NET-
WORKED CULTURE

VERSION:5

THE BAZ LIGHTYEAR NODE

EXCERPTS

As of Spring 2024 I spend most of my time building Tonk.

I care a lot about guiding technological progress such that it brings out the best in humanity. Computers promised to liberate our creative spirit, overcome loneliness and escape drudgery, so that we may cultivate love and beauty for all to share. Yet, I often find myself in exasperation at the state of the world and the web.

I suspect the next great vibe shift in computing is not augmenting individual human intelligence, but rather the schemes of human connection. If you like, you could call this an interest in worldbuilding, transformative technology or community cybernetics.

On those themes, I typically play the role of an executive producer - I spend my time understanding the landscape, connecting likeminded souls and securing bountiful resources so that technical auteurs can focus on pursuing a creative mission. That's my craft!

More on this: My particular focus is on projects that disintermediate intermediaries. I'm acting on the hypothesis that the problems of the web lie at the incentive layer, and that the dominant incentives of today have been hijacked by powerful network effects which, in the long run, stifle innovation. Thankfully, we can sweep those private networks aside with powerful new technology (especially new cryptography), and therefore liberate human experiences and economic value into a structure suitable for the modern world.

The burgeoning age of disintermediation will operate according to the logic of an accelerating flywheel powered by complementary growth in (i) the expressive bandwidth of peer-to-peer communication and (ii) an increased application space for that communication. At Tonk, we accelerate that flywheel with new social experiences uniquely enabled by proofs.

More on my dream.

For some, this will strike a chord. Please reach out if so. Let's do something amazing together.


scheming / selling / cajoling / listening / scouting / managing / soothing / plotting / analysing / learning / prioritising / pitching / leading / firefighting / accelerating / selecting / programming / hiring / studying / recruiting / aligning / writing / curating / speaking / fundraising / quelling / growing / persuading / designing / thinking / storytelling / planning / reading / inspiring / serving / deciding

PREVIOUS MATERIAL

My formal academic training is in metaphysics, metaethics, logic and political theory. I have since picked up a solid foundation in computer science and finance.

In a former life, I was a dancer and actor. I remember that in one adolescent chapter I claimed an ambition to be a warrior poet (?)

Since then, I have played a leading role in producing:

  • Software to protect children on the web
  • A COVID-19 delivery service
  • A hospitality rewards club
  • A climate crisis publication
  • A competitive dance team (national champions)

Thanks to my incredibly fortunate upbringing, I've been subliminally trained in memes and magic media and marketing by my father, one of the best men I know.


SOME STUFF I LIKE

Liberal theory and critical theory (Rawls, Hegel, Marx, Nussbaum etc.)

A smattering of internet stuff I've been enjoying recently,

  • @veronika_iscool (The Lore)
  • @sluttycheff
  • @_tonypindc
  • r/HobbyDrama
  • Blue Eyed Samurai
  • Alasdair Gold
  • The cryptography playlist from Encrypt London

I am working to further develop my practice and understanding of:

  1. Technology history
  2. Rhetoric
  3. Identifying and attracting talent
  4. Game design
  5. Ange Postecoglou's leadership style

A NOTE ON NOMENCLATURE

My meatspace name is Harry Kingdon. I'm not particularly precious about doxxing myself. I use "baz" for a few reasons:

  1. I enjoy privacy, and light separation of my work persona from my personal persona. I grew up in a particularly nasty age of the tabloid press and brutality towards celebrities. For the same reasons as I suspect @sluttycheff chooses to do so, I may get more precious about this separation in the future.
  2. I want to avoid the mid and defy the algorithms. Curating my interfaces to networked culture grants me a lot of autonomy in doing so. I recommend it!
  3. "Baz Lightyear" is a persona that expresses my current multiyear feeling of exploring into the bold unknown. Bowie did this with Ziggy Stardust. I may switch it up in the future much like he did with Aladdin Sane. I suspect I have a Dewey Finn phase coming on at some point.
  4. Tonk should be a headless brand in the medium term. I like the idea that I can pull an escape hatch at any time by leaving the "baz" persona behind. Satoshi did this very well.
  5. People struggle to believe this when I tell them, but it's always been my nickname ("Harry Kingdon" -> "Barry Smingdon" -> "Barry" -> "baz")

A NOTE ON STYLE

I'm aware that this site is quite earnest. I've found that being earnest can be a helpful way to overcome cynicism in my relationships.