Lori Emerson
@loriemerson.net
media studies professor | Other Networks: A Radical Technology Sourcebook (Anthology Editions, May 2025) | dir. @mediaarchaeology.bsky.social | http://loriemerson.net | Boulder, Colorado | 🇨🇦 🇺🇲 🏃♀️🚴♀️ | 📷 Jenna Maurice
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Lori Emerson
@loriemerson.net
· Jul 11
Other Networks: A Radical Technology Sourcebook
Other Networks: A Radical Technology Sourcebook At long last, Other Networks: A Radical Technology Sourcebook is officially available for pre-order. If you live in the U.S., you can order directly …
loriemerson.net
SOME NEWS! the folks at Anthology Editions / Mexican Summer decided to print another 1500 copies of #othernetworks (out in Oct.) because it sold out so quickly! THANK YOU to all of you for ordering a copy & helping to make this reprint possible 😍 1/2 loriemerson.net/books/other-...
(that is to say, as individual as ever) self-sacrifice to a new kind of political self understanding and behavior." --Hans Magnus Enzensberger (1970) [3/3]
February 8, 2026 at 9:05 PM
(that is to say, as individual as ever) self-sacrifice to a new kind of political self understanding and behavior." --Hans Magnus Enzensberger (1970) [3/3]
the media, once they have come into their own, destroy the private production methods of bourgeois intellectuals. Only in productive work and learning processes can their individualism be broken down in such a way that it is transformed from morally based [2/3]
February 8, 2026 at 9:05 PM
the media, once they have come into their own, destroy the private production methods of bourgeois intellectuals. Only in productive work and learning processes can their individualism be broken down in such a way that it is transformed from morally based [2/3]
and finally (maybe), this is why I think the next step of any #othernetworks project, mine or yours, needs to focus on TECHNIQUE, PRODUCTION , and CURRICULUM rather than technology itself: "More radically than any good intention, more lastingly than existential flight from one’s own class, [1/3]
February 8, 2026 at 9:05 PM
and finally (maybe), this is why I think the next step of any #othernetworks project, mine or yours, needs to focus on TECHNIQUE, PRODUCTION , and CURRICULUM rather than technology itself: "More radically than any good intention, more lastingly than existential flight from one’s own class, [1/3]
Anyone who imagines that freedom for the media will be established if only everyone is busy transmitting and receiving is the dupe of a liberalism which, decked out in contemporary colors, merely peddles the faded concepts of a preordained harmony of social interests." [3/3]
February 8, 2026 at 8:50 PM
Anyone who imagines that freedom for the media will be established if only everyone is busy transmitting and receiving is the dupe of a liberalism which, decked out in contemporary colors, merely peddles the faded concepts of a preordained harmony of social interests." [3/3]
This is impossible unless those concerned organize themselves...Anyone who expects to be emancipated by technological hardware, or by a system of hardware however structured, is the victim of an obscure belief in progress. [2/3]
February 8, 2026 at 8:50 PM
This is impossible unless those concerned organize themselves...Anyone who expects to be emancipated by technological hardware, or by a system of hardware however structured, is the victim of an obscure belief in progress. [2/3]
daaaaamn THIS is what's missing from contemporary discourse around #amateurradio as #othernetworks! Hans Magnus Enzensberger: "Any socialist strategy for the media must...strive to end the isolation of the individual participants from the social learning and production process. [1/3]
February 8, 2026 at 8:50 PM
daaaaamn THIS is what's missing from contemporary discourse around #amateurradio as #othernetworks! Hans Magnus Enzensberger: "Any socialist strategy for the media must...strive to end the isolation of the individual participants from the social learning and production process. [1/3]
the weakness and lack of perspective in one’s own agitation. If the latter leads to self-isolation instead of mobilizing the masses, then its failure is attributed holus-bolus to the overwhelming power of the media." 2/2
February 8, 2026 at 8:28 PM
the weakness and lack of perspective in one’s own agitation. If the latter leads to self-isolation instead of mobilizing the masses, then its failure is attributed holus-bolus to the overwhelming power of the media." 2/2
I also wish to say that Hans Magnus Enzensburger knew where it was at in 1970, especially when it comes to the untapped potential of radio (not reflected in this particular, excellent quote). "To cast the enemy in the role of the devil is to conceal 1/2
February 8, 2026 at 8:28 PM
I also wish to say that Hans Magnus Enzensburger knew where it was at in 1970, especially when it comes to the untapped potential of radio (not reflected in this particular, excellent quote). "To cast the enemy in the role of the devil is to conceal 1/2
also thank you for buying a copy! I hope you like it---
February 7, 2026 at 11:00 PM
also thank you for buying a copy! I hope you like it---
let the record show, Brian, I can deadlift 120 pounds! that really needs to be how I sign my name now - full legal name, call sign, and how much I can deadlift.
February 7, 2026 at 11:00 PM
let the record show, Brian, I can deadlift 120 pounds! that really needs to be how I sign my name now - full legal name, call sign, and how much I can deadlift.
and then what to say when I learn that actually *I* am the one who added in to said piece of semi-academic writing how much I can deadlift but did so whilst still in the throes of recovering from a concussion and I have no memory of doing so!
February 7, 2026 at 10:46 PM
and then what to say when I learn that actually *I* am the one who added in to said piece of semi-academic writing how much I can deadlift but did so whilst still in the throes of recovering from a concussion and I have no memory of doing so!
collaboratively writing an essay with @rose-alibi.bsky.social means she includes details about exactly how much I can deadlift to demonstrate how heavy some of our computers are in the @mediaarchaeology.bsky.social and I am cackling at the thought of this stat being in print in perpetuity.
