The Weapons Of The Geek: Putting Anonymous Into Context
from the politics-and-power...-technology-and-anonymity dept
Professor Gabriella Coleman, who has studied hacking culture, Anonymous and a variety of related topics for years, recently published a new paper, entitled Anonymous in Context: The Politics and Power behind the Mask. It’s a quick, but very worthwhile read. If you’ve followed Anonymous for years, you’ll probably already be aware of much of what’s in the paper, but it does a really nice job running through much of the history of Anonymous, the misconceptions about Anonymous, and frequent (failed) attempts by the press to accurately describe Anonymous. It also does a really nice job discussing the concept of the “weapons of the geek,” and how Anonymous is really a fascinating demonstration of how technology is allowing a group of technologically savvy folks to get involved in activism and protest in ways that simply weren’t possible before. If you’re interested in this stuff (and you should be), go check it out.
Filed Under: activism, anonymous, expression, gabriella coleman, geeks, protest
Comments on “The Weapons Of The Geek: Putting Anonymous Into Context”
I know a good read when I see one, and with LOIC listed in the acronyms, I can’t wait!
Weapons of the Geek indeed.
My favorite Anonymous read, was about HBGary. I think Anonymous could have had a greater effect on the world, if they would have stuck to leaking corporate and government abuses.
The whole Denial of Service attacks ordeal, was pretty much a wasted effort. These attacks had no long term effects.
Thanks Mike, will read it over the weekend.. Good find!
Indeed it seems very interesting. A great read for those who aren’t aware and I intend to distribute it if I find it worthy.