Going to this event to see what the #mainstreaming think about the upcoming political changes to economic is about.It was interesting, but the only agency was asking the servants of power to do make the needed change. This has been the same ansear for the last 5 seminars i have attended in Oxford. It is not agency at all. We have had 40 years of hardcore class war and the is no easy path out of this. The audience for this was the servants of power, good to understand what they are thinking.
Economics and National Security
There is a resurgence in interest in economic statecraft and economic security. This is against a backdrop in which, over the last thirty or so years, economics has been regarded as above and beyond national control and best left untouched by governments; and national security has been lionised for its performance and practice, rather than its impact. What are the connections between the economy and national security, and how might we begin to raise a new generation of security practitioners with the skills to operate in this re-emerging field?Dr Jason Shepherd is the Senior Director for Strategy at Thomson Reuters Special Services International. He joined Thomson Reuters in 2021 after a twenty-three-year career in the UK national security community, during which he contributed to interoperability both between the FVEY partners and the UK agencies and government departments.A graduate of Cambridge, his PhD in Molecular Genetics was awarded by the University of Edinburgh, but it was his experience of the Executive Master’s in Public Policy at LSE that convinced him of the importance of the economy and political institutions to national security. An influential member of the 2020 Integrated Review team, he continues to champion technical innovation and excellence in the pursuit of public good, and is a proponent of public-private partnership in security and intelligence. He is an advocate, and whenever possible practitioner, of systems thinking and systems engineering.
Best to start from #KISS the left is based on trust and open culture. Moving away from this the left has destroyed itself over the last 40 years.
* The #fashernista embracing of postmodernism
* The soft left embrace of the “common sense” of neoliberalism
Combined, these have undermined the foundations the left is built on. This leaves people helpless to compost the current mess, as our shovel for piling the #mainstreaming have no head, nor a handle.
Of course, the is also an older horizontal and vertical split that divided the left in the 20th centenary. This is not the subject at hand, we need to compost the current mess before we can look at this older mess.
Most academy is about building consensus on how to name things. Am at a Oxford seminar on Deepfakes & Disinformation (Cassidy Bereskin) which is doing this, maybe discourse after, let’s see.
The events are status games, to establish a place in #mainstreaming hierarchy with the subject they are working on. There is little if any time spent talking about the issues outside this, is this actually dealing with the mess we face?
At the end the was more of the same, this is an actual “academic” problem, ideas please?
The current media coverage of tribal struggles in the Middle East is fraught with complexities and contradictions. The situation in the West Bank and Gaza, with Israel’s establishment of settlements and the resulting occupation, is a source of intense debate and contention.
As highlighted by Ms. Pillay in her statement, successive Israeli governments have ignored international law by creating settlements and transferring Israeli civilians into the West Bank and Gaza. This has, in essence, established facts on the ground, which are aimed at securing permanent Israeli control. Occupations resulting from unlawful armed attacks are distinct disputes, allowing the occupied state to legally exercise its right to self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter to recover its territory.
The 1947 UN declaration, which is foundational to understanding the conflict. It underscores the legal aspects of the situation and the potential rights and claims of both parties involved. In this context, Hamas, as the governing authority in Gaza, has a legal right to use military force to liberate their illegally occupied land, based on these UN resolutions. But of course the heart of the matter lies in the interpretation and application of international law and resolutions.
The media’s role in disseminating information, which lacks a comprehensive view of these complexities, is a part of the current mess. #mainstreaming media falls short of its mission to tell the “truth.” Instead, they mix facts with biased narratives, creating confusion and misinterpretation. To address this and build a path toward peace, we need media that focuses on presenting the facts more clearly and more objectively, as laid out in UN statements and latter actions. This means refraining from propagating falsehoods or favouring one side over the other. The historical context, and the UN’s involvement, can serve as a useful resource for those seeking to understand the mess of the Middle East conflict.
Untangling Middle East conflicts, particularly the Israeli-Palestinian struggle, needs a better commitment to truth and accuracy in media coverage. By being honest to the principles and resolutions of international bodies like the UN, we might achieve a clearer understanding to work towards a just and lasting peace in the region.
A simple view of the current mess making in our media coverage of the tribal struggles in the Middle East.
