[Air-L] changes at INC, central list to discuss critical internet cultures

[Geert Lovink]

Dear AoIR community,

while we’re publishing a lot, here at the Institute of Network Cultures, trying to facilitate critical reflection on the corona with diaries and essays from around the world, we’re also planning a restart of INC.

Digital publishing research and output will continue, as will the MoneyLab network that just got a board. The board can be rearched here: moneylab-board at networkcultures.org <mailto:moneclab-board at networkcultures.org>. As MoneyLab #8 Ljubjana was cancelled because of the corona crisis it turned into a weekly online lecture series, which just hosted Evgene Morozov.  

However, with a considerable legacy of projects, networks, publications (we started in 2004) and a heavy website aka archive, we noticed that we had to spend more and more time just on maintainance. It became harder to start new things (also due to changes in the Dutch cultural funding structures). Finally we’re about to do something about this.

As a start, five mailinglists (MoneyLab, Video Vortex, re-search, Unlike Us and CPOV) have been discontinued and have been replaced by one INC list (also responding to the widespread idea of email being a ‘dead medium’).

If you want, please subscribe here:  http://listcultures.org/mailman/listinfo/inc-synthesis_listcultures.org <http://listcultures.org/mailman/listinfo/inc-synthesis_listcultures.org>

The synthesis list has three objectives:

1. To inform the wider net community about INC projects and activities.

2. To foster debates about net criticism, tactical media, hacktivism and research into critical network cultures from multiple perspectives such as design and the arts, activism and research.

3. To create links between different INC research fields that were previous running as different projects about online video, crypto currencies, search, social media, future of art criticism etc.

The name 'synthesis' expresses a desire to overcome different disciplines, fields and scenes in order to strengthen the critical forces in arts, tech and society.

Soon we will see what other new channels will work to debate, maintain communities, inform and support each other. Please approach us if you have ideas and suggestions, also for common projects, grants, publications, campaigns and other forms of poetry.

Keep on questioning, Geert and the INC team

—

Two recent publications:

Here and Now? Explorations in Urgent Publishing
https://networkcultures.org/makingpublic/urgentpublishing/ <https://networkcultures.org/makingpublic/urgentpublishing/>

Listening into Others: An Ethnographic Exploration in Govindpuri by Tripta Chandola
https://networkcultures.org/blog/publication/tod36-listening-into-others-an-ethnographic-exploration-in-govindpuri/ <https://networkcultures.org/blog/publication/tod36-listening-into-others-an-ethnographic-exploration-in-govindpuri/>