[Imc-communication] oy, I meant "where are we headed" essay for the "indybook

[deva]

Hi Toya,

Thanks for expressing your feelings.

It seems very hard to develop good communication via these electronic  
means. The very frustrations you express, are intimately part of the  
question "Where are we heading?" that Jay is asking.

Are list serves on the internet capable of being the means to a  
global participatory democratic network? If so, perhaps we need to  
accept that this method must be very slow. It is natural to want to  
move fast when the things around are moving fast. It is a natural  
response to want to move fast to counteract the bad things we see  
happening in the world. Yet a garden takes its own time to grow.

To take the time to listen to all voices, is  a slow path.

regards,
deva
portland imc contributor



On Aug 5, 2006, at 8:51 AM, toya at riseup.net wrote:

> jay, this isnt an answer directly to you just sharing my feelings..but
> once more on imc we are having a project beeing moved on by some imcs
> while others ask questions, and questions related to some of our
> principals, and no answer is given.
> how can we talk bout where imc is moving ..etc while we cant even  
> have a
> dialog bout this project?
> really this is very disapointed.. i asked some very important points
> related to this and no one answered..alster did the same  
> thing ..and no
> answer...he later send one email and nothing...
> really what kinda of book it will be?? is a global imc network  
> book?? hjow
> can it be when the voices of indymedia volunteers isnt listening ...
> it is very disappointed...thats all
> toya
> imc-brasil
>
>
>
>
>> Hi imc-communication and imc-tech,
>>
>> This is Jay from the Philadelphia IMC and the new-imc working  
>> group.  I've
>> been asked by the folks who are working on the "indybook" project  
>> (read
>> below or look through the imc-commuincation archives for some  
>> discussion
>> about it) to help work on a very short essay about the future of the
>> Indymedia network -- how are we developing?  where are we headed?   
>> what
>> will indymedia may look like when we get there?  I'm talking
>> organizationally, politically, technically, logistically, etc., as  
>> well as
>> grand visions for where we're going.
>>
>> My brain is not big enough to comprehend all the infinite possible  
>> answers
>> to those questions, and I'm sure many of you have been thinking about
>> similar things, so I think the only way for me to get a sense of  
>> where to
>> begin is to ask for input.  Have you been thinking big thoughts  
>> about the
>> future of indymedia?  If so, would you be interested in sharing   
>> some of
>> your thoughts with me?
>>
>> I'm not looking to artificially inspire a big "where are we headed"
>> conversation on either imc-communication or imc-tech -- this may  
>> be a good
>> time for that, but it may not -- so please e-mail me directly if  
>> you'd
>> like
>> to share some thoughts: "idiot at jaysand.com".  (also, note that I'm  
>> not
>> subscribed to the imc-tech list.)  If there's enough enthusiasm,  
>> maybe
>> I'll
>> put together a "where is indymedia headed" wiki where people can  
>> add their
>> thoughts in a more public fashion.  Right now, I'm not looking for  
>> big
>> public statements, just some of your thoughts to inspire the  
>> writing of a
>> relatively short article.
>>
>> If you'd like to be part of this in any way, e-mail me.  The  
>> deadline is
>> September 1, so I'd like to start communicating really soon.
>>
>> Jay
>> P.S. I don't know anything about the Indybook project, so don't  
>> ask me
>> details.  Visit "indybook.org" for some more information.
>>
>>
>>
>>> The following can also be found in English, Spanish and French (an
>>> hopefully more languages soon) at www.indybook.org.
>>>
>>> Susan
>>>
>>>
>>> Hello everyone,
>>>
>>> In winter of 2005, at the U.S. IMC conference in Austin, members  
>>> of the
>>> NYC IMC print team spoke about conversations that they had been  
>>> having
>>> with a left-wing indie publisher in New York called Disinfo about  
>>> putting
>>> together a book on Indymedia. There were a number of concerns  
>>> mentioned
>>> about the project as it had been conceived at that point. After  
>>> months
>>> more of discussion and reflection we've come up with a plan.
>>>
>>> The purpose of this letter is to:
>>>
>>>     * Inform members of Indymedia about the project;
>>>     * Put out an initial call for submissions.
>>>
>>> In our proposal to Disinfo we wrote: "This book would not attempt  
>>> to be
>>> the definitive statement on Indymedia. Rather, it would be an  
