Geert Lovink  ｜Media, Networks, Platforms

[mks_dropcap style="square" size="52" bg_color="#ffffff" txt_color="#000000"]G[/mks_dropcap]eert Lovink, founding director of the Institute of Network Cultures, is a Dutch-Australian media theorist and critic. He holds a PhD from the University of Melbourne and in 2003 was at the Centre for Critical and Cultural Studies, University of Queensland. In 2004 Lovink was appointed as Research Professor at the Hogeschool van Amsterdam and Associate Professor at University of Amsterdam. He is the founder of Internet projects such as nettime and fibreculture. His recent book titles are Dark Fiber (2002), Uncanny Networks (2002) and My First Recession (2003). In 2005-06 he was a fellow at the WissenschaftskollegBerlin Institute for Advanced Study where he finished his third volume on critical Internet culture, Zero Comments (2007). Email: geert [at] xs4all.nl. Media, Networks, Platforms [mks_dropcap style="square" size="52" bg_color="#ffffff" txt_color="#000000"]O[/mks_dropcap]ver the past decade we have seen a development away from separate media towards digital convergence of the classic media streams of text, audio and video towards network technologies. Further integration of infrastructures into platforms has lead to clash of two tendencies: while centralization and control through firewalls, data centres and cables increases, users are expecting more and more direct peer-to-peer relationships. Technology is promising decentralization, yet delivers the opposite. Fancy 'distributed ledgers' require decentralized infrastructure, yet the reality is going in the precisely opposite direction, creating a crisis in network theory. As long as people do not own and administrate their own digital infrastructure through mass technical literacy, the blockchain utopia is going to be a hollow one. ----

Geert Lovink 基尔特‧洛文客，网路文化中心的创始主任，是一位荷兰与澳大利亚的媒体理论家与评论者。他在 2003 年于墨尔本大学获得博士学位，参与昆士兰大学批判与文化研究中心。2004 年被任命为 the Hogeschool van Amsterdam 的研究教授，以及阿姆斯特丹大学的助理教授。他发起 nettime、fibreculture 等网际网路计划。他出版的书籍包括《暗光纤》（Dark Fibre, 2002）《怪而熟悉的网络》（Uncanny Networks, 2002），以及《我的第一次经济衰退》（My First Recession, 2003）。在 2005-2006 年，他是柏林先进研究中心 （Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin）的研究员，2007 年完成他的第三本批判网际网路文化著作《零评论》（Zero Comments, 2007）。他的 email 是 geert [at] xs4all.nl。

媒体，网络，平台

在过去十年中，我们看到从独立媒体、朝向传统媒体文字、声音与视讯串流的数位汇流，再到网络科技的发展趋势。更进一步基础架构整合成为“平台”（platform）导致两种趋势的撞击：当透过防火墙集中化与控制，资料中心与线路增加；使用者期待着更为直接地点对点的关系。科技允诺着分散化，却带来着相反的结果。美妙的“分散式帐本”（distributed ledgers）概念需要分散化的基础架构，然而现实却是朝向着精确地相反方向前进，创造出网路理论中的危机。只要人们没有透过大众科技的素养，拥有与管理他们自己的数位基础建设，所谓的“区块炼乌托邦”终将成为一个幽灵幻境。

Geert Lovink  ｜Media, Networks, Platforms

[mks_dropcap style="square" size="52" bg_color="#ffffff" txt_color="#000000"]G[/mks_dropcap]eert Lovink, founding director of the Institute of Network Cultures, is a Dutch-Australian media theorist and critic. He holds a PhD from the University of Melbourne and in 2003 was at the Centre for Critical and Cultural Studies, University of Queensland. In 2004 Lovink was appointed as Research Professor at the Hogeschool van Amsterdam and Associate Professor at University of Amsterdam. He is the founder of Internet projects such as nettime and fibreculture. His recent book titles are Dark Fiber (2002), Uncanny Networks (2002) and My First Recession (2003). In 2005-06 he was a fellow at the WissenschaftskollegBerlin Institute for Advanced Study where he finished his third volume on critical Internet culture, Zero Comments (2007). Email: geert [at] xs4all.nl. Media, Networks, Platforms [mks_dropcap style="square" size="52" bg_color="#ffffff" txt_color="#000000"]O[/mks_dropcap]ver the past decade we have seen a development away from separate media towards digital convergence of the classic media streams of text, audio and video towards network technologies. Further integration of infrastructures into platforms has lead to clash of two tendencies: while centralization and control through firewalls, data centres and cables increases, users are expecting more and more direct peer-to-peer relationships. Technology is promising decentralization, yet delivers the opposite. Fancy 'distributed ledgers' require decentralized infrastructure, yet the reality is going in the precisely opposite direction, creating a crisis in network theory. As long as people do not own and administrate their own digital infrastructure through mass technical literacy, the blockchain utopia is going to be a hollow one. ----

Geert Lovink 基尔特‧洛文客，网路文化中心的创始主任，是一位荷兰与澳大利亚的媒体理论家与评论者。他在 2003 年于墨尔本大学获得博士学位，参与昆士兰大学批判与文化研究中心。2004 年被任命为 the Hogeschool van Amsterdam 的研究教授，以及阿姆斯特丹大学的助理教授。他发起 nettime、fibreculture 等网际网路计划。他出版的书籍包括《暗光纤》（Dark Fibre, 2002）《怪而熟悉的网络》（Uncanny Networks, 2002），以及《我的第一次经济衰退》（My First Recession, 2003）。在 2005-2006 年，他是柏林先进研究中心 （Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin）的研究员，2007 年完成他的第三本批判网际网路文化著作《零评论》（Zero Comments, 2007）。他的 email 是 geert [at] xs4all.nl。

媒体，网络，平台

在过去十年中，我们看到从独立媒体、朝向传统媒体文字、声音与视讯串流的数位汇流，再到网络科技的发展趋势。更进一步基础架构整合成为“平台”（platform）导致两种趋势的撞击：当透过防火墙集中化与控制，资料中心与线路增加；使用者期待着更为直接地点对点的关系。科技允诺着分散化，却带来着相反的结果。美妙的“分散式帐本”（distributed ledgers）概念需要分散化的基础架构，然而现实却是朝向着精确地相反方向前进，创造出网路理论中的危机。只要人们没有透过大众科技的素养，拥有与管理他们自己的数位基础建设，所谓的“区块炼乌托邦”终将成为一个幽灵幻境。