Introducing the Zine. An electronic magazine for all things Zero.
The early Internet was sacred. It was one of the few places that enabled the free exchange of ideas, irrespective of geographical boundaries or social constructs.
First, it was difficult to use. You needed to have the capacity, curiosity, and discipline to learn new skills and then apply them. Second, very few people thought it would ever make any money. The combination of these two factors provided a beacon for the genuinely curious. Those interested in the pursuit of digital enlightenment (aka becoming '1337'), as an alternative path to the purely extrinsic games being played in consensus reality.
I would not describe today's Internet as sacred. Perhaps a large mall is a better depiction. The curiosity that created it has been eaten by the very reality it was supposed to provide an alternative to. Many of the original cyphers are complicit in this reality. Either as entrepreneurs, VCs or engineers. They are building systems antithetical to the values and gifts in which they have been given.
Despite the surface level change, at a deeper level, something is happening that is very similar to that early Internet time period. There is a feeling in the air that we are about to enter vastly different territory. A new reality. What that reality looks like in the future will be based on whether or not information remains free. Curiosity remains available. And systems remain open.
In addition to the freedoms described above, one of the novel distinctions of the early Internet was the fact that information tended to be organized around communities, rather than individuals. Social (i.e. societal) graphs remained largely offline, and thus required individuals to bind together around shared ideas and interests to effectively coordinate online.
'Zines', bulletin boards, and mailing lists were the medium and represent the first versions of digital magazines, blogs and social networks. They existed to share technical information, but were also a place for expansive discourse and philosophical exploration. The Zine (or ø-zine), aims to be just that.
A place to share technical information, new ideas, and build a community of those curious (and willing), to see just how deep the rabbit hole goes.
From Zero to Infinity,
-n3o
