On every measurable indicator, Bitcoin has been a failure

One simple metric for judging #Bitcoin, is has it actually replaced or seriously disrupted the banking system? The answer is obviously no. The same financial institutions still dominate global economics. The same scams continue. The same offshore tax havens still hide elitist wealth. Politicians and oligarchs continue stuffing money into secrecy jurisdictions exactly as before. The banking system remains firmly in place, untouched at its core. Bitcoin promised disintermediation, it promised […]

https://hamishcampbell.com/on-every-measurable-indicator-bitcoin-has-been-a-failure/

The networks we use shape who we are – and the networks we are given by #dotcons are designed to make us spectators. Real Community, Not Algorithmic Spectacle https://hamishcampbell.com/real-community-not-algorithmic-spectacle/

Compost “digital sovereignty”, build working commons

The #KISS secret about the noise in “digital sovereignty” is very simple - Ignore most of this branding and build commons tech instead. That’s the path, not another layer of management, another funding bureaucracy for a glossy strategy document. Not another NGO conference circuit explaining why nothing can happen without another round of funding. Just build working commons. This matters because much of the #EU “digital sovereignty” conversation is simply more churn inside the same […]

https://hamishcampbell.com/just-build-working-commons/

Sophists – From Ancient Greece to the current #mainstreaming

“Being in #Oxford today, I popped into the #OxfordUnion to use a room. Glancing through the term card, it’s absolutely vile - and has been consistently so for the two years I’ve been back in the city. It’s a useful, if deeply dispiriting, exercise in reading the people and place. This is where parts of the next ruling class form their opinions and sharpen their instincts. Judging by what they’re platforming, we are not heading for a good time...” One useful term about this mess […]

https://hamishcampbell.com/sophists-from-ancient-greece-to-neoliberal-mainstreaming/

The exhaustion of thinking out loud, why engagement matters

The pattern we need to compost - You write something rooted in years of experience and practical work, you try to make it accessible. Someone responds immediately with an objection that shows they haven’t read let alone followed the argument yet. Or they react to the tone, the hashtag, or one phrase instead of engaging with the substance. Sometimes the response is sincere but rushed, sometimes it’s performative, often it’s shaped by the habits we’ve absorbed from #dotcons culture, […]

https://hamishcampbell.com/the-exhaustion-of-thinking-out-loud-and-why-engagement-matters/

Composting the mess of digital security in activism – We need to talk about this, offline

The online tools we "common sense" rely on for organising and campaigning are genuinely dangerous, and I find that paralysing. This isn't paranoia, it's a practical reality that urgently needs addressing. Until we do, offline working groups are one of the few reliable ways to unblock the mess. Where we actually are now... Disappearing, encrypted chat outside the #dotcons is one of the few spaces that feels even marginally safe. But even then, safety depends entirely on who's in the room, […]

https://hamishcampbell.com/composting-the-mess-of-digital-security-in-activism-we-need-to-talk-about-this-offline/

It’s past time to compost this “common sense” and grow something better. Criticisms of capitalism and its digital children, the #dotcons https://hamishcampbell.com/criticisms-of-capitalism-and-its-digital-children-the-dotcons-2/

People ask why the articles are hard to follow without background, it’s a fair point

People ask why the articles are hard to follow without background, it's a fair point, but a distraction as these are not stand-alone hot takes, they are all a part of a long flowing story about how we got into this mess and how we might get out of it. So, focus, please share this and the other posts if we’re going to recover focus and direction on the #openweb path. What happened over the last ten years on the Fediverse wasn’t random. It was a slow drift away from the native path that […]

https://hamishcampbell.com/people-ask-why-the-articles-are-hard-to-follow-without-background-its-a-fair-point/