* Book: Rewire: Digital Cosmopolitans in the Age of Connection. By Ethan Zuckerman. Norton, 2013 Excerpted from the Publisher’s summary: “In Rewire, media scholar and activist Ethan Zuckerman explains why the technological ability to communicate with someone does not inevitably lead to increased human connection. At the most basic level, our human tendency to “flock… Continue reading
Essay of the Day: From Free Software to Artisan Science
* Essay: From Free Software to Artisan Science. By Dan McQuillan.· In the special issue: The Critical Power of Free Software. Journal of Peer Production, Issue #3. Excerpted from the introduction: “My personal journey with Free Software began in the 1990?s when I was working on technology projects in the UK non-profit sector. I had… Continue reading
Project of the Day: Mexican Common Property Forest Governance
Mexican Common Property Forest Governance By David Bray: ‘Formally, the Mexican model is based on common property governance over forested territories by legally recognized rights holders organized in long-standing communities tied together by kinship and mutual knowledge. These common property forests represent a third way of economic development, beyond just public property and markets. They… Continue reading
The end of the car: How virtual mobility affects the physical mobility of the millenial sharing generation
Excerpted from EMILY BADGER: “Teleconferencing has made telework more common. E-commerce has reduced the need to drive to the mall. Real-time arrival apps have made public transit more predictable. Solar-powered stations have helped bike-share expand. WiFi and smart phones have made it possible to get work done on a moving bus, raising the mental cost… Continue reading
How the Guerilla Sceptics are undermining Wikipedia’s neutrality
This summer, soon after the TED controversy, a commando squad of skeptics captured the Wikipedia page about me. They have occupied and controlled it ever since, rewriting my biography with as much negative bias as possible, to the point of defamation. At the beginning of the “Talk” page, on which editorial changes are discussed, they… Continue reading
Essay of the Day: The Economics of a Self-Managed Society
* Article: Castoriadis, C. (1972) ‘Workers’ Councils and the Economics of a Self-Managed Society’. The following is excerpted from Nick Dyer-Whiteford seminal essay on Red Plenty Platforms: “Historically, the anti-statist tendency in Marxism has been largely carried in a very different ‘worker council’ tradition, that, against the powers of party and state has insisted on… Continue reading
Timebeats – an outline for an alternate currency based on time and education
The timebeats proposal is described on this page: Timebeats alternate currency – presentation and synopsis The currency is time based and allows an initial credit to participants to make their education – both formal and informal – count as an asset. It is described as “… a debt-free decentralised currency called Timebeats, completely based on… Continue reading
Book of the Day : Who Owns the Future by Jaron Lanier
* Book: Who Owns the Future? By Jaron Lanier. Excerpted citations: ““The idea that mankind’s information should be made free is idealistic, and understandably popular, but information wouldn’t need to be free if no-one were impoverished. As software and networks become more and more important, we can either be moving toward free information in the… Continue reading
On the insufficiency and dangers of activism
A contribution from Joel Dietz: ” I find that generally people internally evaluate the “goodness” of any particular project on the basis of some internal checklist, which has a number of values (“clean,” “sustainable,” “inspiring,” “decentralized,” “meaningful,” “reflecting value” etc.) associated with it, and then decide that something is good or bad depending how closely… Continue reading
Movement of the Day: the Sharing Cities Network
Excerpted from Mira Luna, Neal Gorenflo, and team Shareable. “Imagine a city where everyone’s needs are met because people make the personal choice to share. Where everyone can create meaningful livelihoods. Where fresh, local food is available to all. Where affordable housing and shared transportation are abundant. Where the poor are lifted up, the middle… Continue reading