[spectre] The Institute of Network Cultures presents: MoneyLab: Coining Alternatives

[Geert Lovink]

The Institute of Network Cultures presents: MoneyLab: Coining Alternatives

Over the past few years, while the economic downturn endures and budget cuts prevail, we have witnessed the emergence and rise of alternative payment systems and revenue models in digital media. Online bartering sites, a plethora of crowdfunding platforms, new forms of valuation, e-wallets and crypto-currencies like Bitcoin, are but a few examples. These coincide with the huge growth of mobile money transfer services across Asia and Africa and the general convergence of digital and financial industries.
 
Is this where a healthy economic future lies? Do these economic ventures testify to a paradigm shift from a market-based economy towards a network economy? What are the possibilities, pitfalls and issues at hand? Will these experiments gain wider ‘over the counter’ usage, effectively becoming mainstream? Beyond Hayekian notions of ‘currency competition’, what theories and concepts can help us engage with these developments?
 
MoneyLab: Coining Alternatives aims to critically explore, map and probe the politics, inner-workings and governance of these alternative digital economic forms.It is not enough to merely promote and further develop (technical) alternatives, we also need time to ask ourselves critical questions and re-examine the very underpinnings of our endeavors.  
  
What’s Cooking?
 
MoneyLab: Discussion List
You can join our project by subscribing to the MoneyLab: Coining Alternatives Mailinglist. We are always looking for radical submissions that closely reflect the stated aim of the MoneyLab: Coining Alternatives project. Subscribe here: http://listcultures.org/mailman/listinfo/moneylab_listcultures.org.
 
MoneyLab: Blog
Over the next few weeks we will launch the MoneyLab: Coining Alternatives Blog where you can find our position paper, interesting background articles, blog posts, and info on our upcoming events. We will send out a notice to our listservice members as soon as the Blog is live.
 
MoneyLab: Conference
We will be hosting a two-day conference event in Amsterdam, on March 21-22, 2014. The purpose of this conference is to launch the network by gathering artists, designers, programmers, activists and researchers. The aim will be to map the field, reflect upon theories and experiences
and clarify the key constituents, discourses and architectures at work in the
different kinds of network economies.
 
MoneyLab: Conference Reader
One of the intended outcomes of the conference will be to publish the discussions and debates as an
INC reader, which will serve as a resource on alternatives in networked economies.This publication is due to come late 2014 and will be published both in a paper version in a variety of electronic versions (pdf, e-pub etc.). 
 
MoneyLab: Toolkit
In addition, we will develop a toolkit built on the results of our research project that maps the field of alternative revenue models and payments systems geared to freelancers and organizations in the creative industries.
 
>>Join Us!<<
Of central importance to this project is the formation of a collaborative network of researchers, artists, developers, engineers, and others interested in sharing, coining, critiquing, and ushering in alternative network economies. Did you read or write an interesting article on this matter, or maybe you also want to host a similar conference, hackathon or other types of conspiratorial gatherings?  – let us know!
 
MoneyLab Coordinator: Patricia de Vries
Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences | HvA
Room 04A07
Rhijnspoorplein 1
NL-1091 GC Amsterdam
t: +31 20 5951883
patricia at networkcultures.org
www.networkcultures.org