Outline of 20 years ups and downs of grassroots activism in the UK

Published Date 11/30/15 3:38 PM

In my expirence the flowering of the #indymedia networks followed by the first years of #climatecamp were the high points of activist culture. The end of climate camp was the low point of activist culture, after this the drift to #NGO and #fashionista was wide and dissipating.

#Occupy was a break in activist culture, it was the first mass “internet first” on the ground manifestation that happened disconnected to the past of activism because of the use of #dotcons tools as prime organising space. The old culture has been discredited by the failings of climatecamp, the new dotcon tools had been celebrated and used well by Ukuncut etal. Where Ukuncut was a reboot of the old climate camp crew, occupy was a project of the #failbook generation in all its wide reflective madness.

Where are we now? The old left is rebooting with a broken mix of the Blairite right and the Stalinist/toxic left, both pulling at the radical liberal centre. Alt media content is being rebooted but the network it needs to build, to stop its drift to NGO burn out, is missing. The right is ideologically bankrupt and visibly grasping, but stronger than ever.

In activism currently we are full of the biter taste of occupy and NGO worshipping of dotcoms and careerism. The working of the 21st century is potentially different to the workings of the 20th century the are groups, networks and individuals that embody this and a larger group/individuals who fight for the past century working practices.

The “certainties of the 20th century” are grasped in our frail and trembling hands, the first stage of a “network” reboot is to let go of these “certainties” one constructive path to this is to fill in the gaping activist memory hole by looking at what works and what does not. The lost and flailing progressive alt needs foundations bridging this gap to build on.

The IS NO SHORT TERMISM HERE, but the is speed and nimbleness, plenty of fun, creative motivated building to be done. Many of the foundation problems can be built in parallel as a “network” so it can happen faster than most can imagine.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

UPDATE:

Am currently working on two projects to take steps to mediate the issues I outline here:

Open Media Network (OMN)

A world to win

The possibility of building a better, more just world feels distant. The systems that dominate our lives, hegemonic neo-liberalism, appear immovable, and we have few credible alternatives to offer in response.

Over the past 40 years, we’ve witnessed the decay of leftist thinking and action. The hierarchical, centralised movements of the 20th century, like “Stop the War,” have given way to the fragmented and often ineffectual anarchy of 21st-century efforts such as “Climate Camp.” The once-open internet, which birthed the World Wide Web, has been consumed by the closed silos of the #dotcons. Apple, Failbook, and their locked-in app ecosystems have turned the dream of a decentralised, open web into a corporate-controlled nightmare.

Our political institutions, once intended to serve the public, have been captured by corporations. As George Monbiot has pointed out, they now function primarily to entrench the interests of the powerful. In this context, the left has been reduced to little more than shadow puppets performing on a cardboard stage, even as Climate Change and rampant neo-liberal inequality consume everything we once held dear.

A world to win? There are many overlapping tributaries feeding into the wide river of sustainability and justice. The river exists, visible and real, but fragmented efforts and entrenched power block our paths. The open internet still survives, for now, and we have the tools to use it. But what we lack is the will, the imagination, and the cooperation necessary to move together in any meaningful direction. Our political institutions, though decayed and leaning under the weight of corruption, still exist and offer pathways for resistance and reform, if we can muster the strength to use them.

Climate Change is inevitable, a tidal wave of disruption and devastation that will wash around the globe. In the rich West, we will feel its impact less severely in the early stages. This privilege gives us a unique position to influence the outcome. The question is, will we use it?

Decentralised, renewable power is an inevitability, no matter how much the neo-liberal establishment clings to its failing systems. The transition will happen, and it will mediate the ecological transformation that climate change demands. But how this transition unfolds, who it benefits, and who it leaves behind is still to be determined.

The world is in flux. The river of justice and sustainability is there, waiting for us to wade in. But it will take more than fragmented movements, captured institutions, or passive hope. It will take bold action, creative cooperation, and a willingness to fight for a better world.

The possibility of winning a world worth living in still exists—but only if we have the courage to seize it.

Published Date 7/31/15 2:03 PM

A world to win

The possibility of building a better more just world is far away.

