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#geekproblem

14 posts9 participants0 posts today
witchescauldron<p>The solution is not technical alone. It’s social, cultural, and political. Until we fix the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/geekproblem" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>geekproblem</span></a>, we’re building cathedrals in the desert.</p><p>What we need is a rebalance: Geeks making accessible tools. Producers empowered to create freely. Consumers, not just watching — but feeding back and shaping.</p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/OMN" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>OMN</span></a></p>
Hamish Campbell<p><strong>The #Hashtags Tell a Story: Building Trust in a Messy World</strong></p> <p>We live in a time of crisis. Climate, community, communication, all are breaking down. Our tools and platforms no longer serve us. To make sense of this, we need to tell stories. And in the digital world, hashtags are one of the most powerful ways we do this. But our hashtags don’t just tag, they trace the roots of our problems, and signpost paths out. Each one is a seed. Together, they are a map.#dotcons – From #openweb to walled gardens. Once, the internet was a place of openness, […]</p> <p><a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/the-hashtags-tell-a-story-building-trust-in-a-messy-world/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">hamishcampbell.com/the-hashtag</span><span class="invisible">s-tell-a-story-building-trust-in-a-messy-world/</span></a></p>
witchescauldron<p>We cannot build future paths by pretending the problem is just technical. Talking About the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/geekproblem" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>geekproblem</span></a> in Funding <a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/talking-about-the-geekproblem-in-funding-2/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">hamishcampbell.com/talking-abo</span><span class="invisible">ut-the-geekproblem-in-funding-2/</span></a></p>
Hamish Campbell<p><strong>Talking About the #geekproblem in Funding</strong></p> <p>Funding the #openweb is a political act, yet most funding decisions today are framed in technical terms only, dominated by what we call the #geekproblem – a worldview where infrastructure is king, user needs are secondary, and social context is largely ignored.</p> <p>Let’s unpack this with real-world examples and look at how we keep falling into this trap, and what we could do to climb out. The call-out for funding is phrased in social language, to build privacy-preserving tools, improve the […]</p> <p><a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/talking-about-the-geekproblem-in-funding-2/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">hamishcampbell.com/talking-abo</span><span class="invisible">ut-the-geekproblem-in-funding-2/</span></a></p>
Hamish Campbell<p><strong>Building Alt/Grassroots Media Networks to Challenge and Widen Traditional Media</strong></p> <p>The current ecosystem of alternative and grassroots media is too narrow in its imagination of what media could, and should, be. There’s a persistent naivety or, in some cases, a self-serving dishonesty. Many of the most “successful” progressive media groups continue to mimic #traditionalmedia without understanding, or addressing, the fact that they do not control their distribution. In effect, they’re renting space in someone else’s empire.</p> <p>This is not just a mistake. It’s the […]</p> <p><a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/building-alt-grassroots-media-networks-to-challenge-and-widen-traditional-media/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">hamishcampbell.com/building-al</span><span class="invisible">t-grassroots-media-networks-to-challenge-and-widen-traditional-media/</span></a></p>
Hamish Campbell<p><strong>If we close everything, we are left with the evil – A bad outcome</strong></p> <p>What should be open? What is okay to be closed?</p> <p>Let’s begin from a traditional liberal framing: Most social interactions should be OPEN, some private or sensitive interactions may be CLOSED.</p> <p>This isn’t radical. It’s been a functional principle across free societies. But in our current digital culture, this simple framing is often flipped or ignored. Many developers, activists, and even funders uncritically push for closure, often in the name of privacy, safety and control, without […]</p> <p><a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/if-we-close-everything-we-are-left-with-the-evil-a-bad-outcome/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">hamishcampbell.com/if-we-close</span><span class="invisible">-everything-we-are-left-with-the-evil-a-bad-outcome/</span></a></p>
Hamish Campbell<p><strong>Why most #geekproblem software fails: Trust vs. control</strong></p> <p>Almost all of our #geekproblem software fails because it’s built with a mindset of control.</p> <p>Control over users.Control over systems.Control over outcomes.</p> <p>But all good societies, and all durable communities, are based on trust. When we ignore this, we don’t just write bad code, we produce #techshit that nobody uses, that burns out developers, and that confuses users. Then we start over… and call it “innovation.” That’s #techchurn.Control-driven projects: Examples of […]</p> <p><a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/why-most-geekproblem-software-fails-trust-vs-control/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">hamishcampbell.com/why-most-ge</span><span class="invisible">ekproblem-software-fails-trust-vs-control/</span></a></p>
