francispisani.net

Networks as a unifying pattern of life - An interview with Fritjof Capra

We all need to better understand networks. Their importance is growing as a form of organization whose efficiency has been enhanced by information technology. The body of knowledge that deals with them has mushroomed in the last ten years or so. The internet – network of networks – is now a significant part of the life of hundreds of millions of people. The metaphor is part of our everyday vocabulary. And still, it is used in so many cases, to describe, refer or allude to so many situations that its "polysemy" as Michel Callon puts it, can be easily confusing. Networks and complexity have so many things in common that we tend to let specialists deal with the issue, understand it, analyze it, use it.

This is wrong. Networks should not be the sole territory of brainy scientists. We should all learn about them, take advantage of the available knowledge about what they are, where they appear, how they operate.

[This article has been published in the first issue of the International Journal of Communication published by USC Annenberg Center]

Web 2.0: what does it mean for journalism and the media?

YouTube has nothing to do with journalism as we know it, but it can teach us a couple of things that we ought to learn. Beyond the fabulous price for which it has been bought, it reveals that many people have broadband, produce content and publish it, while others (partly the same) are more interested in this view of the world by “the people” than in ours. This matters for journalism in the time of web 2.0.

W2: there is a there there

It is common (in particular among techies) to say that there is not much in this buzzword. “Vaporware” as they love to say. This is troubling for most of us who tend to take their word for granted when dealing with information technologies and the web. I disagree and I use an expression coined by others to approach the issue: "there is a there there". We better find out what it is about, understand it and react accordingly.

[This is a slightly longuer version of the story that was published in the Nieman Report]

Let’s not forget what we owe to the hippies

When I arrived from Mexico and war-torn Central America to cover Silicon Valley I was impressed, and more than slightly skeptical, to find millionaires with some kind of social bent. Money, of course, matters more than revolution around here, but it is not always the whole picture. This is not easy to understand for a foreigner (and much less to explain as a correspondent is supposed to do).

That maybe why I enjoyed so much reading John Markoff’s What the Dormouse said, How the 60’s counterculture shaped the Personal Computer Industry (Viking).

San Francisco, California, 10.jul.05

"Indexing Power," an interview with Mark Goodstein, X1's founder

Mark Goodstein, X1's founder answered my questions about his program, how it works, the power of indexation, and why he thinks that his software "makes organization optional." I used some of his quotes in an article about indexing (in Spanish).

"Relational search," an interview with Hugh Harlan, The Brain's founder

In order to write the story on The Brain (in Spanish) I asked a few questions to Harlan Hugh, President, Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder. He could not answer them in time and they did not appear in the story. Nevertheless, Harlan was kind enough to email his thoughts a few days later, and it seems a good idea to share them with you.

'BEST STORY, NOT THE BIGGEST BOMB' - How to fight the terror networks

John Arquilla and David Ronfeldt codified the strategy that helped the United States overthrow the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. They believe that Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida could still prevail if they got hold of weapons of mass destruction, and the US and its allies must prevent that acquisition. To do so, the US will have to change the nature of warfare.

San Francisco, California, June 1st 2002

Preparing for cyberwar; Mars gives way to Minerva

Times are changing. After the war in Kosovo some of the old certainties inherited from the cold war are about to give way to new military doctrines. The network - the nervous system through which information circulates - is now the organisational paradigm. In their research into this transformation some analysts are calling for the United States to prepare for "cyberwar" and "netwar", in which enemies are defeated by interrupting their command structures and their systems of thought and communication, rather than aiming to destroy them physically.

Published in Le Monde Diplomatique, August, 1999