“By ignoring international law in establishing or facilitating the establishment of settlements, and directly or indirectly transferring Israeli civilians into these settlements, successive Israel governments have set facts on the ground to ensure permanent Israeli control in the West Bank,” said Ms. Pillay. https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/10/1129722
Our #mainstreaming media coverage is mixing this simple story with lies and propaganda. In this, they are failing in the self-declared mission of telling the “truth”. This is in part why we have way too much mess, and yes nobody in this is black and white good or bad, let’s try and stop our media adding mess to this, and please try to keep the simple clear truth of the above UN statements and actions and build a peace FROM THIS.
In activism (and interestingly less so in #mainstreaming life now) #stupidindividualism is a constant poison. With #blinded, people treat critical social thinking as ONLY personal criticism. This has the effect of #blocking that spreads mess over the very needed social change and challenge. Am increasingly using the #dontbeaprat hashtag to communicate on this problem.
I think another useful hashtag on this behaviour is #blinded, which is in part self-inflicted and in part a general social outcome of the last 40 years of worshipping #postmodernism and #neoliberalism. The hashtag #deathcult is a useful “uncomfortable” way of expressing this.
Why is this such an issue, people are directly responsible for this mess making, as both of these ideologies are actually dead themselves now. It’s an intellectual zombie block.
So #dontbeaprat is a positive statement of what’s next?
The #mainstreaming is making a mess. This is why they are trying to “solve” polarity, as they are afraid of it. They want to push the diversity of views out of sight, it’s a contemporary dogma “there is no alternative” and we won’t fund it if they were one.
Bringing “polarity” into sight, so people can solve this for social ends.
The #OGB is polite, consensus pushing “class war” it’s a DIY path out of #mainstreaming mess… Mainstreaming will not fund this easily – a problem for us to build the needed alternative.
The#OGB is important to develop better ways of having “trust” based conversations and “trust” based “governance” in the #openweb. It is built on years of on-the-ground organizing and emphasizes the need for voluntary cooperation and collaboration. The project recognizes the problems in alternative tech, starting with the #4opens to remove complexity to building governance structures that are native to the #fediverse. The #OGB address the limitations of #mainstreaming approaches.
The #OMN (Open Media Network), is a decentralized network of media sites that share content and promote independent media. It aims to provide an alternative to mainstream media by creating a network of interconnected sites that prioritize openness, collaboration, and decentralization.
The #OMN project emphasizes the importance of grassroots community-driven media, where people and groups can create and share their own content. It seeks to challenge the dominance of #mainstreaming media and promote a more equitable and just society.
The project has been running for over ten years and operates with an #openprocess. Users can become mods after being involved for a certain period of time. The modding process is based on a clear project statement and encourages a respectful and inclusive community.
The #OMN project is closely related to the #visionontv project, which is a grassroots media project that creates and distributes independent video content. The two projects share similar values and goals in promoting alternative media and challenging mainstream narratives.
The #indymediaback project is a reboot of the original #Indymedia project, which was a decentralized, grassroots media network that emerged in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The project aims to learn from the mistakes and challenges faced by the original Indymedia, particularly the split between the #fashernitas and #geekproblem factions.
The focus of the #indymediaback reboot is to return to the path of the #fashernista, which emphasizes open media and decentralized structures, rather than control and centralization. The project aims to build an open media network (#OMN) that promotes direct democracy, open publishing, and anti-authoritarianism.
The reboot also acknowledges the risk of another split within the community, particularly if some members push for a control/encryptionist path. The challenge is to find a way to navigate this without succumbing to tribalism and power politics.
The #indymediaback project recognizes the importance of hashtags and semantic web technologies, which were not core to the original Indymedia project. Tags and metadata are being used to help organize and categorize content.
Overall, the #indymediaback project aims to revive the spirit of open media and grassroots activism, while learning from past mistakes and embracing new technologies and approaches.
Narrator: In a world dominated by #mainstreaming narratives and centralized control, there is a project that dares to think differently. Introducing the #OGB project, an initiative focused on developing trust-based conversations and governance in the #openweb.
[Visual of people engaging in conversations and collaborating]
Narrator: The OGB project is built upon years of on-the-ground organizing, shaped by long expirence of on the ground organization and a Keep It Simple and Sustainable (KISS) approach. To kick this off lets look at it as a native way of working within the #Fediverse, a decentralized social media network.
[Visual of Fediverse logo]
Narrator: The goal of the OGB project is not to dictate protocols and standards to the Fediverse, but rather to create voluntary cooperative and collaborative alliances. It aims to overcome the challenges faced by existing social platforms and build a platform that truly serves social good.
