[P2P-F] Fwd: Writings and P2P, urgent to print chapter 1

Tue Apr 5 08:58:43 CEST 2011

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: john sobol <john at johnsobol.com>
Date: Wed, Mar 16, 2011 at 3:00 AM
Subject: Writings and P2P
To: Michel Bauwens <michelsub2004 at gmail.com>

Dear Michel,

thank you for the kind note below and for the invitation to collaborate in
some way on a publishing project. I have been quite interested in this
possibility since receiving your email and I apologize for not having
responded sooner. Although it is true I have been busy that is not much of
an excuse. The real reason for my procrastination has been my confusion over
what exactly I want to be publishing. I have not really got it sorted out
even now, but anything is better than nothing at all so here I am with a
somewhat scattered response...

A few quick thoughts:

- I have attached the manuscript that I mentioned to you, but when I look at
it I am almost embarrassed by how much of it is drawn from the iDC list. I
know that most people will not have read those posts so I probably shouldn't
be concerned, but I also know you have so it feels a little self-indulgent.
Anyway, for what it's worth here it is. At the moment it is called I Scream
You Scream We All Scream for I Scream. Make of it what you will. I am keen
to hear any and all feedback. As far as publishing it with your foundation,
if you happened to think it was a good idea I'd be open to that for sure. At
this point I'd just like to get these ideas out there.

- As I think I mentioned before, I had been wanting to put together a more
coherent and easy to follow book but and to some extent put the above one
together because I didn't have the time to do a whole new one. Having said
that, I have begun writing some chapters of the new book since I last wrote
to you, and though I still don't have time to write the whole thing in one
shot, it might be possible for me to crank out chapters like these as
essays. I could imagine - if you happen to find them worthy - publishing
them on the P2P foundation blog as a series and then eventually assembling
them into a book. There are three chapters attached (they still need some
tweaking but you will get the idea) I am working on a 4th about Museums,
with others to follow on various topics such as Democracy, Branding, Music,
Human Resources, etc. They are all basically surveys that are not designed
to be comprehensive so much as to popularize a certain way of seeing
contemporary culture and cultural issues, and to show how my
oral/literate/digital framework applies to and sheds light on all aspects of
society.

- Lastly, I was wondering - if you have time to think about this given the
amount of material I am sending your way - if you would have any comments on
a business plan that I have developed and that I am actively looking to
implement these days. In fact I quit my job in order to do this and am
determined to make it happen. However, I am hampered by lack of capital. (I
have discovered that it takes money in hand to get investors to take you
seriously. An unfortunate Catch-22) At the moment the business model itself
is fairly traditional - although the context is very radical and innovative
(and of course creative!). And quite frankly I am doing this in part to make
a bunch of money, since I have none and am tired of not having any, and have
a family etc. But I am not totally crazy about that business model even
though I think it will be very successful, inasmuch as it is essentially
very capitalist. I would be open to other suggestions about ways of
proceeding, both in terms of attracting the modest investment capital and/or
human resources to bring it to life, and how it might function as an
economy, if you have any. I have considered starting it as a non-profit, and
I may still do that, but I have been dealing with non-profits in the arts
for most of my adult life and am basically tired of them. I'd kind of like
to make a lot of money so I can do what I want after creatively without
having to answer to anyone. Anyway, I know that you are deeply immersed in
new economic ideas so you might have some thoughts on my plans, which would
be welcome. My only request is that you not circulate the info I am
attaching to anyone. Thank you. The business is called The Media League. I
won't send you the whole prospectus but I will attach a diagram explaining
the business model and a brochure describing how it will work. Again, all
comments welcome...

Michel, I see from your posts on facebook how busy you are so I will
understand if you have little time to invest in all of this. But I respect
your opinion and integrity so would welcome any feedback that you do have.

Best wishes,
John Sobol

On 8-Feb-11, at 1:58 AM, Michel Bauwens wrote:

Hi John,

thanks for the response,

for the blog post, I would just add a few sentences in front and perhaps at
the end to contextualize it, and I would publish it separately as an entry
'as is'

great to hear about this, by the way, we just created a p2p foundation coop
to start publishing books, if you don't find a publisher, let us know,

I"m interested in getting the file indeed, I can print it out here locally
and make it into book form so I can read it,

also, perhaps you should consider a series for us, with excerpts both of
your old book, to set the historical stage (say a series of 3), followed by
3 of your new one,

just a thought,

Michel

On Tue, Feb 8, 2011 at 1:50 AM, john sobol <john at johnsobol.com> wrote:

