An #openweb organic intellectual,technologist and part of the #OMN
Published Date 9/27/17 11:41 AM
Open data – the site has a RSS feed, but contet copyright so ½ of a open
Open source – wordpress so a open
Open “industrial” standards – Well WordPress is kinda a standard, they support RSS but no podcasts and all media on closed corporate accounts so ½ a open
Open process – Process is opaque (likely closed) for content. No open
Bronze 2 opens
Silver 3 opens
Gold 4 opens
thecanary is Bronze #4opens project.
Published Date 9/25/17 4:24 PM
Thinking about #Uber and the dysfunction of #Facebook.
It’s time to #reboot many parts of the #openweb With the “visibility” of the failing of #dotcons such as #failbook privacy/obscured agronomic control of you, #uber and the race to the bottom culture.
The will be a plausible “class” of people who come up with convincing sounding solutions, these #fashionista are not part of any solution and are a clear and historical core to our failers in the past.
I understand it’s hard to see the differences of tech projects, what is worth supporting and what not. We have issues from two different directions that have to at least a little understood to have a hope of supporting projects that have the possibility to be part of a real LINKING alt.
* #fashionista thinking/working
* the #geekprobelm
These are opposite side of the same coin.
“A river that needs crossing – On the political side, there is arrogance and ignorance, on the geek side there is naivety and over complexity”
A good first step solution to both is the #4opens
They will dis-empower the worst of the #fashionista thinking by shining light on their actions and mediate to a better outcome the “closing push” of the #geekproblem by keeping the LINKING in place.
Simple and sweet, a first step solution in a hashtag 😉
Published Date 9/17/17 10:02 AM
A look at some of the current alt/radical media projects in the UK
Novra media
These guys are some of the most intelligent “idiots” I know. They produce good content and they produce a lot of it.
* FANTASTIC CONTENT
* HARD WORKING
* OLD, BROKEN AND DANGURUES NEW/OLD MEDIA ASPIRATIONS
You can see them trying to build themselves into the new Guardian/Buzzfeed/***media. The root problem am hoping is the limited understanding/interest of the open web due to them having built there careers inside the #dotcons of Twitter and Facebook etc. In this the is hope for these guys.
Realmedia
The now “old” upstarts who keep getting it wrong by building something that might have been the thing to do if they had done it 10 years ago and most importantly as a open network rather than a closed portal.
* REFUSE TO LISTEN
* FUNDING DRAIN
Hard to say if the is hope for them.
The Canary
The tabloid of left alt-media, my thought is that am glad some one is doing these and its not me 🙂
* GOOD CLICK BAITING
* EXCELLENT OUTREACH
* HAVE HAD A TENDENCY TO BE ON THE EDGE OF FAKENEWS
* STILL MAINSTREAM MEDIA FACING
Now these guys would be valuable as part of a Open Media Network (OMN) partnering up to work as outreach for the more content soled groups. Its a nobrainer and not to far away from the funding model as a bigger alt means a bigger them, more revenue – everyone wins.
The fact that they are now linking after each story gives hope.
Built by the social media generation so little real understanding of the open web and limited interest in being part of the open world. Is this an unsolvable problem?
RealNews
The granddaddy of the current alt/grassroots media, they are a niche publisher of trade union grassroots news. Good content that all the other groups should LINKING to and share BUT CURRENTLY DO NOT, this sums up the issue with current “alt” media.
With a bit of investment they should be at the centre of a OMN
* HARD-WORKING AND GOOD CONTENT
* TECHNOLOGY BACKWARD
* GETTING A BIT LONG IN THE TOOTH
Am going to take a little time to try and help them out if they need/except help.
Radical film network
Has been taken over by a bunch of career building academics. There events have been so pointless that I have never been to one of them, and, I was around at the setup. I have been one of the most prolific radical/alt/grassroots film-makers of the last 20 years its odd that isn’t it, that am alienated from something calling it self “the radical film network”.
