We used to have a good grassroots #DIY media – SchNEWS

SchNEWS was a free weekly publication that focused on environmental and social issues/struggles in the UK and internationally. It emphasized direct action protest and autonomous political struggles outside formalized political parties. The publication was run by unpaid volunteers and was financially supported by donations from readers and subscribers rather than regular funding channels. Its strapline … Continue reading We used to have a good grassroots #DIY media – SchNEWS →

Looking at #DIY projects

Looking at failures offers lessons: the importance of balancing sustainability with integrity, the necessity of regenerating core culture in growing communities, and the need for healthy conflict resolution to prevent ideological capture. In each case, the projects burned bright for a time, flashes of what’s possible when people come together to build outside the #mainstreaming. … Continue reading Looking at #DIY projects →

DIY solar power to far

A river that needs crossing political and tech blogs – On the political side, there is arrogance and ignorance, on the geek side there is naivety and over- complexity My videos are on these two youtube channels visionontv 3,832,876 views and undercurrents 22,689,976 views

DIY guide to using solar panels for your laptop and smart phone

A story about our normal path

I have to be clear about where I’m coming from, as I’m standing in what might generously be called an undefined position. Not because I have no position, but because I’ve spent a very long time in the messy path of history that nobody has ever managed to define: grassroots DIY direct action. It’s a … Continue reading A story about our normal path →

The #openweb needs diversity, not monoculture

The problems we face in the #openweb are often presented as technology problems. Which protocol, platform, licence, federation path, software? Which standard? These questions matter, but they are not the foundations of the problem. A lot of what we are seeing is really a cultural clash. Different parts of the alternative tech world have different … Continue reading The #openweb needs diversity, not monoculture →

The Fediverse is fun and growing, but it seems to kinda be on autopilot at the moment

Q, The #Fediverse seams to kinda be on autopilot at the moment – I miss the days when the community was more focused…. A. I’d say it’s growing and changing. From my window, there’s a LOT happening. Many people are excited by the new stuff that’s landing, while others are afraid of how those changes … Continue reading The Fediverse is fun and growing, but it seems to kinda be on autopilot at the moment →

How liberal media tries to “fix” liberal media

The current mess in media isn’t that journalism has become biased, its always been, the problem is that the “progressive” #mainstreaming institutions trying to solve the crisis are still inside the assumptions that created it. Take the current liberal darling project Ground News, their promise is attractive: escape your filter bubble, compare left and right, … Continue reading How liberal media tries to “fix” liberal media →

This was my thinking on the Fediverse a few years ago – building commons

The #Fediverse is an accidental reboot of the #openweb, it wasn’t designed from the top down, it emerged because thousands of people built alternatives to the #dotcons. That’s its greatest strength, it’s also why it’s so messy. Herding cats – the #Fediverse has no central authority, every project, server, and community has its own priorities, … Continue reading This was my thinking on the Fediverse a few years ago – building commons →

Why #FOSS matters socially

The internet didn’t become broken overnight, it drifted from being a network of communities into a marketplace dominated by platforms whose purpose is extracting value. This is the logic of #dotcons most of us invested our lives and community into. How did we get into this mess? The problem isn’t only bad companies, it’s that … Continue reading Why #FOSS matters socially →

The #4opens: A Practical Compass for the #openweb

Need to come back to this, as people still are not seeing the value or use. The #4opens is a simple, practical tool for evaluating and guiding grassroots technology, media and social projects. Rather than asking whether a project is simply “open source”, it asks a broader question – can people actually trust this project … Continue reading The #4opens: A Practical Compass for the #openweb →

Rebuilding Shared Meaning in a Fragmented World

A lot of our current mess can be understood through the long transition from #modernism to #postmodernism. Not as an academic debate, but as a lived reality. Modernity was about progress. It believed that society could be understood, improved, and consciously shaped. Science, democracy, planning, industry, public institutions, trade unions, education, and infrastructure were all … Continue reading Rebuilding Shared Meaning in a Fragmented World →