[HacktionLab] Help with Indymedia talk

[ekes]

My 2p if it helps.

> - what has replaced Indymedia in your opinion?  What platforms, services, approaches do we have to do filling the gap?
> - what are we lacking? What have we lost?
> - do you have any ideas for what we could do in the future? How do you see the future?

My answers to this switch between all those already given, particularly 
Charlie and Bou's. I think this is because Indymedia was always a 
dichotomy. One was media as made by the participants for a somewhat 
broader audience: maybe what is now the novaras and counterpunchs of the 
world. The bit that required more editorial and presention. The other 
was media as made by the participants for other activists, it's a 
smaller audience with a higher existing insider knowledge. This is now 
provided by a disparate and sometimes difficult to find and follow set 
of blogs, still existing Indymedias, Mutus and a few 'social media' 
accounts.

I disagree that 'social media' (be it surveillance capitalist, or free 
and federated) has filled much of the gap. It is largely too 
individualised. Federation isn't a political solution in and of itself. 
While Indymedia theoretically didn't editorialise. It did collectively 
organise reporting, and moderate, and create direction (when it works). 
So it is more collectives who run blogs together (or sometimes 
associated 'social media' accounts) that give the similar content and 
depth. These blogs and accounts are usually hinged around a particular 
(anarchist) group, or sometimes (action) movement. So what's lost is the 
collective generalist, yet still, scene media to orientate people from 
disparate activist strands together; and occasionally be the trusted 
source for 'outsiders'.

Future? I'd kinda like to leave that to the kids (who are organising the 
actions now). But it absolutely has to be on infrastructure that 'we' 
(they) control and can make decisions collectively about - there I'm 
still happy to help (and campaign).

ekes