Une démocratie pour notre siècle Affaiblissement du politique, sécession des élites, émergence d’une culture participative… Le consensus qui existait jusqu’alors autour du régime représentatif est en train de voler en éclats sous nos yeux. Une démocratie est à réinventer pour le siècle qui s’ouvre. Inutile de tourner autour du pot : notre démocratie représentative – ce système où une minorité élue gouverne – est à bout de souffle. Dès le départ, le concept était plutôt fragile : si un Athénien du Ve siècle av. On l’oublie souvent : l’idée même que la démocratie puisse être autre chose que participative ne s’est imposée que très récemment, vers la fin du XIXe siècle. Au fil du temps, les tendances oligarchiques du régime représentatif se sont renforcées aux dépens de son vernis démocratique D’un côté, les gouvernés ne font plus aucune confiance à ceux qui n’ont plus de “représentants” que le nom. Comment en sommes-nous arrivés là ? TINA, TINA, TINA (ad lib.)2 Je suis né en 1986. Une démocratie pour notre siècle Notes : 1.
John Chambers and Wim Elfrink | How the Internet of Everything will Change Cities As much as the Internet has already changed the world, it is the Web’s next phase that will bring the biggest opportunities, revolutionizing the way we live, work, play, and learn. That next phase, which some call the Internet of Things and which we call the Internet of Everything, is the intelligent connection of people, processes, data, and things. Although it once seemed like a far-off idea, it is becoming a reality for businesses, governments, and academic institutions worldwide. All of these connections are already generating massive amounts of digital data—and it doubles every two years. And the value that it will bring will be epic. More than half of the world’s population now lives in or near a major urban area, and the move toward ever-greater urbanization shows no signs of slowing. The traditional ways of dealing with the influx—simply adding more physical infrastructure—won’t work, given limited resources and space. More people also means more waste.
The Mock Trial of the Collaborative Economy This is the first part of the series titled “The quest for new value(s)”, where I aim at drawing a critical analysis of the collaborative economy with the objective to identify the key points where our action is needed now. After two years of one-sided praise of the collaborative economy, it is being put under merciless scrutiny. Accused of increasing inequalities while capturing the value created by communities, the various models gathered under this umbrella term are depicted as the most savage version of capitalism. What if this ruthless critics are focusing too much on the most visible flaws, while overlooking the real issues we have to start solving now? The reasons for delusion The collaborative economy is going through dark times. After nearly two years of uninterrupted praise to the values of “sharing” and “collaboration”, this shift may seem unsettling. Please change the bloody record It’s now necessary to debunk some of the much-heard statements which are, at best, inexact. Why?
Today’s Apps Are Turning Us Into Sociopaths | Opinion Illustration: McMillan Digital Art/Getty While I am far from a Luddite who fetishizes a life without tech, we need to consider the consequences of this latest batch of apps and tools that remind us to contact significant others, boost our willpower, provide us with moral guidance, and encourage us to be civil. Taken together, we’re observing the emergence of tech that doesn’t just augment our intellect and lives — but is now beginning to automate and outsource our humanity. In places designated ‘no bro zones,’ the app is automatically disabled. But let’s take a concrete example. Instead of doing the professorial pontification thing we tech philosophers are sometimes wont to do, I talked to the makers of BroApp, a “clever relationship wingman” (their words) that sends “automated daily text messages” to your significant other. Drawn here and shared with permission is their rationale, which I believe goes beyond just this one app. Technology that optimizes for efficiency is good for society
La consommation collaborative ou le mythe de la perceuse La consommation collaborative a la vent en poupe, c’est indéniable. Elle suscite donc assez logiquement plus d’une vocation entrepreneuriale dans son sillage. Mais avant de se lancer dans la création du Airbnb de la perceuse / de la tente / du meuble à chaussures (rayer la mention inutile), mieux vaut garder la tête froide : les startups du « partage » sont des entreprises comme les autres. Derrières les réussites éclatantes du Bon Coin, d’Airbnb ou de BlaBlaCar, qui génèrent des dizaines voire des centaines de millions d’euros de chiffre d’affaires, se cache une réalité souvent bien plus rude pour les entrepreneurs de la consommation collaborative. Je suis moi-même passé par là : à la fin de l’année 2011, je créais ma plateforme et me lançais dans l’aventure de Cup of teach, une place de marché de cours entre particuliers. Franchement, vous vous imaginez vraiment demander quatre euros à votre voisin pour qu’il puisse poser sa tringle à rideau ?
