Idola Mentis
15th April 2007, 12:50
Social networks and fora on the web have been growing for years. With the newer generations of cell phones and cheap computing devices seeping down, our networks and accessibility seem to be set to keep increasing toward complete global saturation.
Mostly, these networks does not align with material conditions, the networks of dependency. The guy who grew the rice you're having for dinner is not on MySpace. Instead they align with aesthetical, political and intellectual interests. Often, marketing-generated consumer subcultures seek together.
What happens if interdependency and social networking begins to align? Modern exploitation takes place in anonymity, and is fragmented to the point of invisibility. How many people were involved in bringing you a bowl of rice? Every day, we depend on thousands of people doing their job to keep us alive, and others rely on us doing ours. What if you could actually find some of these people, and get to know them?
Could dependency networking make us reduce the number of people we rely on for our supplies? Make for more or less efficiency? Smaller or bigger energy footprints?
Mostly, these networks does not align with material conditions, the networks of dependency. The guy who grew the rice you're having for dinner is not on MySpace. Instead they align with aesthetical, political and intellectual interests. Often, marketing-generated consumer subcultures seek together.
What happens if interdependency and social networking begins to align? Modern exploitation takes place in anonymity, and is fragmented to the point of invisibility. How many people were involved in bringing you a bowl of rice? Every day, we depend on thousands of people doing their job to keep us alive, and others rely on us doing ours. What if you could actually find some of these people, and get to know them?
Could dependency networking make us reduce the number of people we rely on for our supplies? Make for more or less efficiency? Smaller or bigger energy footprints?