The is a tension between grassroots movements and #NGO paths on the #Fediverse and wider #openweb projects. From a #fluffy point of view the NGO path, while often well-intentioned, can lead to forms of imperialism where outside forces-through funding, structure, and top-down approaches—unwittingly impose their agendas on communities. These actors often don’t realize they are…
Parasite #NGO and #fashionista tech
“But the principal objection will doubtless refer to the plain language used. My excuse, if indeed excuse be needed for saying just what I mean, is, that it is impossible to clothe in delicate terms the intolerable nastiness which I expose, and at the same time to press the truth home to those who are…
Why people should worry about NGO paths
The problem with #NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) and the wider (vertical adjacent) thinking they represent. In part, the issue is about how the organizations operate and adapt to pressures, particularly regarding funding. Overall, this dynamic results in a situation where NGOs, initially formed to challenge the status quo and advocate for change, become co-opted by the…
The influence of NGOs in social activism raises concerns
In an era dominated by centralized #dotcons platforms and gatekeepers, the #openweb represents a beacon of hope for progressive society. Rooted in the #4opens principles of decentralization, open standards, and inclusivity, the openweb fosters a progressive culture In contrast, the rise of #NGO #slacktivism and the influence of NGOs culture highlight the limitations of centralized…
What is wrong with Non-governmental organizations (#NGOs)
Non-governmental organizations (#NGOs) * Lack of accountability: They operate without being transparent about their funding, goals, and methods. * Dependence on funding: NGOs rely on funding from governments, corporations, or private individuals, this dependence compromises their agenda and integrity. * Ineffectiveness: #NGOs are not equipped to solve complex social and economic problems, and that their…
What do I think?
I believe to try and balance much of the current mess, people should focus on grassroots activism and building alternative systems to combat the current social, ecological, and technological mess. With a strong emphasis on open processes (#4opens), fostering collective action, to challenge the #neoliberal status quo (#deathcult) through direct engagement, rebooting independent media, and…
The Non-Profit Industrial Complex (#NPIC): A Double-Edged Sword in #FOSS and Activism
What we call #NGO’s in the hashtag story. The Non-Profit Industrial Complex (NPIC) entanglement of non-profits, big businesses, governments, and social activism can, leads to mess we need to compost. While nonprofits can fund crucial tech and activist work, their reliance on corporate-linked foundations dilutes this, to keep receiving money, the is STRONG presser to…
Communities Adopt #KISS Tools, Not Technologies
Communities don’t adopt digital technologies—they adopt #KISS tools. People don’t think about TCP/IP or HTTP when browsing the web, or SMTP when sending emails. Similarly, they don’t think about #ActivityPub when using the #Fediverse. They interact with intuitive tools that simplify these layers. One of the toughest challenges in grassroots #DIY tech is creating #FOSS…
Recognizing the Failure of the Center
A crucial question, that speaks to the frustration many people feel toward the ongoing crises—political, environmental, social—that is not only the failure of the center but also the collapse of the system itself. The center, sees itself as a space of compromise and stability, but has been propped up for decades by a neoliberal ideology…
Let’s help people build grassroots communities in this fertile time for tech change and challenge
The #KISS framing of left and right as driven by emotional motivators—fear for the right and trust for the left—could be used as a simple, powerful tool to influence current #openweb paths and projects, especially amid the current pressures of #mainstreaming. By simplifying the underlying social dynamics, it helps cut through ideological complexities and focuses…
Fediverse, grassroots, native, trust, openness, and collaboration
One thing we really need to compost is the often invisible conflict between the native commons-based approach and the realities of capitalist infrastructure—particularly in how we fund, organize, and maintain spaces, for example #FediForum. It is hard to get across this invisible #blocking . The perspective, of ideological exclusion rather than the money itself being…