In the meantime, I want to talk to you about something that will accelerate the revolution that both of us know is coming - and which you've already done quite a bit to advance. This is the project I mentioned to you a couple times in passing; as of this afternoon, I can now assure you that it will be successful.
For the last half a year or so, I've been putting together a sort of distributed coalition with which I hope to harness certain aspects of the internet in an effort to disrupt the broken news media infrastructure in this country and partially replace it with a superior entity comprised of the best, most intellectually honest commentators in the Western world operating under a network designed to maximize the influence of the collective participants as well as the quality of the information that goes in as well as that which comes out. Among other things, the end product will be the best source of political news that has ever existed, as the network is designed to grow exponentially while minimizing the influx of low-quality participants and also minimizing the negative effects of those low-quality participants who do happen to make it in. Aside from deterring low-quality bloggers, the network is also designed to bring in high-quality bloggers; I have selected a handful of capable and well-known bloggers as well as print journalists who work partly online, who will themselves bring in additional participant, who will in turn bring in more, etc. A more concise explanation of all of this may be found
here. Note that the software by which this will operate will be released as open-source and there is no business model, as there is to be no income; the project does not require any money to run.
Now, in order for this project to actually succeed, we would need the ability to promote it widely as well as the participation of at least a handful of prominent bloggers with large audiences and unassailable track records in terms of competence and intellectual honesty, as well as relative political independence (i.e. not in the tank for a political party, even if they do have ideological inclinations and prefer one major U.S. party to another). It would also help to have a large media outlet with a great bulk of resources to assist with certain aspects while also letting us retain absolute creative control of the project; this could be accomplished by recruiting several of that firm's best and most popular commentators and then demonstrating to the firm in question that it is in its interest to facilitate the project in order that it might benefit from the publicity and increased hits, as well as providing the firm with an early version of the software to use on its own networks as well as advice on how it can do a better job of keeping the public well-informed. Additionally, it would be useful to recruit a couple dozen non-bloggers with backgrounds in programming, public policy, information security and risk assessments, public relations, academia, and other such things, and to organize such people into a separate legislative network.
I'm not writing to ask your help in doing all of this; I have already done it all. The project will launch this summer.
The firm is True/Slant; I have met with the execs a couple of times and will be bringing them the core software soon, at which point we'll be deciding how best to proceed. The commentators I've recruited thus far include Michael Hastings, who served as Newsweek's Baghdad correspondent for several years and also covered the 2008 elections before quitting the publication in disgust and writing an expose on its misplaced journalistic priorities (his first book just came out last month and he is working on another one, this time on the failures of the media); Charles Johnson, who was among the first widely-read political bloggers from 2001 on and who was receiving something like a million uniques a month at Little Green Footballs until he began to break with his largely conservative readership over evolution, racism, and their general dishonesty (and with whom I've teamed up to expose a couple of prominent conservative writers as white nationalists); Juan Cole, a highly-respected Middle East commentator and blogger who appears regularly on various public affairs programs; Allison Kilkenny, a very wonkish political blogger who writes for T/S, Huffington Post, and The Nation, among other things, and who hosts an increasingly-popular (and very funny) political affairs-oriented radio program with her husband, the comedian Jamie Kilstein (who has also joined up); the guys at Instaputz, who are known for debunking and making fun of the "serious" conservative commentators and who are routinely linked to by a number of the most prominent liberal/progressive/anti-conservative bloggers; and a few others. I'm also trying to get in touch with Glenn Greenwald and Duncan Black, and once I put out the manifesto/official announcement, I should be able to recruit quite a few more - and then, the bloggers who've already signed on will begin recruiting additional bloggers, who will recruit more in turn, and thus the network will expand, growing more influential and thus more capable of essentially forcing the mainstream media to address whatever topics they deem important. Then the real fun will begin as we are able to bring accountability to the incompetent and dishonest media figures who have kept their high positions for so long simply because their readers were unaware of what people who read the better blogs know by heart; they will be routinely discredited and mocked until their only remaining audience is made up entirely of idiots, at which point they will no longer matter at all. I'm talking about Pulitzer prize winners like Thomas Friedman and Charles Krauthammer, for instance - people whom a lot of otherwise reasonable people think are clever and serious simply because they aren't exposed to blogs, which have pointed out all of their ridiculous mistakes over the years.