* THEY LINK
* POINTLESS
* LIBERAL FUNDING DRAIN
Outcome – CHANGE THE NAME to #fashernista film makers / academic career building network
The Media Fund
Grew out of realmedia and share many of its NGO facing. Good and needed project if it can refocus on real media outcomes The 4#opens and the linking of alt-media.
OMN
A open “trust” peer to peer standereds based network thats needed.
* THEY LINK
* #4OPENS PROJECT
visionOntv
Still worthwile as a video part of a network but pointless with out this wider linking project.
* THEY LINK
* “KINDA” #4opens project
Published Date 6/27/17 5:15 PM
DRAFT (please comment)
Building up alt/grassroots media would be nice to get a reply 🙂
Hi guys,
Good to get a reply about this project from you.
OMN is a network of Open Media Sites. Its a push to #reboot the openweb that most “value” you currently use has been built upon in the last 20 years. Your careers were built on the destruction of the digital commons its time to pay this back. The cost to your career is light and the openweb can and should be run in parallel to your current use of the #dotcon distribution.
The currency (value) of the web is the link without linking content (no matter how good) has little/no value online and will likely not be seen offline.
Left wing and progressive sites DO NOT LINK and share content with each other. This leads them to have little or no value outside the bubble/echo chambers. And we are surprised and depressed when we keep looseing, there is nothing surprising about this, but there is something depressing about it.
Why is the OMN different to all the other activist tech failed projects.
The top 5:
1) It’s based on the #4opens, meaning it doesn’t have the buy-in (sell out) issue of NGO’s and dotcons and can spread as wildly as the original world wide web (www) if people start to use/build it out.
2) It’s KISS, that is simple and standards based, so open to be built-out in unseen directions and open to wide creativity. It galvanises and empowers openweb projects.
3) It’s not under the control of one group and is a “universal/standard based so can build and link many niches to link and thus build a real alternative.
4) It solidifies a morality of co-operation and trust rather than fear and compation. Its left wing rather than right wing. All current projects are products of right wing thinking in structure and expectations.
5) It gives the tech/grassroots #fashionista’s something useful to do and promote at their events. Its hard to express the pointlessness of all the current alt-tech.
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reply from one of the alt-media/grassroots groups
Aren’t “existing” doing this anyway, linking all media groups together? Afraid I’m not techie enough to understand what OMN is, how it’s different, or any of the points you’ve made, but I’m happy to go along with what everyone else decides if it can be explained in plain English!
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We have done some “user story’s” https://github.com/Openmedianetwork/OMN/wiki/user-storys hope this helps get away from the tech 🙂
This is a part list of current working roll-out https://github.com/tomspost/OMN/wiki your content already appears as links on all these sites as you post it.
All current successful projects are networks or in the case of the #dotcon social networks (closed) sudo networks.
Currently the OMN is the only bud of a network we have in place in the alt/progressive.
What dues the OMN mean for the your org
Nothing has to change in what you do if you don’t want to do more.
To be part of the network you add a easy OMN sidebar/section/page to your existing site with the content flow you are interested in from any OMN site. You control what appears on your site.
At the moment the is just the one/first that covers the best of grassroots media from a UK and a bit of globle news focus so use that one http://omn.openworlds.info:8080
That’s it, you can do more if you like but don’t have to.
What this means is that your site will link and share content with other grassroots/alt media sites on there sidebar/section/pages.
Your content as you publish it on your site will appear (you do not have to do anything for this to work) on many other OMN sidebars/sections/pages on other sites and blogs.
It will play a role in “aggregating” the viewership of alt-media, everyone gains from this.
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What we are talking about is building expanding distribution outside Facebook/twitter. You can, and should continue to use Facebook etc. what the OMN dues is start to build independent and horizontal alternative that run/expands in parallel, its working now and easy to use.
Am more than happy to help set-up the embeds in your website, will likely take 20 min.