Hamish Campbell<p><strong>The hashtag story shows the current state of the world</strong></p> <p>The hashtag story on this site is a way of using different hashtags to paint a picture of the current state of the world and the paths that can be taken to address the issues at hand. It involves defining each hashtag and how it relates to the larger narrative. Here is an example of a hashtag story:</p> <p>#fashernista is about consumer capitalism and the negative impact it has on society, treating it as a social illness.</p> <p>#dotcons are feeding this social illness by promoting constant consumption […]</p> <p><a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/the-hashtag-story-shows-the-current-state-of-the-world/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">hamishcampbell.com/the-hashtag</span><span class="invisible">-story-shows-the-current-state-of-the-world/</span></a></p>
witchescauldron<p>An example of the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/geekproblem" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>geekproblem</span></a> historically is the refusal, or failure, to engage seriously with standards. Everything we build sits on standards <a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/everything-we-build-sits-on-standards/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">hamishcampbell.com/everything-</span><span class="invisible">we-build-sits-on-standards/</span></a></p>
witchescauldron<p>Let’s be honest: we have a real and ongoing <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/geekproblem" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>geekproblem</span></a> in how funding is allocated in the alt-tech and <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/openweb" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>openweb</span></a> space. Talking about this in <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/openweb" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>openweb</span></a> funding <a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/talking-about-the-geekproblem-in-openweb-funding/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">hamishcampbell.com/talking-abo</span><span class="invisible">ut-the-geekproblem-in-openweb-funding/</span></a></p>
Hamish Campbell<p><strong>Talking about the #geekproblem in #openweb funding</strong></p> <p>Let’s be honest: we have a real and ongoing #geekproblem in how funding is allocated in the alt-tech and #openweb space, and it’s holding us back. The current push for infrastructure Is important, but it’s not enough.</p> <p>Yes, backend infrastructure is vital. You can’t build sustainable alternatives to #dotcons without solid plumbing. Funding projects like mesh networks, free firmware, and decentralised protocols, as #NLnet and others often do, is necessary work. BUT… If no one uses […]</p> <p><a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/talking-about-the-geekproblem-in-openweb-funding/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">hamishcampbell.com/talking-abo</span><span class="invisible">ut-the-geekproblem-in-openweb-funding/</span></a></p>
Hamish Campbell<p><strong>Everything we build sits on standards</strong></p> <p>An example of the #geekproblem is the refusal, or failure, to engage seriously with standards. In tech, as in life, nothing exists in isolation. Every app, every protocol, every line of code rests on a foundation of inherited agreements: protocols, languages, schemas, and governance systems. These are the invisible scaffolding of the digital world, we call them standards, and whether people like it or not, everything you’re building is already part of an industrial web of standards.</p> <p>Now, […]</p> <p><a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/everything-we-build-sits-on-standards/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">hamishcampbell.com/everything-</span><span class="invisible">we-build-sits-on-standards/</span></a></p>
Hamish Campbell<p><strong>What Do We Do With Our #Mainstreaming Alt-People?</strong></p> <p>This is an old and familiar problem: people who say they want change but consistently choose the path that neutralises it. Welcome to the “common sense” #NGO worldview, currently being repackaged in the #Fediverse as things like the Fedi Foundation. It’s not new. It’s not empowering. It’s a tired institutional gravity that drags every radical project into a fog of bureaucracy, branding, and paid careers.</p> <p>In contrast, we have the “nativist” #openweb crew – grassroots people […]</p> <p><a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/what-do-we-do-with-our-mainstreaming-alt-people/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">hamishcampbell.com/what-do-we-</span><span class="invisible">do-with-our-mainstreaming-alt-people/</span></a></p>
witchescauldron<p>One thing I do on this site is to use the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/OMN" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>OMN</span></a> hashtag story to address the challenges and opportunities in the tech world. Understanding <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/OMN" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>OMN</span></a> and the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/GeekProblem" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>GeekProblem</span></a> <a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/understanding-omn-and-the-geekproblem/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">hamishcampbell.com/understandi</span><span class="invisible">ng-omn-and-the-geekproblem/</span></a></p>