The Wonderful Possibilities of Connecting Your Fridge to the Internet Giordano Poloni/Getty Images The first refrigerator connected to the Internet was in a wired 100-year-old house in the Netherlands, where it existed alongside networked lights, doorbell, mailbox, and, yes, even a toilet. The refrigerator went online on July 12, 1998, and it’s still there. All it does is record and broadcast every time the fridge door opens. Outside of the pure voyeuristic novelty, there’s not a lot of value from this information. Dan Saffer Dan Saffer is a Creative Director at Smart Design, Dan leads teams in creating new interaction paradigms across a wide range of products, spanning both digital and physical. However, one valid reason to put something on the Internet is to check its status. And that’s the second reason to put anything on the Internet: to be able to adjust it if something is wrong. The Wrong Way to Connect Appliances What connectivity shouldn’t do is turn you into a slave to your devices, constantly monitoring them or, worse, feeding them data.
14 propositions pour une économie open Au printemps dernier, Philippe Lemoine nous a sollicité pour réaliser des propositions liées aux OpenModels dans le cadre de sa mission sur la transformation numérique. Le rapport final a été rendu public le 7 novembre et nous sommes ravis de constater que les plus emblématiques ont été reprises. Le 29 juin, nous avons rassemblé une quinzaine de représentants des différents territoires de l’Open (dont Lionel Maurel, Bastien Guerry, Valérie Peugeot, Jean-Luc Wingert, Frédéric Charles, Benjamin Tincq, Karine Durand-Garçon et Louis-David Benyayer). La session a été très productive, nous avons proposé 14 actions concrètes pour les soutenir. Toutes ces propositions sont dans le livre Open Models. Expliquer les licences et en créer de nouvelles Les open models développent une nouvelle approche de la propriété intellectuelle et du droit d’auteur. Proposition 1 : Développer de nouvelles licences dans la lignée des peer production & reciprocity licence Mobiliser les pouvoirs publics
Lost in Transition? Finding the theme for OuiShare Fest 2015 The third OuiShare Fest is in the making. Taking place from May 20-22 in Paris, the Leitmotiv of next year’s festival will be Lost in transition? Francesca and Diana tell us what’s behind this theme and why the Fest team chose it. When we sat down a few weeks ago in Paris for a brainstorm session about the theme for next year’s OuiShare Fest, little did we know we were about to embark on a long journey full of heated discussions, questions and, most unexpectedly, enlightening insights about ourselves and what we identify with. This brainstorm session was not unprepared: as a basis for our discussion, we had already put pages of ideas in a google doc, along with our fellow Connectors from around the world. The second we heard “Lost in Transition” (thanks, Ben), we immediately fell in love with it, as well as our coworking buddies at Mutinerie – but it turns out not everyone did. While I share the concern that “lost” can be concerning, here’s where we are. We need to tell good stories.
Vers des objets conçus pour le partage Depuis février 2014, la Fing, Ouishare et leurs membres ont mené ensemble un projet de R&D collaborative autour de la consommation collaborative, baptisé Sharevolution, dans le but de produire de nouvelles pistes de connaissances, de réflexions et d’innovation. Nous vous livrons sur InternetActu.net la synthèse des 4 grands axes de réflexion/action, dont voici la première consacrée à la conception d’objets pour le partage. Dans le contexte actuel de crise et en particulier de la remise en cause de la consommation de masse, notre rapport aux biens évolue. À l’heure de la consommation collaborative, on ne possède plus systématiquement un objet : on en fait usage ou, si on le possède, on le partage avec d’autres… Dans ce contexte, est-ce que les objets sont amenés à se transformer ? Autant d’enjeux qui viennent renforcer l’urgence de la question de la conception de la partageabilité des objets. De quels objets parle-t-on ? Quels sont les modes de partage dans la consommation collaborative ?
Why physical libraries are the perfect place to bridge the digital gap. When Wikileaks was initially launched, online communities got really excited about the potential of knowledge it would unlock: conversations, figures, names, everything was finally available in the broad daylight. However, except for a few documented cases, the platform never really went mainstream. Why so? This raw material is already accessible across the Internet in many forms and can be equally distributed to whomever: Wikipedia will let you access an updated encyclopedia for free and even by text messages. How do you therefore build the digital inclusion bridge beyond mere access? Digital inclusion: why skills matter more than mere access to hardware or data. When the first computers reached Brazil in the 1990s, Rodrigo Baggio realized they would create a massive gap between those inside this budding «information era » and everyone else. Here’s a quick example of what it changed. Inclusive digital education = access to information + skills + usage + people.