A url is a link, directory or an address. By common definition - a unique identifier used to locate a resource anywhere on the Internet. So why URL?
the name, the idea, the question;
A new blog - a place to condense a few thoughts was always in the works. Initially, I was considering popular subscription based platform models to start the journey. The last time I had written was two years ago on Medium - a well designed platform. This time, I decided to create my own space, with a specific narrative and of course, it's own design system. (What is freedom if not choosing your own crazy fonts??! )
url - the name had struck my head like a switch that had been flipped out of no where. Luckily, the abbreviation carried enough meaning to my evolving ideas - an amalgamation of many things - real, virtual and everything in between.
the name - I had initially wanted to call it uniform resource (al)locator, (which I'm glad I didn't, thanks to a friend who pointed the complexity) because, it was going to be a space filled with thought experiments of what the world might look like with an even distribution of resources. The idea quickly died down as it had come up, and I was left with a better reason to call it the same.
the idea - The internet is a vast evolving information system with an uneven cartography of links, words and meaning making spaces - and as much as it seems to be a sea of unlimited resources, it is governed by a strict hierarchy depending on search engines, algorithms and advertising money. There are moments of serendipity, when one stumbles upon a new Youtuber or a cool website. Overseen by omnipresent algorithms and recommendation systems, it is becoming even more difficult to locate resources apart from our own interests and biases. We are bombarded with stories and research by those who are readily funded and privileged; or subjected to facts shouted the loudest on social media platforms and fall along the accepted metrics of success (likes, comments and reshares). What we imbibe and listen to eventually reflects upon what we create; and thus, we tend to contribute to similar cycles of making new media. Slow spaces are rare - as attention is spliced, measured and sold for quicker moving goods. In this current media environment, it takes consistent efforts to seek out unheard voices, especially from underrepresented locations on our global map and from classes of people who are almost forgotten or being erased off epistemic silos.
A mix of in person conversations, intellectual discourse and thoughtful unlearning is often required to navigate this sheer amount of data so that it can transform into fruitful learning. In a time like this, curations and recommendations from real people(and not chatbots) is even more valuable. Jostling these thoughts, I began thinking of what it means to create spaces for collaborative knowledge sharing and building to happen.
the question - What would a collective crowdsourced resource list look like?
Would there be more similarities than differences? Would we take into account different cultures and criteria?
And what would an imagined future built on those resources look like? Would it favour the commons or the individual?
Resource
To think about these questions, let us dig down into what a definition of a resource in our present civilisation looks like. Let's also see what qualifies as a resource and how it is quantified within our structures.
Wikipedia defines it this way - Resource refers to all the materials available in our environment which are technologically accessible, economically feasible and culturally sustainable and help us to satisfy our needs and wants.
Our environment contains various elements that fall under this definition. They can be categorised into resources that are renewable or inexhaustible (in the foreseeable future) and non renewable or in limited supply. But our modern 21st century definition, alludes to resources that are closer to digital elements like digitally created images, text and sound. Resources like money are also manufactured but how we measure its value is built upon the foundations of physical resources such as precious metal. What about other intangible resources? Happiness can be measured by chemical levels in the body, fulfillment can be measured by customer satisfaction surveys. As we try looking for more examples, it closely seems like all that is intangible can also be quantified very easily. Quantification is essential for application. To make use of something by extracting a quantum of value from it as it translates into another resource.
"We measure what we value, and we value what we measure"
The above quote was something that my dear friend Shreya introduced me to. In an alternative framework where what we value will drive what we measure and therefore how we build a product might be radically influenced by the core value of the person envisioning it. As we slowly change our existing mental models, we start seeing newer ways of expressing and creating.
In this new epistemological framework, would there be the advent of unquantifiable resources?Quite a tough and open ended question - since it's in the nature of the human observer to make sense of things by adding a label of measurement to it which has lead to the datafication of everything in our society today. The proliferation of digital tools that have binary input methods, also leads to discrete amounts of data being harvested and processed adding to the problem of surveillance and oversight. For example, a form for gender data allows for only one field to be selected; even if many options may be allowed to be chosen from. In an anecdote, Audrey Tang, the digital minister of Taiwan, who identifies as transgender, says if the same question was on paper, she would either tick both the fields(male and female). She would still be able to answer the other questions, irrespective of her subverting the system. However, when it is hard coded - it is impossible to do so - unless all the options are added. Thus the values of the person building a system directly informs the design of it.
