#OMN (Open Media Network)May 14

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/

hamish campbellMay 10
It’s time to stop pretending the current model will somehow fix itself, it won’t. The #GeekProblem is why open development is stuck in a dead end https://hamishcampbell.com/the-geekproblem-why-open-development-is-stuck-in-a-dead-end/
The #GeekProblem is why open development is stuck in a dead end – #OMN (Open Media Network)

#OMN (Open Media Network)May 4

The #encryptionist detour

Let’s look back to before the #Fediverse, to be honest about the last two decades of #openweb failure, for a long time we got pulled off the path. Not only by enemies, but by a mix of fear, fashion, and half-understood technical “solutions” that felt right to fearful people at the time. The rise of the dogmatic, blinded #encryptionist mindset came out of real conditions of mass surveillance revelations (Snowden era), common sense #neoliberal distrust of states and corporations and the […]

https://hamishcampbell.com/the-encryptionist-detour/

witchescauldronApr 30
What’s needed now is clear call for change. We don’t need more drawn-out, overcomplicated “common sense” solutions-we need grounded, ethical interventions. The #geekproblem exposes the limits of tech culture when it fails to balance technical skill with social responsibility. The path forward is to rekindle the spirit of the #openweb while actively composting the “shit heap” of the #dotcons. The goal is simple: build tools that serve people, not profit. #KISS
witchescauldronApr 30
For a take on the #geekproblem, we need to understand the challenges and cultural dynamics shaping tech development. A good starting point is standards. Everything in tech is built on layers of “open industrial standards”- they’re what create value, interoperability, and continuity. Ignoring these foundations to build isolated systems is like building sandcastles: fragile, temporary, and easily washed away.
#OMN (Open Media Network)Apr 28

Actually solving things, and why this matters for #OMN

Activism has a reputation problem, in default #mainstreaming storytelling it’s painted as chaos, absence, or naive idealism. But if you look at what activists at best actually do, a different picture emerges: a long tradition of people working out, in practice, how to solve real problems together without relying on distant authority. And that’s the bit most people quietly skip. In most social/political movements, the hard questions - how we organise, decide, share resources, resolve […]

https://hamishcampbell.com/actually-solving-things-and-why-this-matters-for-omn/

#OMN (Open Media Network)Apr 27

#OMN Grounding (the roots as a story)

#techchurn is the endless cycle of adopting new platforms, tools, and technologies - not because they solve any real problems, but because novelty is mistaken for progress. It burns community trust, institutional memory, and activist energy, while leaving the underlying #nastyfew power structures untouched.https://hamishcampbell.com/?s=techchurn The #OMN uses #stupidindividualism to describe the culturally manufactured habit of prioritising personal gain and self-interest over collective […]

https://hamishcampbell.com/omn-grounding-the-roots-as-a-story/

#OMN Grounding (the roots as a story) – #OMN (Open Media Network)

witchescauldronApr 27

In the #OMN hashtag story, #UX (User Experience) isn't about making interfaces prettier or more intuitive - it's a political question about who technology is actually built for, where bad #UX is a symptom of the #geekproblem and the #dotcons optimising for engagement and control rather than real human need.

https://hamishcampbell.com/?s=UX

Search Results for “UX” – #OMN (Open Media Network)

witchescauldronApr 26

In the #OMN path, #KISS ("Keep It Simple, Stupid") isn't just a design principle - it's a political stance against the tendency of the #geekproblem to deliberately or unconsciously build complexity as a form of control, insisting instead that technology serving genuine human needs should be transparent, accessible, and understandable to the people who use it, not just the people who build it.

https://hamishcampbell.com/?s=KISS

Search Results for “KISS” – #OMN (Open Media Network)

witchescauldronApr 26

The #geekproblem is the tendency of people with technical expertise to unconsciously replace trust and human judgment with control and code - narrowing who gets to shape technology and embedding their own limited values and power structures into systems that affect everyone.

https://hamishcampbell.com/?s=geekproblem

Search Results for “geekproblem” – Hamish Campbell