A reminder about tomorrow nights ROU event. <br><br>The Really Open
University presents: A night of regeneration<br>18 May · 20:00 - 22:00 -
Albert Room, Victoria Hotel Great George St, Leeds<br><br>The Really
Open University presents: A night of regeneration<br>The Free
Association with guest John Holloway: a book launch and talk, followed by discussion.<br><br>Also
a chance to pick up one of the limited print editions of the
'Reimaigning the University' journal.<br>For more info on The Free Association and their writings check<br> <a href="http://freelyassociating.org/">http://freelyassociating.org/</a><br><br>ALSO - <br><p>After a bit of delay, the Really Open University has set its next
Concept Meeting! The topic of the participatory discussion will be ‘The
possibilities and limitations of activism in and beyond Web 2.0’</p>
<p>Web 2.0 is a term used to encapsulate internet sites and applications
that depend upon user-produced content. This includes a diverse range
of sites including facebook, youtube, wikipedia, twitter, wordpress,
digg and bittorrent.</p>
<p>These days the internet is pretty hard to ignore. Increasingly our
lives are online, we use it to shop, work, plan social events with our
friends, read the news, download music, etc, etc. Therefore as the
latest development of the internet, Web 2.0 is pretty hard to ignore.
Many have done more than simply take part, proclaiming Web 2.0 to be a
chance for activists to get their message out quicker and to organise in
more fluid and decentralised forms. Proponents often point to the ‘Arab
Spring’ where initial protests reportedly were sparked on the
blogosphere and twitter, resulting in the government attempting to shut
down social networking sites and <a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/01/2011128796164380.html">even
the internet all together</a>.</p>
<p>However on the most popular Web 2.0 sites, users (or more rightly as
the content producers, workers) face increasing repression. Just two
weeks ago over 50 groups, accounts and pages associated with anti-cuts
campaigns were taken off facebook. Furthermore, use of facebook and
others takes away our anonymity and <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/may/11/police-software-maps-digital-movements">the
Met has just bought technology</a> designed for the US military to help
track us using, in part, social networking. Even more troubling is that
as the workers (those that produce the product) of Web 2.0, even our
activism can be seen to be part of the capitalist machine.</p>
<p>The Really Open University with our <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=290223353564">facebook page</a>,
<a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/reallyopenuni">twitter stream</a> and
wordpress site certainly feel we cannot take the lifestylist position of
abstaining from corporate Web 2.0. But much is left to discuss. Can we
as Web 2.0 workers unite to cease the means of production? In this
world, what is the means of production? Are there chances to subvert Web
2.0 to our ends? Is the internet so uncontrollable that it does not
matter who owns it? What are the limitations and possibilities for the
struggle for transformation in this new age (if it is a new age?)?</p>
<p><strong>6pm, May 24 – Upstairs, Packhorse Pub, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds.</strong></p>
<p><strong><br>
</strong></p>
<p>Reading/Viewing list:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.metamute.org/en/content/analysis_without_analysis" target="_blank">http://www.metamute.org/en/content/analysis_without_analysis</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.metamute.org/en/InfoEnclosure-2.0" target="_blank">http://www.metamute.org/en/InfoEnclosure-2.0</a></p>
<p><a href="http://sociology-compass.com/2009/01/16/prosumers-of-the-world-unite/" target="_blank">http://sociology-compass.com/2009/01/16/prosumers-of-the-world-unite/</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/feb/10/uk-uncut-tax-avoidance-twitter" target="_blank">http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/feb/10/uk-uncut-tax-avoidance-twitter</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/25929643/Immaterial-Labour-Biopolitical-Power-and-the-Web-2-0" target="_blank">http://www.scribd.com/doc/25929643/Immaterial-Labour-Biopolitical-Power-and-the-Web-2-0</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/25/twitter-facebook-uprisings-arab-libya" target="_blank">http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/25/twitter-facebook-uprisings-arab-libya</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uk8x3V-sUgU">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uk8x3V-sUgU<strong></strong></a></p>
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