[Visual of diverse group of people working together]
Narrator: The OGB project believes in the power of self-organization and user-driven processes. It draws inspiration from the example of Couchsurfing, where a redesign that removed DIY tools led to disappointment among members. The OGB project advocates for letting members shape their own processes, in the #4opens path, to overcome the #geekproblem and foster hope for alternative technology to shape society.
[Visual of people using DIY tools]
Narrator: Governance is a key focus of the OGB project. It aims to build governance structures that are accountable, sustainable, and inclusive. The current governance of the Fediverse can at best be described as “herding cats,” but the OGB project seeks to change that by providing a sortation based framework for effective governance.
[Visual of people discussing and making decisions]
Narrator: The OGB codebase is not limited to the Fediverse; it can be used to democratically run any structure with stakeholders. For example, it can be applied to govern a local street market, with stallholders, shoppers, and affiliated groups all having a say in decision-making.
[Visual of a street market]
Narrator: The OGB project recognizes the unique power dynamics within the Fediverse and aims to build upon its differences rather than conforming to mainstreaming agendas. It emphasizes the need to empower people to do better in alternative technology and socierty.
[Visual of people breaking free from chains]
Narrator: The OGB project acknowledges that there are problems in alt-tech but believes that starting with the #4Opens principles can remove much of the mess and unlock the true potential for positive outcomes.
[Visual of 4 Opens principles]
Narrator: Ultimately, the OGB project is about challenging the status quo, questioning the mainstreaming narratives, and from this pushing to creating a more equitable and just society. It invites those who can think outside the box and are willing to challenge mainstreaming to join this movement.
[Visual of people joining hands]
Narrator: The OGB project is a call to action, a call to build a better future for the openweb.
The #Fediverse is all #4opens so should not be used for anything that should be P2P encrypted. It’s important to keep this clear to users by not focused on the fig leaf of “hardening” security as the is non. It’s a very successful #OMN open media network, and it’s value lies in this.
Peoples pushing this are often not seeing the point that it’s designed #4opens this is why it works.
Both paths have value, but they are different.
And the push a different project (#closedweb) which is fine. But not a #OMN maybe they would be better off working on bridges as companion projects.
Good to think about this mess they talk about as it is not solved by more tech, we already have most of what we need.
* Open media is #4opens based on trust, the current ActivityPub is a relatively #KISS good example of this.
* Privacy is encrypted p2p chat, which there are meany good #UX mature #FOSS projects you can find
The change we need is social, getting people to use the different approaches for different needs, this is surprisingly difficult.
Bridges while dangerous are needed here, it’s good to talk about this in the sense of “security”.
This text reads like a vanguards path, based on #mainstreaming reading and narrow #geekproblem thinking. It’s missing the paths that hold value in #4opens horizontal activist paths we are building. But yes, we are getting lost in the growing #fediverse and the wider spread of #openweb reboot diversity projects.
What it does highlight is the need for social and political thinking is needed, the is value there.
It’s hard to stress how “nave” meany devs on the #fediverse
#openweb#4opens is about building human trust, hard security is a very slightly overlapping but easy to see different path for building non “trust” based connections.
Some surprisingly hard to build bridges might help with this ongoing mess.
Our #mainstreaming problem – if you are wondering why I am documenting the devouring of this #ActivityPub#openweb reboot, it is because next time we can maybe try and mediate our “libertarian cats” for a better outcome. We cannot keep fucking up like this #XR
A project for this:
I have been through this mess more than 5 times in my 20 years working on #openweb use and outreach. So voice of expirence, we have to stop fucking up like we keep doing, at the very least fuckup differently please.
#ActivityPub is, in many ways, an accidental reboot of the #openweb. It came into existence because the #dotcons (#mainstreaming platforms) showed up to a World Wide Web Consortium meeting and didn’t find anything useful for themselves, so they walked away, leaving the “weirdos” to get on with it. Working with the #4opens as a foundation, this loose group managed to hold things together long enough to develop the ActivityPub standard and release it to the world.
From commons to cats, has in recent years seen a shift toward the familiar “libertarian cats” dynamic of fragmented, individualistic and hard to coordinate paths. As a result, this #openweb reboot is now being partially consumed by the same forces it set out to move beyond. That might not be the outcome many hoped for, but it’s not the end of the story.
