A warning from Howard Rheingold, which first appeared as a Facebook ‘note’: “I’m disturbed by the hype about online learning as a “disruptive” force in education. I started reading Clay Christensen’s book with enthusiasm, because I like his ideas about disruptive innovation, but was jaw-droppingly disenthused when it became clear that he thought online learning… Continue reading
Spanish Protest Movement Beyond Ruling Party Defeat
Amaia Arcos posted this on Monday after the Spanish election resulted in a huge defeat for the ruling Socialist party: [View the story “Spanish Protest Movement Beyond Ruling Party Defeat” on Storify]
The Sony Effect: Information War and Class Struggle 3.0
In his dense but incredibly good “Hacker Manifesto“, McKenzie Wark posited a new class struggle between the class of vectoral capitalists, vs. the hacker class. (this is different from my own theory of netarchical capital vs. peer producers, but nevertheless related). I’ve been following such conflicts closely via a specialized tag in Delicious. But there… Continue reading
Book of the Week (2): Gordon Cook on the need to understand and strengthen the vital Global Research Networks
* Book / Report: Fast Thinking. a Research and Education Network Renaissance. Gordon Cook. Volume XIX, No.s 11-12, XX, No.s 1-5 February – August 2011 (To receive the URL for downloading the entire book,(twenty dollars US via paypal) fill out the request here) Gordon Cook, who is the driver of a network of communications infrastructure… Continue reading
The dark euphoria of the next ten years
Bruce Sterling is in a very dark mood here, but it’s hard to dispute his summary of the hard years confronting young people today. It’s a long talk but worth sticking with. If the embed function does not work, go here to watch it. Video:
Introducing the third commons
Reflection on the three commons: from the digital commons to the common stock commons Most readers will be familiar with two types of commons, which have often been discussed. The first commons is the natural commons, consisting of all that nature and the cosmos has given us, without any human effort, through humanity may be… Continue reading
Mark Pesce on the Promises and Pitfalls of a Sharing Society
I haven’t yet experienced a talk by Mark Pesce that wasn’t illuminating. This lecture is aimed at a general audience and focuses on deep social changes accompagnying the networked society, in particular the shift to sharing, in particular on how it affects daily life and habits. Watch this video:
Why is Open Hardware inherently sustainable?
Reflections on the role of Open Hardware and Peer Production in insuring a sustainable world In this article, I want to list the reasons why I believe that the trend towards open and distributed manufacturing is a vital part of ensuring a sustainable society. For those that are not familiar with it, open hardware is… Continue reading
Rethinking taxes and welfare in a cryptocurrency world
Cryptocurrency is coming. It could be Bitcoin, it could be something else, it could be a new trading framework that incorporates many cryptocurrencies. The important thing is that in a decade’s time, governments will have lost the ability to look into their citizens’ wealth and income. This, in turn, means that no taxation or welfare… Continue reading
Mushin Schilling on sharing vs. the Cartesian fallacy of separation
Excerpted from a wonderful meditation by Mushin Schilling in the Spring/Summer issue of Kosmos Journal: “Sharing is natural and it does have direction. But before this becomes a naturally dominant part of our culture, we might first have to let go of the Cartesian myth. We might need to see through the erroneous belief that… Continue reading
Peer production in art
I would like to share my experience of an art project taking place in Greece of which I am a core member. This project, to my knowledge, is one of the first projects in the country -and perhaps one could say, one of the first worldwide- which simultaneously combines three different forms of human expression,… Continue reading
Book of the Week: Gordon Cook’s Report on the Core Global Research Networks in their relation to the edge
As a more ambitious goal, I am seeking to establish whether or not there can be a community-of-interest between the high-end research groups and a rapidly growing grassroots “edge”. These are efforts of small communities of mostly younger people located currently at the edges of twentieth century, large, corporate-based society. * Book / Report: Fast… Continue reading
Constructing, living, and demanding Participatory Democracy in the #spanishrevolution Camps
‘We, the unemployed, the underpaid, the subcontracted, the precarious, the young … demand a change towards a future with dignity. We are fed up of reforms, of being laid off, of the banks which have caused the crisis hardening our mortgages or taking away our houses, of laws limiting our freedom in the interest of… Continue reading
#spanishrevolution – Conceptual Map of #acampadasol Madrid
From Una Linea Sobre el Mar – click here for full version
The #spanishrevolution’s Icelandic moment: Message from Hordur Torfason to the protesters in Spain
“When we grow up, we want to be Icelanders!” Hordur Torfason, whose protests in Reykjavik led to the current situation in Iceland, has sent this message of support to protesters in Spain. (In English with Spanish subtitles). For more background on the relationship between Iceland and the Spanish movements, read Spain’s Icelandic revolt Some background… Continue reading
G8 vs. Internet
From the G8vsInternet campaign: The Internet is the place where we meet, speak, create, educate ourselves and organize. However, as we are at a turning point in early web history, it could either become a prime tool for improving our societies, knowledge and culture, or a totalitarian tool of suveillance and control. After 15 years… Continue reading