The 2010s were an exciting and contentious period in technology and culture. Amidst backlash against the growing power of big tech platforms, cryptocurrency technologies saw rapid adoption and blockchains became a serious object of study in art and academia. As a response to big tech, both mainstream pundits and technologists sought alternative narratives.
Research collective Other Internet recognized the significance of these events, and became both a leading participant and a keen observer of crypto’s institutionally disruptive technology scene, generating a body of work and ideas that have permeated contemporary discourse. Fueled by its members’ individual careers in and around the cryptocurrency sector, the collective became one of the most popular and influential digital publications of its time.
Over 5 years, Other Internet staged numerous interventions and published two dozen major essays by an emerging group of young technology writers, giving shape to concepts that would define the cultural vocabulary of the late 2010s. From parsing crypto’s vibe-based cultural economies (headless brands, squad wealth, lore), to its ideological directives (public goods funding models, credible neutrality) Other Internet engaged with and influenced the major social and cultural trends growing out of the nascent web3 ecosystem.
Edited by Guy Mackinnon-Little and designed by Leïth Benkhedda, this book collects Other Internet’s essays and reports in print for the first time. Never-before-seen material from the archives and 6 newly commissioned pieces trace Other Internet’s development from its early aspirations through its experimental commercial involvements, to its forays into the cultural crisis of art and spirituality.
Other Internet 2018—2024 is a must-have book for those who missed out on all the excitement the first time around and for those who have been long time Other Internet fans. Any design, art, and technology library would be incomplete without it.
Featuring contributions from: Aaron Z. Lewis, Adam Willems, Arthur Roing Baer, Bryan Lehrer, GVN908, Joanna Pope, Josh Morin, Kara Kittel, Kei Kreutler, Laura Lotti, Libby Marrs, Maria Gomez, Nadia Asparouhova, Nick Houde, Sam Hart, Tara Merk, Tiger Dingsun, & Toby Shorin.
Softcover, 618 pages, offset offset printed with 2 PMS colors, 13x19.5x5cm ISBN: 979-8-9919127-0-9