#OMN (Open Media Network)6d ago

A Note on “Security” for the #FOSS Crew

We need to have a clearer, more grounded conversation about “security” and what it actually means in the context of the #openweb. There is a long history of thinking in #FOSS spaces that security is something we can solve purely technically: better encryption, better protocols, better architectures. But in everyday life and practice, people need to work from a much simpler starting point - We do not trust client–server security. We only meaningfully trust what can be verified through […]

https://hamishcampbell.com/a-note-on-security-to-the-foss-crew/

#OMN (Open Media Network)Mar 6

A note to #FOSS funders

I’ve been working at the heart of this space for more than 30 years, funded and unfunded. In that time I’ve seen hundreds of alternative tech projects start with energy and good intentions. Most of them wither on the vine, a very small number flower. After watching this cycle repeat for decades, one thing has become clear: the projects that survive and grow almost always follow a simple pattern. I call this the #4opens. Other people describe similar ideas as open source development, open […]

https://hamishcampbell.com/a-note-to-foss-funders/

#OMN (Open Media Network)Feb 16

Trust, encryption, and the risk of “trustless” thinking

The #encryptionist movement has a blind spot. Not because encryption itself is bad - it isn’t. Encryption is a tool to protect dissidents, journalists, communities under threat, and everyday privacy. In the small picture, strong encryption is often necessary. But in the bigger picture, something more subtle is happening. Strands of crypto and decentralisation culture promote the idea of removing trust - replacing social relationships with mathematical guarantees, “trustless systems,” […]

https://hamishcampbell.com/trust-encryption-and-the-risk-of-trustless-thinking/

Trust, encryption, and the risk of “trustless” thinking – #OMN (Open Media Network)

witchescauldronJul 26, 2025

What About Surveillance and Security?

We’re honest: the #OMN network can’t protect you from a fascist state. No tech can. But we can:

Use pseudonymity with known-good peers.

Whisper in the forest before posting.

Protect sources while keeping distribution open.

Use P2P crypto for the 20% of cases that need it — not the 80% that don’t.

Unlike the #encryptionists or #geekproblem crowd, we’re not building bunkers. We’re planting gardens.

#OMN (Open Media Network)Jul 22, 2025

If we close everything, we are left with the evil – A bad outcome

What should be open? What is okay to be closed? Let’s begin from a traditional liberal framing: Most social interactions should be OPEN, some private or sensitive interactions may be CLOSED. This isn’t radical. It’s been a functional principle across free societies for the last century. But in our current digital culture, this simple framing is often flipped or ignored. Many developers, activists, and even funders uncritically push for closure, often in the name of privacy, safety and […]

https://hamishcampbell.com/if-we-close-everything-we-are-left-with-the-evil-a-bad-outcome/

#OMN (Open Media Network)Jan 12, 2023

The hashtag story shows the current state of the world

The hashtag story on this site is a way of using different hashtags to paint a picture of the current state of the world and the paths that can be taken to address the issues at hand. It involves defining each hashtag and how it relates to the larger narrative. Here is an example of a hashtag story:

#fashernista is about consumer capitalism and the negative impact it has on society, treating it as a social illness.

#dotcons are feeding this social illness by promoting constant consumption […]

https://hamishcampbell.com/the-hashtag-story-shows-the-current-state-of-the-world/

The hashtag story shows the current state of the world – Hamish Campbell

#OMN (Open Media Network)Jul 15, 2025

Metadata and the #OMN Path: Who Controls the Invisible Hand?

Capitalism’s invisible hand has always relied on hidden data. In the digital age, that data is metadata the overlooked, under-the-hood information that tells us who, where, when, how often, and what next. It doesn’t matter what you say or do if someone else controls the context around it. That’s where the power lies. Let’s be clear: the battle for metadata is the battle for the future. Three Broken Paths Capitalism: Metadata is hoarded by the #dotcons. Google, Meta, TikTok—they […]

https://hamishcampbell.com/metadata-and-the-omn-path-who-controls-the-invisible-hand/

#OMN (Open Media Network)Sep 20, 2016

Rebooting the openweb

Published Date 9/20/16 2:42 PM

The OMN is based on a simple understanding that the last 10 years have been wasted on #dotcons and #encryptionists delusions. In this time #NGO’s, activists and at-geeks have wasted the #openwebs potential to shift society to a more humane path.

To move beyond this decaying circle, we need to #reboot the basic infrastructure that has been allowed to decay. Early “#web02” was based on open features that crossed website boundary’s in a way unthinkable […]

https://hamishcampbell.com/rebooting-the-open-web/

Rebooting the openweb – Hamish Campbell

#OMN (Open Media Network)Jun 28, 2025

Composting the confusion: A critical response to the misreading of the #Openweb

“It’s fascinating to see how the #OpenWeb ideology was formed in the late aughts... Open Web evangelists criticizing early Facebook for being too private is an incredible heap of irony.” — [Someone missing the point entirely] Let’s be clear, this is a historical and political mess, and one worth composting. The original #openweb vision, was wide, from the original European social vs the American libertarian, the person quoted is taking the view from inside the #blinded USA path […]

https://hamishcampbell.com/composting-the-confusion-a-critical-response-to-the-misreading-of-the-openweb/

#OMN (Open Media Network)Nov 9, 2020

Judge projects by the #4opens then by #PGA hallmarks is a good first step

 

A complex, counterintuitive subject. When Capitalism and “free-market” stop being the trust that glues society together. You are left with social data and who controls it. Open or closed becomes the choice we face.

Open, it’s a shared commons.

Closed, It’s something else.

The closed path of the #encryptionists for the last 10 years. The open path of the #fediverse for the last 5 years. Interestingly, the #Fediverse was built as a lie as a hybrid open/closed. It feeds this lie to […]

https://hamishcampbell.com/judge-projects-by-the-4opens-then-by-pga-hallmarks-a-good-first-step/

Judge projects by the #4opens then by #PGA hallmarks is a good first step – Hamish Campbell