We have no alternatives to offer to the hegemonic neo-liberalisam.

Over the last 20 years we have a decay of left thinking and action.

From the 20^th century hierarchical “stop the war”

To the 21^st century anarchy of “climate camp”

The open internet which gave birth to the World Wide Web has fallen into the dotcom silos and locked in app echo systems of Apple and Failbook.

Our political institutions have been captured by corporations (Monbiot)

The left is little but shadow puppets playing on a cardboard stage, while Climate Change in hand with rampant neo liberal inequality are burning all that we ones held dear.

A world to win?

The are many of overlapping tributary’s to the wide river of sustainability and justice, the river is there for us to see.

The open internet is still their for a while longer and we have the tools to use it, just not the wile and co-operation to move anywhere.

Our “democraticish” political institutions are still in place (though leaning with decay)

Climate change is going to wash around the world, initially we in the rich west will be less affected than the rest of the world, this gives us a privileged place to affect the outcome of this wave of disruption and devastation. We will have power to challenge the outcome.

Moving to decentralised renewable power is inevitable (no matter what the neo-liberal fools do) this will mediate the eco-transformation climatechange brings.

More…

What would rebooting grassroots media look like

Published Date 2/13/15 2:01 PM

DRAFT

Intro to the event

Unconferences are called for a reason and are about a subject, generally with an idea of an outcome.

Invite all the existing groups and most importantly, representatives from past groups to tell their stories and outline their ongoing projects. Invite groups from outside the activist/NGO ghetto such as London JAVA and hackspaces and many more etc.

The preamble:

Our culture is broken. Start with these two critiques of the failed grassroots media/geek culture and the failings of the NGO solutions to such issues.

A defining of open industrial standards and federation, a look at peer to peer and client / server.

This intro is to set the atmosphere of the event, to increase group feedback that question these streams in the workshops over the weekend.

When people arrive, a brief overview of the event and goto it http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unconference Then everyone has their workshop/say.

The event would tend to split into 2 streams, Media Creators (story tellers) and Geeks (tool builders). “We” as the “organiser’s” would continuously gently push to keep the streams entwined, as they both need each other and need an emulsifier to combine for any length of time.

The outcome would be wide, we have a note taker (strait to public wiki) and audio recorder for each session (uploaded soon after)

What I would think important is:

* how to make media so it is part of a flow, rather than for a silo.

* Importance of linking, just getting this working would be a big step forwarded.

* using the corporate #dotcons as dumb pipes – not original sources – build peer pressure here – no sin by only posting to #failbook and bird seed world.

* recognition of the problems with the widespread use of WordPress as top sites, fine as a blog/source, disaster as top-down centre controlled group/campaign site.

* importance of seeing media production as a production of media objects to be shared across the expanding network – not to be held as lost in personal silos or spent purely in the dotcons world.

* recognition of the danger and damage from closed (encrypted) working practices in activism/being pushed by some NGOs. The positive possibility of open working on the open web. Encryption has a limited role, encrypt everything is a clear and present disaster and the people unreflectively pushing this need reasoning with, then pushing off a cliff 😉

At the end, have report backs based on the 4 opens. How do the projects/groups meet these.

Concrete outcome:

* Get everyone to front page, link to at least 3 complementary groups.

* Get people to review alt-media projects based on the 4 opens to spark off wider social debate.

A list from our perspective on good outcomes:

Put out the (existing) #visionOntv video embeds, sign up some more moderators – they are a semi working example of the world we want to create.

Look at the newsflash, linking embed and funding site projects.

Find non-loon geeks to help build out the OMN tools, make links to other projects view the tools and micro formats

nourish a non-sectarian single sign in for activism and beyond (look at https://www.grc.com/sqrl/sqrl.htm)

A geek view of this world

I am going to link to some existing “complex” projects that overlap to THE OMN “KISS” project, examples:

https://tent.io/docs is the same project, just too far forward to be adopted, that is its not based on the past so would need too much of a jump to adopt, this is why we use RSS as that stepping stone.

http://scripting.com is working from a “single user” perspective on very usable micro formats and standards-based projects. The technology being ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Node.js and RSS) used has good peer to peer strengths.

https://indiewebcamp.com same project but again from the “libertarian” camp, making it of limited use for outreach beyond this camp.

