1: 2: CONSTRUCTION
1: First, fold each A4 sheet in half along the vertical axis.
2: Using a craft knife or scalpel, cut a horizontal slot along the centre dotted line of the first A4 sheet. (pages 1/2/13/14)
3: Then cut along the dotted lines on all the other sheets. Make sure to cut to the very 3: 4: edges of the paper.
4: Stack the folded sheets in ascending order with the even numbers at the top. Curl the bottom half of the second A4 page (pages 3/4/23/24).
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technology is innovative or even well designed for
that purpose. the whether of regardless desires, and behaviour
The failure of WAP, based around the same GSM their match closely that technologies adopt rapidly
infrastructure, to develop a market anywhere near users how of example good a is SMS networks.
as large as SMS demonstrates that the perceived voice mobile for market obvious the to compared
desire of individuals to connect with information potential commercial little have to appear would
anywhere, anytime is contingent on what kind of but GSM, than sophisticated less far be to need
information people are accessing, and how. would it characters, 160 than less of messages
The fact that access is possible does not mean text distribute to solely network a build to out set to
it is desirable. SMS growth has been based on were you If purpose. different completely a for oped
one-to-one chat, not the high-value centrally devel- was that network a of out grown has it that
distributed content that WAP services promised. is usage SMS about factor interesting most the But Interestingly, similar experiments at the start of the
20th Century also failed to turn early telephone receiver. and sender both
networks into successful content distribution suits that messages of exchange flexible a creating
systems. The Telefon Hirmondo provided a communication, to barriers social or physical
‘Telephone Newspaper’(10) to users across Budapest around
for a penny a day subscription fee, offering readings route to users allows This time. convenient more
of news, politics, arts reviews and even concerts a to message a of reception the delay to receiver
would prohibit voice calls, the second allowing the allowing second the calls, voice prohibit would
P2P & MOBILITY with technology communication links conclusion, transparent interfaces that, taken to its logical its to taken that, interfaces transparent
similar themes of mobility, immediacy, and almost and immediacy, mobility, of themes similar
RE-THINKING share fantasies these in imagined technologies The
THE ROLES OF discourse. economic workplace to the complex dynamics of political and political of dynamics complex the to workplace
s ills, from the petty annoyances of the of annoyances petty the from ills, s ’ society
NETWORKS IN of range wide a of end the herald turn in will and gy,
appears to be at the breaking wave of new technolo- new of wave breaking the at be to appears
CONTENT always time and distance across connectivity communication. A utopia of instant, unmediated instant, of utopia A communication.
revolution since at least the invention of electrical of invention the least at since revolution DISTRIBUTION technological every of part a been has networks
Matt Locke information to access ubiquitous of fantasy The
one and everything else. everything and one (1)
everything will be connected to every- to connected be will everything
Imagine a world in which everyone and everyone which in world a Imagine 2
23
www.diffusion.org.uk
Matt Locke
from the publisher. the from
party without prior permission in writing in permission prior without party
print or electronic, be sold by any third any by sold be electronic, or print Paul Farrington (www.tonne.org.uk) Farrington Paul
any version of this publication, whether publication, this of version any Nima Falatoori (www.blutopia.co.uk) Falatoori Nima
DISTRIBUTION
out. Under no circumstances should should circumstances no Under out. Print and Format design by: by: design Format and Print
freely available to download and print print and download to available freely
This publication is designed to be be to designed is publication This www.artscouncil.org.uk www.artscouncil.org.uk Minicom 020 7973 6564 6564 7973 020 Minicom
CONTENT Director of Communications. of Director F 020 7973 6590 6590 7973 020 F
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come all comments on our work. Please work. our on comments all come London SW1P 3NQ 3NQ SW1P London
to being open and accessible. We wel- We accessible. and open being to 14 Great Peter St St Peter Great 14
The Arts Council of England is committed is England of Council Arts The Arts Council of England England of Council Arts NETWORKS IN
020 7973 6453. 7973 020 tion is available at the British Library. Library. British the at available is tion
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THE ROLES OF
in large print, audiotape or any other other any or audiotape print, large in
If you require copies of this publication publication this of copies require you If ISBN 0-7287-0815-9 ISBN
Free www.metamute.com/mfiles/index.html
RE-THINKING
DIFFUSION eBook from Metamute: from eBook DIFFUSION in March 2001 2001 March in
available in downloadable form as a as form downloadable in available First published by Arts Council of England of Council Arts by published First
Digital Economy conference, and is is and conference, Economy Digital
Collaboration and Ownership in the the in Ownership and Collaboration Matt Locke Matt