February 7, 2026 at 9:59 PM
collaboratively writing an essay with @rose-alibi.bsky.social means she includes details about exactly how much I can deadlift to demonstrate how heavy some of our computers are in the @mediaarchaeology.bsky.social and I am cackling at the thought of this stat being in print in perpetuity.
bonkers times we're living through. "We are two anonymous AI trainers based in France...we receive real conversations between users and an LLM that happened on social media...We then have to respond to the user’s latest entry as if we were the LLM." data-workers.org/france/
Behind The Face of AI, by Clara and B.
This short comic details the experiences of data workers in France working for Scale AI as human chatbots. They explore what it is to be human and the consequences of acting like a machine.
data-workers.org
February 7, 2026 at 8:05 PM
bonkers times we're living through. "We are two anonymous AI trainers based in France...we receive real conversations between users and an LLM that happened on social media...We then have to respond to the user’s latest entry as if we were the LLM." data-workers.org/france/
Reposted by Lori Emerson
"Independent music cultures require people to be truly active, and make what you want to see in the world... That is also the basic starting point for political action. A better world is possible, and nobody else is going to make it for us, so we might as well get going."
February 7, 2026 at 3:01 AM
"Independent music cultures require people to be truly active, and make what you want to see in the world... That is also the basic starting point for political action. A better world is possible, and nobody else is going to make it for us, so we might as well get going."
Reposted by Lori Emerson
"So much of what we do in indpndt music neatly maps onto organizing work. If you can book a show,... you can organize your community. You know how to set up an event; you know how to get the word out... Even ppl [who'd] tell me that they 'weren’t really political' are starting to show up for real."
Rock Solidarity
a fiery writer-owned cooperative
flaminghydra.com
February 7, 2026 at 3:00 AM
"So much of what we do in indpndt music neatly maps onto organizing work. If you can book a show,... you can organize your community. You know how to set up an event; you know how to get the word out... Even ppl [who'd] tell me that they 'weren’t really political' are starting to show up for real."
Reposted by Lori Emerson
Yay, our glorious @mediaarchaeology.bsky.social and her fearless leader @loriemerson.net appear in @fastcompany.com this week! Come visit us sometime.
www.fastcompany.com/91483774/the...
www.fastcompany.com/91483774/the...
These historic computing labs teach kids what technology was like before phones, social media, and the cloud - Fast Company
The labs help students and researchers understand computing’s history and future—and stoke an interest in cloud-free technology.
www.fastcompany.com
February 6, 2026 at 3:18 PM
Yay, our glorious @mediaarchaeology.bsky.social and her fearless leader @loriemerson.net appear in @fastcompany.com this week! Come visit us sometime.
www.fastcompany.com/91483774/the...
www.fastcompany.com/91483774/the...
still appreciating the insightfulness and relevance of this quote from MLK Jr, 1967: "When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights, are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered."
February 5, 2026 at 4:20 PM
still appreciating the insightfulness and relevance of this quote from MLK Jr, 1967: "When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights, are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered."
who me? hold a grudge? against some older guy who just appeared at the coffee shop & about a decade ago practically got into an argument with me about whether I was a student in his computer science class or not while I repeatedly told him I was a professor and this wasn't possible? nah, not me.
February 4, 2026 at 6:02 PM
who me? hold a grudge? against some older guy who just appeared at the coffee shop & about a decade ago practically got into an argument with me about whether I was a student in his computer science class or not while I repeatedly told him I was a professor and this wasn't possible? nah, not me.
ahh that is so nice to hear, especially from you - thank you!!
February 4, 2026 at 4:21 PM
ahh that is so nice to hear, especially from you - thank you!!
new email signature just reads, "Ashley made me do it!"
February 4, 2026 at 4:12 PM
new email signature just reads, "Ashley made me do it!"
I desperately need to stop responding to email so I can get back to my beautiful typewriter!
February 4, 2026 at 2:37 AM
I desperately need to stop responding to email so I can get back to my beautiful typewriter!
Reposted by Lori Emerson
Dystopian future #39: It's the end of summer break 2029 and a 79 y/o history professor at a small liberal arts college is receiving daily emails about setting up a 3-step verification account for the newly purchased LarvalLearning system if she wants to teach her course on ancient Rome in the fall.
February 3, 2026 at 3:29 PM
Dystopian future #39: It's the end of summer break 2029 and a 79 y/o history professor at a small liberal arts college is receiving daily emails about setting up a 3-step verification account for the newly purchased LarvalLearning system if she wants to teach her course on ancient Rome in the fall.
I also wish to make it known that I mutter some choice curse words under my breath when I see CFPs for conferences on topic x and AI without a single mention of the profoundly dire consequences of data centers driving "AI" amongst all the words describing how AI reshapes, challenges, etc etc.
February 3, 2026 at 5:04 PM
I also wish to make it known that I mutter some choice curse words under my breath when I see CFPs for conferences on topic x and AI without a single mention of the profoundly dire consequences of data centers driving "AI" amongst all the words describing how AI reshapes, challenges, etc etc.
I said some words about labs and the importance of old tech - hopefully the words I spoke align with what I actually think...
MAL founder & director @loriemerson.net talked to Fast Company about the lab - www.fastcompany.com/91483774/the...
These historic computing labs teach kids what technology was like before phones, social media, and the cloud
The labs help students and researchers understand computing’s history and future—and stoke an interest in cloud-free technology.
www.fastcompany.com
February 2, 2026 at 7:56 PM
I said some words about labs and the importance of old tech - hopefully the words I spoke align with what I actually think...