To understand resources as flows and interactions rather than elements of measurement is critical to rebuilding structures. For example, instead of a resource map that shows us the regions where lithium is found, can we visualise one where EV cars are bought vs manufactured? The relationship between these two metrics might end up showing is the disparities in global trade along with who benefits and who faces loss. Imagine building a climate change map, on similar contexts? The results might be stark and frightening. To highlight global inequities, it is essential to bring new forms and contexts to visualising data that is not discrete, but one that tells a larger story.
Access/Abundance
The quantity of resource attributed to a particular geographic location might tell you how rich or poor that nation or country is. However, that rarely happens to be the case. The economy is a complex system (which many believe to be a hoax) that is rarely proportionate to resource. Raw material and product are separated by miles of supply chain, labour and politics that it is a very genuine miracle that it arrives on your doorstep safe and sound. Funnily, the degree of separation between you and the metal used to assemble your smartphone might be thousand fold but the separation between you and your favourite celebrity might be well less than six.
This is something the digital world has managed to flip; to outmanoeuvre the restrictions posed by physical resources into an infinite repository of information resources that when utilised well by an individual, leading to a life that three decades ago, someone might've called science fiction. This promising facade however falls apart as we probe further; much unlike an assembly line at a car factory, the digital resources and the infrastructure required to sustain them are tied into enormous physical and mental labour. The magical levers are being pushed everyday to keep the internet awake; the elves toiling in day and night succumb to the woes of capitalism as they shovel the coal to light our world up.
Thirdly, a matter of language of describing resources is something I found interesting. In the South Indian language (and my mother tongue) Tamil, resource means 'valam'. I was surprised when I found out since in spoken tongue 'valam' also means abundance or fertility. When you wish someone, you also use it the word 'vazhga valamudan' which means wishing them good health and a plentiful life. It's fascinating how a language informs meaning and value of any resource; and that in one economic system resource inherently means a space for extraction, where somewhere else resource is a symbol of prosperity.
Miracle of the commons
Another interesting way to think about resources is from the perspective of the commons. A game theory approach suggests that behaviours of competition and cooperation emerge from various agents interacting in a complex systems in a quest for resource. Dawkins put forward that altruism is essential for survival of a species and mutual cooperation is something that the 'selfish gene' enacts upon in an organism and within organisms in order for the gene's eternal survival. This balance centred between the commons and the individual takes precedence in the evolution of our social systems.
Not all decisions in current society fall on individuals; in recent years, there has been a tremendous rise in collective decision making when it comes to new investing models and even voting in companies. The whole advent of the web 3.0 idea was based on the idea of the commons. Collective intelligence projects such as pol.is harness the power of rough consensus of groups to aid in decision making. Patterns in how Gen Z invests in money show that the recession and the slow down of the economy is encouraging consumers to spend collectively on thrifting chains and joint real estate investments. Even TikTok houses that content creators live in together are micro extensions of the mega communities that they harbour worldwide. DAOs are an experiment in shared ownership and decision making when it comes to businesses that may range from making your own digital fashion to supporting your favourite pizza chain. Projects like RADAR- a community of futurists have recently launched their own Futures report based on crowdsourced signals of change.
These examples show the possibility of not only social organising but also decision making and action building based on a commons. So, going back to my initial question: is there a possibility of crowdsourced resource lists based on flimsy whims and maybe some important questions?
For instance, a resource list of:
A song that you would sing yourself during a journey to space.
The last movie that you would watch if the world were to become colourless the next day.
The documentary that made the most impact on you.
If you have more ideas, jump in! url will become a portal for people far and wide creating random, weird but hyper- curated resource lists.
If you're interested in pitching ideas please write to swarna.collab@gmail.com.
And that's the end of the resource ramble! As usual, scroll ahead for some cool resources that I found interesting.
cool resources
Democracy and Tech
How Taiwan's Unlikely Digital Minister Hacked the Pandemic, on Wired
Radical Xchange, organisation and concepts
Podcasts
Alternative Economies