P2P & MOBILITY Collaborative Arts Unit for the for Unit Arts Collaborative NETWORKS IN CONTENT DISTRIBUTION CONTENT IN NETWORKS
of essays commissioned by the by commissioned essays of RE-THINKING THE ROLES OF OF ROLES THE RE-THINKING
This publication is one of a series series a of one is publication This P2P & MOBILITY & P2P
parallel Victorian fantasies about spirituality and
telepathy. In these fantasies the desire for more, towards Internet, early the marked that ships
unmediated connectivity is closely linked to the relation- client-server of architectures static the from
body as a form of conduit, as in this example from away emphasis shifted have networking peer-to-peer
the Dundee Advertiser in 1897: and technologies mobile in innovation Recent P2P AND ‘CONTENT AT THE EDGES’ THE AT ‘CONTENT AND P2P
Two friends who wished to converse at
a distance proceeded thus: A piece of society? changing are nologies
skin was cut from the arm or breast of tech- these how about truths prosaic more obscure
each, and these fragments ‘transplant- communication mobile intimate about fantasies
ed’, so that either party had a portion recurring do Or utopia? communication dreamt-of
of the cuticle of the other engrafted on long- this to closer are we mean technologies peer)
his person. When separated from each (peer-to- P2P and mobile in developments porary Blackberry. So do contem- do So Blackberry. RIM or the Palm Pilot Palm the (4)
other, at a given hour one of them (3)
traced on the piece of alien skin with a as such technologies, mobile contemporary in able
metal point the letters of the words in recognis- are that interfaces of elements accuracy
his message, and his friend could read startling with predict to appears also but tion,
these letters on his own arm, no matter communica- instantaneous about fantasies recurring
how far they were separated.(2) of extremes the illustrates proposition graphic This 4 3 21
22
(12). http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/internetnews/story/0,7369,371124,00.html (12).
(11). http://www.mediaguardian.co.uk/presspublishing/story/0,7495,407617,00.html (11).
(10). http://www.ipass.net/~whitetho/telenew5.htm (10).
(9). http://www.gsmworld.com/news/press_2001/press_releases_4.html (9).
http://www.openp2p.com/pub/a/p2p/2000/11/24/shirky1-whatisp2p.html
, – Shirky Clay (8). t ’ Isn What And … P2P Is What
, Viant Innovation Center Innovation Viant , (7). The Human Side of Peer to Peer to Peer of Side Human The
www.technocrat.net/958163435/index_html www.technocrat.net/958163435/index_html
, – Barlow Perry John (6). Napster and the Death of the Music Industry Music the of Death the and Napster
http://www.shirky.com/writings/content.html
, – Shirky Clay See (5). Content Shifts to the Edges the to Shifts Content
(4). http://www.blackberry.net (4).
(3). http://www.palm.com (3).
Oxford University Press, 1990 Press, University Oxford
, – Marvin Carolyn From (2). When Old Technologies Were New Were Technologies Old When
http://www.viant.com/downloads/innovation_p2p.pdf
, Viant Innovation Center, Innovation Viant , (1). The Human Side of Peer to Peer to Peer of Side Human The Notes
dynamic, mobile, ephemeral networks. These : ’ verb ‘ a to ’ noun
networks are constructed through many-to-many ‘ s words, content changes from being a being from changes content words, s ’
relationships orchestrated between massively Barlow Perry
distributed clients, a shift from the centralised John In Society. Rights Performing the as such tions
focus of the DNS (Domain Name System) architec- organisa- through administrated centrally than rather
ture to ‘content at the edges’. individuals, between dynamically negotiated be can the hegemony of the corporate intermediary, content intermediary, corporate the of hegemony the
from ’ freed ‘
This shift has been identified by Clay Shirky(5) as a Once edges. the to pushed are it, with
result of the exponential growth in PC computing associated values economic or artistic and rights,
power and increasingly widespread broadband con- property Intellectual of issues the and consumer,
nectivity, representing a huge untapped resource at a and creator a both is everyone future, P2P this In the edges of the network that no longer needs cen-
tralised resources to operate efficiently. The most itself. content
significant application to utilise this power so far has the to relation in rights property intellectual of cept
been Napster, the file-sharing protocol that enabled con- the to content creative distributing in mediaries
users to swap MP3 music files, and has prompted inter- of role the from replace, to seems it that works
the music industry to take legal action in order to net- distribution centralised the of aspects many
preserve its status as controller of its distribution of demise the of predictions to led has represents
networks. Early predictions that Napster would bring Napster that shift conceptual the but premature, ly
about the death of the music industry may be slight- be may industry music the of death the about 5 6 19 20
consequences of P2P will be found by studying the
way in which users inhabit P2P networks, and what other These EMI. and Warner like bases power
kinds of ‘desire paths’ they create. Pekka Sinonen, symbolic of demise the as glamorous as not are that
the Founder of Finnish mobile company Digia, sums technologies P2P of consequences other obscure
up their user-centred approach to service develop- might fantasies these fact, In communication.
