New article out on my Substack talking about the future of the web and whether I think it can become more ethical. I dive into surveillance, the Wild West we built ourselves and e-waste:
should #crowdfunding play any role when it comes to pushing #digitalsustainability forward, specifically when it comes to the #publicsector digitalization needs?
if yes, should this be done in direct action towards providing infrastructure pieces that should be provided by the public sector but are not (hoping that the success leads to the public sector eventually taking over?), or should it rather be indirect by fostering the technology pieces we hope for the public sector to pick up?
RE: https://mastodon.social/@nickidesan/116520844147249718
Every first Sunday of the month the EuPN and the Digital Circle holds a Digital Independence Day Switch Party. As a member of the EuPN you can join the live conversation - or just watch the live stream - or watch the recording. #digitalindependenceDay #diday #digitalsustainability #ethicalit #permaculture
Accessibility and sustainability aren’t competing goals.
Build lean → works for more people.
Build for more people → you tend to build lean.
They pull in the same direction. Always.
1/3 This is about a core philosophy: if a device still works, you have the right to keep using it.
Forcing people to buy new hardware just because the "ecosystem" moved on creates e-waste and deepens poverty. Everyone deserves access to info and leisure without being pushed into constant, unnecessary upgrades. 🌍💻
#DigitalSustainability #RightToRepair #KISS
A fun thought: a single tree can store about 50 megabytes worth of text. That makes trees pretty terrible hard drives. But it also puts into perspective how much digital data we’re creating and storing every single day. 🌏🌳
Look i even wrote a blogpost about it!
https://niklasbarning.de/2026/04/14/in-defense-of-the-family-computer/
90% of all data ever produced is never accessed again. We save simply because we can. But all that data sits on servers that run 24/7, consuming energy. Being critical about the content we create and removing what’s no longer needed is one of the simplest things we can do for the internet.
Great Q&A session with Jack Suess by Mary Grush in Campus Technology!
We are honored to have our work on the Open Digital Commons and the return to open source strategy in higher education discussed.
Learn more and join us!
https://apereo.civicrm.org/civicrm/sign-petition
#opensource
#digitalsustainability #openScience #openresearch #OSS #highered #digitalsovereignty
https://campustechnology.com/articles/2026/03/09/open-source-advancing-our-digital-commons.aspx
European Permaculture Network
Michael Andersen
Lukas Kahwe Smith
Macro32
barning
Apereo Foundation