Just about all the parallel projects are about individuals first and groups second. For our more communitarian project, we need to tweak/expand these code bases to make them useful. Also, there is a strong geek start-from-scratch approach, which means that their projects cannot lead any change but could become part of the change as it flows. We need to be the flow, otherwise we are all standing around in puddles – the state of alt-media today.

Where is our media

Published Date 1/24/15 7:42 AM

#Climatecamp is a clear example of the transition from alternative media to social media. When the Climate Change Movement began, #Indymedia was already in decline. At the first two Climate Camps, however, there was still a healthy Indymedia centre providing internet access, sustainable power, and shared computers.

There has always been tension between alternative media and outreach to traditional media. They compete with each other and, to a large extent, ignore one another. Yet for real social change, the two need to work together. Outreach to traditional media should support the production of alternative media, while alternative media should feed its strongest output into traditional media to amplify its reach.

At Climate Camp, this relationship existed mostly in name. In practice, the two groups split early on. They were originally meant to share the same physical space, but this arrangement did not last.

Traditional media outreach focused on cultivating relationships with mainstream journalists. Alternative media, meanwhile, was weighed down by the practical work of providing real services in a field that is, by nature, somewhat dysfunctional. Like oil and water, the two separated – there was no conscious “emulsifier” to hold them together. Throughout the life of Climate Camp, they never truly recombined.

Part of this split came from prejudice within activist culture itself. So-called “radical” activists often looked down on what were seen as “soft” forms of work, such as media production. This attitude is deeply embedded in activist lifestyles and is often framed through the old “spiky versus fluffy” debate.

The history to this is worth remembering – for a time, activist media and traditional media outreach followed parallel paths, each playing a role. Then blogging emerged, followed – more decisively – by #dotcons social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. A new class of #NGO-focused careerists championed these tools, which at first appeared to be remarkably effective.

Traditional media outreach initially ignored social media, reflecting the skepticism of mainstream media at the time. Naive alternative media embraced social media as a route to real social change. More realistic alternative media adopted it cautiously, seeing it mainly as another outreach channel, one that bypassed traditional gatekeepers.

The rise of social media proved catastrophic for grassroots alternative media. #NGO careerists pushed these platforms hard, and for naive alt-media practitioners they appeared to be a cure-all: the future, and the only way to be heard. Traditional media, after first seeing social media as a threat, soon embraced it and learned how to use it effectively.

Meanwhile, the remaining radical alternative media struggled on with declining relevance. Their tools aged and fell apart, and the limitations of geek culture left them unable to compete with either traditional media or the new social media platforms.

Eventually, social media absorbed activist media entirely. Traditional media retained its role by adapting late but successfully to social platforms.

As I argued in another article, geek culture seriously damaged radical alternative media. At the same time, the failure of traditional media outreach to complement activist media pushed radical voices to the margins. The growth of individual blogging briefly amplified personal voices, but ultimately weakened collective cultural power. The final blow was the wholesale embrace of social media, driven by NGO careerists.

Through these failures, we have come full circle, back to a media landscape dominated by hegemonic gatekeepers. If we are to rebuild an open media ecosystem, we must learn from these mistakes and ensure we do not repeat them.

Lessons to Learn

Overcome the limits of geek culture in activist media. Openness – social as much as technical – is the way forward.
Recognise the politics of media. We need a deliberate “emulsifier” between radical grassroots media and traditional media outreach. Social movements must rein in and refocus mainstream media messaging. Media production is not “soft”; it is spiky, strategic, and central to activism.
Accept the incompatibility with NGO careerism. Radical grassroots media cannot coexist out of balance with NGO careerist agendas. Strong foundations are needed, so media infrastructure cannot be captured or subverted by privileged actors, this is ultimately in everyone’s interest.

Conclusion

The hardest parts of building successful radical grassroots media are social, cultural, and political. For this reason, such projects must not be led by technology. In fact, technology is the easiest part of radical media work.

