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| − | I'm [[User:Michael|Michael Slattery]]. Below is a brief description of some of the projects I've been working on - or would like to work on. | + | I'm [[User:Michael|Michael Slattery]]. Below is a brief description of some of the projects I've been working on (or would like to work on). |
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| − | For more information on each project, click on the title of the corresponding section to go to a longer article. If the title is a [[red link]] this means that a separate individual article remains to be written. Some of the linked-to articles contain little more than what is indicated below, and will be expanded later when I find time. In other cases I should instead shorten the summary given below.
| + | ==Water Engineering on the Web== |
| | + | I've created an information website entitled [http://waterengineer.org/index.php?title=Main_Page Water and Wastewater Engineering], but have only found time to write a few articles. Also, I'm unable to activate the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TeX TeX] module for displaying scientific formulas, because my [http://iuserguide.com/index.php?title=Web_hosting_service web hosting service] prevents me from executing [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shell_%28computing%29 shell] commands. (The details of this problem can be found here [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Enable_TeX here].) I could solve this by renting my own server and transfering that site to it, but perhaps there are easier work-arounds. At any rate, in the meanwhile I could write articles without scientific formulas in them - if I could find the time. |
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| − | ==[[Convivial Tools]]==
| + | I also plan to write for my [http://waterengineer.wordpress.com/ water engineering blog], but I'm only at the stage of studying how to set up information streams so that I can find relevant news. If I get this going, the blog will serve as a source of information to be fed to the [http://www.facebook.com/pages/Water-Engineering-Professionals/93588477901 water engineering page] that I've created on Facebook. |
| − | I created my [http://conviviality.ouvaton.org first website] in order to promote the ideas of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Illich Ivan Illich] about what he called [[Convivial Tools]]. The underlying theme of all of Illich's work is how to give back to the average citizen some part of the control over knowledge and technology which is typically exercized by specialized elites. | + | |
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| − | I originally wanted to apply Illich's ideas to the design of household appliances in order to tranform them into [[Reparable Tools]]. More broadly, I wanted to explore the extent to which idea systems and social systems can be considered "tools," and how they could be made more "convivial" in Illich's sense. However, my projects in the field of Convivial Tools got bogged down in the task of writing detailed content for the websites that I created on the subject.
| + | ==Convivial Tools== |
| | + | :''Main article:'' [[Convivial Tools]] |
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| − | My attention is now focused instead on the exploration of Internet as a tool. As a friend observed recently, I've beeb diverted from my project of making reparable washing machines to a project of making easily reparable machines for the processing of information flows.
| + | As originally defined by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Illich Ivan Illich] in his book "Tools for Conviviality," a convivial tool is one which allows the user to work with independent efficiency and with minimal reliance on external expertise. The underlying theme of all of Illich's work is how to give back to the average citizen some part of the control over knowledge and technology which is typically exercized by specialized elites. |
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| − | ==[[Convivial Internet Tools]]==
| + | My original wish was to foster design of household appliances that could be more easily repaired by their users ([[Reparable Tools]]). Only later did I discovered that Illich's ideas could provide a framework for this project. I've created |
| − | The [http://conviviality.ouvaton.org/article.php3?id_article=2 characteristics] that make a physical tool "convivial" can also be sought after in the design of software. This means designing software to make it easy for the average user to penetrate as deeply as they desire into the program, in order to understand how it works, and to modify or configure it without disastrous consequences. Such a design implies use of convivial principles such as reparability, simplicity, robustness, open access and modularity. The "convivial software program" is the opposite of a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_box black box]. Thus [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source_software open source software] is by nature far more convivial than closed source programs.
| + | two websites to promote Illich's ideas: a [http://conviviality.ouvaton.org Convivial Tools Encyclopedia] and a [http://convivialtools.net/index.php?title=Main_Page Convivial Tools Database]. Their contents are largely the same, but the "Encyclopedia" site became overly formal, and moreover I prefer the software of the "Database" site. I plan to develop the "Database" site, but I got bogged down in the writing of detailed articles about all sorts of subjects only vaguely related to convivial tools. I should develop the section about the [http://convivialtools.net/index.php?title=Convivial_Tool_Characteristics characteristics of convivial tools]. I should also start a blog about convivial tools, to stay up-to-date with recent developments. |
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| − | Internet software in general, including open source software for use on the Internet, remains far from the ideals of conviviality. However, rather than actually trying to modify software design, which would be beyond my personal capabilities, I have instead begun working on an [http://iuserguide.com/index.php?title=Main_Page Internet User Guide] website. This site is "under construction," meaning it is practically empty, but it aims to become a general [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_help help site] (see the next section) for basic Internet use, as a first step towards making Internet software easier to use. | + | ==The Convivial Internet== |
| | + | :''Main article:'' [[Convivial Internet]] |
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| − | ==[[Convivial Help Sites]]==
| + | The [http://conviviality.ouvaton.org/article.php3?id_article=2 characteristics] that make a tool "convivial" can also be sought after in the design of software or websites. For software design this involves aiming to help the average user to descend within the program, to understand how it works, and to modify or configure it without disastrous consequences. Currently software for use on the interent, including even open source software, remains far from the ideals of conviviality. |
| − | The word "tool" in its broadest sense includes objects designed to help us learn, such as books or websites designed to help the user. There exist a great many sites that provide all sorts of help in virtually any field of activity, such [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_help online help], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Review_site review sites] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rating_sites rating sites], question-and-answer sites, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_forum online forums] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki wikis]. However, many help websites are far from being "convivial tools" since their [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usability usability] is generally low. Anyone who has searched for answers in online [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_forum forum]s knows that this experience can resemble searching for a needle in a haystack. Another problem with most help websites is that the information presented is often untrustworthy. | + | |
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| − | 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.
