What is information anarchy? Why is ad-free education of the utmost importance? In which Ismatu Gwendolyn, influencer (gag) and perpetual student, decides not to sell their word.
the same way i love the internet knowing it’s also run by cis man capitalists. with the understanding that they’re this white canvas backdrop we all paint this place upon
wow. i'll be honest, i think you're the first person that i've came across that actively loves wikipedia. i used to constantly talk about how much i loved wikipedia (and this was before paywalls were really excessive), and people constantly degraded it by saying that anyone could go on there and edit it, so the information isn't that accurate. and with that, i would counteract it and say that although that is true, they can always just... go back and edit it again to make it more accurate.
and now, i can't help but to feel that people often times made fun of it because it always emphasized that it was a free resource. because as you've shown, and also what has been shown in what's been taught in academia time and time again, a lot of information (whether it's free or paid) that is sent through the masses can ALSO be edited at any time. only difference is we may not even be able to see it or notice anything is wrong unless we dove into our own research. and i think that's scarier. especially if it's coming from a paid place or academia, because there is this form of transaction where society teaches us to trust more on institutional academia and things that are paid, and to view any information that's free as false or mis/disinformation. so it leads to less people questioning and completely assuming that They must be right, because why would we pay for something just for them to lie to us? (Lol.)
maybe i'm being a bit of an optimist, but the fact that there was a society where mass information wasn't as heavily reliant upon mass consumption, does give me hope that it could come back some day. i realized that often times i don't like reading stuff if it is bombarded with ads. my brain short circuits, i get distracted, and then i end up leaving the app. now, i spend most of my time on platforms reading things without ads, and it has increased my attention span. however, sometimes i'll read stuff and my brain will instinctually just click outside of the app or go elsewhere. as if it was subconsciously distracted by something that wasn't even present.
same also goes for youtube too. i hate that you have to pay for a subscription service so you don't watch beautiful videos and have to see an ad every three minutes. some of these ads are unskippable at that. i even got an advertisement for people actively campaigning against trans lives, and i bet that a lot of these creators have no idea what specific ads are used on their videos. and that's even more horrifying to me. that you can actively be paid for an advertisement that is leaning on genocide of trans people, and then after me skipping it, it's just, "Hey guys! Welcome back to my channel." like i just have to instantly forget that that happened in the first place. (which is exactly what they want)
anyways whew thank you for the information that you do (as always). i also can speak for myself that i would not hold a grudge against you if you do end up sponsoring something at times—as you said, often times (most times) this stuff is not consensual. i don't believe a lot of working class people consensually choose to tap into these things, especially if they find themselves doing so out of survival. it is really really difficult to live a consistent anarchist and ethical life in this world we live in. we will fuck up, make mistakes, and be human. but you're doing a lot of work that is not easy, and i will not shift to a sense of demonization towards you, but instead i will uphold it to the system that corners people to do that in the first place. you are just a human being that is trying their best, and the natures of this world (alongside with human nature) can easily corner us to become hypocrites at the end of the day. but we try, still. and i am grateful for you doing that :)
I appreciate you highlighting the need for us to interrogate the apparent legitimacy of whatever resources/content we engage in. The number of people in the past few days who have told me I don’t know what I’m talking about (regarding the ongoing genocide in Gaza) because thats not what “the news” is saying has horrified me. Im a curious person and love to share information and resources so it baffles me the way some people are able to reject anything thats not coming from “traditional media outlets”, despite us having access to the same internet where we can find abundant evidence of inaccurate reporting.🫠
In middle school they taught us about how even sources that look ligit can be spreading disinformation by telling us to do a project on the tree octopus.( https://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/ )I think many people running lose on the internet today could have used that lesson 🐙🌲
I have been thinking about this since last night, and how the money needs to flow directly to the creator, and that "internet access fees" themselves are a sort of corporate paywall...
I know when something improves my standard of being when i want action immediately after digesting the content. it feels the same as being at a protest and chanting with the comrades, this adrenaline of knowing there is someone out there as ready to alter their entire state of being to better suit the world around them and their communities requests of them. I show appreciation by sharing with my teachers their affects on my life, it truly has been amazing seeing some of them get re-inspired to continuing working toward liberation when their is appraisal and recognition with their work. And for that I thank you as well Ismatu, I will always have a great first memory of coming into contact with your beautiful work of your Malcom X youtube video, and using it to prove a point to my professor that Malcom X is not a god(lol), but one of many revolutionary figures. With all love I am looking forward to in the future sharing my pleasure of your work and inspiration to continue lighting peoples sparks towards revolution<3
Our complete reliance on these systems and wealthy people and our vulnerability to them is sickening. I was able to listen to this because the billionaires that control the internet don’t see you as a threat worth their energy to destroy. How do we continue to build community on the internet while understanding that it can be snatched away if we build this community well enough for it to become threatening to the powers that be? This essay also made me ask the question; What would it be like to live in a world that did not require constant sacrifice and negotiation of my values and my very being to survive? I’m going to try to keep asking these questions and keep envisioning a better world even though it is painful because I know that imagination is revolutionary. Thank u for all that you do Ismatu and I hope you have been able to find moments of peace today.
