Provocative Alloys: A Post-Media Anthology (Post-Media Lab) Mute Publishing Ltd (15 Nov 2013)

Edited by Clemens Apprich, Josephine Berry Slater, Anthony Iles and Oliver Lerone Schultz 

Félix Guattari's visionary term 'post-media', coined in 1990, heralded a break with mass media's production of conformity and the dawn of a new age of media from below. Understanding how digital convergence was remaking television, film, radio, print and telecommunications into new, hybrid forms, he advocated the production of 'enunciative assemblages' that break with the manufacture of normative subjectivities. In this anthology, historical texts are brought together with newly commissioned ones to explore the shifting ideas, speculative horizons and practices associated with post- media. In particular, the book seeks to explore what post- media practice might be in light of the commodification and homogenisation of digital networks in the age of Web 2.0, e-shopping and mass surveillance. 

With texts by: Adilkno, Clemens Apprich, Brian Holmes, Alejo Duque, Felipe Fonseca, Gary Genosko, Michael Goddard, Félix Guattari, Cadence Kinsey, Oliver Lerone Schultz, Rasa Smite & Raitis Smits, and Howard Slater 

Part of the PML Books series. A collaboration between Mute & the Post-Media Lab

Read more (Book Introduction @ Metamute)

Johnny Thunder's Cool Operator (live)

AFFECTIVE CAPITALISM SYMPOSIUM @ University of Turku, Finland, 5–6 June 2014

AFFECTIVE CAPITALISM SYMPOSIUM
5–6 June 2014
University of Turku, Finland
Keynote speakers: Melissa Gregg (Intel Labs/ISTC for Social Computing), Tony D. Sampson (University of East London)

This symposium aims at describing and understanding a regime we call affective capitalism. In cultural theory, affect is considered to be a fruitful concept in analysing how something evokes our body and mind. Affect makes us act. Affect exceeds or precedes rationality.  In our daily lives we are constantly affected by a plethora of things; our work, our friends, our surroundings, our technologies (Gregg & Seigworth 2010).

Unsurprisingly perhaps, we are seeing attempts to capture affect in different fields of contemporary culture from labour to social networks and politics. In these contexts, affect and affection are in an extensive manner organised, produced, and maintained for the needs of capitalism. Affective capitalism is lucrative, tempting and even sneaky. It merges with established therapeutic discourses and blurs the limits of intimacy at work(Ross 2003; Illouz 2007; Gregg 2011). It is both cognitive and non-cognitive (Sampson 2012); we are being evoked to act in order for companies to make profits in a market economy. Affective capitalism transforms us into assets, goods and services by appealing to our desires, needs and social relationships, or by making us act on a mere gut-feeling.

The idea of this two-day symposium is to bring together researchers and thinkers to discuss different areas of affective capitalism. We want to challenge affective capitalism on its own ground. To do this we will analyse specific examples of affective capitalism at work and map its defining factors. We are seeking new ways to understand affective capitalism through its ambivalences and complexities. At the same time, we ask how we could resist it and develop alternatives for it.

Thus, we invite papers that discuss the theme of ‘affective capitalism’ from various perspectives. The potential topics for discussion include (but are not limited to):

Labour , Art & Media, Finance & Economy, Gender & Sexuality, Class, Politics, Technology 

We invite proposals for individual papers including abstracts (250 words) and a short bio (100 words).  Proposals should be sent to affcap[a]utu.fi by 17 March 2014.

Notifications of acceptance will be sent out by 1 April 2014. We are planning to publish a peer-reviewed journal issue based on the presented papers. The symposium is free of charge.

The symposium is organised by two interconnected research groups (Capitalism and Affective labour) at the School of History, Culture and Arts Studies at the University of Turku.

Organising committee:
Tero Karppi, Anu Laukkanen, Mona Mannevuo, Mari Pajala, Tanja Sihvonen

Read more @ Virality blog + UniTurku

Gary Wolf @ Wired, January 2004: The Howard Dean Reading List How a bunch of books about social networking rebooted the Democratic system.

Gary Wolf (Wired, January 2004)

The Howard Dean Reading List
How a bunch of books about social networking rebooted the Democratic system.

1. Out Of Control by Kevin Kelly

KEY POINT: The most powerful information systems of the future will be grown, not made.
DEAN TAKEAWAY: Turn every supporter into a potential organizer. "Grow" the grass roots.

2. The Cluetrain Manifesto by Chris Locke, Rick Levine, Doc Searls, and David Weinberger

KEY POINT: The Net undermines respect for authority.
DEAN TAKEAWAY: Participate: Blog daily, link to indie blogs, and allow open comments; reflect the tone of the community.

3. Emergence by Steven Johnson

KEY POINT: Our media and political movements will be shaped by bottom-up forces, not top-down ones.
DEAN TAKEAWAY: Let the ants do the work, not the queen; allow local groups to function independently.

4. Small Pieces Loosely Joined by David Weinberger

KEY POINT: The loose structure of the Web encourages social experimentation and is a balm for alienation.
DEAN TAKEAWAY: Encourage face-to-face contact.

5. Smart Mobs by Howard Rheingold

KEY POINT: Mobile mobs linked by electronic devices could change history by intervening in politics spontaneously.
DEAN TAKEAWAY: Hold events, such as Dean Visibility Days, where the mass of supporters suddenly come together.

6. Linked by Albert-Laszlo Barabàsi

KEY POINT: Essential aspects of networks - e.g., the advantage gained by pioneers - are the product of general laws.
DEAN TAKEAWAY: Be first to adopt and invent community tools. The risk is worth the chance of grabbing an early lead.

Read more @ Wired (How the Internet Invented Howard Dean)