Cowboy Clothes and Sunday Best
The question of authenticity in a medium that was supposed to bring us closer together has only pushed us farther apart.
Beyond the Frame
The metaphysics of information, art, and narrative
Latest posts
Signals in the Fire
Making sense of the chaos in Kathmandu, the burning of data centers, and the real impact of banning social media.
Engineering the End of Work
How will we resist the crisis they are promising?
What If Data Is a Bad Idea?
Data is reductive. It objectifies. It bureaucratizes. But is it a bad idea?
Untangling Non-Linearity
How the simple link became the foundation for artificial intelligence and all dynamic media.
A Different Internet
The internet was a public innovation co-opted by private interests. Making it work for the people starts with a fresh approach to personal data.
How the Consumer Computer is Consuming Computing
When the personal computer went from being a "bicycle for the mind" to a surveilled shopping mall.
Information Warfare Is Without Limits and So Are Its Consequences
If we fail to see the last eight years as anything less than eight years of continuous war, we fail to understand the politics of cyberspace.
How Ebooks Have Poisoned Electronic Ink
It is the best of times for electronic ink but it is the worst of times for actually reading eBooks.
Fix My Code
Engineering alone can't fix what's wrong with the internet.
An Identity Through Time
From port 79 and citizen's band radio to facebook.com, some lessons learned about digital identity from the time-traveling Outlander.
Truth Storms the Capitol
The people who stormed the Capitol entered with ease because the Truth was already inside the building. The result of small realities, narrowly cast.
Be Here Now
A reflection on Ram Dass' 1971 classic, "Be Here Now", and its connection to information and our state of being.
Gallery 404
Exhibiting the culture of a generation, lost to time.
Internet Identity Workshop XXXI
A recap of the ideas and technology that will shape the future of our internet identity - from cautious optimism to dystopic warnings.
Software Preservation in Networked Art
Preserving net.art forces us to confront fundamental questions in computer science and our approach to both programming and cultural preservation.
Open Open Source Communities
Think small when building big.
The Mothers of the Mother of All Demos
Bill English was part of a team that revolutionized computing. A look at the shoulders they stood on.
The Distributed Web is a Communal Enterprise
By establishing common values that are reflected in how we build technology, we can establish a strong communal foundation with mechanisms for accountability.
Storing Time - Part 2
Databases store more than information, they are now warehouses of culture and memory.
Storing Time - Part 1
How to think about and work with time in digital systems.
On the Internet, We Are Either Artists or Bureaucrats
Why isn’t the internet better at engendering conversations?
Personal Privacy
The United States has been legislating on digital privacy for half a century - why hasn't it been effective?
The Future of Internet Governance
Three models to help resolve conflicts and form partnerships as the global community comes together to build the next internet.
MLK and “Domestic Terrorism”
The narrative can change, but we must overcome the disinformation and fear that has overtaken the United States.
Disinformation Strategies and Tactics
Distracting hearsay amidst fleeting visions of truth - what it looks like and what can be done.
Aggregators, Publishers, and the Third Way
When we stopped owning our own information, we forgot that owning the platform was an option.
Information's Role in Facing Climate Change
Have better modeling and communication tools helped combat climate change?
Knowledge As an Impairment
There are no answers, only vehicles to take us to the next place.
The State of COVID-19 Exposure Notifications
How do they work? Are they effective?
The Flow of Data, the Flow of Myths
The flow of information through time, bit by bit.
Notes From the Ambient Church
Formally encoding Western music enabled its propagation through the centuries, creating an industry and a practice where this notation is essentially requisite.
Open Invite
Start a conversation about the things we care about.