Pat Kane, author of the marvelous book, The Play Ethic, is interviewed here by by James Wellman of the Future Laboratory: The interview: “How will play become much more important in terms of work? For finding leaders? For what we do? Will it help with getting the jobless into work? Will it help the elderly… Continue reading
The spirituality of networked creativity
Inteteresting commentary by John Hagel, who reviews two important books: * Stuart Kauffman: “Reinventing the Sacred” * Gordon Kaufman: “In the beginning . . . Creativity” John Hagel on the Big Shift in Spirituality, towards “networked creation“: “The Big Shift is not just about disruption and profits. It is also about identity, meaning and values… Continue reading
Towards Keiretsu publishing coops?
Via William Hutton: “Cheryll Barron has written a new OII Internet Issue Brief (No. 4), entitled ‘The Keiretsu-Cooperative: a Model for post-Gutenberg Publishing’, which is available online at SSRN: http://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=1532173 It is an imaginative proposal for a new business model to support publishing in the digital age.” I asked for some reactions on the p2p… Continue reading
Lecture by Michel Bauwens in Athens
The European Research project MIG@NET and the p2p foundation invite you to a lecture by Michel Bauwens on “P2p Networks and the Production of the Commons» on Saturday 13 March at 18.00. The event will be held at Bios, Peiraios 84 (map) Michel Bauwens is the founder of the Foundation for Peer-to-Peer Alternatives and works… Continue reading
Dwolla low cost transfer system to take on bank, credit card fees
DWOLLA (https://www.dwolla.com/) bills itself as a peer to peer payment platform which allows any user to exchange money with another user quickly, safely, at a lower cost. For now, the system is operational in the US only, and so far it covers, I believe, Iowa and California. On the system’s blog, users are encouraged to… Continue reading
Smartmobbing a beat frequency
Here’s an idea for a smart-mob phone app. It occurs to me that – with the help of a simple p2p application that may run on networked hand-held devices – it would be possible to produce, in the manner of a smart mob, any desired frequency in almost limitless strength. Here’s how: The frequency could… Continue reading
Special issue on the microbial commons
The latest issue of the International Journal of the Commons contains a special collection of articles on the microbial commons, edited by Tom Dedeurwaerdere of the Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium. From the introduction: “vast amounts of plant and animal genetic material are collected and microorganisms isolated throughout the world from various habitats and sources,… Continue reading
Peer to peer cinema at Clip Kino
“‘Clip Kino’ events are self-organised screening events of short video clips & documentaries found online. It aims to drag aspects of normalised ‘private’ activity – of viewing downloaded content on one’s own computer – into public space for screening, appreciation and debate. ‘Media-environmental awareness’ applies to include the social ecology of one’s interests, desires, and… Continue reading
Hillary Wainwright: profile of a commoner
Hillary Wainwright is one of the finest people I have met over the last few years, so I’m happy to share this profile, written by my friend David Bollier: “If you want to learn the nitty-gritty about social transformation in our times — What works and what doesn’t? How exactly does market culture subvert change?… Continue reading
John Robb: extending the law of asymmetric competition to the whole economy
Would it be possible for a community of small groups and/or a plethora of individuals within an open source economy to decisively outcompete the dominant global system? I’m pretty sure the answer to that question is an unqualified yes. An open source economy, a place where ideas are free from ownership, would gain a decisive… Continue reading
Future Internet and Society: A Complex Systems Perspective
The conference “Future Internet and Society: A Complex Systems Perspective” will take place on 02-07 October in Acquafredda di Maratea, Italy. The digital revolution and the advent of the Internet are transforming the way we work, how we spend our free time. These phenomena are also changing how we communicate with each other and the… Continue reading
Tribes vs. P2P
David Ronfeldt has a post recalling his recent interventions on tribal governance, and part of it is a recall of a recent debate we had. David Ronfeldt: “A set of interesting posts appeared at the P2P Foundation blog — one of my favorite blogs — in August 2009 comparing the histories of Maghrebi and Genovese… Continue reading
Dominic Muren on the three pillars of Humblefacture
Clear insight on the necessary preconditions for open and distributed manufacturing to become the next ecosystem for making things. Dominic Muren: “We need to identify new methods and research directions which will lower the systemic barriers of entry to making. I believe that three primary directions exist for this exploration. In order to be free… Continue reading
Al Jazeera on the Icelandic Modern Media Initiative
Al Jazeera reports on the Icelandic Modern Media Initiative, a proposed reinforcement of free speech rights based on the best available legislation in the whole world: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbGiPjIE1pE
Bolivia’s position about life forms patentability
Recently Bolivia have published it’s cmmunication to WTO’s TRIPS Council on the Review of Article 27.3(b). This article allows patenting of life forms and requires provision to be made for the protection of plant varieties Article 27.3(b) says the following: “Members may also exclude from patentability: plants and animals other than micro-organisms, and essentially biological… Continue reading
Peter Linebaugh on the principles of commoning
Via Keimform (originally from Counterpunch): Peter Linebaugh (excerpt): “Human solidarity as expressed in the slogan “all for one and one for all” is the foundation of commoning. In capitalist society this principle is permitted in childhood games or in military combat. Otherwise, when it is not honored in hypocrisy, it appears in the struggle contra… Continue reading