Mute Magazine - new publishing, networked economy
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We've crossed oceans of time for you to find us.
http://metamute.org/
Summary
=======
For years, it has been Mute's dream to conduct its publishing on a more
participatory platform. Starting with our mini-manifesto Ceci N'est Pas
Un Magazine (Sept 2001), we plotted the project as it moved through
various developmental stages and now, after years of planning and
building, it is alive and kicking at brand new site Metamute.org.
With the move to this new location, Mute has embraced the evolving
culture of Open Publishing and finally made the web its home. Mute
content is now made freely available as soon as it is published and
users can post to the site in numerous newly created areas.
Mute still retains a printed magazine (now quarterly), which is produced
using print on demand (POD) technology and extends our core editorial
activity through themed issues. We have also added a facility for users
to make their own personalised collections of POD content, straight from
the site.
Another online facility, called the Agent Network, exists for
distributing publications. Through this, users can sign up to distribute
Mute in their own neighbourhoods and communities and receive a portion
of the cover price in return. At Metamute.org, you can register, input
details about sales outlets and events to build up the existing network,
as well as manage your own activity by organising orders, deliveries and
payments. Our hope is that this feature will help get the magazine to
the full diversity of its audience and build a more sustainable economy
for the organisation as a whole. On the back of this model, we also
encourage users to get involved with editorial and promotion too.
Mute continues to feature the critical writing it is known for, but by
using the internet as a production base and home, it can explore the
web's multimedial nature and better engage its audience. In this
respect, other notable projects associated with our relaunch are a
BitTorrent, the Public Library, and a series of online art commissions.
Finally, keep in mind that what you are looking at is the BETA version
of Metamute.org. This is currently being tested to gauge usability,
design and architecture. This phase will be complete once beta users'
feed back has been acted on. If you would like to be part of this
process and would find a beta users' document helpful, you can view it
here, http://www.metamute.org/en/beta
Please come and join us - Mute http://metamute.org/
What's new?
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**Membership**
Metamute.org is a membership based site where you can log in to submit
articles or upload media. There are a variety membership categories,
reflecting levels of involvement and usage. These are: anonymous,
authenticated, subscriber, agent and editor.
**Free to share magazine content**
Simultaneous to its publication in print, Mute will be making its
magazine content freely available online for non-commercial use,
reprinting and translation.
**OpenPublishing**
The following areas of the site are open for members' contributions:
News & Analysis, Public Library (P2P file sharing service), Calendar,
Forums & lists.
**POD and User POD [*]**
Print on demand is a high quality, low cost form of digital book
printing, through which one or 1000s of copies can be printed in several
locations throughout the world. Mute has opted for this technology for
reasons of cost, but also so we can be more responsive to developments
on our website. Outside of our regular magazine run, we will be
producing a variety of other POD imprints.
As a user, you can recompose any content items from the site and have
your own book printed and delivered at low cost. The digital print
process also means you can leave a PDF of your book online to share with
others, in our POD Park.
**Public Library (PL)**
Media based works can be uploaded/ downloaded by any user at our P2P
BitTorrent, the Public Library. At the PL, you can also share your
opinions on the files available and we encourage users to regard this
reviewing as integral to the uploading and downloading of their media
warez.
**Content filtering [*]**
The Mute site is vast and will become even more so. To make its content
more accessible, we have added a system of classification which helps
you sort the content of the site. We feel strongly that the new Mute
should be about your view of things as much as ours; to make this happen
we invite you to expand on the subjects we've included in our category
listings. Help guides will soon be available on how to do this, and we
will also keep our own classifications constantly under review (the
present listing is definitely just a beginning!).
**Shop**
We have opened up our shop to allow users to sell their cultural
products and digital downloads next to ours. In line with this, we have
also enabled multi-currency transactions via PayPal or credit card to
make it easier for users to make associated financial transactions.
**Agent network, the Networked Distribution Services/NDS [*]**
Mute invites site users to join our agents scheme, which rewards the
local distribution and sale of Mute with 30% of the cover price. The
system - whose working title is NDS (Networked Distribution Service) -
is made possible by software which allows orders, deliveries and
payments to be tracked online. Mute's agent network is also open to
users offering their publications for distribution and sale: through
this process of mutual support, we aim to contribute to alternative
distribution networks globally.
**Translations [*]**
Users can translate articles on the Mute site into a variety of
languages through a simple online editing process. Volunteering to
translate can be done without contacting the editor, as the site
provides an easy to use text editor and automated submission process.
Mute is still working on the protocols involved, as multiple
translations in (likely) varying degrees of completion will need to be
categorised systematically and original authors consulted on their
preferred relationship to new texts.
**Banner monitoring**
Metamute.org allows web advertisers to have greater levels of control
over, and awareness of, the activity of their ads. Information relating
to banners' performance can be viewed and analysed by day, week and
month, and banners can be switched on and off for specific periods of
time. As in other areas of the site, this activity is contained in a
personalised work area which automatically responds to members' status
and registration details.
**Project commissions**
Metamute.org has a projects area where we will regularly feature new art
and cultural commissions.
[*] Items accompanied by this sign are still in varying stages of
development, although they are a full part of our project planning.
Participation
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Participating in Mute happens through three roughly drawn categories,
namely Content, Distribution and Technology.
On the content side, our OpenPublishing features mean users are free to
contribute articles to the site. Should you want to have greater
involvement, you can also work as an as editorial agent in closer
contact with Mute editors.
This deeper dimension of participation engages the hybrid nature of
Mute, since it highlights the gap between open content and content
commissioned and edited in the conventional way. Mute's print magazine
will be heavily influenced by what users contribute through the
OpenPublishing channels: getting involved in between the two will help
editors make a more responsive magazine.
On the distribution side, our agent network and online distribution
system mean users can help Mute and other publications directly in their
distribution efforts. You can add details of appropriate outlets and
events and/or actually sell the magazine for a commission.
Mute engages with FLOSS as a social movement. In addition to doing
editorial work, it has done this through technology initiatives. To
carry on this work we need your involvement and support, whether it is
in the area of research, coding, finances or another realm of activity
we haven't imagined yet..
How do you get involved?
