Liberating Voices

In recent decades we have witnessed the creation of a communication
system that promises unparalleled connectedness. And yet the optimistic dreams of
Internet-enabled engagement and empowerment have faded in the face of widespread
Internet commercialization. In Liberating Voices, Douglas Schuler urges us to
unleash our collective creativity--social as well as technological--and develop the
communication systems that are truly needed. Inspired by the vision and framework
outlined in Christopher Alexander's classic 1977 book, A Pattern Language, Schuler
presents a pattern language containing 136 patterns designed to meet these
challenges. Using this approach, Schuler proposes a new model of social change that
integrates theory and practice by showing how information and communication (whether
face-to-face, broadcast, or Internet-based) can be used to address urgent social and
environmental problems collaboratively. Each of the patterns that form the pattern
language (which was developed collaboratively with nearly 100 contributors) is
presented consistently; each describes a problem and its context, a discussion, and
a solution. The pattern language begins with the most general patterns
("Theory") and proceeds to the most specific ("Tactics"). Each
pattern is a template for research as well as action and is linked to other
patterns, thus forming a single coherent whole. Readers will find Liberating Voices
an intriguing and informative catalog of contemporary intellectual, social, and
technological innovations, a practical manual for citizen activism, and a compelling
manifesto for creating a more intelligent, sustainable, and equitable
world.