[spectre] Lets do it again.

[Lachlan Brown]

I've just completed my research into the emergence of Internet in 
culture, and will be in touch about my book Digital Cultures: 
locations of production, networks of distribution and contexts of 
reception. My findings: people are finding out about themselves 
and about others, and about their relationship to The Real.

The first site, of course, was info.cern.ch, the WorldWideWeb 
Project homepage, which called for volunteers to distribute httpd 
and add content to web pages. The first site of the new WWW, which 
will be made up of subscriber sites compliant with best practise 
and with local and global law was http://www.third.net which will be 
up shortly.

We'll need 500 founder subscribers at $250 (US) each for lifetime access. 
Writers, artists and musicians will be paid. The server publishing
infrastructure is well protected physically, by law, and by
best practice. 

I have been going through some of the 3,600 papers about Internet
at AoIR  and going through the 1,800 'net art' projects listed 
at a German site. I think everyone did very well under the 
circumstances, but I also think they could have done much better. 
Perhaps during the present 'seriously playful round (as opposed 
to the 'playfully serious' round that has recently ended) people 
could redouble their efforts?

There is no great art on Internet (and the scholarship is hardly
better alas) but Internet is Great Art, it is made by tens, now hundreds 
of millions and it is also excellent cultural anthropology practised by 
hundreds of millions.

The WWW is also becoming fleshed out as the great reference library
it was meant to be, as well as the market place and place of commerce
it unexpectedly became and one would expect the archival, referencing
and knowledge negotiation and navigation aspects of the WWW would be
the primary focus of educational institutions in the public sector 
instead of the rather appalling behaviour of individuals (you know 
who you are, there's no need naming names, but I will if I must) employing 
the 'idea of institution' to advance their personal aims over collective
objectives and to protect their rather small minded sense of territory 
and agency in the field of the production and reproduction of knowledge.
Professors were the worst.

Grrrls, and wymmin. The Salon was the place where the influence
and interests of women was exercised through duplicity and ingenuity
prior to women attaining status as subjects with rights. The rights
women won were not won in the Salon but on the streets, by direct
action. With these rights won, there can only be damage 
to these rights  by the application of Salon methodology in the 
field of digital culture. 

Lads and Ladettes. Stop peering up the skirts of girl women with
remote cams. Its purile, sad and its illegal in most countries. 
How embarrassing for the United States of America, known fondly 
throughout the world for its vibrant popular culture, that its primary 
cultural contribution of America to the WWW has been porn archives
and American cheerleader's panties. Americans consider what the world 
must think of you!

As I say, it has been interesting to see what you have all done
with your time and resources but not as interesting as it might 
have been if you had all taken a little more seriously the 
diffusion of internet technology from very narrow demographics 
of the IT community to the broad demographics we now see. My God,
and given that Ramadan has just ended, by Allah, the whole world
is coming online.

Perhaps, oh happy few, you should come again as you were (with 
all your splendid energies and enthusiams) with what you know now 
and make a better job of it this time. You are advised to instruct 
those who came later, and who are yet to come in the difficult work
or should I say werk ahead, the redistribution of the wealth of
knowledge, the discovery and rediscovery of our worlds.

Once more unto the breach. Lets do it again.

 Lachlan Brown

 Doing Cultural Studies on the Internet

























-- 
__________________________________________________________
Sign-up for your own FREE Personalized E-mail at Mail.com
http://www.mail.com/?sr=signup

One click access to the Top Search Engines
http://www.exactsearchbar.com/mailcom