I am not eloquent at writing obituaries because they always seem
inadequate to me but what you outlined seems familiar. It was fantastic
to get Armin to speak at our OpentechSummit '15. For me he represented
an age of digital reconnaissance, and his presence pointed at the
"Leerstelle" that you describe. He was quite positive about past visions
and expressed the view developments came too early.
https://voicerepublic.com/talks/the-rise-of-the-network-commons
Listening to the talk again is somehow uplifting.
The Kim Foale's paper echoes the sentiment that future turned out other
then predicted. Today I found it insightful to read Erik Möller's intro
of "Die heimliche Medienrevolution" (2004) again and the past optimism
he expressed. Where did the progressive techno-libertarianism of the web
go? I also have the paper edition of Telepolis 0 in my bookshelf. Today
the magazine blinks to the right, at times in a refreshing manner:
https://www.heise.de/tp/features/Kostueme-und-kulturelle-Aneignung-3635366.html
However, I miss the traditional focus on digital matters and rarely read
it anymore.
In the period you describe there was a spirit of vanguard in the literal
meaning, a pretty good track record in predictions what would be the
next big thing and always a safe bet against the old bulls, ignorant
contemporaries and philisters, their lawyers, officials and objections
against innovation. A belief that you can take technology in your hands
and make great social change when parameters are set right, or at least
you keep the unaware from shooting in the cradle, so progress could unfold.
The poisonous machines of noise and self-amplification create a new
offspring of alt-right and ctrl-left hate and boredom, avalanches of
irrelevance and ridicule, and change you don't want to believe in.
Would we ever get the network commons garden Armin described and what
make-do-visions would inspire a new generation?
--- André
On 28.02.2017 12:14, Christiane Schulzki Haddouti wrote:
When Armin had to leave Telepolis in 2002 an era ended. In my personal
review the decline started with 9/11 and the sudden loss of interest
in our traditional topics – and the rise of a speculative sort of
journalism at Telepolis.
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