networked individualism

networked individuaism graphic

[first intro’d to term via Howard, via Networked by Barry Wellman]

aka (to me at least): a means to ground the chaos when 7 billion plus people get to do whatever they want. since what the world needs most is alive people. (rewire: ds meets ni, ic)

the ongoing/obsessive quest seems to be to find/make/be the ultimate hub/lms/platform/label… that everyone uses to remain grounded/not-lost/true-north. perhaps that space is best imagined/actualized in each individual. perhaps the main hub is your head/brain/heart, the rest are nodes. the rest are nodes. imagine we focus on access/a-mechanism to all nodes from each individual vantage point/curiosity (in flow), rather than creating some basic/standard/essential node/hub/credential that we claim we need to get everyone to/through.

imagine a space/room/world where the only diploma/verification/intercession/proof any of us needed was/is that we are a human being. and so then, our only focus, was/is on what it means to be human, and alive. rather than on convincing everyone to join us at one particular node.

so in this space/room/world we decide to save ourselves time/trauma/stress/joules by simply assuming good – by assuming that people are good. that people are worth trusting. that we can/decide to trust – what we already are.

imagine with all that extra time/energy – we decide to focus on just two things. perhaps the two cravings/necessities/essentials even, of being human.

attachment (is everyone known by someone) and
authenticity (is everyone talking to themself everyday)

what if we decided – this was enough.

perhaps such a space/room/world would no longer rule/oppress by fear, or offer only acceptable choices, with an ever so slightly raised eyebrow, but rather serve/know/connect by love. perhaps then we might start to understand/see/become a rhizomatic network, a humane interconnectedness, energized/perpetuated/sustained by whimsy/grit/alive\ness.

perhaps true grit/sustainability comes from the freedom of whimsy, from finding the bravery to be you, to change your mind, everyday. freedom to be, in a network, where there is no foundation/hierarchy. you start anywhere. follow it everywhere.

perhaps like a starfish, a rhizome root, an art-ist, decentralizing/disrupting ourselves, perhaps via personal fabrication, from our manufactured hierarchies will set us free to live in peace/grace/rest/calm/truth/love. [hello stigmergy]

let’s just see.

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Solitude does not necessarily mean living apart from others; rather, it means never living apart from one’s self. It is not about the absence of other people-it is about being fully present to ourselves, whether or not we are with others.

Community does not necessarily mean living face-to-face with others; rather, it means never losing the awareness that we are connected to each other. It is not about the presence of other people-it is about being fully open to the reality of relationship, whether or not we are alone.

– Parker Palmer

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poignant/resonating insight from a recent (feb 2014) interview with Noam Chomsky:

i should say –

it’s not the individuals..

…the same people that may be funding efforts to turn the country into stupid nations.. that don’t understand.. those same people individually understand what’s happening as much as the rest of us.. but they have a kind of institutional role.. that compels them to act differently

exactly what we’ve found/see/experienced. to a person.. an individual person.. people crave betterness. we’ve let it.. and so it’s got us.. asleep in pluralistic ignorance. we’re assuming the individuals think/believe/etc.. when it’s actually what the institutions are perpetuating by design. it’s the system that is keeping us from us… and perhaps tech can help us get back to us.. via it’s capacity to facilitate 7 billion people practicing networked individualism.

perhaps our biggest roadblock to betterness is that we keep trying to play the game – excluding some\one(s). perhaps the only way the dance will dance, is if we all get to play. a narrative for 100% of humanity.

be\cause: none of us are free if one of us is chained.

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tweeted by Barry feb 2015:

p. 107: An Inflection Point when peeps go beyond using mobiles for talk, text, snap to access the internet. Becomes indispensible

Mobile connectivity has increased networked individualism by giving more control over reaching out for info & support, share ideas,

create far-flung personal nets around similar interests, & switch between portions of networks. amazon.com/Networked-The-…

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tweeted via Cory – man with virtually no brain

http://boingboing.net/2015/07/28/man-born-with-virtually-no-b.html

..brain damage may paradoxically result in brain enhancement.

Small-world, scale-free networking— focused, intensified, overclocked— might turbocharge a fragment of a brain into acting like the whole thing.

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the it is me

c dot app – site as output

art-ists and bot-ists

the dance of one

starfish – ness