>>> overview of
>>> some of the triumphs and struggles of the network over the past
>>> five-and-a-half years. Its entries would range from dramatic,
>>> stream-of-thought, first-person pieces to more analytic chapters  
>>> on the
>>> meaning of Indymedia. The book, while thoughtful, would avoid being
>>> overly
>>> academic and would be graphic/picture heavy."
>>>
>>> We are excited at the prospect of being able to help the network  
>>> begin to
>>> tell its amazing story to the world. The vast majority of the  
>>> book will
>>> be
>>> original pieces written by IMC participants and friends of  
>>> Indymedia with
>>> excerpted material from IMC newswires. While the book will be  
>>> written in
>>> English, we want it to reflect the entire network, and so we will be
>>> soliciting submissions of material from all IMCs. In the coming  
>>> weeks, we
>>> will also be sending out a questionnaire to all IMCs to find out  
>>> a little
>>> about each IMC's history, current status, what issues you tend to  
>>> cover,
>>> frequency of publishing, etc.
>>>
>>> The book collective working on this project consists mostly of  
>>> members of
>>> the NYC IMC print team, which also publishes The Indypendent
>>> (indypendent.org). Our research team will be seeking out material
>>> published on the newswires and other IMC publications during key  
>>> moments
>>> in IMC history, but we're going to need help! Guidance on where  
>>> to find
>>> great material will be much appreciated.
>>>
>>> We want to make clear that this book will have an open submission
>>> process;
>>> everyone reading this can and should contribute something about  
>>> Indymedia
>>> if they feel so inspired and should pass this on to others who  
>>> may also
>>> be
>>> interested. Please see below for submission guidelines, a general  
>>> outline
>>> of the book, and details on the finance and distribution plan, as  
>>> well as
>>> on the rights and permissions practices for the book. Please  
>>> contact us
>>> if
>>> you can help with translating this document into other languages.
>>>
>>> After reviewing the following information, please send any  
>>> questions,
>>> suggestions or submissions to indybook at gmail.com.
>>>
>>> Thanks for your time and consideration,
>>>
>>> The Indy Book Collective
>>>
>>> Outline for the Indy Book Project
>>>
>>>     * Introduction
>>>     * History
>>>     * Strengths, Weaknesses and Challenges
>>>     * Case Studies
>>>     * Multimedia & Technology
>>>     * How-To (DIY)
>>>
>>> NOTE: The following chapter descriptions are subject to change as  
>>> people
>>> send in queries and suggestions. Submissions can tackle one or more
>>> aspects of a chapter's topic or attempt to deal with the entire  
>>> subject
>>> in
>>> one comprehensive essay. Please see below for full submission  
>>> guidelines.
>>>
>>> Prologue: Excerpt from Subcomandante Marcos's 1997 statement on  
>>> the need
>>> for a new intercontinental media network that enables ordinary  
>>> people who
>>> resist from below to share their stories.
>>> http://www.tmcrew.org/chiapas/e_media1.htm
>>>
>>> I. Introduction
>>> An opening essay that touches on the significance of the Indymedia
>>> movement and places it in the larger social and political milieu  
>>> of the
>>> early 21st century.
>>>
>>> II. History
>>>
>>>    1. Roots of Indymedia
>>>       A look at how Indymedia's emergence was rooted in a wide  
>>> arrary of
>>> alternative media projects that developed over many years and across
>>> several continents.
>>>
>>>    2. Seattle
>>>       A look at the pre-WTO organizing that went on in Seattle, what
>>> people were hoping to accomplish, how it all came together, what  
>>> it was
>>> like during the week of WTO and what lessons were learned from the
>>> experience.
>>>       Supplemental material: Posts and photos from during the WTO.
>>>
>>>    3. Exploding Growth
>>>       A look at how the IMC rapidly became a worldwide movement  
>>> in the
>>> aftermath of Seattle.
>>>       Supplemental material: Indymedia timeline, photos of early IMC
>>> websites, publications, meetings, etc.
>>>
>>>    4. IMC and social movements
>>>       The IMC and the Global Justice movement both burst into the
>>> popular
>>> consciousness at the same time. How did the two movements grow
>>> together, inform and influence each other? How has IMC's
>>> relationship to social movements evolved over the years?
>>>
>>>    5. IMC and the Cyberleft
>>>       Explore the strengths and the weaknesses of the post- 
>>> industrial
>>> Left, the rise of decentralized, Internet-based organizing, where
>>> Indymedia fits in this milieu and what it needs to do to avoid  
