Hashtags are ubiquitous online, they categorize content to find and join conversations on topics. The problem with current hashtag usage is they reinforce individualism over collective action. This is an issue of neoliberal “common sense” and the domination of #dotcons, prioritizing profit rather than change challenge. Serendipity, the occurrence of events by chance, beneficially offer…
Hashtags for Social Change
The Potential of #Hashtags as Shared Social Paths #Hashtags have potential to be used for social change. They create connections between people, amplify voices, and mobilize communities. When used effectively, they transform individual expressions into collective movements. However, the current culture presents significant challenges to this. The Problem of #StupidIndividualism Today we are shaped by…
We need to be disturbed
We are in a mess with the building #climatecrisis due to our collective refusal to acknowledge reality, after 40 years of worshipping a #deathcult The problem we now need to mediate is that I am not sure meany people know what reality is. What we’re experiencing now is a preview of what’s to come. It’s…
A Mental Health Time-Bomb
The Imminent Collapse: The science is irrefutable: our civilization is on the brink of imminent, violent collapse due to environmental degradation and #climatechaos. Yet, the political establishment and #mainstreaming media is dominated by those who profit from this collapse, ensuring that the public remains, unfocused, uninformed and distracted by inanity and bile. This toxic combination…
The Urgent Need for Systemic Change
Our #mainstreaming paths are pushing social collapse and extinction, not due to natural calamities or unforeseen disasters, but as a result of our political decisions by those in power. These decisions, driven by corporate agenda, are pushing us down the path where millions, will perish and billions be displaced in the coming decades. The Devastating…
ActivityPub and Mastodon from a #closedweb prospective
A #closedweb Critique The Critique From an #openweb and #4opens perspective, the critique highlights a different mindset that is clearly incompatible with the current path. But yes, there are questions about the balance between openness and security. Let’s not get lost in the #geekproblem and look at them: Design for Abuse Critique: The assertion that…
The Cost of Living Crisis: Corporate Greed and Political Corruption
That the cost of living crisis stems from corporate greed and political corruption is a useful perspective to challenge #mainstreaming narratives. Economic hardships faced by people and communerties are not inevitable or natural, rather the result of deliberate actions by powerful agendas. “Remember, anyone trying to blame our cost of living crisis on anything other…
Capitalism is the logic of the #dotcons
Let’s look at capitalism through the lens of #dotcons (a term that plays on “dot-coms” with a critical twist). In summary, “capitalism is the logic of the #dotcons” shows how capitalist paths have shaped the #openweb into a landscape to prioritize profit over public good, leading to the current mess of exploitation, centralization, surveillance, and…
Caring in a culture that disregards human well-being requires resistance to dominant values
I have come to think that care for people requires a high degree of resistance to the culture around us, simply because that culture is dedicated to values that have no concern for people. A tension in society: the disconnect between cultural values and genuine care for people. Actually caring for people requires a strong…
Real Social Media is a Hard Balancing Act
Open social media is native to the #openweb it represents liberation, while closed social media is centred around control for profit. The balance between these two forms is nuanced, and understanding the implications and paths of each requires consideration. It is not “common sense” so you need to think outside your current limited view please…
Security and trust are a part of the fluffy/spiky debate in activism
As dissent and protest are increasingly criminalized, it’s important for protesters and activists to protect themselves – to the degree possible – from surveillance. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (#EFF) offers a guide for surveillance defence. It’s useful to read this even if you aren’t a protester, because the right wing (and sadly, some of the…
Feudalism, #FOSS native governance?
Interesting to see this metaphor take off #Feudalism, in Free and Open Source Software (#FOSS) governance, is not inherently native but is often found due to structural and cultural factors inside the development communities. Feudalism in FOSS Why? Manifestations Balancing Feudalism. Conclusion While feudalism is not inherent to #FOSS governance, structural and cultural factors lead…