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Just in case you are worried about security of your site all scripting is striped from the articles and links and the embed is a standard plug-in that comes from the dotcon markets that 1000’s of people have been using for years with out any issues.
Its mature and safe tech that just works.
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Ps. if this outreach duse not work its looking like time for a bit of a kicking…. phwww….. crap.
Published Date 5/12/17 11:55 AM
Building up alt/grassroots media would be nice to get a reply 🙂
Hi guys,
Good to get a reply about this project from you.
OMN is a network of Open Media Sites.
The currency (value) of the web is the link without linking content (no matter how good) it has little/no value online and will likely not be seen offline.
Left wing and progressive sites DO NOT LINK and share content with each other. This leads them to have little or no value outside the bubble/echo chambers. And we are surprised and depressed when we always loose, there is nothing surprising about this, but there is something depressing about it.
Why is the OMN different to all the other activist tech failed projects.
The top 5:
1) It’s based on the #4opens, meaning it doesn’t have the buy-in issue of NGO’s and dotcons and can spread as wildly as the original WWW if people start to use it/build it out.
2) It’s KISS, that is simple and standards based, so open to be built-out in unseen directions and open to wide creativity.
3) It’s not under the control of one group and is a universal in its subject matter, so can build and link many niches to link a real alternative.
4) It solidifies a morality of co-operation and trust rather than fear and compation.
5) It gives the tech/grassroots #fashionista’s something useful to do and promote at their events.
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reply
Hi Hamish,
Aren’t Real Media doing this anyway, linking all media groups together? Afraid I’m not techie enough to understand what OMN is, how it’s different, or any of the points you’ve made, but I’m happy to go along with what everyone else decides if it can be explained in plain English!
XXXX
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Hi XXXX,
We have done some “user story’s” https://github.com/Openmedianetwork/OMN/wiki/user-storys hope this helps get away from the tech 🙂
This is a part list of current working roll-out https://github.com/tomspost/OMN/wiki your content already appears as links on all these sites as you post it.
The realmedia site/project is version of the visionontv project we were fund-raising and trying to build 10 years ago. Fine for the silo it is but the world has moved on.
All current successful projects are networks or in the case of the #dotcon social networks (closed) sudo networks.
Currently the OMN is the only bud of a network we have in place in the alt/progressive.
What dues the OMN mean for the XXXX
Nothing has to change in what you do if you don’t want to do more.
To be part of the network you add a easy OMN sidebar/section/page to your existing site with the content flow you are interested in from any OMN site.
At the moment the is just the one/first that covers the best of grassroots media from a UK focus so use that one http://omn.openworlds.info:8080
That’s it, you can do more if you like but don’t have to.
What this means is that your site will link and share content with other grassroots/alt media sites on there sidebar/section/pages.
Your content as you publish it on your site will appear (you do not have to do anything for this to work) on many other OMN sidebars/sections/pages on other sites and blogs.
—————————–
XXXX
What we are talking about is building huge distribution outside Facebook. You can, and should continue to use Facebook etc. what the OMN dues is start to build independent and horizontal alternative that runs/expands in parallel, its working now.
Am more than happy to help set-up the embed in your wordpress site, will take 20 min.
Be the first of the 4 alt/grassroots media sites to take the step 😉
——————————————
Just in case you are worried about security of your site all scripting is striped from the articles and links and the embed is a standard plug-in that comes from the wordpress market that 1000’s of people have been using for years with out any issues.
Its mature and safe tech that just works.
——————————————-
Published Date 4/18/17 11:53 AM
I have been talking about the fashernisatas for the last few years, its an idea/group that I have been struggling to work with my whole time in the alt/grassroots. So what is a #fashernista?
A group of individuals who value/push their own individual advancement over the needs of the croup and community, generally they do not realise or see that they are doing this. This has the end effect of diluting and killing off possible alternatives and selling “grassroots” to NGO’s and corporatist agenda’s. #fashernista taking over projects in hand with the #geekproblem has lead to endless dead-ends in all alt/grassroots tech. Most recently this has manifested in encrypt everything, bitcoin/blockchain ect. This is a dead end.
