Leigh Alexander's recent article, Good Morning, User! Welcome to the New Intimacy Economy (originally posted on Medium but linked here from New York magazine's website) struck me as important both to the position of solarpunk in the world as it exists, and to the way we run Solarpunk Press and what we're trying to do. (That is: trying to be accessible, but trying not to act like a fake-friend-company.)
Pretending at closeness is really the only way forward for anyone who wants to make money on the internet. As such, watch as organizations pretend, with increasing intensity, that they are individuals. Start counting how many times platforms, services, and websites entreat you in human voices, with awkward humor, for money. Watch as the things we expect to be invisible, utilitarian, start oozing emojis and winky-smileys. Even Silicon Valley, global epicenter of whitewashed empathy voids and one percenter sci-fi wank fantasies, is going to pretend it cares about you. Especially Silicon Valley. Ugh.
