By definition, the networked self is an entity that demands participation within cyberspace. Its defining characteristics are: the calculation of algorithms and their transformation into data: the modulation of data and its reshaping into media, and the reproduction of media into templates which are then distributed within an on-line environment. (Manovich, 36-44, 2001) Of course, algorithms alone are not the absolute essence of the networked self. As precursors to the formulation of data, these contingent mathematical equations can also be dissected to reveal their component parts. But this analysis occurs within the realm of computer-science, while this essay is concerned with the presence of the networked self in a cyberspace prejudiced by neo-liberal ideology. Apart from some notable exceptions such as the social software movement, media art, net activism and others, what should be a multiplicitous manifestation of the human-computer interface is generally uninspired. It is the purpose of this essay to show how a fully realised networked self can transcend its current unimaginative status and participate in a free cyberspace.
If an algorithm is a contingent mathematical equation, one that requires calculation before it can become data capable of being read by computer hardware, then it is also a text upon which the networked self is written. Here, the term ‘Text’ is considered within its broadest possible definition: from e-books comprised of words and letters consisting of data constructed from HTML code, through to a ‘Written’ mode of behaviour and its genetic imprint upon a brain. (Tofts, 15-31, 1997) It is here in this textual space that neo-liberal interpretations of the networked self occur.
Any information stream is a result of previously contingent algorithmic calculations, and data underscores software comprising modulations of media. So for example, if the e-book is to shed its mimetic status and become an integrated, self-reflexive environment, (one that includes real time updates of information and is programmed to reflect the values of its users and their communities), then before the data is formulated the algorithmic calculations themselves must be rewritten so as to create a libertarian text; one in direct opposition to the current neo-liberal ideology that permeates the e-book and other simulations of the networked self. (www.philobiblon.com/drucker/) At this fundamental level neo-liberalism and its concurrent structures of unreasonable copyright control and corporate domination must be hacked and re-imagined. Anything less remains a pleasant and best intentioned diversion.
Reconfiguring algorithmic calculations within a libertarian framework allows for the creation of data then capable of modulation into imaginative forms of media. The underlying values of neo-liberalism, such as those that find expression in Disney’s demand for long term copyright, are replaced by a cooperative approach to ownership. Rather than a claim to copyright that spans generations which, in Disney's case, was a claim on material such as fairytales that never belonged to Disney in the first place, the networked self is liberated from the trite constraints of rigid ownership by the principle of 'Fair use'. (www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJn_jC4FNDo) Neo-liberal values emphasising the accumulation of capital and the use of such capital to undertake monumental court challenges in order to protect the apparent integrity of media such as the Barbie Doll, are replaced by a networked self broadly characterised by free expression. (freeculture.org/blog) This libertarian framework in turn finds expression in modulations of media that are horizontal in trajectory, participatory in spirit, and contingent upon a user’s desire to approach the use of such media in explorative and multiplicitous ways. A critical characteristic of this re-imagined networked self is contingency; or in the case of Gordon Bell’s egocentric desire to electronically archive his entire life experience, defining the networked self allows for the possibility of mistakes. As a self in the process of being shaped, as opposed to one beset by rigid categories of myth, mathematics, history etc.,(Benedikt, 1-25, 1993) Bell’s charming desire for perfect memory gathered sophistication when he discovered the software he was using was configured in such a way that it prevented him from remembering where information had been stored. In response, his fellow Microsoft researchers developed Facetbook. As software comprised of conceptual blobs that were hypertextually linked, not by specific memories, but by significant events such as a federal election, Facetbook emphasised the Proustean pleasure involved in remembering, not remembering by rote. (www.collisiondetection.net) As a contingent interface in constant evolution, Facetbook is a modulation of media that is a pertinent example of the libertarian networked self.
