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How to build a more organic internet (and stand up to corporations)…
How to build a more organic internet (and stand up
to corporations)
Internet access has become such a necessary tool for participating in society that it has been declared
a “human right” by the UN. Alas, it is a human right not granted to 60% of the world’s population.
Big corporations such as Facebook or Google portray themselves not only as
service providers, but also as internet providers.
At the same time, Facebook has the ambition to “connect the world”, to “understand intelligence and
make intelligent machines”, and even to “cure all diseases in our children’s lifetime”.
Towards an organic internet
These DIY networks could be seen as “organic”: they are created by local communities, reflect local
culture, and the data they use can be generated and consumed in the same place.
Artists and activists have been experimenting with different types of networks such as:
LibraryBox
, an
e-book sharing network.
“Can you hear me?”
installation of temporary antennas pointing to
the US embassy in Berlin, broadcasting anonymous messages from nearby pedestrians.
Activists from the Neighbourhood Academy have created a place inside the garden that aims to
transfer the principles of organic and collaborative farming to the realm of networking.
They collaborated with the Design Research Lab to build the “organic internet” a local network
attached to a physical construction, Die Laube (The Arbor), which hosts workshops, seminars and
assemblies
Alternatives to global social networks
DIY networking promotes physical proximity and inclusiveness. Tangibility and playfulness is another
important aspect of the network: it is always there, hanging from a tree.
These projects also require local people to take care of them, build trust, and make collective decisions
around functionality and use. A DIY network can be even turned off from time to time.
Defending the commons
Community networks such as Guifi.net, Freifunk.net, and Sarantaporo.gr are gaining more and more
attention as the the “other way” to build connectivity,
In light of these circumstances, the first European commons assembly met in November 2016, with
more than 100 commons activists from 21 countries across Europe participating.
As mega-corporations like Facebook dominate our lives more and more, we should do all we can to
protect the commons and connect with our local communities. DIY networking is just the start.
Juan Pablo Girón Salazar
1604