Re: <nettime> THE DIGITAL ARTISANS MANIFESTO

[Mark Stahlman (via RadioMail) <stahlman@radiomail.net>]

Mr. Anonymous (aka nobody):

Just a few questions . . . 

1) This is a joke, right?  I've been following your postings for years
(anonymous is your real name, correct?) and you always seem to be posting
elaborate jokes.  EDAN is an Englishman's pun on EDEN, right?  This is
another Joni Mitchell riff about getting back in the garden, non?

2) As soon as someone starts to produce some real value (let alone some
real beauty) in "hypermedia", then you might have a point or two about
artisanship.  However, that doesn't seem likely too happen any time soon. 
WIRED loses money faster than they win awards or attract gadflys.  You
might want to check out the economics of computing before you go off and
launch a theoretical journal on the topic.  It's mostly about displacing
people with machines, increasing the "velocity" of money in derivatives
markets and extending the reach of "electronic narcotics."  You have been
reading the thread on net.art, haven't you?

3) The most important people in the Information (Propaganda) Age have
already been defined and the literature on this new class formation is
voluminous -- and guess what, it ain't you, it's the utopian/technocrats. 
H.G. Wells called them the "New Samurai" and the "Open Conspiracy", Vlahos
calls them the "Brain Lords" but you can say "virtual class", if you
insist, although it loses much of its spiciness in that formulation.  In
any event, it's not the slaves at the keyboards.  That's why they're called
slaves at the keyboards, BTW.

4) At least Marx seemed to have some idea what he was up against when he
wrote his manifesto.  Since this is all a joke (including my reply), there
is no reason why historical accuracy or comprehension of power and politics
is needed.  But, do you have any idea what/who you are up against?  Oh
yeah, that's the joke, I forgot.

Meanwhile, sign me up.  My membership check is in the mail -- the email, of
course.  Sounds like you have a winning idea here.  Smashing.

Mark Stahlman
New Media Associates
New York City
newmedia@mcimail.com
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