With data shaped into modulations of media that are underscored by values of liberty rather than neo-liberalism, cyberspace becomes the arena within which these libertarian templates are distributed. Facetbook is an unusual example of a media template that challenged neo-liberal ideology because it was the product of a global corporation. Even so, Microsoft would be unlikely to indulge in the software’s distribution as a free download. Consequently, libertarian media modules such as Facetbook are ‘Pipped at the post’. That is, as reconfigured algorithms comprising data shaped into a template that augments electronic memory, it is nevertheless a consumer item that must be bought and sold. Touted as libertarian software, Facetbook remains explicitly controlled by an exchange of capital. This commodification of the networked self, or what begins life as a libertarian media module but is then reduced to an item for consumption, is a cogent expression of the paradox of user control. The user is liberated by imaginative software, but as an aid to electronic memory, Facetbook is reproduced within a framework of commodification. As a form of soft domination, this simulation of the uncanny faculty of human memory is then reduced to the status of an item to be consumed from a supermarket shelf. (hypertext.rmit.edu.au/dac/papers.Palmer.pdf)
The corporate domination of cyberspace means that users who desire a libertarian networked self must accept that this desire is subject to the whim of market forces. The algorithms that comprise data may be reconfigured at their fundamental level, the data that shapes modulations of media into software that liberates the user is currently available, but the arena within which this liberated networked self resides is controlled by personalities and principles that regard free association between consenting individuals as a subversive act that must be severely punished. Greed and cynicism find legitimate expression within a corporate-legal system that is propped up by its litigants. The music industry, its vendetta against P2P file sharing and subsequent prosecution of individual users, could not have occurred without the support of a legal system within which the wealth wielded by amoral corporate conglomerates was in direct relation to the successful outcome of litigation. The Open Source Movement and its successful defense of the Barbie in a Blender case is one example of a triumph of common sense over corporate dominance. On balance though, this success does not amount to much when compared to the fact that individuals can still be sued for millions of dollars for downloading music via a P2P file sharing service. Further to this, Communications theory itself forms part of a universal system of thought founded on Modernist ideology which, as we know, is an underlying tenet of Capitalism. Marxist critique in particular is an integral component of the same system it seeks to undermine and therefore, a way of thinking about Communications that, the more successful Marxist critique is, the more it contributes to its own demise. (conjourney.learnerblogs.org/) For those who desire a networked self able to participate in a free cyberspace, the principle of 'Contingency’ requires further elaboration.
Uncertainty, or a world in exponential flux due to rapid technological change and its effect on cultural, social, political and economic institutions, means that the pre-determined ideology underpinning a universal system of thought is an obsolete framework for thinking about network culture. As Bradbury illustrates in his story ‘The Veldt’ the evolution of new methodologies for considering cyberspace is also the end of outdated points of view. (Wark, 154-165, 2003) Consequently, the ideological framework for considering distribution of the networked self in a cyberspace characterised by corporate control, must shift as well.
Central to a reconsideration of the corporate domination of cyberspace is the customisation of media. By selling to consumers an excessive number of templates capable of distributing the networked self, the Corporate Commandants of cyberspace have perfected a dangerous confidence trick. Youtube, myspace and facebook, (not Facetbook... ), are templates of the networked self designed to personalise media for the purpose of increasing profits. As templates that stroke the ego rather than spark the intellect, these and other forms of reproducible media deceive users into believing that cyberspace is an arena for narcissistic expression. Central to this confidence trick is the illusion that each user must express him or herself on line and by doing so, remain connected with an infinite parade of friends and lovers, acquaintances and business associates, predators and porn kings; a desire that results in user idolisation of an on-line environment. History shows us that an excess of choice can also be a precursor to the dissolution of democratic institutions. The rise of false idols who themselves are often narcissistic reflections of the population each purports to represent, has also been a determining feature of progression toward a fascist state.