Hamish Campbell<p><strong>The roadblocks to change: #StupidIndividualism and the #Deathcult that breeds it</strong></p> <p>If you’ve ever tried to build something radical, collective, and actually useful, you’ve run into these forces. They’re not just annoying. They’re dangerous, structural, and they always show up. This post is about naming those, calling them what they are, and understanding how they’re entangled in the wider problem:</p> <p>A culture that valorizes individualism, feeds on careerism, and bows to the false “common sense” of the neoliberal #deathcult.</p> <p>The #NGO agenda: Careerism in activist […]</p> <p><a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/the-roadblocks-to-change-stupidindividualism-and-the-deathcult-that-breeds-it/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">hamishcampbell.com/the-roadblo</span><span class="invisible">cks-to-change-stupidindividualism-and-the-deathcult-that-breeds-it/</span></a></p>
Hamish Campbell<p><strong>Why most radical tech is pointless, and why #indymediaback isn’t</strong></p> <p>Almost everything built in today’s alt-radical tech scene is, bluntly, pointless. Despite good intentions, most of it ends up feeding the endless cycle of #fashernista churn, flashy new platforms, bleeding-edge protocols, or encrypted communication tools nobody uses, built by isolated teams disconnected from real-world needs or history. This is the #geekproblem: a culture where novelty is fetishized, and social usefulness is an afterthought, if it appears at all.</p> <p>Examples:</p> <p>Secure […]</p> <p><a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/why-most-radical-tech-is-pointless-and-why-indymediaback-isnt/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">hamishcampbell.com/why-most-ra</span><span class="invisible">dical-tech-is-pointless-and-why-indymediaback-isnt/</span></a></p>
witchescauldron<p>Why This Work Matters</p><p>This work is slow, unglamorous, and real. It’s done by people juggling jobs, parenting, and life. But it’s a path—and like all real paths, it’s walked step by step.</p><p>The <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/OMN" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>OMN</span></a> is not a product. It’s a practice. A philosophy. A refusal to let tech be built without social meaning.</p><p>If you want to help fix the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/geekproblem" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>geekproblem</span></a>, come walk with us. Build. Document. Tell stories. Share ideas.</p><p>Make the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/openweb" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>openweb</span></a> matter again.</p>
witchescauldron<p>Real World Tackling the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/geekproblem" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>geekproblem</span></a></p><p>We are not just building software. We are rethinking trust, responsibility, and sovereignty online. Tackling the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/geekproblem" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>geekproblem</span></a> in the real world is a challenge precisely because it means pushing beyond the comfort zones of coders and into the mess of actual human social life. This is the story of that path—slow, volunteer-driven, underfunded, but deeply rooted.</p><p><a href="https://unite.openworlds.info/Open-Media-Network/openwebgovernancebody/wiki/Out+reac+sort+story+-+Title:+Stalls+and+Code.-" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">unite.openworlds.info/Open-Med</span><span class="invisible">ia-Network/openwebgovernancebody/wiki/Out+reac+sort+story+-+Title:+Stalls+and+Code.-</span></a></p>
Hamish Campbell<p><strong>Talking about trust and power in networks</strong></p> <p>A. on the subject of “security” we have a #open policy of not trusting ANY client server security at all, so this should only be done #4opens as far as possible and having limited trust in #p2p security, even though we use this, because of the insecurity of the undelighting syteams it runs on, mostly old outdated phones, built as blobs by #dotcons this simple approach gets round much of the current thinking of technical “security” ie. the is almost non at a normal use level and little real […]</p> <p><a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/talking-about-trust-and-power-in-networks/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">hamishcampbell.com/talking-abo</span><span class="invisible">ut-trust-and-power-in-networks/</span></a></p>
Hamish Campbell<p><strong>What should be closed? And what should never be?</strong></p> <p>A conversation about ideology, sociology, and the #openweb. Let’s start with a basic liberal framework:</p> <p>“Most social interactions should happen in the open. Some personal interactions should remain private.”</p> <p>Seems reasonable, right? That’s the position many of us think we agree on. Yet when we look at how our technology, and by extension, our society, is being built, that balance is totally out of whack. Today, more and more of life is CLOSED:</p> <p>Closed apps.</p> <p>Closed data.</p> <p>Closed […]</p> <p><a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/what-should-be-closed-and-what-should-never-be/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">hamishcampbell.com/what-should</span><span class="invisible">-be-closed-and-what-should-never-be/</span></a></p>
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