Re: <nettime> Anonymous movement in decline?

[Florian Cramer <flrncrmr@gmail.com>]

Felix,

I agree that the article follows the typical journalistic hype cycle. But I
wouldn't have linked it here if I hadn't thought that it had some kernel of
truth. If one compares to Anonymous to the punk movement, then Anonymous
may be as dead or non-dead as punk has been declared dead (but still
remained alive in some or the other form) since the late 1970s.

What is true, IMHO, is that Anonymous lately has become more visible as
graffiti in urban space than on the Internet. It no longer seems to be
intrinsically linked to imageboard meme culture (which has moved from 4chan
to more mainstream media like Reddit), and it's actionism is no longer
Internet-centric; or at least the "operation" conducted by Anonymous online
have lost mass and traction. In this context, the FAZ article rightfully
refers to Anonymous' "Operation NSA" as a failure. The swarm may have
become more an icon.

Florian



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