The #OMN linking project is basic tech that I have been working on for more than 10 years, in past times the has been more interesting tech/social problems in alt/grassroots media to work on so linking has taken a back seat as it’s basic stuff. At this stage, we only have the basics left. Let’s take a first step linking alt/grassroots producers, and build tools to push this into a #rebooted #openweb to start the needed move out of the #dotcons ghetto’s. Let’s try as hard as we can to avoid #fashernisa take over of this basic #reboot. Fashernistas will set up parallel projects, raise parallel funding, push these into the traditional media and dominate the #dotcons conversation. None of this inevitable pointless #fashernista noise should distract from the basics, as it will just flash bang and fad into nothing. Keep the basics going, linking, building. In the long term the rest is noise, distraction, for the conspiracy minded it’s our very own “false flag”.
Hummm… how to spot drift into the #fashernisat agenda?
There is a strong anti-dote in the #4opens
Published Date 2/1/17 2:07 PM
I have found memories of fighting the Power Politics of the “undead left” during the London Social Forum many years ago – lots of knotted strings of organic garlic around the top “taking the power table” to highlight the uncomfortable “undead left´s” grasping for power.
Then the ad hock crew taking away the top table altogether during the lunch break and arranging all the chairs in a circle. Their faces were a delight, coming back after lunch and it kinda/might have worked… but the splits of “not thought of here” took over and the undead were permissioned to take back the space at the next meeting.
The ESF movement faded and now is a shadow – no alt was built.
The use of cultural myths and traditions will mediate and disempower “power politics” but it’s a chicken and an egg to get these embedded in groups that are already ensnared in “power politics”.
The rainbow gatherings used to work this way till they were “disrupted” by the digital shift and capture by the #dotcons now the gatherings themselves are broken due in part by being organized through #failbook
The #OMN could fail from the same issue. The myths and traditions are in place PGA and #4opens. But the project does not have deep roots to weather the inrush of success. And on the other hand will likely not last the slow growth needed for the roots to dig deep.
Starting/Doing the “Risistence Expo project is unsettling for the same resion.
The OMN Beta is a subset of the full open project.
Its a just the linking part. A first step to the data soup and open per2per network.
A single node will facilitate existing alt/grassroots media projects to link to each other. This will hopefully, partly overcome the #geekproblem to brining in talented developers to roll the rest out in a open way.
If this is blocked and stalls (possibility) the is away the evil of “funding” but its a many edged tool that cuts in all to predicable ways.
The BETA will roll out
Implemented
* Basic content flows by tag
Coming Soon
* Basic video player flow embed by tag
* Basic audio embed flow by tag
* Basic “blog/site/project list flow” by tag
* Basic “personal” grouping/flow by tag
Many of the existing radical alt/grassroots media sites (PGA hallmarks, #4opens) will be feed into the network (opt out) and all of the sites invited to become a active parts of the OMN by embedding sections/sidebars.
For the geeks http://omn.openworlds.info:8080
Comments please and could do with some help to turn it into a coherent doc for outreach.
Many people ask what is the Open Media Network (OMN)
For activists it might be useful to see it as a rebooting of a “indymedia” project from were it should have been 5 years ago when it died.
A #4opens bounded network motivated by the PGA hallmarks.
At a basic level, Publish once and your article appears in many places linking back to your site/blog.
User stories
Link to um (LINK)
Tech
Its Many websites and a few aggregaters sharing a common open “data soup” built with people to people (trust) based tagging.
From this human community/data network many “new” radical powerful things can grow.
Its builds KISS from the legacy web (RSS) and moves us into the per2per semantic web (GNU social)
Thought (LINK)
Licensing – #4opens
What is ethical aggregation?
Its networking other peoples content in a respectful way to build a network wide anufe to start to compete with the failing #dotcons
* Sections/sidebars of OMN links should be prominently displayed on each members site, preferably on every page if small.