>>> some of
>>> the
>>> pitfalls of other contemporary movements on the Cyberleft.
>>>
>>>    6. Indymedia and the Anarchist Tradition
>>>       A look at how Indymedia's organizational is heavily  
>>> influenced by
>>> DIY anarchist culture.
>>>
>>> III. Strengths, Weaknesses and Challenges
>>>
>>>    1. Who Makes Up Indymedia?
>>>       Demographics and geography: Why Indymedia tends to be made  
>>> up of
>>> certain kinds of people (white, male, with access to relatively high
>>> level
>>> of resources), self-selecting filters; more narrowly focused IMCs  
>>> versus
>>> those integrated into local communities.
>>>
>>>    2. IMC and race/gender/class
>>>       How have issues of race, class and gender been addressed at
>>> Indymedia? Have advances been made toward creating a more  
>>> inclusive and
>>> empowering culture for all inside the network? If so, where? And  
>>> how? If
>>> not, why not?
>>>
>>>    3. Who's Reading Indymedia?
>>>       An examination of what fragmentary records exist to develop an
>>> estimate of how many people use Indymedia (both on normal days  
>>> and when
>>> there are big protests happening) and how much impact the
>>> network may have. Also look at the challenges of moving from
>>> crisis-driven coverage toward consistent, daily activity.
>>>       Supplemental materials: Solicit responses from local IMCs
>>> throughout
>>> the network about how they've become more rooted in their
>>> communities and on what people consider to be the greatest  
>>> obstacles or
>>> challenges they've faced in their work with an IMC.
>>>
>>>    4. IMC and the participatory journalism movement
>>>       Traditional journalism is facing unprecedented challenges from
>>> ordinary citizens seeking to "be the media" This chapter will
>>> consider the forces driving this, compare and contrast Indymedia
>>> with other citizen journalism initiatives and explore the unique
>>> contributions that Indymedia has made to the citizen-journalism
>>> movements around the world.
>>>       Supplemental Materials: Solicit responses from local IMCs
>>> throughout
>>> the network about what they see as their greatest achievements to
>>> date; stories they covered that made an impact in their community or
>>> country, initiatives they took to empower people to "become the
>>> media," etc.
>>>
>>>    5. IMC and State Repression
>>>       In 2005, British law enforcement officials seized the UK  
>>> Indymedia
>>> server (which housed 20 other IMC websites) at the behest of the
>>> FBI...Indymedia has been targeted repeatedly by law enforcement
>>> since its inception with IMC journalists being beaten, tear- 
>>> gassed and
>>> arrested while trying to cover demonstrations...IMC has also
>>> been subpoenaed for its weblogs by police looking to track the
>>> origins of specific posts...Seattle IMC in April 2001...NYC
>>> investigated by NYPD and Secret Service in 2004...Look at how IMC
>>> has responded to legal threats and how it radically decentralized
>>> its activities and decided to stop logging IP addresses.
>>>
>>> IV. Indymedia in Action: Potential Case Studies
>>>
>>>    1. Genoa G8 Protests
>>>
>>>    2. Indymedia in the Global South
>>>
>>>    3. Argentina Uprising
>>>
>>>    4. People Power in Bolivia
>>>
>>>    5. The Birth of Venezuela IMC
>>>
>>>    6. IMC in Africa
>>>
>>>    7. Chiapas: Indymedia Takes Root in the Home of the Zapatistas
>>>
>>>    8. IMC in the Middle East
>>>
>>>    9. From UK to United Kollectives: Decentralization in Britain
>>>
>>>   10. IMC in Europe
>>>
>>>   11. IMC in Asia and Oceania
>>>
>>>   12. Responding to 9/11: NYC-IMC
>>>
>>>   13. Responding to Hurricane Katrina
>>>
>>>   14. US Indymedia in the Bush Era
>>>
>>>   15. UC IMC Buys the Post Office
>>>
>>> V. Multimedia and Technology
>>>
>>>    1. Reflections on IMC Audio Projects
>>>       How have IMC radio projects both blended into and made unique
>>> contributions to the larger movement to free the airwaves from
>>> corporate and/or government-dominated broadcasting...Look at both
>>> ongoing projects and special projects around convergences.
>>>
>>>    2. Reflections on IMC Video Projects
>>>       Cable access shows...Vblogging...Video IMCistas have also
>>> collaborated to produce more than a dozen feature-length
>>> documentaries... Documentaries preserve a part of the movement's
>>> collective history, but what has been their overall
>>> impact?...Challenges of building distribution networks...a short
>>> history of IMC Newsreel, etc.
>>>
>>>    3. Reflections on IMC Tech
>>>       The creation of Active code and the open publishing
>>> newswire...What