I love this so much. There is so much to engage with. The part that challenges me the most are about intellectual property as theft. My livelihood is tied to collecting ideas experiences and community knowledge and then repackaging it to be sold by a publishing company. I love knowledge production and sharing ideas but don’t consent to the extractive nature of academia. I started reading books on clubhouse to my friends but attn spans are short. I love that you are supporting the analytical skills of your community. I am better for seeing you on ig and hope to help you do bigger and greater things.
i appreciate so much your reccuring plea that readers understand that you’re a person trying to convince them of something - and i think it’s beautiful when you do that by reminding us that you have a body, and are indeed a writing, speaking, showering bodymind. x
Something this essay made me think of is how common it is to just go out and buy something instead of attempting to make it. There are many ways in which having so many products can be beneficial but we are so divorced from the means of production that we often don’t consider that we can just make something ourselves. If we need something our immediate thought and action is “oh just go to the store and grab it” we don’t ever think to try and make it ourselves. I don’t think everyone needs to make everything by hand but it is scary to me that we are so enveloped in products and leisure and convenience that being unable to do something really basic like cook is extremely common.
So much to process in this, but first I have to thank you so much for offering your essays in both text and audio format! The combination of listening and reading to really process has been a very rich experience for me. Thank you.
To answer this question: "do you find information, items, experiences, opportunities less valuable because they don’t have a monetary benchmark decreeing their worth?" - when you were talking, my mind immediately went to fanfiction, which has become one of my favorite and most treasures experiences as of late. Fanfic gets a bad rap for a lot of reasons, but there are writers out here changing worlds and stories and combining their own into masterpieces that will never see the light of day. But they are so worthy and beautiful. There are so many works that have imprinted on my soul and will walk with me forever.
do you know CJ the X? y’all share a lot philosophically as humans who contribute to the collective internet consciousness. i would love to see y’all collab or something :)) you two are my favorite internet humans at the moment
I love this (still actively listening) wondering if there’s a way to make the audio louder? Even at max volume on my devices you are very quiet
oh that’s so odd. will reupload thank you!
Thank you! Thank you!
I agree the volume of the audio version is very low.
how do you square Wikipedia bias and majority white cis man editors with your love of it? I'm pro Wikipedia just not very loud about it given that lol
the same way i love the internet knowing it’s also run by cis man capitalists. with the understanding that they’re this white canvas backdrop we all paint this place upon
wow. i'll be honest, i think you're the first person that i've came across that actively loves wikipedia. i used to constantly talk about how much i loved wikipedia (and this was before paywalls were really excessive), and people constantly degraded it by saying that anyone could go on there and edit it, so the information isn't that accurate. and with that, i would counteract it and say that although that is true, they can always just... go back and edit it again to make it more accurate.
and now, i can't help but to feel that people often times made fun of it because it always emphasized that it was a free resource. because as you've shown, and also what has been shown in what's been taught in academia time and time again, a lot of information (whether it's free or paid) that is sent through the masses can ALSO be edited at any time. only difference is we may not even be able to see it or notice anything is wrong unless we dove into our own research. and i think that's scarier. especially if it's coming from a paid place or academia, because there is this form of transaction where society teaches us to trust more on institutional academia and things that are paid, and to view any information that's free as false or mis/disinformation. so it leads to less people questioning and completely assuming that They must be right, because why would we pay for something just for them to lie to us? (Lol.)
maybe i'm being a bit of an optimist, but the fact that there was a society where mass information wasn't as heavily reliant upon mass consumption, does give me hope that it could come back some day. i realized that often times i don't like reading stuff if it is bombarded with ads. my brain short circuits, i get distracted, and then i end up leaving the app. now, i spend most of my time on platforms reading things without ads, and it has increased my attention span. however, sometimes i'll read stuff and my brain will instinctually just click outside of the app or go elsewhere. as if it was subconsciously distracted by something that wasn't even present.
same also goes for youtube too. i hate that you have to pay for a subscription service so you don't watch beautiful videos and have to see an ad every three minutes. some of these ads are unskippable at that. i even got an advertisement for people actively campaigning against trans lives, and i bet that a lot of these creators have no idea what specific ads are used on their videos. and that's even more horrifying to me. that you can actively be paid for an advertisement that is leaning on genocide of trans people, and then after me skipping it, it's just, "Hey guys! Welcome back to my channel." like i just have to instantly forget that that happened in the first place. (which is exactly what they want)
anyways whew thank you for the information that you do (as always). i also can speak for myself that i would not hold a grudge against you if you do end up sponsoring something at times—as you said, often times (most times) this stuff is not consensual. i don't believe a lot of working class people consensually choose to tap into these things, especially if they find themselves doing so out of survival. it is really really difficult to live a consistent anarchist and ethical life in this world we live in. we will fuck up, make mistakes, and be human. but you're doing a lot of work that is not easy, and i will not shift to a sense of demonization towards you, but instead i will uphold it to the system that corners people to do that in the first place. you are just a human being that is trying their best, and the natures of this world (alongside with human nature) can easily corner us to become hypocrites at the end of the day. but we try, still. and i am grateful for you doing that :)
What would the difference be between "information anarchy" vs "information communism"?