* There should be no no-follow tags on valid links to member sites.
* The content is read (by link) on the original host site, comments are made on the original host site.
* This behaviour can be different for apps were the full content could be read in app. This should be agreed by both partys (can have a opt out tag for this as with many other parts of the network)
* The original source (RSS feed site) is always shown under the content title as a live link
* (Optional) the tags should be visible under the full article
* For apps no adverts should be placed next to CC non commercial full content (with out agreement), fine to have ads on a page next to links.
* A OMN badge is (optional) next to the link section and/or on the site about page – this can LINK to the OMN aggregate that the site gets its data flow from OR to the OMN project site.
If you haven’t realized yet the aggregating hubs/nodes are the new “indymedia” sites
* These can be by subject, country, region or city etc.
* Much of the “centralizing” parts of the IMC network are no longer needed as this is inherently a “open” project, rather than a centralizing project. Sites that would like to see them selves as IMC can of course follow these “unneeded” parts if they desire – this will lead to a “natural” grouping of IMC focused sites with in the “open data soup”.
* Existing indymedia sites can continue “outside” the network as their content can be brought in via RSS if sites are interested in it. Just to repeat nobody has to do anything.
* Posting is generally via individual site/blogs, but can be through existent portal/silos like indymedia or existing group sites such as https://www.opendemocracy.net if users prefer to publish on them.
The function of “nodes” will organically grow
* Publishing sites are the source of content these will likely just input a RSS feed up to the next level.
* Aggregating site, these are subjects, locality etc they will take in feeds from publishing sites and output (trusted) quality feeds to the next level.
* News/link portals will be regional, national, big subject sites, these will mostly get their trusted feeds from aggregating (middle) sites and a few trusted publishing sites.
As you can see from this publishing is the hardiest job as you need to create the content, second is aggregation as the is much work quality controlling and adding semantic data (tags) to the flow of content.
The easeast to setup and run are the “top” sites to add value to these will be more of a challenge. One way could be to create articles of linking overviews covering stores from the flows – this content can of course be feed back into the lower sites.
Every thing links to everything else.
What do these “nodes” do to be part of the OMN?
* They host flows of content based on tags from other OMN sites on subject that interest them.
* This content is brought in vier RSS from external sites and by atompub from OMN sites.
* They can tag/retag this flow of objects to direct it to other nodes/site sidebars.
* Other sites can get taged based flows (with embed codes if needed) from there chosen “nodes”
* (Optionally) they can archive this content if they like.
KISS meta-taging
This will seem stupid to many geeks, lets use simple text “twitter” tags to do the categorization of data objects in the OMN flow.
* @ before a tag means a person, that is, a RSS object with an enclosure that is a file contenting a open “contact” format file.
* # before tag is means a bookmark link to a site, the title will be the link.
(optional) Need a “symbol” for video, audio, photo etc.
These objects are tagged just like any other object and are stored/flow through the network just like text articles.
(optional) Can try having a different publish pages for each format that automatically add these tags?
It would be normal to create a new format to for each part of the OMN and geeks/fashernistas have done this over many times over the last 10 years.
Its KISS “stupid” for good, empowering, “normal” people to work on and create new products/services/connections in a “data common soup”
Geek talk – The future of OMN content flows
What has power is the non branded, non owned, KISS implementation of the #OMN that its not part of the “geek problem” and only tangentially connected to the #fashernista agenda’s.
Move to mobile is key for real growth of atl/grassroots media. This is relatively easy as the will be a “open data pool” of semantically enriched content to dip into for quality new, video and audio content flow for building apps. But content is not king in this case, what has real power is the ability to publish direct from mobiles photos, video, audio and text direct to a node of the OMN (this could also be your source, blog/site/portal) in this we empower a move away from “journalism” on the #dotcons and back onto the “openweb”.
