I just got done giving a workshop at the Ideas City festival, and I'll be doing a follow-up event this Sunday. You should come! It'll start down at the POPS space near Zuccotti Park, then migrate up to ITP for a short technical presentation.
Please RSVP to [email protected]
Sunday May 5, 11am
Meet at 60 Wall Street atrium
(An indoor privately owned public space)
Occupy.here is an invisible Temporary Autonomous Zone built on internet technologies like WiFi and HTML. The project seeks to build a network of independent WiFi routers, each hosting local services that don’t require an internet connection. Each WiFi network, called OCCUPY.HERE, allows those within physical proximity to connect to custom-built social software. Once you’re connected, any URL you type into your mobile browser redirects you to occupy.here. This website offers a simple forum where you can anonymously post messages, upload files, and respond to what others have posted.
The WiFi hardware can be battery-powered and stores all its data on a USB thumb drive. Each router has no upstream bandwidth and there is no mesh protocol connecting them. The project is open source and designed to be easily replicated by DIY free-speech enthusiasts� using off-the-shelf hardware. Each node of the network is a LAN island in an archipelago of affiliated websites. When somebody connects to Occupy.here, she or he can download a complete backup of everything stored on that WiFi router. Upon connecting to subsequent WiFi nodes, that backup is sync’d and propagated slowly throughout the larger Occupy.here network.
This workshop, for beginners and the technically savvy alike, explores the possibilities of virtual public spaces for strangers to anonymously confront each other’s views and politics, much in the style of Zuccotti Park. We’ll discuss the theory and technology of local networks, and explore what potential uses they might have in practice. Come with a laptop and ideas for how Occupy.here might help your community.
interesting