Re: <nettime> social media critique: next steps?

[carlo von lynX <lynX@time.to.get.psyced.org>]

I forward this post from Michael because I not only appreciate
being acked, but because everything else in it is just so
absolutely right.

----- Forwarded message from Michael Rogers <michael@briarproject.org> -----

On 14/01/18 16:36, Geert Lovink wrote:
> How can we scale up and democratize all the
> debates and proposals of the past 5-7 years of those that worked on
> alternative network architectures? Is the reasonable, noble and moral
> appeal a la Tim Berners-Lee the only one on offer?

I think Carlo von Lynx will say we need new privacy laws, and he's
right. Heather Marsh will say we need new structures for finding and
managing collective truth, and she's right. Douglas Schuler will say we
need new community-owned network infrastructure, and he's right.

All of these things take us outside the realm of social media, which is
appropriate because we've recognised that the ills of social media are
symptoms of bigger problems in society, including an inadequate framing
of privacy as an individual issue, a breakdown of consensus reality even
within the institutions whose function was once to produce it, and the
capture of the means of communication by a capitalist machine that
excels at the manipulation of the social self.

So perhaps the function of our critique at this point might be to lead
the people who've just started to criticise Facebook to engage with
these broader issues.

Or maybe it's time to put down our phones, pick up shovels and start
laying fibre. I don't know.

> Antisocial media: why I decided to cut back on Facebook and Instagram
> https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/jan/01/antisocial-media-why-decided-cut-back-facebook-instagram?CMP=share_btn_tw

Without meaning to pick on this particular article, it seems to me that
there's an emerging social media wellness industry, which probably
already has its detox plans, self improvement seminars and blogs with
affiliate marketing links. Is it possible to lose 25 pounds and get
better sleep by cutting out Facebook? We're going to find out. So
another problem for us is how to avoid becoming part of an increasingly
popular but empty pseudo-critique.

Cheers,
Michael

----- End forwarded message -----

I also totally agree with Morlock in asking to stop
calling it "social media" and in regards to 34c3 would
like to state that I clearly felt an atmosphere of
"doing something" not only because it was the motto
of the year, but because the defocusing that happened
at 31c3, leading people back to broken federation models
has mostly been overcome. It just took three extra years.

Patrice mentioned the eternal problem of 'scaling up'.
I held a side event talk on scalability which will come
out on media.ccc.de towards the end of the month, but
it isn't all that different from what I said at unlike
us in 2012. Maybe now the time is ripe to make more
sense in people's heads.

Other than that I am still trying to get the notion
out into the general public, that an Internet with all
its cool apps and convenient thingies is possible while
at the same time regulating away the surveillance economy
and its threat to whatever is left of democracy. As long
as a picture is painted, by which totalitarian big data
is an inevitable drawback of technology, societal ner-
vosity is not going to lead anywhere. The lure is just
too powerful. We must get the message out there, that
THEY CAN HAVE THE CAKE AND EAT IT. We just need to
regulate this beast appropriately.

Just yesterday even Italian state television conveyed
the message that democracy is heavily at risk by the
large monopolies of Silicon Valley, but when it comes
to talking of alternatives all they do is interview
blockchain entrepreneurs who would promise anything
although they have no clue on how to fix the Internet
for real. Most of them haven't even understood distri-
buted networking of which blockchain is a limited and
primitive subset.

So, here's my plea to the nettime visionaries:

- If you can influence the media, tell them that an
  Internet that does not undermine democracy is
  possible. It won't be cheap, but it can be done.
  People should take to the streets demanding it,
  because it is just as foundational as storming the
  Bastille, and it will cost them nothing. In fact,
  it will reopen the digital market for local industry,
  strengthening Europe.
- If you are angry, yet sitting on your hands, consider
  taking a look at our legislation initiative and tell
  us how to improve it. Force me to put it onto a git-
  like platform for easier collaboration - I am willing,
  but I don't have any gitwiki at hand. Since 2013 it is
  lying around at youbroketheinternet.org, conveying a
  political demand in just the necessary level of detail.
- If helping self-appointed lawmakers hurts your anarchic
  conscience, you may want to join a project to bring more
  anarchic culture into the democratic system and reduce
  representation. See structure.pages.de for that.

Let's #tuwat.

Faithfully, CvL.


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