The #geekproblem might kill meany of us, mediating it matters https://hamishcampbell.com/the-geekproblem-might-kill-meany-of-us/ the systemic #blocking of an anti-capitalist movement holds back the needed radical shift, despite our obvious evidence of human adaptability, creativity, and resilience.

https://hamishcampbell.com/the-importance-of-words-and-ideology/

All language is metaphor, and the metaphors we choose shape how people think about problems and solutions. The “digital drugs” metaphor works because it makes the addictive design clear, but it can also push people into a moral panic frame (“users are addicts”), which risks oversimplifying.

A few metaphors you might find less #blocking of the #hashtag story:

* Food & Nutrition

#Dotcons = junk food (engineered to keep you consuming, empty calories).

#Bsky = diet soda (feels lighter, but still unhealthy).

#Fediverse = a community kitchen (messy, you have to cook and wash up, but nourishing and shared).

* Urban Space

#Dotcons = shopping malls (bright, controlled, profit-driven).

#Bsky = curated boutique arcade (less harsh, but still enclosed).

#Fediverse = the street commons (chaotic, noisy, sometimes rough, but free and collectively shaped).

* Agriculture/Gardening

#Dotcons = monoculture agribusiness (neat rows, efficient, but sterile and toxic).

#Bsky = organic supermarket (nicer branding, but still transactional).

#Fediverse/#OMN = messy permaculture garden (takes effort, community labour, but self-sustaining and alive).

These metaphors keep the critique, from individual pathology to collective space.

The #geekproblem might kill meany of us, mediating it matters https://hamishcampbell.com/the-geekproblem-might-kill-meany-of-us/ the systemic #blocking of an anti-capitalist movement holds back the needed radical shift, despite our obvious evidence of human adaptability, creativity, and resilience.

If you lift the non-academic lid on the history of alternative media and #openweb projects, you start to see a pattern: the #blocking that keeps plantings from taking root. These aren’t just isolated incidents - they’re systemic obstacles baked into the social and technical structures we inherit.

To build something that actually works — a trust-based Open Media Network (#OMN) — this blocking needs to be actively composted. That means doing the hard, unglamorous work: the shovel work of untangling the mess of co-opted projects, over-centralised platforms, and burned-out communities. It’s not fast, it’s not shiny, but it’s the only way to make fertile ground for working, federated, resilient media infrastructures.

The technical layer is part of this work. Over time, code, schemas, and tools will start to appear here: https://unite.openworlds.info/

If you lift the non-academic lid on the history of alternative media and #openweb projects, you start to see a pattern: the #blocking that keeps plantings from taking root. These aren’t just isolated incidents - they’re systemic obstacles baked into the social and technical structures we inherit.

To build something that actually works — a trust-based Open Media Network (#OMN) — this blocking needs to be actively composted. That means doing the hard, unglamorous work: the shovel work of untangling the mess of co-opted projects, over-centralised platforms, and burned-out communities. It’s not fast, it’s not shiny, but it’s the only way to make fertile ground for working, federated, resilient media infrastructures.

The technical layer is part of this work. Over time, code, schemas, and tools will start to appear here: https://unite.openworlds.info/

https://hamishcampbell.com/the-importance-of-words-and-ideology/

All language is metaphor, and the metaphors we choose shape how people think about problems and solutions. The “digital drugs” metaphor works because it makes the addictive design clear, but it can also push people into a moral panic frame (“users are addicts”), which risks oversimplifying.

A few metaphors you might find less #blocking of the #hashtag story:

* Food & Nutrition

#Dotcons = junk food (engineered to keep you consuming, empty calories).

#Bsky = diet soda (feels lighter, but still unhealthy).

#Fediverse = a community kitchen (messy, you have to cook and wash up, but nourishing and shared).

* Urban Space

#Dotcons = shopping malls (bright, controlled, profit-driven).

#Bsky = curated boutique arcade (less harsh, but still enclosed).

#Fediverse = the street commons (chaotic, noisy, sometimes rough, but free and collectively shaped).

* Agriculture/Gardening

#Dotcons = monoculture agribusiness (neat rows, efficient, but sterile and toxic).

