Difference between revisions of "Convivial Internet"

A Convivial Help Site thus needs strong [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Editing editing], in order to limit the bias and to provide the users with answers that are verified to be correct. The current fashion for content that is collaborative and crowd-sourced makes us forget the added value that editorial control brings to content. Such editorial control would enhance both the help website's contents and its [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usability usability], thereby making it more of a convivial tool.

A Convivial Help Site thus needs strong [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Editing editing], in order to limit the bias and to provide the users with answers that are verified to be correct. The current fashion for content that is collaborative and crowd-sourced makes us forget the added value that editorial control brings to content. Such editorial control would enhance both the help website's contents and its [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usability usability], thereby making it more of a convivial tool.

As an extension to the development of Convivial Tools, we could explore the ways in which [http://conviviality.ouvaton.org/article.php3?id_article=20 idea systems] and [http://conviviality.ouvaton.org/article.php3?id_article=21 social systems] can be considered "tools," and how they could be made more "convivial" in Illich's sense. The spirit of this project is close to that of the more recent term [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_hack lifehacking], which I have borrowed for the title of this project. The term "life hack" originally referred to productivity tricks that programmers devise to organize their data. It is now used for anything that solves an everyday problem in a clever way (see for example [http://lifehacker.com Lifehacker.com], the Gawker Media blog dedicated to life hacks.)

As an extension to the development of Convivial Tools, we could explore the ways in which [http://conviviality.ouvaton.org/article.php3?id_article=20 idea systems] and [http://conviviality.ouvaton.org/article.php3?id_article=21 social systems] can be considered "tools," and how they could be made more "convivial" in Illich's sense. The spirit of this project is close to that of the more recent term [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_hack lifehacking], which I have borrowed for the title of this project. The term "life hack" originally referred to productivity tricks that programmers devise to organize their data. It is now used for anything that solves an everyday problem in a clever way (see for example [http://lifehacker.com Lifehacker.com], the Gawker Media blog dedicated to life hacks.)

However, the approach could be made more systematic than a set of isolated "hacks." One could imagine a collaborative effort par specialists in relevant fields (psychology, sociology, management, economics) to develop a "toolkit" of scientifically-founded concepts which could help individuals to take better control of their own lives. The toolkit could be deployed as a [[Convivial Help Sites]], for example a "Real Life User Guide" (similar to the [http://iuserguide.com/index.php?title=Main_Page Internet User Guide] which I've begun to build.) One could also imagine an similar systematic approach to the development of convivial social systems (for example, economic cooperatives such as the [[Cooperative Social Network]]). A closely similar approach is the recently-defined the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_2.0 Government 2.0] movement.

However, the approach could be made more systematic than a set of isolated "hacks." One could imagine a collaborative effort par specialists in relevant fields (psychology, sociology, management, economics) to develop a "toolkit" of scientifically-founded concepts which could help individuals to take better control of their own lives. The toolkit could be deployed as a [[Convivial Help Sites]], for example a "Real Life User Guide" (similar to the [http://iuserguide.com/index.php?title=Main_Page Internet User Guide] which I've begun to build.) One could also imagine an similar systematic approach to the development of convivial social systems (for example, economic cooperatives such as the [[Cooperative Social Network]]). A closely similar approach is the recently-defined the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_2.0 Government 2.0] movement.

Illich's vision of Convivial Tools can also be developed in the realm of customer service. The ideal of unlimited customer service is inherent in the marketing of a convivial tool. Designing a household appliance that its owner can easily repair implies designing the whole after-sales cycle, including long-term availability of spare parts, usable documentation and online assistance. But from the vendor's point of view, commercial constraints always limit the amount of after-sales service one can offer. For example, telephone assistance is costly, so it is often made a paying service, or delocalized to overseas [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Call_center call centers], or replaced by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IVR Interactive Voice Response] (IVR). To imagine limitless improvement in customer service in the face of real-life economic constraints we have to go outside of the box of commercial logic with the help of an abstract ideal which I call [[Total Customer Service]].

Illich's vision of Convivial Tools can also be developed in the realm of customer service. The ideal of unlimited customer service is inherent in the marketing of a convivial tool. Designing a household appliance that its owner can easily repair implies designing the whole after-sales cycle, including long-term availability of spare parts, usable documentation and online assistance. But from the vendor's point of view, commercial constraints always limit the amount of after-sales service one can offer. For example, telephone assistance is costly, so it is often made a paying service, or delocalized to overseas [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Call_center call centers], or replaced by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IVR Interactive Voice Response] (IVR). To imagine limitless improvement in customer service in the face of real-life economic constraints we have to go outside of the box of commercial logic with the help of an abstract ideal which I call [[Total Customer Service]].

Traditional marketing seeks to make the user dependent, which ensures continued business. The convivial tool or service on the contrary seeks to make the user autonomous. As the effective life of an appliance increases, the sale of new models declines. In the long run you might even help the consumer to make their own tool, thus cutting the vendor entirely out the process. But truly serving the interests of customers implies improving their entire lives and society as a whole. The question then becomes how to start from the vision of Total Customer Service and still find a way to make a profit from increasing the autonomy of your customers.

Traditional marketing seeks to make the user dependent, which ensures continued business. The convivial tool or service on the contrary seeks to make the user autonomous. As the effective life of an appliance increases, the sale of new models declines. In the long run you might even help the consumer to make their own tool, thus cutting the vendor entirely out the process. But truly serving the interests of customers implies improving their entire lives and society as a whole. The question then becomes how to start from the vision of Total Customer Service and still find a way to make a profit from increasing the autonomy of your customers.

Most of my websites are hosted on [http://www.ouvaton.coop Ouvaton], which is a French web-hosting cooperative. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooperative Cooperatives] are a viable economic alternative to less democratic forms of enterprise. While the Internet abounds in examples of cooperative endeavors, from wikis to open source software, economic cooperatives are rarely found in the field of high-tech - but how often have they actually been tried?

Most of my websites are hosted on [http://www.ouvaton.coop Ouvaton], which is a French web-hosting cooperative. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooperative Cooperatives] are a viable economic alternative to less democratic forms of enterprise. While the Internet abounds in examples of cooperative endeavors, from wikis to open source software, economic cooperatives are rarely found in the field of high-tech - but how often have they actually been tried?

(To be written - in the meantime see [http://www.cyberpotato.net/?p=158 this post])

(To be written - in the meantime see [http://www.cyberpotato.net/?p=158 this post])

(To be written - in the meantime see [http://www.cyberpotato.net/?p=169 this post])

(To be written - in the meantime see [http://www.cyberpotato.net/?p=169 this post])