In this monopoly phase of platform capitalism, selfies and Anonymous are two sides of the same coin. Both emerge from the same root in Western enlightenment that emphasizes individualism and liberation of the Self. Narcissistic self-promotion as well as politically motivated protection of privacy operate under the neo-liberal umbrella of individual empowerment. This raises the strategic question of whether alternative network architectures arise out of a critical reading of such consumer cultures. What’s the state of the art in critical internet cultures in this post-Snowden era? What does it mean when the tactics of mainstreaming subcultural practices are running empty in the long run and the realtime meme politics are incapable of solidifying in alternative protocols and infrastructures?

Lunch will be provided.

About the speaker:

Geert Lovink is a media theorist, internet critic and author of Dark Fiber (2002), Zero Comments (2007), Networks Without a Cause (2012) and Social Media Abyss (2016). Since 2004 he has been a researcher in the School for Communication and Media Design at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (HvA) where he is the director of the Institute of Network Cultures. His centre recently organized conferences, publications and research networks such as Video Vortex (the politics and aesthetics of online video), Unlike Us (alternatives in social media), Critical Point of View (Wikipedia), Society of the Query (the culture of search), MoneyLab (bitcoins, crowdfunding & internet revenue models) and a project on the future of art criticism. From 2004-2012 he was also associate professor of Mediastudies (MA new media program), University of Amsterdam. Since 2009 he has been a professor at the European Graduate School (Saas-Fee) where he supervises PhD students.

About the series:

This series is co-sponsored by the School of Information and the Department of Communication Studies in the College of Literature, Science and the Arts. It is made possible with support from the John D. Evans Foundation. This lecture is a co-presentation of Michigan Interactive and Social Computing (MISC).