The last fifteen years has seen a surge of interest in decentralized technology. From well-funded blockchain projects like IPFS to the emergence of large scale information networks such as Dat, Scuttlebutt and ActivityPub, this is renewed life in peer-to-peer technologies; a renaissance that enjoys widespread growth, driven by the desire for platform commons and community self-determination. These are goals that are fundamentally at odds with – and a response to – the incumbent platforms of social media, music and movie distribution and data storage. As we enter the 2020s, centralized power and decentralized communities are on the verge of outright conflict for the control of the digital public space. The resilience of centralized networks and the political organization of their owners remains significantly underestimated by protocol activists. At the same time, the decentralized networks and the communities they serve have never been more vulnerable. The peer-to-peer community is dangerously unprepared for a crisis-fuelled future that has very suddenly arrived at their door.

The New Design Congress: https://newdesigncongress.org/en/

This Is Fine: https://newdesigncongress.org/en/pub/this-is-fine

Cade Diehm: https://shiba.computer/

Our Networks: https://ournetworks.ca