| + | Websites themselves are "tools" in the broad sense, as objects designed to help us learn (such as books are). There exist a great many sites that provide some sort of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_help online help], such as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Review_site review sites], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rating_sites rating sites], question-and-answer sites, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_forum online forums] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki wikis]. However, help websites too often have low [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usability usability]. Searching for answers in online [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_forum forum]s, for example, can resemble searching for a needle in a haystack, and may often provide information that is unreliable. A convivial help site needs strong editing, to increase usability, limit bias, and provide verified answers. As an experiment I began working on an [http://iuserguide.com/index.php?title=Main_Page Internet User Guide] website to share my own (limited) knowledge of basic Internet use and possibly help others avoid all of the false leads I followed. But of course the extensive work involved in writing content for this site has turned out to be beyond my capabilities. |
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| − | ==[[Convivial Lifehacking Tools]]==
| + | Another internet-related project would be to create a [[Cooperative Social Network]], similar to social networks such as Facebook or LinkedIn but structured as a coop. I believe that [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooperative Cooperatives] are a viable economic alternative to less democratic forms of enterprise, and most of my websites are hosted on [http://www.ouvaton.coop Ouvaton], which is a French web-hosting cooperative. While there exist several innovative projects for building a social network that would be distributed over the computers of all the users, there are distinct advantages to hosted systems. In order to reduce the amount of advertising and data mining, the service could operate on a freemium model: the basic service would be free for all users, while paying premium memberships would benefit from additional services and priviledges. The premium members could form a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumers%27_cooperative consumer's cooperative]. |
| − | 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.)
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| − | 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.
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| − | ==[[Total Customer Service]]==
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| − | 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]].
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| − | 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.
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| − | ==[[Cooperative Social Network]]==
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| − | 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?
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| − | A [[Cooperative Social Network]], similar to social networks such as Facebook or Friendfeed but structured as a coop, could be developed on two levels:
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| − | *A [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worker_cooperative worker cooperative] for the team that develops and runs the website
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| − | *A [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumers%27_cooperative consumer's cooperative] for the users (which could be limited to the paying premium memberships)
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| − | This social network could be based on the same business model as existing social networks: free accounts for the majority of users, paying accounts for premium users, and operating revenues from advertising and data mining.
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| − | ==[[The Alterweb]]==
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| − | (To be written - in the meantime see [http://www.cyberpotato.net/?p=158 this post])
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| − | ==[[Inclusion Culture]]==
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| − | The dominant world culture functions on a principle of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_exclusion social exclusion]. This latter term generally refers to the alienation or disenfranchisement of certain groups within a society, such as people belonging to a specific class, race, gender, sexual orientation or age group (elderly and youth), or people with disabilities. But underlying the disenfranchisement of any specific group is a general tendancy of contemporary society to generate exclusion spontaneously on all levels.
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| − | There is a basic human tendancy to form groups, and to perceive the world as divided into those who belong to one's own group and those who are outsiders. During the neolithic this group was the tribe. With the invention of agriculture human society fragmented into a system of classes and castes, each defending its own interests. Modern representative democracy was formed in reaction against such systems of hereditary priviledge, introducing a notion of citizenship based on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equality equality]. Thus the [http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr Universal Declaration of Human Rights] refers to the "recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family."
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| − | But despite the general acceptation of the principle [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equality_before_the_law equality before the law], contemporary society is characterized by a high degree of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_inequality social inequality] coupled with an obsessive regard for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_status social status]. Its fundamental ideology is a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_darwinism Social Darwinism] which sees competition as the main driver of social evolution. This ideal of relentless competition is promoted both in corporate culture and on reality TV (the latter being the reflection of the former).
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| − | The culture of exclusion is reinforced by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elitism elitism], the belief that a select group of people with outstanding personal abilities and specialized training are more apt to understand situations and should therefore make decisions for others. The formation of social elites is to some extent both inevitable and necessary, and can be particularly beneficial when social influence is based on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meritocracy meritocracy]. But elitism tends to reinforce social exclusion, particularly when combined with a philosophy of social darwinism.
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| − | As mentioned above, Ivan Illich wanted to counter elitism by strengthening the aptitudes of ordinary citizens, which would be a constructive way to counter exclusion. But it is also necessary to take deliberate steps to develop a culture of inclusion, as opposed to the dominant culture of exclusion. The first (and critical) step is simply to raise the issue of exclusion, to point out, as the present text tries to do, that this cultural issue constitutes an enormous problem. Once there is an awareness that exclusion is in fact a problem, one can begin to work on developing an [[Inclusion Culture]]. This would involve going beyond trying to give the disenfranchised tools for building conviviality, and trying to develop new more supportive cultural attitudes and behaviour. It is well known however that such cultural habits are what is by far the most difficult to change.
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| − | ==[[Agent-Based Social Learning]]==
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| − | (To be written - in the meantime see [http://www.cyberpotato.net/?p=159 this post])
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| | [[Category:Projects]] | | [[Category:Projects]] |
