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Off to Austria

I’m off to Linz today for the Ars Electronica festival/conference/colloquium. I’ve been aware of Ars for years, and Global Voices won a prize from the festival last year, but this will be the first time I’ve been to the annual gathering of a festival which serves as the central event in the calendar of friends involved with the electronic arts scene.

I’m participating in the symposium organized by my friends David Sasaki and Isaac Mao. The topic is “cloud intelligence”, and I’m going to give my predictably contrarian stance that the “cloud” isn’t as universal, pervasive, cosmopolitan or flat as we’re encouraged to think. My essay, “Mapping the Cloud”, is available online if you’re interested in what I’ve got to say on the topic.

I’m helping lead off an amazing slate of speakers, a set of provocateurs and activists from around the world. (David Sasaki’s introduction to the speakers, in two parts, links to all our essays, and the schedule.) Looks like it’s going to be a blast.

In typical fashion, David Sasaki has already mapped out over a dozen restaurants, bars and parks that look like must-visits. No idea if I’ll have sufficient time, but it’s always nice when a good friend scouts in advance for you. Hope to see some of you there, and hope to be back online for real when I’m stateside again on the 8th.