The Planetwork Journal

The Vision

At a time when humanity faces extraordinary challenges -- the litany of them is all too familiar -- innovations in information technology offer seeds of hope. The influence of information technology on fields as diverse as environmental science, biology, ecological design, alternative economics, distributed democracy, social network theory, and interactive forms of art has transformed the landscape of the possible. Vibrant new ideas are emerging from this radical cross-pollination. When viewed in relationship to one another, they cohere into a vision of a more just, sustainable, and equitable world. They present a picture of the global citizen of the 21st century, actively engaged in the governance of her community. You might call this the Digital/Green/Commons perspective. It has powerful implications for the way we organize ourselves in society, how we collaborate to make decisions in groups, and our very understanding of what it means to be human. Another world is possible, and the tools for building it are increasingly at hand.

Over the past four years, PlaNetwork conferences have been a meeting place for researchers, theorists, entrepreneurs, and activists working at this intersection between technology and societal transformation. Anyone who has been to a PlaNetwork conference can testify to the excitement generated when people from diverse disciplines uncover a shared perspective and purpose. For example, when Michael Linton, an expert in complementary currencies, recognizes the impact that digital identity systems could have on the alternative local economic network he is launching in the UK. Or when environmental activists first see computerized visualization tools for tracking changes to the ecosystem, developed by cross-disciplinary pioneers like Paul Hawken or Bonnie DeVarco, and realize the potential interactive media has for communicating complex concepts to lay audiences.

A new world view is coalescing around the way technology can and should be applied to benefit civil society. PlaNetwork conferences have provided a much-needed forum for those engaged in this cutting-edge work. But while many journals are available to experts in their respective fields, where they can publish for a narrow readership, no publication now offers a home to the kind of interdisciplinary approach that has made PlaNetwork conferences so exciting, and influential.

The PlaNetwork Journal will fill that gap.

What Is It?

PlaNetwork Journal will be a peer-review online publication for in-depth articles by those engaged in this cross-disciplinary approach, applying new technology to benefit the public interest. It will be a place where researchers, theorists, engineers, and activists can present their work and ideas to those outside their own field who share their concern about the challenges facing the ecosystem and democracy.

Published bi-monthly and free to all readers, PlaNetwork Journal will be supported by grants and donations. Each issue will feature six articles, which will be subject to peer review by recognized experts in the relevant fields. The website will be designed so it is easily accessible to readers with slow, low bandwidth Internet connections.

Topics covered will include:

Social Networking Software - digital tools for communication, collaboration, and the support of democracy;
New Economic Models - complimentary currencies, barter, and alternative flows of exchange and their increasing reliance on information technology;
Horizontal Democracy - chaordics and other innovative approaches to distributed decision making and governance;
Global Systems Analysis - knowledge tools that support in-depth understanding of the Earth as an integrated system;
Ecological Design – technologies that heal the earth by replicating and accelerating natural processes;
Independent Media - emerging technologies for the publishing and distribution of news, art, and entertainment;
Global Citizenship - the rights and responsibilities associated with being a citizen in an increasingly wired, network society;
Social Sculpture - interactive art forms that focus on relationships between participants, as a way to explore the possibilities of enlightened community.

In its second year, the journal will become monthly.

Who Will Write For It?

PlaNetwork Journal will be a forum for innovators engaged in the cross-disciplinary work that is PlaNetwork's focus. It will not be written by journalists who "cover" these topics. Rather, it will be a much-needed platform for the researchers, theorists, engineers, artists, and activists themselves, where they can present findings and opinions to peers. Articles will be solicited from all over the world to provide a wide range of regional perspectives.

Who Is The Audience?

There is a considerable audience for cutting-edge ideas about technology and sustainability, both in the U.S. and abroad. But because of the technical nature of the material, PlaNetwork Journal is unlikely to attract a mass, mainstream audience. However, readership should be larger than that of highly specialized, academic reviews.

PlaNetwork Journal will have an international perspective and should attract readers from across the globe, who can access it over the Internet. Because the readership will come from a variety of disciplines, authors will be encouraged to stay clear of the jargon used by their field. This should help to make articles more available to non-experts.

How Will It Operate?

The PlaNetwork Journal will be a joint project of two not-for-profit organizations, PlaNetwork and the Buckminster Fuller Institute.

It will be co-edited by Elizabeth Thompson and Ken Jordan. Elizabeth is Executive Director of PlaNetwork, and Director of the Buckminster Fuller Institute. She has been a principal organizer of the PlaNetwork conferences. Ken is a new media theorist with extensive editorial experience in both book and online publishing. In 1995 he led the development of the award-winning SonicNet.com, the web's first multimedia music zine, and since then has been at the forefront of online communications, directing such diverse independent publications as Word.com, MediaChannel.org, and artandculture.com. He co-edited Multimedia: From Wagner to Virtual Reality (W.W. Norton, 2001), an anthology about the history of computer communications taught in universities around the world.

The journal will have an Advisory Committee of leading experts in the full range of fields covered by the publication. Members of the Advisory Committee will help assemble an extensive network of qualified specialists to take part in the peer review process. Each article will be reviewed by a minimum of three peers before publication.