ment with the comment: “Behaviour will drive personal transcendent for fantasies Victorian
Technology. Not the other way round.”(12) the as utopian as seems listeners and creators appearing almost magically in the space between space the in magically almost appearing
of music of ’ abundance global and spontaneous ‘
Ultimately, the most significant services developed a of
out of P2P might not be involved in constructing the fantasy The networks. these over content of bution
architecture of P2P networks themselves, but in distri- and creation the on effect similar a have will
recognising and exploiting patterns of user behaviour this whether seen be to remains it but Internet, the
across these networks. After all, even in the most of heart the at relationships power the ceptualising
decentralised network, everybody could use a map. con- in shift radical a represents undoubtedly P2P
not enough. not
behaviour. Innovative networks in themselves are themselves in networks Innovative behaviour.
link between technological opportunity and user and opportunity technological between link
behind in subsequent P2P rhetoric is this symbiotic this is rhetoric P2P subsequent in behind growth was virtually assured. What can get left get can What assured. virtually was growth
In Napster’s enormous room, music
will arise in spontaneous and global administrators. network of eyes the
abundance in the space between in misuse as classified be might that behaviour
creators and listeners so interactively user of patterns for look to or goals, primary s ’
that it will be hard to tell which is which. network the to secondary are that networks
No longer will we mistake music for a on activities for look to is questions these answer
noun, as its containers have tempted us to way One fantasies? transcendent recurring
to do for a century. We will realise once of glare the by overshadowed been have that reside
more that music is a verb, a relation- can intermediaries where locations other there
ship, a constantly evolving life form.(6) are or utopia, connectivity new this of landscape intermediaries destined to disappear from the from disappear to destined intermediaries
The desire for ‘spontaneous and global’ connectivity Are achievable? really processes such are But in this account seems reminiscent of the transcen-
dent fantasies about mobile technologies described processes. unmediated distributed,
earlier. There is a strong thread in current writing massively through collaboration this facilitates , and technology and , ’ interaction s ’
about P2P that sees more in this revolution than people of result a as Knowledge is generated is Knowledge ‘
simply the reallocation of power within a technologi- where paradigm, new this ’ Thoughtflow ‘ term the use Viant firm to describe to cal network, and instead imagines a fundamental (7)
shift in distribution relationships, a new era of consulting The technologies. P2P and mobile new in, communication that is both a result of, and reflected and of, result a both is that communication 8 7 17 18
Metro and SMS have both used factors of existing 11 months of launch. of months 11
networks to distribute content in ways that they were (11)
not designed for, or at least were not designed within newspaper, UK popular most 6th the
primarily for. Both examples demonstrate the value it making effectively copies, 778,000 over
of re-interpreting networks in light of user behaviour; circulating and profit healthy a making paper the
the cost of building these networks would have been with success, tremendous a been has approach tive
prohibitive if they were only intended for this second- innova- This demographic. target the amongst reach
ary use. In the case of SMS, the income to the tel- its increasing further on, it pass willingly or train,
cos could be a life-saving factor set against the the on newspaper the leave habitually users free,
massive costs involved in setting up third is newspaper the As network. distribution content
generation mobile networks. efficient highly a into railway the turning effectively paper at train stations around most major UK cities, UK major most around stations train at paper
Returning to P2P, it becomes clear that Napster news- its distributes and insight, this exploits Metro
shares this approach. Shawn Fanning understood points. key few a at distribution concentrating by
the strong desire for users to collect and share MP3 easily very targeted be can group user reliable a that journeys meant journeys ’
music files, and also the latent power available in commuters of regularity the and
PCs connected via higher and more reliable band- passengers) other with contact avoid reader the help
with. Napster simply connected this technological also (and commuting daily of tedium the pass help
power with the users’ desires, and exponential Newspapers hour. rush during particularly seats, always discarded newspapers and magazines on the on magazines and newspapers discarded always
SMS & ACCIDENTAL NETWORKS To a large extent, large a To world-wide in December 2000. December in world-wide
There are many affinities between P2P technologies (9)
and mobile technologies, partly because they sent messages text billion 15 over with exponential,
currently share the spotlight as innovative concepts been has growth then since and 1992, in network
in networked computing, but also because they are Vodafone the over phone mobile a and computer a
symptomatic of a shift away from centralised between sent was message text first The networks.