> Hi Michael,
>
> nice to hear from you. I'm glad that to hear my post resonated with you, as
> your posts inevitably do with me.
>
> Can you tell me exactly what you'd like with regard to my post? I'm afraid
> I'm not quite sure. (Do you want a blog post, or for me to leave a comment
> on someone else's post...or?)I would be happy to oblige if you can given me
> clearer instructions.
>
> Also, it occurs to me to mention something to you. As you know I have a
> very particular analysis of digital culture, one rooted in my personal
> experience exploring, unlocking and interweaving oral, literate and digital
> technologies and cultures throughout my life. I wrote one book introducing
> this subject (Digitopia Blues - Race, Technology and the American Voice,
> Banff Centre Press, 2002), but for some years I have been wanting to write
> the sequel which addresses the present and future based on the same paradigm
> articulated in that book (which mostly covers the past, i.e. how we got
> here). I could never get around to writing another book though, but a while
> back I started assembling all of my recent writings on this subject and
> editing them. For example, when I collected everything I had posted to iDC I
> had over 100 pages, and I had over 300 in total from dozens of sources.
> Eventually I edited these down to a more manageable size and I now have what
> I would consider a final - if somewhat eclectic - version of a manuscript
> that articulates my philosophy (Interactivism) in detail. At the core of
> that philosophy is a historically-rooted trans-cultural understanding of the
> meaning of that 'symbiosis of virtual and material sociality' that I
> mentioned in my latest iDC post.
>
> Would you be interested in reading it? I can send you a pdf if you are.
>
> If you do not have time for this that's OK too. Thanks and...
>
> Keep up the good work,
> John
>
> --
> www.johnsobol.com
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On 7-Feb-11, at 1:41 AM, Michael Bauwens wrote:
>
>  right on John!!
>>
>> I was wondering if you would consider turning these pieces in a
>> publishable
>> comment for the p2p blog?
>>
>> if you can, please reply to michelsub2004 at gmail, as I'm not using this
>> box
>> regularly ..
>>
>> Michel
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----
>>
>>> From: john sobol <john at johnsobol.com>
>>> To: idc <idc at mailman.thing.net>
>>> Sent: Fri, February 4, 2011 11:18:29 PM
>>> Subject: Re: [iDC] <nettime> Egyptian Revolution: 2nd decolonialisation
>>> for
>>>
>> all
>>
>>>
>>> Hi Judith, and all...
>>>
>>> although I agree that the self-involvement and self interest of media
>>> folk (old and new) is breathtaking, this is hardly new, or news.
>>>
>>> Is there anyone who would suggest that the demonstrations don't
>>> matter? I don't think anyone has or would.
>>>
>>> But I think if some new media types are overly proud of the role that
>>> social networks have played in these protests, many on this list are
>>> perhaps overly hostile to recognizing that role as well. Why I'm not
>>> sure. But in my opinion it would be as foolish to deny the power of
>>> one as to deny the power of the other, or more importantly their
>>> essential interconnectedness.
>>>
>>> It is this aspect - the symbiosis of virtual and material sociality -
>>> that has created the drama that continues to unfold. One could and
>>> would not have achieved anything without the other. That is the
>>> lesson of these events, as it has been the lesson of many other
>>> evolving social contexts in recent years. Certainly people are in the
>>> streets talking with one another, as they are online talking to one
>>> another (where they still can be, and where they were until the
>>> killswitch was hit) creating distributed, non-hierarchical, temporary
>>> autonomies in both realms, each feeding and sustaining the other.
>>>
>>> Where will it lead? Quite possibly nowhere that any one who dreams of
>>> freedom wishes. But we shall see. Certainly, as the recent executions
>>> in Iran proved, the nefarious workings of tyranny are enhanced by the
>>> end of privacy and the durability of data, just as they are
>>> threatened by other inherently liberalizing characteristics of
>>> digital culture. But either way, this is - assuming we all survive
>>> ourselves in the coming years - just the beginning of many
>>> revolutions to come, digitally-enabled, materially lived, both
>>> progressive and alarmingly tribal (hello Tea Party!) against which I
>>> fear the only real resistance may prove to be the authoritarian
>>> hammer of literate politico-militarism (i.e. 'order' as it is defined
>>> by those who cannot abide social structures that resist
>>> paperization). Witness Obama's desire (soon to be imposed) for an
>>> orderly transition. That would be the same kind of orderly transition
>>> that he imposed on the auto industry, Guantanamo, wall street, health
>>> care, BP, afghanistan...
>>>
>>> Anyway, I risk losing my way in the tangent that is Obama's
>>> heartbreaking betrayal, so I'll stop here. I would conclude by saying
>>> that it is just as pointless to argue against calling this the
>>> Twitter Revolution as it is to argue for it. The behaviours are real,
>>> the impacts are real. The argument over nomenclature is divisive and
>>> distracting.
>>>
>>> The one and only time i was in Cairo - some 20 years ago - I was lost
>>> for a week in a fog of fever, sweat and dreams, cared for by
>>> strangers. Today I'm a ghost, lost in the fevers, sweat and dreams of
>>> unknown friends seeking freedom, and finding it with each inspired
>>> breath, each courageous step, each defiant word...
>>>
>>> peace and blessings be upon them
>>> john
>>>
>>>
>>> On 4-Feb-11, at 10:00 AM, Judith Rodenbeck wrote:
>>>
>>>  "Most of" the people in Tahrir Square are NOT journalists/bloggers!
>>>> And they are communicating with hands and voices, giving the
>>>> conditional lie to the notion that demonstrations don't matter. The
>>>> self-involvement of "new media" folk is breathtaking.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Feb 4, 2011, at 7:27 AM, sumandro wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> Why are people on streets in Cairo are tweeting and claiming
>>>>> hashtag spaces? Only because most of them are journalists/bloggers
>>>>> and they require the global audience for their living? How does
>>>>> tweeting from the streets change their experiences and future
>>>>> experiences of those streets?
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>
>>
>>
>

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