Welcome! You are not alone
Before doomscrolling and dead internet theory became a thing, the internet used to be a place of promise, excitement, and possibility. Surfing the web could be compared to urban flânerie: a surrender to the unexpected, drifting from website to website, from link to link. Serendipitous moments of discovery were free from the aura of suspicion that plagues today’s algorithmically enhanced social media experience (“why am I being shown this content?”), and felt earned, turning linksharing into an act of kinship and community-building.
(W)HOLE shows how, underneath the current desolated surface, the promise of a better digital world is still alive. Understanding the workings and trappings of digital infrastructure is an important first step to revive and fulfill this promise. In the repository, you will find a carefully curated list of initiatives, tools, and resources that aim to study, critique and improve our shared online reality. We invite you to get lost, to find things you didn’t know you were looking for, and to connect with new friends and communities – for the only way to free ourselves from this clusterf*ck, is to do it together.
Welcome! You are not alone
Before doomscrolling and dead internet theory became a thing, the internet used to be a place of promise, excitement, and possibility. Surfing the web could be compared to urban flânerie: a surrender to the unexpected, drifting from website to website, from link to link. Serendipitous moments of discovery were free from the aura of suspicion that plagues today’s algorithmically enhanced social media experience (“why am I being shown this content?”), and felt earned, turning linksharing into an act of kinship and community-building.
(W)HOLE shows how, underneath the current desolated surface, the promise of a better digital world is still alive. Understanding the workings and trappings of digital infrastructure is an important first step to revive and fulfill this promise. In the repository, you will find a carefully curated list of initiatives, tools, and resources that aim to study, critique and improve our shared online reality. We invite you to get lost, to find things you didn’t know you were looking for, and to connect with new friends and communities – for the only way to free ourselves from this clusterf*ck, is to do it together.