Kevin Kelly wrote an interesting article on the new socialism online in Wired magazine. His stuff can be compared to our conception of socialist media, likewise to that of Charles Leadbeater.

We are happy to tell that a printed version of the book will be out soon from Pluto Press! We’ve revisited all the chapters, special focus on the final one to highlight the idea of socialist media.

Advance info & pre-order option are at amazon.com. Now we are about to get proofs soon, and bound copies from the print in November. So, we’re still hoping to have it as a 2009 book.

We have been quite overwhelmed by all the feedback & comments we have received so far here and through e-mails, discussions, blogs, etc. Thank you all! It has been terrific, and as it seems to us, generative, way to publish the work. We hope to have some exciting news on the printed version pretty soon … In the meantime, here are some collected notes from the blogosphere:

First, Nick Jankowski from http://digitalstudiesseminar.blogspot.com/2008/04/digital-literacy-and-radical-education.html

“Wikiworld, an online book with the subtitle ‘Political economy of digital literacy, and the promise of participatory media’, provides the kind of theoretical grounding many of us have been missing in much of the fare of literature about digital studies. The long-standing tension between technology and society is presented with reference to Marx, Heidegger, Nietzsche and Marcuse (among others); the radical conceptualization of education as life-long, everyday and emancipatory is related to the ideas of Freire and Illich. And the requirement for digital literacy – extending far beyond skill-building and schooling – is sketched and placed within the parameters of Web-based participatory media as exemplified by wikis. The book merits much more considered attention than I am now able to provide; here I merely wish to signal its publication and open access availability, and recommend its study.”

The idea of “triple-freedom” has been discussed here:

Beim P2P-Workshop 2007 an der Nottingham Trent University zur »politischen Ökonomie der Peer-Produktion« hat Tere Vadén nun einen drauf gesetzt. In Abgrenzung zm »geschlossenen« Paradigma gibt es drei »stages of freedom« (Stufen der Freiheit): »sharing«, »commonist«, »communist«.

Danach gehört »Selbstentfaltung« erst in die zweite Stufe (»commonist«), weil die Mittel (»vehicle«) der Entfaltung nicht frei sind. »Triple Freedom« wäre dann erst in der dritten Stufe (»communist«) erreicht. Tere Vadén holt also die Produktionsmittel in den Fokus der Aufmerksamkeit. Ferner sei es wichtig, nicht nur auf die Veränderung der Medien zu schauen, sondern auch die notwendige Veränderung unserer Lernformen zu beachten.

Here is Teemu Leinonen, being typically right, http://flosse.dicole.org/?item=from-social-to-socialist-media

Now for about two days I have been reading, browsing and making searches to the book. The book offers a valuable historical and political framework to approach and think about the future of learning, education and media. The book has two faces. It is philosophical, humanistic and educational scholarly work but also an advocacy. This is the book’s strength but also its weakness.

I especially like the scholarly parts. They are enlightening many great ideas from earlier works to the discussion about media and education in the digital era. I do not have anything against advocacy, either, but I do not agree with everything the authors have to say. A real problem of advocacy can be, that in the eyes of many people the actual argument will loose its credibility. I also think that this is not only a rhetorical thing as the argument “we should make the world more faire place” (not a quotation from the book) is easy to do without getting pompous.

And here hard-e:

In fact open educational resources and other free software movements are more democratic way to learn and share the knowledge than anything else. Anybody can participate in OER movement and express one’s opinion, and thus create the diversity of knowledge. Tere Waden, has mentioned that civilisation (culture and education) can be the diversity of knowledge, even it is absolute value. By the way, he has written excellent book with Juha Suoranta: Wikiworld.

Predictably, some of the comments has been written in Finnish:

Jere Majava, http://blogit.helsinki.fi/tyonimi/wikiworld.htm

Tere Vadénin ja Juha Suorannan uusi kirja Wikiworld – Political Economy of Digital Literacy and the Promise of Participatory Media on innostavaa luettavaa. Kirjoittajat käsittelevät verkko-opetusta ja sosiaalista mediaa virkistävästi web 2.0 -startuppien ansaintamallien tai oppimistulosten kvantifioinnin sijaan toimijoiden autonomian kasvun näkökulmasta – ja tiukasti vasemmalta: merkinnällä on sama otsikko kuin kirjan kuudennella luvulla.

Parikka, http://www.valt.helsinki.fi/blogs/verkkopeda/wikiworld.htm

Wikiworld - Political Economy of Digital Literacy and the Promise of Participatory Media on Tampereen yliopiston voimakaksikon Juha Suorannan ja Tere Vadénin uusi verkkokirja. Vapaasti verkossa luettavissa ja ladattavissa tietenkin. (…) Kirjan huono puoli ei ole se että se on englanninkielinen. Valitettavaa on se ettei vastaavaa tekstiä ole suomeksi. Lukijakuntaa ja samalla asian ymmärrystä suomenkielisyys laajentaisi. Suomessa.

There is also a page and a discussion group on Wikiversity and a page on the P2P foundation wiki.

WIKIWORLD
Political Economy and the Promise of Participatory Media

Juha Suoranta & Tere Vadén
University of Tampere, Finland

In the digital world of learning there is a progressive transformation from the institutionalized and individualized forms of learning to open learning and collaboration. The book provides a critical view on the use of new technologies and learning practices in furthering socially just futures, while at the same time paying critical attention to the constants, or “unmoved movers” of the information society development; the West and Capitalism. The essential issue in the Wikiworld is one of freedom – levels and kinds of freedom. Our message is clear: we write for the radical openness of education for all.

DOWNLOAD THE PDF

Contents

Introduction

1. A Critical Paradigm of Education

2. Digital Literacy and Political Economy

3. Radical Monopolies: Schools, Computer Softwares and Social Media

4. The World Divided in Two

5. Edutopias and the Promise of Active Citizenship

6. From Social Media to Socialist Media

Conclusion

References