(This book that I wrote in 2002/2003 in Sydney and Brisbane has just been republished as a PoD/pdf etc. in the Institute of Network Cultures Theory on Demand series #9. /geert) http://networkcultures.org/wpmu/portal/publications/theory-on-demand/issue-n... In My First Recession, Geert Lovink maps the transition of critical Internet culture from the mid-1990s Internet craze to the dot-com crash, the subsequent meltdown of the global financial markets, and 9/11. In his discussion of the dot-com boom and bust cycle, he lays out the challenges faced by critical Internet culture today. In a series of case studies, Loovink meticulously describes the ambivalent attitude that artists and activists take as they veer back and forth between euphoria and skepticism. As part of this process, Lovink examines the internal dynamics of virtual communities through an analysis of the use of moderation and "collaborative filtering" on mailing lists and weblogs. He also confronts the practical and theoretical problems that appear as artists join the growing number of new media educational programs. Delving into the unexplored gold mines of list archives and blogs, Lovink reveals a world that is largely unknown to both the general public and the Internet visionaries. Geert Lovink is an Amsterdam based media theorist and Internet critic, a cofounder of numerous online projects such as Nettime and Fibreculture, and the author of Dark Fiber (2002), Uncanny Networks (2002), Zero Comments (2007) and Networks Without a Cause (2012). -- Geert Lovink, My First Recession, Rotterdam, NAi/V2 Publishers, 2003 & Amsterdam, Institute of Network Cultures, Theory on Demand #9, 2011. Contents Introduction Currents in Critical Internet Culture Post-Speculative Internet Theory Three Positions: Dreyfus, Castells, Lessig Anatomy of Dotcom Mania Overview of Recent Literature Deep Europe and the Kosovo Conflict A History of the V2_East/Syndicate Network Principles of Streaming Sovereignty A History of the Xchange Network The Battle over New-Media Art Education Experiences and Models Oekonux and the Free-Software Model From Linux to the GPL Society Defining Open Publishing Of Lists and Weblogs Conclusion Boundaries of Critical Internet Culture Notes Bibliography Acknowledgments