#Bsky = organic supermarket (nicer branding, but still transactional).

#Fediverse/#OMN = messy permaculture garden (takes effort, community labour, but self-sustaining and alive).

These metaphors keep the critique, from individual pathology to collective space.

The problem with pushing diversity isn’t diversity itself — that’s essential. The problem is the ideology shaping the push.

#Mainstreaming liberalism reduces diversity to checklists and branding: rainbows on logos, token casting, #NGO strategies that look good on paper but leave power untouched. That’s not liberation. That’s management.

In these spaces, debate collapses into suspicion and accusations. Instead of solidarity, we get #blocking. Instead of building, we burn out. This is worship of the #deathcult: optics over substance, control over grassroots struggle.

The path is compost. Take the liberal tokenism, the reactionary backlash, the burnout — and compost it into something alive. Ground diversity in lived struggle, not corporate slogans. Use the #4opens so co-option is harder and collaboration messier but real.

The shift from “Woke Capital” to “MAGA Capital” shows how fragile branded diversity is. It flips with the political wind because capital doesn’t care about values — only profit.

The #OMN path is different: federated, grassroots, resistant to co-option. Diversity as lived strength, not a management tool.

The question is simple: keep chasing the spectacle, or compost the mess and build something alive?

https://hamishcampbell.com/mess-and-more-mess-diversity/

#OMN #openweb #deathcult #4opens #KISS

The problem with pushing diversity isn’t diversity itself — that’s essential. The problem is the ideology shaping the push.

#Mainstreaming liberalism reduces diversity to checklists and branding: rainbows on logos, token casting, #NGO strategies that look good on paper but leave power untouched. That’s not liberation. That’s management.

In these spaces, debate collapses into suspicion and accusations. Instead of solidarity, we get #blocking. Instead of building, we burn out. This is worship of the #deathcult: optics over substance, control over grassroots struggle.

The path is compost. Take the liberal tokenism, the reactionary backlash, the burnout — and compost it into something alive. Ground diversity in lived struggle, not corporate slogans. Use the #4opens so co-option is harder and collaboration messier but real.

The shift from “Woke Capital” to “MAGA Capital” shows how fragile branded diversity is. It flips with the political wind because capital doesn’t care about values — only profit.

The #OMN path is different: federated, grassroots, resistant to co-option. Diversity as lived strength, not a management tool.

The question is simple: keep chasing the spectacle, or compost the mess and build something alive?

https://hamishcampbell.com/mess-and-more-mess-diversity/

#OMN #openweb #deathcult #4opens #KISS

Der Unterschied ist schon der Hammer.

Seit ich hier #pihole am laufen habe, sehe ich mal, was die einzelnen #Geräte so alles in die Welt hinaus posaunen wollen.

Platz 1 der geblockten Anfragen ein #SmartTV, 2 ein #WindowsPC und ganz weit abgeschlagen auf Platz 10 eine #linuxworkstation .

#tracking #blocking #dns #linux

Der Unterschied ist schon der Hammer.

Seit ich hier #pihole am laufen habe, sehe ich mal, was die einzelnen #Geräte so alles in die Welt hinaus posaunen wollen.

Platz 1 der geblockten Anfragen ein #SmartTV, 2 ein #WindowsPC und ganz weit abgeschlagen auf Platz 10 eine #linuxworkstation .

#tracking #blocking #dns #linux

We were turned down repeatedly for all 3 projects by #Nlnet#NGI, do you think it's worth applying agen, if we do how can we shift this #blocking? Supporting Native Grassroots Projects in the Fediverse https://hamishcampbell.com/supporting-native-grassroots-projects-in-the-fediverse/

We were turned down repeatedly for all 3 projects by #Nlnet#NGI, do you think it's worth applying agen, if we do how can we shift this #blocking? Supporting Native Grassroots Projects in the Fediverse https://hamishcampbell.com/supporting-native-grassroots-projects-in-the-fediverse/

What is #blocking this simple step away? Pick up a shovel, the work is ours https://hamishcampbell.com/pick-up-a-shovel-the-work-is-ours/