>>> was novel about IMC in 1999? What was it doing on the Web that  
>>> had never
>>> been done before?...Has Indymedia ossified or has it been able to  
>>> keep up
>>> with a rapidly evolving web environment?...Evolution of IMC  
>>> source codes:
>>> SF Active, Dada, Mir, Drupal, etc...Tech's early role in the  
>>> network and
>>> the effort to move to a more transparent,
>>> democratic decision-making process...the challenge of
>>> archiving...Transferring computer equipment to the Global South.
>>>
>>>    4. How active is the IMC network?
>>>       Review the number of center column features being posted on  
>>> local
>>> IMCs and use the http://lists.indymedia.org database to review local
>>> listserve activity at different IMCs over the past year, in  
>>> addition to
>>> contacting local IMCs, to gauge how actively people are
>>> participating and how often meetings are being held (if they are
>>> being held).
>>>       Supplemental materials: charts, infoboxes
>>>
>>> VI. DIY
>>>
>>>    1. How to start an IMC
>>>
>>>    2. Different IMC models
>>>
>>>    3. The philosophy and practice of open publishing / moderation /
>>> dealing with trolls
>>>
>>>    4. How to build a radical paper
>>>
>>>    5. The challenge of distribution
>>>       Distribution is critical to IMC's impact ... a look at what
>>> alternative distribution channels are available, creating
>>> distribution networks, getting indexed by Google, etc.
>>>
>>>    6. How to acquire space, importance & implications
>>>       Indymedia started on the Internet and in many ways was  
>>> shaped by
>>> the
>>> decentralizing logic of the Web. Yet, for many local IMC  
>>> chapters, the
>>> need for an actual physical space to meet and work from is the most
>>> pressing dilemma they face. The solutions to this problem have  
>>> varied
>>> widely.
>>>
>>>    7. Consensus and Meeting Facilitation
>>>
>>>    8. Living With and Managing Money
>>>
>>>    9. How to run a media convergence space (for big events)
>>>
>>>   10. Independent journalism tools and tips
>>>
>>>   11. How to avoid burnout / cultivating a healthy media  
>>> collective /
>>> building long-term sustainability
>>>
>>> CONCLUSION
>>>
>>> GLOSSARY
>>>
>>> RECOMMENDED READING / RESOURCES
>>>
>>> INDEX
>>>
>>> SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
>>> We are soliciting a lot of different kinds of material for this  
>>> project,
>>> so the style and content of submissions will vary greatly. Please  
>>> follow
>>> the guidelines of each type of content submission. Ideas/pitches  
>>> for all
>>> of the chapters outlined above are welcomed. With all  
>>> submissions, please
>>> include a short introduction about yourself and your work with  
>>> Indymedia.
>>> Submissions in English are easiest for us to handle, but we do have
>>> Spanish and French translation capacity at this point and we  
>>> should be
>>> able to translate from more languages as we get the word out  
>>> about the
>>> project.
>>>
>>> SUBMISSIONS ARE DUE: SEPT. 1, 2006
>>>
>>> Original Article or Sidebar
>>> If you are interested in writing something on an idea or issue  
>>> mentioned
>>> in the above outline, or on something that you think should be  
>>> included
>>> in
>>> one of the chapters listed above as an article or sidebar, but is  
>>> missing
>>> from our description or list of ideas for that chapter, please  
>>> submit a
>>> query to indybook at gmail.com before sending us a fully-written  
>>> article.
>>> The
>>> query should include the basic idea of the piece, a short  
>>> explanation of
>>> why it's important, and the approximate length you think the  
>>> finished
>>> piece would be. Queries should be under 750 words. If you are  
>>> planning to
>>> submit something in a language other than English, it is especially
>>> important that you submit a query (in English, if possible) first.
>>> Finished articles will range from 500-5,000 words, and should be  
>>> fully
>>> researched and written in an engaging, straightforward style,  
>>> i.e., not
>>> too jargon-heavy, either activist- or academic-wise. We are also
>>> exploring
>>> various Twiki-style technologies that make it possible for  
>>> interested
>>> readers to comment on drafts of articles as they go through the  
>>> editing
>>> process.
>>>
>>> Newswire Material
>>> If you have written/posted or know of material from an IMC  
>>> newswire that
>>> you think we should excerpt for one of the chapters outlined above,
>>> please
>>> send us a sample of the text (no more than 250 words), a brief
>>> explanation
>>> (250 words) of the context of the post and why this particular  
>>> post is a