That's the mid-term plan, anyway. The long-term plan is to establish an entity made up of vast numbers of the world's most competent journalists, commentators, and bloggers, all collaborating in one network that itself is more efficient than reddit, Daily Kos, or anything else currently existing. Additionally, I'm forming another sub-network comprised of various brilliant and influential non-media folk who will help to make decisions and otherwise advance the project, acting as a legislative body by which to conceive, discuss, and implement ideas. Eventually, many people concerned will realize that they are now part of a non-nation state which is superior to any nation-state or other existing sort of power structure of the sort that was invented well before the internet, and thus increasingly obsolete. It will become more obvious to many intelligent and honest people that they now have the ability to join up together and collaborate to form power centers that can challenge the existing order - the one that has imprisoned millions for drug use in this country or which executes women for being raped and males for being homosexuals in others. It will be an international, decentralized, eternal revolt against the old power structures and against the incompetent and dishonest people who run much of the world due to the inertia of history.
So, I have gotten all of this accomplished and everything is ready to go. I want you to participate in secret for now as a sort of shadow second-in-command, as you yourself led the first major internet-based operation against a major entity, which is to say that you understand what is possible and have taken it upon yourself to do it. Later on, perhaps, we could perhaps utilize your infrastructure and whatever influence you have over the "good" faction of Anonymous in an effort to advance the project further, although I'm not sure how yet. But in the meantime, I'd like to have you as a partner with whom I can consult regarding the long-term plan of channeling the noble elite - intelligent, well-meaning people - in an effort to take on the de facto elite, starting with the media and moving on from there as provided for by circumstances. Basically, we'll be playing an intricate strategy game with the real world, and to the extent that we win - and we have already won to some extent by virtue of what we've done so far - we will have made an extraordinarily positive impact on humanity and its future prospects.
Let me know if you would be willing to join me in this operation.
Thanks,
Barrett Brown
Brooklyn, NY
512-560-2302
On Thu, Mar 25, 2010 at 3:01 PM, Anonymous
<anonymous@whyweprotest.net> wrote:
Telling everyone I can.On Wed, Mar 24, 2010 at 2:28 PM, Barrett Brown
<barriticus@gmail.com> wrote:
Hey-
Wikileaks is under attack at this moment:
Not sure if you've been following recently, but on the 15th they leaked an internal State Department document showing that in 2008 they were considering discrediting the organization. This may have prompted what seems to have happened last night. I'm trying to figure out best way to proceed in terms of getting this into the public eye, contacting other bloggers and editors now. Do what you can.
BarrettOn Tue, Mar 23, 2010 at 11:22 AM, Anonymous
<anonymous@whyweprotest.net> wrote:
They play a pretty big role. The ability to identify someone as new or old helps to know exactly who they are. Memes and shared phrases are especially helpful in this. Depending on how people respond to some initial discussion you know whether or not they can handle being around anon or need to run for the hills. This is most useful when meeting up with a bunch of Anons who you have never actually talked to before. You will know very clearly and relatively quickly if you want to stick around and do whatever it is they happen to be doing. If you dont want to be around them or you feel that what they are undertaking will be nothing but fail then your judgement based on all the shared anon culture comes into play again. You have to decide to just leave or to raid them for being idiots.
On Tue, Mar 23, 2010 at 3:03 AM, Barrett Brown
<barriticus@gmail.com> wrote:
Anon-
Sorry for all the delays; I'm now writing for The New York Observer and am also preparing to launch a big project. Have another question for you for now, but will get back to you at length soon:
1. What role do shared symbols, phrases, and other memes play in the viability of Anonymous as a decentralized entity capable of both automatic self-perpetuation and meaningful collective action?
BarrettOn Thu, Mar 11, 2010 at 8:17 PM, Barrett Brown
<barriticus@gmail.com> wrote:
Howdy-
Thanks for the heads-up; I'll do something on that soon. Keep me updated with anything else you've got, please.
On Tue, Mar 9, 2010 at 9:47 PM, Anonymous
<anonymous@whyweprotest.net> wrote:
So just a heads up. People are pretty mad at http://knowyourmeme.com. Its a site that steals content from many other sites and profits hugely. They are funded by Sony, http://techcrunch.com/2008/08/05/rocketboom-inks-seven-figure-distribution-deal-with-sony/ . Because of that it is quite simple to say that Sony supports racism, hatred, and of course terrorism http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/32666 . You can see in that image that they are clearly mocking 9/11 and whats worse they (RocketBoom) are based out of NYC.
So, Sony (through RocketBoom and KnowYourMeme.com) supports the mocking of 9/11. I personally think this is news. Big news.On Tue, Mar 9, 2010 at 9:31 PM, Barrett Brown
<barriticus@gmail.com> wrote:
Yo-
Been talking to editor of Rolling Stone, other pubs, looking to put an article out on you guys. Been busy getting something else geared up that might be of relevance to you, will provide details soon. Wanted to get your input on it.