As a recent misleading advertisement for Telstra mobile technology would have us believe, being a middle aged woman on a lonely train approached by an anonymous youth wanting to use your phone, is an opportunity for sharing the benefits of technology; rather than the more likely scenario of heightening our sense of social isolation. This tendency toward deceiving users for the purpose of increasing cash flow is not limited to television. An on-line media template that allows for the proliferation of corporate advertising is just one of many media modules that produces an illusion of liveness. It is then surprising to note that on balance, cyberspace contains less live content than the average televised environment. What’s more, it is the sensation that accompanies moving through an on-line environment - not live content - that enhances a user's experience. Surfing, or the illusion of mobility that characterises user participation remains little more than titillation if the content each user apparently moves through is a stale proliferation of corporate propaganda. (McPherson, 199-208, 2006) Even so, it is worth remembering that the corporate domination of cyberspace, or the distribution on-line of media templates that amount to a predetermined and prejudiced, if not deceptive and dishonest simulation of the networked self, are themselves templates which are active within a contingent on-line environment. Unlike other media such as television, cyberspace remains an arena that is yet to be completely tyrannised by market forces.
As contingent mathematical equations that are precursors to the formulation of data, the networked self can be re-written so as to produce media with two important characteristics. 1. The media should consciously undermine neo-liberal ideology and allow for libertarian forms of user participation within cyberspace. 2. The media should shape cyberspace so that it corrects the current imbalance caused by corporate domination. P2P file sharing is an important example of this 'Cooperative media'. As media that eliminates the principle of buy and sell by replacing this with the free exchange of content, it allows for the expression of a libertarian networked self. Incorrectly categorised as ‘Piracy’, it is worth remembering that the values implicit within cooperative media are life affirming, and in direct opposition to greed, stealth, authoritarianism and other forms of extreme individualism that in practice, always pre-suppose a neo-liberal point of view. Cooperation, consensus, collaboration, and most importantly, the creation of like minded communities comprised of individuals who are fed up with the constant intrusion of the corporation into every aspect of their lives... These are the values that the libertarian networked self aspires toward; values implicit in a cyberspace yet to be shaped within a culture that is one of participation, rather than the current, exclusive cult(ure) of the corporate individual.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Manovich, L., The Language of New Media: MIT Press, 2001, pp 36-44.
Tofts, D., ‘The Technology Within’, from Tofts, D & Mckeich, M., Memory Trade: A Prehistory of Cyberculture: 21C Books, Interface, 1997, pp 15-31.
Drucker, J., ‘The Virtual Codex from Page to E-space’, In Siemens, R. & Schreibman, S (eds), A Companion to Digital Literary Studies, Oxford, Blackwell, 2007. www.philobiblon.com/drucker/
Faden, E., A Fair(y) Use Tale (Video), Media Education Foundation, 2006, www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJn_jC4FNDo
Pavlosky, N., ‘Barbie in a Blender - A celebration of free speech and fair use’. freeculture.org/blog/2004/07/12/barbie-in-a-blender-a-celebration-of-free-speech-and-fair-use/
Benedikt, M., ‘Introduction’ from Cyberspace: First Steps, ed. Michael Benedikt, Cambridge, MA., MIT Press, 1993, pp. 1-25
Thompson, C., ‘The Man with Perfect Memory’, from Fast Company, www.collisiondetection.net/mt/archives/2006/12/a_head_for_deta.html
Palmer, D., ‘The Paradox of User Control’ - Paper presented at MelbourneDAC, 5th International Digital Arts & Culture Conference, May 19 - 23, 2003. hypertext.rmit.edu.au/dac/papers.Palmer.pdf
Reck, T., Dreaming Global New Media: conjourney.learnerblogs.org/ (2007)
Wark, M., ‘Too Real’, from Prefiguring Cyberculture: An Intellectual History, Darren Tofts, Annemarie Johnson & Alessio Cavallaro (eds.), Power Publications & MIT Press, Syd./ MA., 2003.
McPherson, T., ‘Reload: Liveness, Mobility and the Web’, from New Media, Old Media: A History and Theory Reader, Chun, W & Kennan, T., Routledge, New York. 2006, pp. 199-208.
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