Hamish Campbell an #openweb organic intellectual and technologist
Let’s look back to before the #Fediverse, to be honest about the last two decades of #openweb failure, for a long time we got pulled off the path. Not only by enemies, but by a mix of fear, fashion, and half-understood technical “solutions” that felt right to fearful people at the time. The rise of … Continue reading The #encryptionist detour
Addressing liberal trolls and the #openweb tensions, the influx of users following the #X (#TwitterMigration) has highlighted tensions on the #openweb, particularly the behaviour of “liberal trolls.” Who advocates for performative inclusivity and impose hierarchical thinking, creating friction in existing working decentralized paths. Their inflowing presence derails conversations, inhibit grassroots growth, and introduce #mainstreaming patterns … Continue reading Challenging “liberal trolls” and #encryptionist blindness
The crypto mess talking about governance https://medium.com/@lawrencelundy/no-such-thing-as-decentralised-governance-2a6c6f97382f Lawrence Lundy-Bryan’s perspective on decentralized governance is a reminder that while we aspire to decentralization to break free from oppressive authorities, we should recognize the need for some form of governance. Keep in mind, the key is to establish a type of “central” authority that is accessible and … Continue reading Encryptionists we do need to talk about Governance in tech
Lets look at trust/community building as this is what the OMN is about after 20 years of failed tech “solutions”. * Link – am interested in there content flow for my community. * Trust – i have a relationship with them, no questions. * Moderate – we are building a relationship. * Whoops – rollback … Continue reading Why move away from both the #dotcons and the #encryptionists now?
Freedoms are not given, they are taken.— Peter Kropotkin This post comes from real life experience with #Oxfordboaters, but I am going to address it as a tech problem as it is the same mess we need to work on composting in our social tech projects. People don’t actually hate structure, what they tend to … Continue reading People resist visible structure
#techchurn is the endless cycle of adopting new platforms, tools, and technologies – not because they solve any real problems, but because novelty is mistaken for progress. It burns community trust, institutional memory, and activist energy, while leaving the underlying #nastyfew power structures untouched.https://hamishcampbell.com/?s=techchurn The #OMN uses #stupidindividualism to describe the culturally manufactured habit of … Continue reading #OMN Grounding (the roots as a story)
People fight against or/and ignore the #KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) approach in tech because simplicity exposes power. Complexity, jargon, and process give cover – they make control look like competence. When paths are simple and transparent, everyone can see who’s blocking, who’s hoarding, who’s acting in bad faith. Many “experts” and institutions are emotionally … Continue reading Closed systems protect individuals, but they rarely build movements
If we want a better web, we have to stop pretending this is just about “bad tech companies doing bad things.” Of course, they are-that’s what capitalist incentives produce. The real question is: what are we doing differently? That means accepting some uncomfortable truths. The better path will be less convenient, at least at first. … Continue reading Why do we keep bringing this up?
We need to have a clearer, more grounded conversation about “security” and what it actually means in the context of the #openweb. There is a long history of thinking in #FOSS spaces that security is something we can solve purely technically: better encryption, better protocols, better architectures. But in everyday life and practice, people need … Continue reading A Note on “Security” for the #FOSS Crew
I’ve been working at the heart of this space for more than 30 years, funded and unfunded. In that time I’ve seen hundreds of alternative tech projects start with energy and good intentions. Most of them wither on the vine, a very small number flower. After watching this cycle repeat for decades, one thing has … Continue reading A note to #FOSS funders
The #encryptionist movement has a blind spot. Not because encryption itself is bad – it isn’t. Encryption is a tool to protect dissidents, journalists, communities under threat, and everyday privacy. In the small picture, strong encryption is often necessary. But in the bigger picture, something more subtle is happening. Strands of crypto and decentralisation culture … Continue reading Trust, encryption, and the risk of “trustless” thinking
Looking back from the mid-2020s, the arc of #web03, #NFTs, and blockchain culture is very clear. What once promised (lied about) decentralisation, liberation, and a break from corporate capture now looks like the same, mess, #techcurn pattern repeating itself, yes it had new language, new branding, but it was easy to see it had the … Continue reading What Did We Learn from Web3, Crypto?