Thanks,
Barrett Brown
Brooklyn, NY
512-560-2302
On Tue, Mar 9, 2010 at 8:42 PM, Anonymous
<anonymous@whyweprotest.net> wrote:
Just keeping in touch. Did you see all the good news for our anti-scientology front this week? NYT, TODAY Show, and so on. Good times.
On Tue, Feb 23, 2010 at 3:24 PM, Anonymous
<anonymous@whyweprotest.net> wrote:
Great to hear it. I did most of the work with the authors who did the articles in Maxim and Radar for us. It would be great to see something go into Rolling Stone.
It seems that everyone who sides with scientology ends up with comments that fall more on our side.
On Tue, Feb 23, 2010 at 3:09 PM, Barrett Brown
<barriticus@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi, Anon-
Sorry for the delay in reply; working on a big project (I'll tell you a bit more about it soon, as you might find it interesting in relation to what you've been doing). Will be writing another piece on Anon with this interview next week, I think; might try to get something placed in Rolling Stone, as I've started writing for them. Will have more questions for you soon. Also, you might find this amusing - some conservative blogger was defending CoS yesterday and even his own readers called him on it:
On Wed, Feb 17, 2010 at 12:08 AM, Anonymous
<anonymous@whyweprotest.net> wrote:
1) How is it that a given project or campaign gains recognition and commitment among Anonymous while others don't?
Subjects that tend to resonate well with Anonymous on a whole are often controversial or relevant to matters of online freedom. Merely resonating well with the group is rarely enough to to kick off a major movement. Projects such as Chanology and Freeweb are the product of a mixture of momentum, timeliness and luck.
It begins with a promising subject that makes its way around the internet. If there is enough outrage or humorous potential, it reaches the chans and temporarily monopolizes the attention of Anonymous. When on anon, or a small group working closely together, decide that the cause requires action they take the first steps. Media such as posters, flyers, and videos are created and posts are made calling other anons to arms.
Not all such calls are heeded. Sometimes the initial organizing group lacks the necessary skills, knowledge, or vision. Other initiatives fail because Anonymous on a whole perceives the call as an attempt at manipulating their collective power for an individual's gain. Such beliefs are so strong that the phrase "not your personal army" has become a staple of Anonymous slang.
Individuals or groups hoping to catalyze an Anonymous movement must posess great humility and self-control. Their role is, and can only ever truly be facilitating an entertaining or meaningful experience for their fellow Anonymous to embark upon. There are no medals, no recognition, no financial gain for such individuals; more often than not if these groups are identified they are ruthlessly attacked by the very Anons they helped rally to the cause.
2) What is the unifying characteristic of Anonymous, if any?
Very few things bind Anonymous together. Internet access, a taste for controversial or dark humor, and thick skin are obvious essentials for anyone inhabiting the chans. Many who participate in Anonymous movements do not come from these ranks, however. These Anonymous join for very different reasons. Some will do anything for a laugh, some feel deeply about a particular cause, others feel a strong tie to the internet as a concept.
3) Do you see any entities in history that you would consider to be predecessors to Anonymous?
I do not believe that Anonymous as a group is the first to organize in different ways. However I also do not know of any collective or concept that really comes close to being a predecessor to Anonymous. One bit of noteworthy information is that many philosophy, anthropology, and sociology students have studied or observed Anonymous for various classes at college. None of them to my knowledge have been able to describe Anonymous in a way that anonymous could agree with unanimously. Personally I think that Anonymous as a concept is ancient, but the full potential of Anonymous has not been reached yet.
On Mon, Feb 15, 2010 at 9:50 AM, Barrett Brown
<barriticus@gmail.com> wrote:
Anon-
I've got a few questions for you to start out with, more to come.
1. How is it that a given project or campaign gains recognition and commitment among Anonymous while others don't?
2. What is the unifying characteristic of Anonymous, if any?
3. Do you see any entities in history that you would consider to be predecessors to Anonymous?
Anon-
Thanks for getting in touch. I'm about to step out, but will get back to you at further length either tonight or in the morning; we've got a lot to discuss.
Thanks,
Barrett Brown
Brooklyn, NY
512-560-2302
On Thu, Feb 11, 2010 at 8:06 PM, Anonymous
<anonymous@whyweprotest.net> wrote:
Hi Barrett,
I am the owner of the church0fscientology youtube account which launched project chanology 2 years ago with the Message to Scientology video. I am also, as you can see by the email address, an admin at whyweprotest.net. I handle most of the press for all the projects Anonymous does. I wanted to introduce myself and just make sure we had a line of contact if you ever wanted to ask any questions.
We are very happy with the article you wrote. I spent a lot of time working on press for the titstorm guys over the last few days. Sending out the big press release, answering and interviewing with abc, bbc, and so on. Its been busy. It is nice when someone actually gets Anonymous. So few journalists do.