Lost in the Funhouse: Knowledge Distribution In a Splintered Web

In the beginning, there was the blog, then social media, then, Twitter… Now, we’re not sure how to communicate at all. Information overload and disinformation nowadays make the work of web activists, content creators, digital librarians, and open source enthusiasts increasingly difficult to navigate. On the other side, users and audiences struggle to distinguish reliable and relevant content from ad-driven click-bait and AI slop, especially in the context of civic engagement and social change. Under this premise, we want to find ways to adapt, fund, and sustain DIY and frictionless publishing using digital and non-digital media.

How can we disseminate adequate sources of useful information, including open source projects and useful civic media for social change? How can we create and share knowledge collaboratively in a digital landscape of splinternets and massive platform migrations? We want to chat about alternative content formats, digital decentralized media, and artifacts from the past that we can bring into the new web, such as punk publishing with zines, flyers, toolboxes, and pocket guides. We want to discuss the following themes:

• Alternative digital formats used to disseminate knowledge among their communities
• Ideas of resilient and offline distribution for remote areas and Internet shutdowns
• Innovative communication strategies to showcase helpful knowledge in a sea of digital noise
• Uses of artificial intelligence and other digital technologies to improve community publishing

This session will use digital and non-digital media to document the conversations, including the possibility of a canvas for audiences to engage with during and after the session. The results of this session will be published as a poster or zine (digital and physical) to showcase the collective ideas and distribute beyond this re:publica.