The #4opens

Published Date 10/19/15 9:38 PM

The #dotcon can not be fixed, the #fashernistas who keep flocking to new “ethical’ish” ones are a problem, not a solution.

The #4opens:

Are a simple way to judge the value of an “alt/grassroots” tech project.

Open data – is the basic part of a project https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_data without this open they cannot work.

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 do expand the area of “trust” that a project needs to work, creative commons is a start here.

Open “industrial” standards – this is a little understand but core open, It’s what the open internet and WWW are built from. Here is an outline https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_standard

Open process – this is the most “nebulous” part, examples of the work flow would be wikis and activity streams. Projects are built on linking trust networks, so open process is the “glue” that binds the links together. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Process

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.