networks towards fluid, dynamic and ephemeral cellular of performance the about information
relationships. But despite this, there has been little exchange to engineers allow to primarily standard,
commentary about the peer to peer qualities of SMS 1 Phase communication) Mobile for System (Global
(Short Message Service, or Text Messaging), by far GSM the of part as developed originally was SMS the most significant mobile technology in terms of
user adoption, at least among those countries where base. user unpredictable
service providers have adopted the GSM standard. an such with networks distribution effective also demonstrate how difficult it is to design to is it difficult how demonstrate also
Of course, according to some definitions, the term but networks, distribution within behaviour users
P2P is only really applicable to services with ‘signifi- of influence the reaffirm this as such networks ’ accidental ‘
cant autonomy from central servers’(8), and SMS is of growth The WAP. as such services,
far too reliant on telco’s infrastructure to really advanced technologically more outpace quickly can preference for apparently limited services limited apparently for preference ’
qualify as true P2P. However, it’s worth looking at users the meteoric rise of SMS as an example of how of example an as SMS of rise meteoric the 10 9 15 16
are only one click away from accessing your work
files or downloading a movie, real users have to you where opportunities, high-bandwith of network
contend with the demands of real space, and will invisible an as space public imagining of Instead important, not less. not important, becomes situations real
want services that recognise this. more ’ users to relationship their architectures, fixed from
Third generation mobile technologies may be able conceptually, and physically themselves, divorce
to deliver you digital video as you cross the street, networks communication As success. their to critical real lives that is that lives real ’
but is this really an appropriate service? Although users to networks of relationship
the technology might not have to discriminate the usually is it but innovate, to pioneers drive may
between a library and a road crossing in order to world material the from divorced entirely are that
deliver content there, the user has to, and recognis- networks information of fantasies Persistent tion.
es the different ergonomics of each space. Service inven- their surrounding rhetoric utopian the to up
providers would be better off exploiting these live rarely technologies communication that is strate
ergonomic differences rather than predicting that demon- Hirmondo Telefon the and WAP SMS, What
technology will ultimately make them irrelevant. INFORMATION OF ERGONOMICS THE
The Metro Newspaper is a good example of this. system. broadcasting nascent a not device, tion
Anyone who has travelled on the London communica- intimate an as was society Century 20th s real impact on impact real s ’
Underground will have seen that there are nearly telephone the and failed, ultimately and opera. Despite limited success, the service service the success, limited Despite opera. and
this growth has been driven by consumer demand,
and usage was already widespread by the time that that situation a in whilst communicating of possibility the first offering the offering first the – storage and discretion –
service providers picked up on its popularity and calls
started to develop information services specifically voice over advantage significant two has SMS calls.
for SMS. However, despite the growth of commercial voice than flexible more is that communication share a need for a mode of mode a for need a share –
services, by far the most popular use for text teenagers and executives –
messaging is personal communication. In fact, telcos by targeted demographics user
SMS seems surprisingly ineffective at distributing main two the Interestingly, contract. monthly a of
commercial content, as the radically mobile and commitment financial the make to unable previously
ephemeral nature of the mobile phone makes it were who network the to users attracting contracts,
difficult to predict user’s contexts, and its use mobile pay-as-you-go of introduction the was SMS
creates a closely defended personal space that of growth the in factor important most the Probably requires careful negotiation with the user before
content is accepted. communities. SMS languages that actually reinforce and identify and reinforce actually that languages
But why has SMS exploded on a network that was and practises to led have limitations very these fact
originally designed for transmitting voice? The in yet medium, communication a as SMS of adoption
ergonomics of the mobile phone are still woefully widespread any against mitigate to seem would
inadequate for text messaging, yet this doesn’t stop limit 160-character and method input laborious The many teenagers buying phones for just this purpose. this just for phones buying teenagers many 12 11