The Institute of Network Cultures (INC) is an Amsterdam-based research institute that explores, analyzes and – more often than not – criticizes the ways in which networked media pervade our lives.
I worked there as a research intern while I was completing a masters in Utrecht, and most of my work revolved around two landmark events for the institute: the release of a reader and the staging of a conference (both called Unlike Us).
Unlike Us: the reader and the conference.
This was back in early 2012, and there was still a lot of optimism in the air around social media, particularly on the back of the Arab Spring. Looking back now, it’s interesting to realize that the INC was amongst the first to take off the rose-tinted glasses and sound the alarm bells on what was largely believed to be a positive socio-technological development at the time.
My work involved, unsurprisingly, a lot of research into social media monopolies and their alternatives. I also helped out in copy editing for the reader as well as producing media for the conference.