Thursday, October 11, 2001

P2PJ - IntroductionErik Möller

Slide 1

Peer-to-Peer Journalism

Communicating Facts in the Digital Age

Thursday, October 11, 2001

P2PJ - IntroductionErik Möller

Slide 2

Speakers

• Erik Möller: Freelance Writer, infoAnarchy.org ...

What is P2PJ? Why do we need it?• Meg Hourihan: Formerly Blogger / Pyra;

megnut.com

Blogs: Journalism or Exhibitionism?• Timothy Lord: Managing Editor, Slashdot.org

News, Trolls, Moderation and Free Speech• Jim Carrico: Potlatch.net – Potlatch Protocol

Reciprocity in the Gift Culture

Thursday, October 11, 2001

P2PJ - IntroductionErik Möller

Slide 3

Terms and Definitions

• P2P=Technical Term – Network of Equals• Also used here as a social term• P2PJ refers to

– Technical Dimension• Is there a Single Point of Failure?

• Or a decentralized collective? Or isolated sources?

– Social Dimension• Who can write? Access rights

• Who is in control? – Government / Church / Corporations

– Editors

– Reader-Writer-Collective

Thursday, October 11, 2001

P2PJ - IntroductionErik Möller

Slide 4

Ways To Communicate

Ancient Times Dark Ages Modern Times=========== technically decentralized ===========

Loosely connected Highly connected Highly connectedMoney Rules Religion Rules Money Rules

Thursday, October 11, 2001

P2PJ - IntroductionErik Möller

Slide 5

Problems with Corporate Media• Chomsky (Manufacturing Consent):

„Propaganda Model“• Size and Concentrated Ownership• Profit Orientation

– Advertisers / Advertising

• Approved „Experts“ (gov‘t, industry, sci)• Corporate Disinformation (PR)• „Anticommunism“ (now: patriotism?)• The Great Taboos: Arms Control, Oil Industry,

Banks, Domestic Corruption, Hunger, Corporate Media ..

Thursday, October 11, 2001

P2PJ - IntroductionErik Möller

Slide 6

Internet – New Forms of Journalism?

• (Mostly) P2P Network - any host can be publisher, software is essential

• Usenet: Editorial control through moderation (similar: web-forums – but centralized!)

• Mailing Lists: Editorial control through community building, banning

• Personal webpages: no editorial control – recommendations through links

Thursday, October 11, 2001

P2PJ - IntroductionErik Möller

Slide 7

The Birth of P2PJ• Collaborative weblogs

– Requirement: Everyone can submit stories

– Requirement: Everyone can post comments

– Different degrees: Slashdot vs. Kuro5hin

• Blogs and Diaries

– Usability Revolution

– New level of interconnectedness

• New Standards

– Content syndication (RSS), integration (XMLRPC)

Thursday, October 11, 2001

P2PJ - IntroductionErik Möller

Slide 8

Future Problems• Quality Selection

– Getting high quality info from trusted sources– Optimizing moderation systems– More automation – better interfaces

• Technical Decentralization - Connectedness– What if one portal becomes too big?– How can blogs be turned into channels?– Learning from Usenet

• Money and Incentives– Opinions are cheap – facts aren‘t– Can P2PJ-writers turn their hobby into a profession?– Can hobbyists be motivated in better ways?