loriemerson

syllabus for Other Media Histories: Networks

This fall semester marks the first time in well over a decade that I have attempted to teach an undergraduate class that is exactly my research on what I fondly call “other networks.” I hope I’m able to model what it looks like to approach the history of technology playfully and creatively, drawing especially on […]

by Lori Emerson

Liberation Radio(s) Beyond the Internet Imaginary

Below is the text of the conference paper I’m presenting at the annual conference for the Society for Cinema and Media Studies on March 26th. *** Liberation Radio(s) Beyond the Internet Imaginary A couple years into working on my book Other Networks: A Radical Technology Sourcebook, I noticed I couldn’t stop marveling at the flexibility […]

by Lori Emerson

Other Cybernetics for Other AIs

Below is the text for a talk I’m giving tomorrow on Friday September 19th in St. Pölten, Vienna at a wonderful event called “Reenacting Dartmouth,” organized by Seppo Gründler and Elisabeth Schimana. I’m also very keen to hear papers by my fellow panelists Xiaowei Wang and Xavier Nueno. * I am very grateful for this […]

by Lori Emerson

exploring NABU in 2025, a Canadian cable TV network from 1984

One of the networks I wrote about in Other Networks: A Radical Technology Sourcebook is the NABU Network (or the Natural Access to Bi-Directional Utilities Network). This was the only instance of a two-way network that operated over cable television. Users could rent or purchase a NABU Network PC, which used their home cable TV […]

by Lori Emerson

Recipe for an Other Networks Lecture-Performance

This Will Have Been a NetworkRecipe for a Lecture-Performance 1. Place a kitchen timer on a chair or stool and set it to 30 minutes. 2. Take no more than 1 minute to choose an Other Network. 3. Read out loud any information on the network for no more than 4 minutes. 4. Choose […]

by Lori Emerson

Other Networks is now available for pre-order

At long last, Other Networks: A Radical Technology Sourcebook is officially available for pre-order. If you live in the U.S., you can order directly from Anthology Editions here. If you live outside of the U.S., please order directly through your favorite local bookstore. The distributor is Ingram and in Europe, Ingram goes by the name […]

by Lori Emerson

the history of microbroadcasting and how you can too!

While I was working on the entry on “Microbroadcasting” for my book Other Networks: A Radical Technology Sourcebook, and some time after libi striegl and I attempted (somewhat unsuccessfully) to assist a group of graduate students at Concordia University in following Tetsuo Kogawa’s instructions for building “the simplest radio transmitter,” libi and I decided to […]

by Lori Emerson

a brief history of barbed wire fence telephone networks

If you look at the table of contents for my book, Other Networks: A Radical Technology Sourcebook, you’ll see that entries on networks before/outside the internet are arranged first by underlying infrastructure and then chronologically. You’ll also notice that within the section on wired networks, there are two sub-sections: one for electrical wire and another […]

by Lori Emerson

Build Your Own Mini FM Transmitter / Other Networks for Everyone

At long last, we (libi striegl and Lori Emerson) are ready to send our pamphlet, Build Your Own Mini FM Transmitter, off to the printer! This is the first in a series of pamphlets we’re calling Other Networks for Everyone and that’s part of our ongoing work on Other Networks. We wrote, designed, published, and […]

by Lori Emerson

Chronological List of Network Experiments in Other Networks: A Radical Technology Sourcebook

I recently posted the table of contents and a chronological list of network entries that will appear in Other Networks: A Radical Technology Sourcebook. As I try to make clear in the introduction, most entries also include examples of experiments with or on these networks because we often don’t know just how compelling a given […]