>>> strong reflection of that event/issue, and the URL for the newswire
>>> article, if it's still online. If you are not the author of this
>>> material,
>>> please include any contact info you have for the writer.
>>>
>>> BUSINESS MODEL
>>> The book's target retail price is $14.95. We can buy the books (and
>>> return
>>> any unsold copies) for $7.50. We will set up a website for the  
>>> book and
>>> ask local IMCs to put a button or some sort of permanent link to  
>>> it on
>>> their home pages.
>>>
>>> We would sell the book through our website for $12 plus $3 for  
>>> shipping
>>> and handling. All the profit, i.e., $4.50 per book, would go to  
>>> Global,
>>> preferably to assist underfunded IMCs in the Global South. If we  
>>> sell
>>> 5,000 books over time, that would mean $22,500 for Global. Any  
>>> royalties
>>> made from the publisher's sales would also go to Global.
>>>
>>> The publisher of the book will be Disinfo (disinfo.com), a lefty,
>>> for-profit publisher based in New York that has put out titles  
>>> like: Why
>>> Do People Hate America? The Vigil: 26 Days in Crawford, Texas and
>>> Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price. We've approached non- 
>>> profits like
>>> South End Press and New Press, but they've shown little interest.  
>>> It's
>>> also been suggested that we self-publish, but upon reflection, we
>>> realized
>>> that the quality of the product would be compromised, the size of  
>>> the
>>> print run greatly reduced and we would have to create our own book
>>> distribution networks from scratch.
>>>
>>> Disinfo has offered a $12,000 advance to be paid in three  
>>> installments:
>>> $4,000 upon signing the contract, $4,000 upon delivery of a  
>>> completed
>>> manuscript and $4,000 upon the book going to print. Five percent, or
>>> $600,
>>> will go to our fiscal sponsor, UC-IMC, for processing. No one  
>>> will be
>>> paid
>>> for any work. Photographers in the Global North will be asked to
>>> contribute their work. The only exception we are considering is  
>>> paying
>>> photographers from the Global South a modest fee, recognizing  
>>> they are in
>>> a unique position of having high expenses in a developing economy.
>>>
>>> Written contributions will not be paid, but will include the  
>>> author's
>>> byline. Members of the book's editorial collective will be  
>>> working on an
>>> unpaid, volunteer basis. The rest of the money would go to the  
>>> NYC-IMC
>>> print team to help cover ongoing media-making expenses,  
>>> particularly for
>>> newspapers and poster projects.
>>>
>>> One question, of course, is why the initial funds go to the NYC- 
>>> IMC print
>>> team. The project represents an enormous burden upon our limited
>>> resources. Two of our most experienced editors and coordinators,  
>>> Susan
>>> Chenelle and John Tarleton, will be devoting the next year to the
>>> project.
>>> We will need to solicit unpaid design and production work from our
>>> volunteer staff. The same goes for the content editing, copy  
>>> editing,
>>> proofreading and fact checking phases. Then we need to build a  
>>> website,
>>> set up a merchant account and handle all of the order processing  
>>> -- all
>>> of
>>> which is also unpaid. Finally, the fulfillment aspect will be an  
>>> enormous
>>> burden. Packaging, addressing and shipping thousands of books will
>>> require
>>> a huge commitment of work hours from everyone at the project.  
>>> Again, no
>>> one will be paid for this work. The funds will go directly to other
>>> media-making only.
>>>
>>> RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS
>>> We will secure the permission for use of written material where  
>>> possible,
>>> and will very much appreciate assistance from IMCistas in contacting
>>> writers of material we would like to excerpt from the newswires.  
>>> Where
>>> explicit permission cannot be obtained, we will excerpt or quote a
>>> minimum
>>> amount that would fall under US "fair use" provisions. We will be
>>> approaching photographers directly to secure permission from them  
>>> to use
>>> their photos. No photos will be used without permission.
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> IMC-communication mailing list
>>> IMC-communication at lists.indymedia.org
>>> http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/listinfo/imc-communication
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> IMC-communication mailing list
>> IMC-communication at lists.indymedia.org
>> http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/listinfo/imc-communication
>>
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