*sighs in “that sounds like an entirely new essay”*
I appreciate you highlighting the need for us to interrogate the apparent legitimacy of whatever resources/content we engage in. The number of people in the past few days who have told me I don’t know what I’m talking about (regarding the ongoing genocide in Gaza) because thats not what “the news” is saying has horrified me. Im a curious person and love to share information and resources so it baffles me the way some people are able to reject anything thats not coming from “traditional media outlets”, despite us having access to the same internet where we can find abundant evidence of inaccurate reporting.🫠
In middle school they taught us about how even sources that look ligit can be spreading disinformation by telling us to do a project on the tree octopus.( https://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/ )I think many people running lose on the internet today could have used that lesson 🐙🌲
I have been thinking about this since last night, and how the money needs to flow directly to the creator, and that "internet access fees" themselves are a sort of corporate paywall...
Still listening but god I love how you think and write and speak! thank you for the work you do and the community you build!
also if you wanted clarity at all, Franciscans are catholic missionaries, usually Spanish, very much so gross
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franciscans
:) ty wikipedia
I know when something improves my standard of being when i want action immediately after digesting the content. it feels the same as being at a protest and chanting with the comrades, this adrenaline of knowing there is someone out there as ready to alter their entire state of being to better suit the world around them and their communities requests of them. I show appreciation by sharing with my teachers their affects on my life, it truly has been amazing seeing some of them get re-inspired to continuing working toward liberation when their is appraisal and recognition with their work. And for that I thank you as well Ismatu, I will always have a great first memory of coming into contact with your beautiful work of your Malcom X youtube video, and using it to prove a point to my professor that Malcom X is not a god(lol), but one of many revolutionary figures. With all love I am looking forward to in the future sharing my pleasure of your work and inspiration to continue lighting peoples sparks towards revolution<3
would you believe i am still working on part three. the more i read about this man the more i’m like… okay oneee moreeee book
Our complete reliance on these systems and wealthy people and our vulnerability to them is sickening. I was able to listen to this because the billionaires that control the internet don’t see you as a threat worth their energy to destroy. How do we continue to build community on the internet while understanding that it can be snatched away if we build this community well enough for it to become threatening to the powers that be? This essay also made me ask the question; What would it be like to live in a world that did not require constant sacrifice and negotiation of my values and my very being to survive? I’m going to try to keep asking these questions and keep envisioning a better world even though it is painful because I know that imagination is revolutionary. Thank u for all that you do Ismatu and I hope you have been able to find moments of peace today.
I love this so much. There is so much to engage with. The part that challenges me the most are about intellectual property as theft. My livelihood is tied to collecting ideas experiences and community knowledge and then repackaging it to be sold by a publishing company. I love knowledge production and sharing ideas but don’t consent to the extractive nature of academia. I started reading books on clubhouse to my friends but attn spans are short. I love that you are supporting the analytical skills of your community. I am better for seeing you on ig and hope to help you do bigger and greater things.
i appreciate so much your reccuring plea that readers understand that you’re a person trying to convince them of something - and i think it’s beautiful when you do that by reminding us that you have a body, and are indeed a writing, speaking, showering bodymind. x
this motivated me to donate to Wikipedia this year! (and make some tea, too)
Something this essay made me think of is how common it is to just go out and buy something instead of attempting to make it. There are many ways in which having so many products can be beneficial but we are so divorced from the means of production that we often don’t consider that we can just make something ourselves. If we need something our immediate thought and action is “oh just go to the store and grab it” we don’t ever think to try and make it ourselves. I don’t think everyone needs to make everything by hand but it is scary to me that we are so enveloped in products and leisure and convenience that being unable to do something really basic like cook is extremely common.
So much to process in this, but first I have to thank you so much for offering your essays in both text and audio format! The combination of listening and reading to really process has been a very rich experience for me. Thank you.
To answer this question: "do you find information, items, experiences, opportunities less valuable because they don’t have a monetary benchmark decreeing their worth?" - when you were talking, my mind immediately went to fanfiction, which has become one of my favorite and most treasures experiences as of late. Fanfic gets a bad rap for a lot of reasons, but there are writers out here changing worlds and stories and combining their own into masterpieces that will never see the light of day. But they are so worthy and beautiful. There are so many works that have imprinted on my soul and will walk with me forever.
do you know CJ the X? y’all share a lot philosophically as humans who contribute to the collective internet consciousness. i would love to see y’all collab or something :)) you two are my favorite internet humans at the moment
specifically they hold a lot of the philosophies shared in this piece