The tools and standards we need already exist. What is missing is the collective will – and the common sense – to use what we already have.

What is needed for the next 5 years to build an open media web

UPDATE 2025 – this is still a to-do list for a path out of the current mess. Look at the hashtag #dotcons #geekproblem #4opens

Published Date 3/19/13 9:38 PM

* We have to discredit the domination of corporate social networking such as FB and twitter as solutions. (this should be easy – but needs to be put in a centralised place that is easy to send people to). WHY

* Deal with the “geek question” how to get user-friendly – user-relevant free tools (open-source) as a focus of geek development. Currently, 99% of geek development time is wasted here, this is a HUGE untapped opportunity for open tools. (this is a hard one as the problem is invisible/irrelevant to most people).

* The need for open industrial standards rather than fashionable standards. This is a “geek chattering class” issue and is simply solved by a critical mass of chattering about open industrial standards.

* Co-operation is an issue for left/progressive contemporary media projects, it’s a steep climb to get simple linking between sites to happen. We are working on a number of projects to address this.

* Traditional Journalism is an obstacle to the building of open media, as they still have a gate keeping role on what is seen as news and many contemporary media people are sucked into the traditional media world as a career option due to the continuing failer of contemporary media business models. We currently don’t have a good solution to this problem.

If we have a strategy for dealing with each of these issues, then we can realistically move onto building real infrastructure. http://visionon.tv

UPDATE

Its interesting that people say to me that these things aren’t needed or are two vague – my answer is simple and straightforward if you don’t deal with them then your project WILL LIKELY fail so you should at minimum have them as a highlight on your project description and at best have continuing documented experiments on over coming them for your project to succeed.

Technology and Social Change Working with the Facebook Generation

This generation is a complete mess, no surprise after 20 years of submission to the #deathcult:

#Neoliberalism hollowing out economies, replacing solidarity with consumerism.

#Postmodernism fragmenting identity politics into a battlefield of individualism over collective action.
#Dotcons centralizing control, turning the internet into a corporate surveillance machine.

Stepping away from the mess, the real question is: How do we break free?

Our #fashernistas still dodge this conversation, stuck in cycles of performative activism, corporate co-option, and distraction. Instead of chasing the next trendy tech or ideological bandwagon, we need to refocus a #KISS path:

#OMN (Open Media Network) – Building grassroots, independent media outside corporate control.
#4opens – Prioritizing transparency, collaboration, and openness in our tools and governance.
Reclaiming #DIY activism – Moving beyond digital spectacle to real-world action and organizing.

The path isn’t more #geekproblem tech fixes or empty branding exercises, it’s a radical grassroots step to collective agency. Time to move.

A look at where we are at in our #openweb reboot

It’s helpful to reflect on the list at Fortifying the Fediverse: Decentralized Trust and Safety 2024 as it reveals the values of the groups they represent. Importantly, it also provides a glimpse of where our shared #openweb reboot might be heading.

