Hamish Campbell an #openweb organic intellectual and technologist
This should be obvious to anyone who as some knolage of left politics. They are the people who always rise to the top when #mainstreaming takes hold. You see them on TV, in parliament, running #NGOs, managing #dotcons tech projects. On the surface, they don’t always look bad – in fact, they often present as … Continue reading Who are the #nastyfew?
“Because controversy equals attention and attention equals brand recognition.” LINK Yes, an interesting thread on advertising. But let’s add to this view in wider paths: Mainstreaming controversy = attention. Alt controversy = #blocking, by ignoring. This mainstreaming/alt mess making is not about real disagreement or dynamic ideas. It’s about channelling noise that flatters the existing … Continue reading Signal, Noise, and the Mess of #Mainstreaming
In this accelerating collapse – where #climatechaos spirals and #neoliberalism guts the very idea of society – we urgently need to confront a painful truth: it’s simple, the #nastyfew are a parasite class. And that this class feeds on the very foundations of well-being, survival, and joy that the majority of the global population desperately … Continue reading The #nastyfew in the era of #climatechaos and social breakdown
Almost all of our #geekproblem software fails because it’s built with a mindset of control. Control over users.Control over systems.Control over outcomes. But all good societies, and all durable communities, are based on trust. When we ignore this, we don’t just write bad code, we produce #techshit that nobody uses, that burns out developers, and … Continue reading Why most #geekproblem software fails: Trust vs. control
The state of the world, over the last few years, we’ve been watching a familiar story unfold, we’ve seen repeat itself in radical spaces, tech movements, and grassroots networks for decades. It starts in the grassroots with “progressive” #fashernistas (yes, them) pushing themselves into the front to speak for “us.” They talk the talk of … Continue reading This is a story of power, plain and simple
It’s good to see events like #NGIFORUM2025 as it’s trying to be on the path of the #Fediverse and the wider #openweb reboot which are real forces for social good, messy, hopeful, and grounded in decades of grassroots digital culture, which we do need to support. BUT we also need to speak honestly, as these … Continue reading NGIFORUM2025 is timidly touching sense
Anyone still building their career only in the #dotcons is either an idiot or a parasite. Because when you tie yourself to platforms owned by the #deathcult, you’re feeding the very machine that eats your freedom, your data, your culture. The #openweb is the commons. It’s messy, imperfect, but it’s ours. Stop polishing the cage. … Continue reading When we block thinking, it’s pratish #dotcons behaviour
For more than 40 years, the default #mainstreaming path has led straight into worshipping of what can only be described as a #deathcult. This isn’t just metaphor, it’s literal. We’ve watched the ecosystem collapse, inequality explode, communities fragment, and culture rot under the weight of corporate-controlled sameness. And through it all, the one thing we … Continue reading We’ve Spent 45 Years Worshipping A #Deathcult
It’s important to be honest about the messy world we’re working in. Just about every so-called “alternative tech” or #opensocialweb event, especially the ones run under #NGO banners, ends up riddled with institutional parasites. They talk endlessly about ethics, governance, decentralisation, and community, but their real role is to capture energy rather than release it. … Continue reading A call-out for collective tech with teeth
With the #Fediverse gaining #mainstreaming attention, we’re entering a familiar cycle, with the influx of well-funded #NGO-branded projects trying to “fix” the #openweb by reshaping it in their own narrowing and to often blinded dead end paths. Take this year’s #chatteringclass event, #FediForum. Alongside breathless praise, last years focus on #Threads joining the #opensocialweb space, … Continue reading The Fediverse is opening, but there is a cost
One thing to keep in mind is that these people largely think they are good people, doing the best they can in the world as it is. And will become upset and very #spiky defensive when pointing at them on their knees prostrate worshipping. Like they said in the seminar, “I don’t know what to … Continue reading The Said Business School is a temple of the #deathcult
This post is about controlling the narrative, not letting the #nastyfew dictate the terms of engagement. Too often, we let them set the agenda, reacting to their every word instead of actively building the alternatives we need. Their power isn’t just in what they do, it’s in how much space they take up in our … Continue reading #Fashionistas in Activism: How Buzzword Chasing Undermines Real Change