There are still active efforts to build on this native path – alternatives to strengthen grassroots infrastructure to keep moving away from #mainstreaming. The focus isn’t on reforming the mainstream, it’s on composting it.
Why this matters – This story highlights key tensions in the #openweb – Grassroots vs institutional power, commons vs control and culture vs capital. It also shows the importance of:
The “accidental” nature of ActivityPub is important as it reminds us that real innovation comes from the edges, not the centre. So what is ActivityPub? It is a decentralised social networking protocol, standardised by the World Wide Web Consortium in 2018. It enables interoperability between platforms, forming what we now call the #Fediverse. It builds on earlier #openweb technologies:
RSS / Atom
ActivityStreams
OStatus
Pump.io
The goal is a unified, federated #openweb communication layer based on #4opens principles.
Historical Milestones
Predecessors (2007–2014) Early work on RSS and decentralised social tools like StatusNet, OpenMicroBlogging, and Pump.io laid the groundwork.
W3C Development (2014–2017) The Social Web Working Group developed the protocol (then called ActivityPump).
Standardisation (2018) ActivityPub became an official W3C Recommendation.
Adoption (2018–Present) Mastodon provided critical mass as a Twitter-like entry point.
Diversification Other platforms followed:
PeerTube (video)
Pixelfed (images)
Lemmy (links)
#dotcons Interest (2022–2025) After upheaval at Twitter/X, mainstream interest surged:
Threads began implementing ActivityPub
WordPress added federation support
The Fediverse is now approaching a decade of growth, ActivityPub continues to expand because it allows people on one server to interact with others in decentralized communication without walled gardens. It is a return to simpler (#KISS), interoperable networking. But the open question, tension, remains:
Or will it be absorbed back into #CONTROL systems?
——————————————————————————-
OLDER DRAFT
#ActivityPub is an accidental reboot of the #openweb. It came into existence because the #dotcons (#mainstreaming platforms) attended a #wc3 meeting but did not find anything useful for themselves. As a result, they left the “weirdos” to build an approach based on the #4opens principles. The “weirdos” managed to keep things together long enough to develop the #activertypub standard and release it to the world. However, in recent years, there has been a shift towards the normal “libertarian cats” path, and this #openweb reboot is being consumed. While this outcome may not be what many desired, there are efforts to build real alternatives and shift away from #mainstreaming. The focus is on composting the mainstream approach rather than reforming it.
This is interesting because it provides insights into the dynamics and challenges of the #openweb movement. It highlights the tension between #mainstreaming platforms and grassroots efforts, showcasing the passion and dedication of communities working towards an open and decentralized web. The accidental nature of the #ActivityPub reboot adds an element of serendipity to the story, emphasizing the power of #DIY culture and the resource constraints faced by #openweb technologies. The recent shift towards a “libertarian cats” path and the potential consumption of the #openweb reboot raise important questions about the future of alternative platforms and the need for continued resistance against #mainstreaming.
ActivityPub is a decentralized social networking protocol, standardized by the W3C in 2018, that enables interoperability between different platforms, growing the “Fediverse.” It originated from earlier #openweb protocols (like RSS, atom, activitystreams, OStatus and Pump.io) to provide a unified, #4opens standard for federated communication.
Historical Milestones
Predecessors (2007–2014): Its started with RSS then latter attempts at decentralized social networking, such as StatusNet, OpenMicroBlogging, and Pump.io, laid the groundwork for federation protocols.
W3C Formation (2014–2017): The W3C Social Web Working Group began developing the protocol, then known as ActivityPump.
W3C Recommendation (January 2018): ActivityPub became an official W3C Recommendation (standard), enabling consistent, secure communication between disparate servers.
Adoption and Growth (2018–Present): Mastodon the twitter clone microblogging platform adopted ActivityPub, providing the “critical mass” needed for adoption.
Diversification: Other platforms followed, including PeerTube (video), PixelFed (images), and Lemmy (links).
#dotcons adoption (2022–2024): Following changes at Twitter (now X), #mainstreaming interest in decentralized alternatives surged. Meta’s Threads began implementing ActivityPub as did WordPress.
The Fediverse is now nearly ten years old and #ActivityPub continues to grow in use as it allows people on one server to #KISS interact seamlessly with people on another for decentralized, “walled garden” free networking.
