[p2p-research] rural cooperation and the urban online swarm

[Michel Bauwens]

recommended read:
http://journals.sfu.ca/affinities/index.php/affinities/article/viewFile/51/141
*

A Buzz between Rural Cooperation and the Online Swarm

Andrew Gryf Paterson1

Abstract
*

This article introduces and explores connections between rural

traditions and contemporary projects of voluntary cooperation

within emergent online network practices. The key examples are

mainly from Finland, the Baltic Sea region, and USA. Reflections

are made on the emergence of such connections during a transdisciplinary

seminar organised by the author. The main body of the

essay mixes social and network culture history, including rural

village community support, known as “*talkoot*” in the Finnish

language, its establishment within cooperative development

during the 20th century, and the information communications and

technology society of contemporary Finland. Discussions of

collaborative web platforms such as wikis, the BitTorrent protocol,

and “crowd-sourcing” open up questions considering their relation

to older cultural traditions. The paper concludes with

contemporary examples of where traditions of rural cooperation

have conceptually assisted several Finnish entrepreneurial and

activist projects. Throughout the paper “the swarm” is identified as

a concept worth exploring further to illustrate where the expansive

potential of network culture meets concentrated local action.
*

Introduction
*

I write reflecting upon connections which emerged from planning the

Alternative Economy Cultures (Alt.Econ.Cult) programme of Pixelache Festival
,

during winter 2008-2009 and, in particular, the seminar event on April 3,
2009 in

Helsinki. To give some contextual background to this event, Pixelache is
both a

cultural festival and an organized network.2 It brings together people
interested

in topics such as: electronic arts; participatory cultures and subcultures,

including the exploration of grassroots organizing and networks; politics
and

economics of media/technology; media literacy and engaging environmental

issues. Social, intellectual, financial and institutional capital at
Pixelache has

gathered over the years since 2002, but it is still based mostly on
volunteer or

part time work.


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Think tank: http://www.asianforesightinstitute.org/index.php/eng/The-AFI
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