Blacksky: This project, created by the crypto crew for the #NGO liberal types, is firmly rooted in the #dotcons sphere. While it claims to align with #openweb values, its foundation leans towards control and capital rather than grassroots paths. Yes it adds diversity to the ecosystem but will likely become another messy experiment that feeds into the compost pile. Support it if you feel inclined, but be prepared with a shovel to deal with the outcomes.
Bonfire Networks: A project from the #NGO world trying to push into grassroots territory. However, history is littered with similar efforts that fail repeatedly due to their inability to adapt to the #openweb’s native ethos. While it contributes to diversity, its trajectory reflects a pattern of missteps.
Darius Kazemi: A #mainstreaming grassroots figure who has a notable presence but seems more focused on occupying space rather than producing actionable outcomes. While there might be potential utility here, none has been apparent thus far.
db0: This one remains a mystery for now; no further insight is available.
Emelia Smith (@ThisIsMissEm): I’ve had conversations with Emelia, but their contributions seemed incoherent and mostly negative. They might align with the #fashernista tendency—style over substance. Time will tell if they add value or continue in this vein.
Erin Kissane: A figure from the NGO and academic world who shows an appreciation for grassroots efforts but is not inherently part of that ecosystem. There may be some utility here, but needs meaningful contributions.
Fediseer: An intriguing but unclear initiative. It’s worth keeping an eye on to understand its objectives and implications for the #openweb.
Independent Federated Trust and Safety (IFTAS): This group has ambitions to play a core role in trust and safety, but has yet to approach this responsibility with the respect or engagement needed for genuine collaboration. As with similar #NGO projects, it’s wise to have a shovel ready to compost any emerging mess.
Lemmy: Originally a Reddit clone, this project has taken an interesting turn by decentralizing its focus towards forums and wikis. It’s an intriguing experiment that deserves continued observation as it evolves.
Mastodon: A truly native grassroots project that has been instrumental in expanding the fediverse and the adoption of ActivityPub. However, as the project grew, it gravitated towards an #NGO-like structure and began engaging in #mainstreaming. This shift is a natural but challenging path for projects as they scale.
Newsmast Foundation: An #NGO initiative centred around liberal #mainstreaming of news flows. While it adds diversity to the ecosystem, there remains an urgent need for native grassroots media projects to balance this narrow perspective.
Pixelfed: A companion project to Mastodon with a similar ethos. While it’s a positive addition to the ecosystem, its path leans towards #mainstreaming. It’s sometimes positioned as a token example of diversity by the Mastodon team, which could become problematic if this narrative goes unchallenged.
Social Web Foundation: An #NGO-backed initiative with some grassroots influence from its current leadership. However, in vertical structures like this, leadership tends to shift with changes in funding, which will alter its trajectory.
Spritely Institute: A strong technical project focused on a more peer-to-peer (#p2p) approach. While the technology is promising, its messaging and outreach need significant improvement to achieve broader understanding and any adoption.

This list reflects the diversity and challenges within the #openweb space. It underscores the need to balance different approaches, highlight the very real lack of native grassroots efforts, and the need to remain vigilant against co-option by #dotcons and #NGO mainstreaming paths.

Or an earlier draft:

It’s helpful to look at a list from https://about.iftas.org/2024/12/23/fortifying-the-fediverse-decentralised-trust-and-safety-2024/ as it reflects the values of the groups they represent. And more importantly where our shared #openweb reboot is going.

Blacksky is a #dotcons being built by the crypto crew for the #NGO liberal types, it is native to the #openweb so part of diversity, but, in the end likely more mess to compost, support it if you like but have a shovel handy.
Bonfire Networks comes from the #NGO world pushing into the grassroots, not native and like all projects with this motivation there is a long history they fail, and fail, and fail. It’s a problem flow in the #openweb so a part of diversity.
Darius Kazemi a #mainstreaming grassroots person, who talks and takes up space, might have some use but not as far as I know.
db0 do not know this one.
Emelia Smith (@ThisIsMissEm) I talked to this one, but they did not make sense and were largely negative, #fashernista maybe. Who knows, let’s see.
Erin Kissane NGO and academic guy who likes grassroots, but is not. Might have some use, but not so far as far as I know
Fediseer This is a strange one, what is this about?
Independent Federated Trust and Safety (IFTAS) An in-group pushing into a core role, not respectfully so far, but let’s see where they go. Have a shovel at hand to compost the mess.
Lemmy Has an interesting history, a clone of Reddit, then pushing the core coding out to forums and wikis, it’s interesting and worth watching.
Mastodon a native grassroots project that pushed the fediverse and activitypub wider. With this move, as the project grew, they shifted to the #NGO path and engaged in #mainstreaming as people do.
Newsmast Foundation a #NGO project of liberal #mainstreaming news flows, fine as a part of diversity, but we also need native grassroots.
Pixelfed is a companion to mastodon, a good project, if soft and #mainstreaming in its path. Is kinda used as meto project by the mastodon crew to say the is diversity, this could be a problem if unchallenged.
Social Web Foundation is a #NGO backed project, it has a bit of grassroots to it from its current leadership, but leadership changes in vertical structures when funding flows changes.
Spritely Institute a good tech project, a more p2p path, but hard to understand, needs actual outreach.