Get people (CMS’s) to publish in “markup” (as well at html/corporate silos formats) so that content can be loaded/displayed natively on aggregating sites/apps in the formating of the aggregate site/app and display cross site comments – all from the original host. In this we are not only sharing links we are sharing content and discussion across the OMN.
There is nothing original in this all the #dotcons are doing this already and the are many open standards (mark-up being one) that allow this. The originality is in the “just doing it” and the KISS implementation of this push.
I don’t see this as radical, though I see the outcome as revolutionary.
Published Date 12/29/16 4:07 PM
All projects am working on at the moment are based on:
PGA hallmarks
1. A very clear rejection of capitalism, imperialism and feudalism; all trade agreements, institutions and governments that promote destructive globalisation.
2. We reject all forms and systems of domination and discrimination including, but not limited to, patriarchy, racism and religious fundamentalism of all creeds.
We embrace the full dignity of all human beings.3. A confrontational attitude, since we do not think that lobbying can have a major impact in such biased and undemocratic organisations, in which transnational capital is the only real policy-maker;
4. A call to direct action and civil disobedience, support for social movements’ struggles, advocating forms of resistance which maximize respect for life and oppressed peoples’ rights, as well as the construction of local alternatives to global capitalism.
5. An organisational philosophy based on decentralisation and autonomy.
https://www.nadir.org/nadir/initiativ/agp/free/pga/hallm.htm
The #4opens
1. Open data – is the basic part of the project https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_data with out this open it cannot work.
2. Open source – as in “free software” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_software this keeps development healthy by increasing interconnectedness and bringing in serendipity. The Open licences are the “lock” that keep the first two in place, what we have ain’t perfect but they expand the area of “trust” that the project needs to work, creative commons would be the start here.
3. Open “industrial” standards – this is a little understand but core open, its what the open internet and WWW are built from. Here is an outline https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_standard
4. Open process – this is the most “nebulous” part, examples of the work flow would be wikis and activity streams. The project is built on linking trust networks so open process is the “glue” that binds the links together. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Process
LINK for projects
Published Date 12/24/16 6:18 PM
Producer groups have to put in minimal effort only puting a linking sidebar on their site and providing a RSS feed into the network.
These can be:
* Tag based content list “you might be interested in this”
* Tag based site link list “blog roll”
* Tag based video player embed “good films”
Optional: a site can add a badge to say its a member of the network.
Google juice from the wide links back to their website and their content.
Clicks and content audience for all sites of the network rather than just their own.
More commenting from cross site conversations in their CMS comment system
On social media (the #dotcons)
They get a wider sharing of their content to work its way round the FB algorithm restrictions.
More “likes” on their #failbook pages to help boost the 3% organic reach.
Well a warm fashernista feeling of being part of something whole/bigger.
A geeky feeling of doing something real geeky.
We join together to push the “undercurrents” up and into the “mainstream”.
Is based on the #4opens to get a badge a site has to embed at least one linking embed somewhere (relatively) prominent on their site to become a member of the network. The Badge will link to the OMN project page, maybe this could have a list of OMN sites, as well as hosting the basic project docs.
Gold – 4opens
Silver – 3opens
Bronze – 2opens
We need some one to design these “badges” its up to site owners if/were they use them.
The OMN is a project of the 4opens and the PGA hallmarks.
Published Date 12/23/16 1:26 PM
The Witches Cauldron
The open activist archive is a data “commons” based on the #4opens and motivated by the #PGA hallmarks.
We are aiming to create a data soup of metadata enriched digital items hosted on redundant federated network of hosts/servers around the world. The project will start by hosting the majority of the content from the expo on http://archive.org
Anyone can be part of this federated network which will be built out using the tools of the Open Media Network #OMN and #KISS to facilitate DIY is at the core of the project.
In this as a general statement we REJECT arrogant “expert’s” and “better” technological solutions that move us away from this core #KISS and #DIY ethos of The Witches Cauldron project. Simple and human scale or we will #FAIL should be in our minds as new people grow the project.
