilingual, free venue for patients and caregivers of any disease to share their innovations. They explain: “Patients of chronic diseases have to deal with long-lasting conditions and everyday challenges. They frequently develop valuable solutions to improve their quality of life and even treat their own disease, sometimes saving their… Continue reading
Video: Peer-to-Peer Finance and the Future of Banking
Via OuiShareTV: “Peer-to-Peer Finance and Crowdfunding are reaching momentum. Beyond Kickstarter, almost 3 billion dollars were raised in 2012 across 700+ platforms, double compared to the previous year. As the crowdfunding market matures, with clear verticals and burgeoning niche platforms adressing specific needs, this new way of raising money for creative, social and entrepreneurial projects… Continue reading
Bottlenecks in creating a 3D Printing commons
“It is clear that the ecosystem is just forming, so that the promises of a third industrial revolution are not being realised yet. The clearly identified bottlenecks with regard to usability, object quality, price and co–ordination of collaboration likewise speak of a number of elementary hurdles on the way of the revolution. On the other… Continue reading
Movement of the Day: the Radical Commons Working Group
“The Radical Commons Working Group seeks to address two gaps in our understanding of the commons: (1) An unwarranted gap in the political philosophy of the commons: a lack of conversation between the Tocquevillian associationalism favored at the Ostrom Workshop and the Marxist autonomism explored by a global network of commons practitioners and theoreticians. (2)… Continue reading