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Abstract

A decade ago these kinds of examples would have more than likely been used to support cyber-optimist and cyber-pessimist arguments-and these one-sided perspectives are still easy to find in academia, journalism and in public debate. But after at least a decade of widespread use of technologies for activism in countries all over the world we seem to have-at last-turned a corner; nuanced debates and discussions about activist-technology entanglements and their implications are far more common. This issue was motivated by our shared desire to explore these entanglements with scholars and activists who are working within, experiencing, and researching the frictions caused by technologies when they are used for activism. We use the term 'friction' as Anna Tsing does-as a metaphor for the diverse and sometimes conflicting engagements that make up our contemporary world or what she calls 'zones of awkward engagement.' Tsing defines friction as 'the awkward, unequal, unstable, and creative qualities of interconnection across difference' that continually co-produce culture (Tsing, 2005: 4). Through an examination of frictions between aspirations and realities, between needs and constraints, a critical analysis of global connection is possible. In this way, the concepts of entanglements and frictions support us to explore the complex realities of co-dependent relationships between activists, technologies and the corporations who create them, in ways that support us to move beyond the old, dull and tired 'good' versus 'bad' technology narratives.Past issues of Fibreculture have examined activist philosophies from angles such as social justice and networked organisational forms, communication rights and net neutrality debates, and the push back against precarious new media labour. Our issue extends this work by capturing the complexities associated with the use of technology in activist contexts, and offering insights into how practitioners, scholars, and the makers of digital and networked technologies do and might need to work more collaboratively and pragmatically to address social justice issues. This issue includes ten academic journal papers as well as seven invited articles from practitioners who are working on the very front lines of activism and technology. This section from practitioners is a first for the Fibreculture Journal. These articles allow us to better understand the decisions made by organisations and activists who are leading debates, negotiations and discussions and from those who have most at stake because they depend on technology working and working well for activism.By dwelling in between and within frictions and entanglements, the activist practices described and interrogated in the academic papers and practitioner articles that follow fibreculturejournal.org Issue 26 -3 Pip Shea, Tanya Notley, Jean Burgess reveal tensions, weaknesses, and sites of contested power within fields such as international development, human rights, social movements, and community development. Articles explore how philoso...