Geert Lovink

Geert Lovink (1959, Amsterdam) is a media theorist, internet critic and activist. Studied political science on the University of Amsterdam. Lives in Amsterdam.

Member of Adilkno, the Foundation for the Advancement of Illegal Knowledge (1983-1999), a free association of media-related intellectuals (Agentur Bilwet auf Deutsch). He is a radio program producer (for Radio Patapoe in Amsterdam and VPRO radio) and a co-founder of The Digital City, the Amsterdam-based Freenet and 'Press Now', the Dutch support campaign for independent media in Former Yugoslavia. Former editor of the media/art magazine Mediamatic (1989-1994). In 1991-1993 he lectured media theory in Bucharest and Budapest at the art academies there. Co-founder of the Amsterdam-based internet content providers desk.nl (culture/arts) and 'contrast.org' (politics) and a 'cultural ambassador' for Waag Society for Old and New Media. Regular contributor of Andere Sinema (Antwerpen) and member of the editorial board of ARKzin (Zagreb). In the spring of 1995, together with Pit Schultz, he founded the international nettime circle which is promoting 'net criticism'. In 2001 co-founded Fibreculture list.

Co-organized the Wetware Convention (Amsterdam, 1991), Next 5 Minutes, a international conference on public access and camcorder activism (Amsterdam, 1993-1996-1999), Ex Oriente Lux (Bucharest 1993), the first Romanian media/art event, MetaForum I/II/III (Budapest, 1994-6), Interface 3 (Hamburg, 1995) on the culture of computer networks, Next 5 Minutes II on 'tactical media' (Amsterdam, 1996). and moderated the (net) symposium of Ars Electronica 96 on 'memesis'. He was the project coordinator of the Hybrid WorkSpace, which took place during the Documenta X (1997) in Kassel. Later on co-organised Browser Day (Amsterdam, 1998-2002), Net.Congestion event (Amsterdam, 2000), and conferences such as Tulipomania DotCom (Amsterdam/Frankfurt, 2000), Dark Markets (Vienna, 2002), Networks, Art, & Collaboration (Buffalo, 2004). From 2000-2004 he lived in Australia where he co-founded the Fibreculture network.

Among his early publications are Adilkno's Empire of Images (Amsterdam, 1985), Cracking the Movement (Amsterdam, 1990/Berlin, 1991/New York, 1994) on the history of the squatter movement in Amsterdam, Hoer zu oder Stirb (Berlin, 1992) on free radio, Media Archief (Amsterdam 1992/Mannheim 1993/New York 1997), Der Datendandy (Amsterdam/Mannheim, 1994) and Elektronische Einsamkeit (Cologne, 1997). In 2019 the Institute of Network Cultures published the Bilwet Fascismemap (in Dutch), a collection of unpublished essays on historical and contemporary fascism (1983-1993).

In June 2004 he founded Institute of Network Cultures in Amsterdam, a research unit of the Hogeschool van Amsterdam (Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences), also called INC.

In 2005-2006 he was a fellow at the Berlin Institute for Advanced Study (Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin), where he finished his third volume on critical Internet culture, Zero Comments (Routledge, New York, 2007).

Books

• with Eveline Lubbers, Bluf! 't moet kunnen..., Amsterdam, 1983, 250 pp. (Dutch)

• Bilwet, Het Beeldenrijk: over stralingsangst en ruimteverlangen [Empire of Images: Radiation Fear and Space Desire], Amsterdam: Raket en Lont, 1985, 178 pp, PDF. (Dutch)

• Bilwet, Bewegingsleer, Ravijn, 1990. (Dutch)

• editor, with Rik Delhaas, Wetware, trans. Laura Martz, et al., Amsterdam: De Balie, 1991, 96 pp. (Dutch),(English)

• Hör zu – oder stirb! Fragmente einer Theorie der souveränen Medien, trans. Axel Diederich, Berlin & Amsterdam: ID-Archiv, 1992, 89 pp. [1] (German)

• Bilwet, Medienarchiv, trans. Gerrit Boer, Bensheim/Dusseldorf: Bollmann, 1993. (German)
  • Adilkno, The Media Archive, New York: Autonomedia, 1998.
  • Bilwet, Arhiv Medija, trans. Goran Vujasinović, et al., Zagreb: Arkzin, 1998, 272 pp. (Croatian)

• Adilkno, Cracking the Movement: Squatting Beyond the Media, trans. Laura Martz, New York: Autonomedia, 1994. (English)

• Bilwet, De Datadandy, Amsterdam: De Balie, 1994. Floppybook. (Dutch)
  • Der Datendandy, trans. Petra Ilyes, Mannheim: Bollmann, 1994. (German)

• Bilwet, Elektronische Einsamkeit, Cologne: Suppose, 1997. Excerpt. (German)

• editor, with Diana McCarty, Pit Schultz and Vuk Cosic, The Beauty and the East, Ljubljana: Nettime (ZKP4), 1997.

• editor, with Pit Schultz (Nettime), Netzkritik. Materialien zur Internet-Debatte, trans. Bettina Seifried, Florian Rötzer and Thomas Atzert, Berlin: ID-Verlag, 1997, 220 pp. [2] (German)

• editor, with Toshiya Ueno, Electronic Street Cultures, Osaka: Inter Medium Institute, 2001, 143 pp. (English)/(Japanese)

• editor, et al., Metatag: 26 Hits on Technology and Culture / Metatag: 26 hits over technologie en cultuur, Amsterdam: The Waag, Society for Old and New Media, 2002, 119 pp. (English)/(Dutch)

• Dark Fiber: Tracking Critical Internet Culture, MIT Press, 2002, 382 pp. Brings together texts about new media culture worldwide, with essays on The Digital City Amsterdam and nettime, data dandyism, tactical media strategies and early critiques of dotcommania.
  • Dark Fiber, intro. Franco Berardi Bifo, Rome: Luca Sossella, 2002, 286 pp. (Italian)
  • Dark Fiber: auf den Spuren einer kritischen Internetkultur, Bonn: Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung, 2003, 342 pp. (German)
  • Fibra oscura: rastreando la cultura crítica de internet, trans. Manuel Talens, Madrid: Tecnos: Alianza, 2004, 310 pp. (Spanish)

• Uncanny Networks: In Dialogues with the Virtual Intelligentsia, MIT Press, 2002. Introduction. A collection of interviews with new media artists, theorists and critics from East and West-Europe, USA and Asia who reflect on their concepts and practices. It provides a critical context of ideas, networks and artworks that have shaped the past decade. [3] [4]

• My First Recession: Critical Internet Culture in Transition, Rotterdam: V2_ & NAi, Rotterdam, 2003; repr., Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures, 2011, 216 pp. Contains essays on Internet theory, dotcom literature, the issue of moderation, lists, blogs and open publishing and case studies of three list communities: Syndicate (Deep Europe), Xchange (streaming media) and Oekonux (GPL society debate). Publisher. [5]
  • Internet non è il paradiso: reti sociali e critica della cibercultura, trans. Marco Deseriis, Milan: Apogeo, 2004, xxiv+328 pp. (Italian)

• Cultura digitală: reflecţii critice, ed. Joanne Richardson, trans. Laura Bucur, Cluj-Napoca: Idea Design & Print, 2004, 205 pp. Selected texts. (Romanian)

• The Principle of Notworking: Concepts in Critical Internet Culture, Amsterdam: HvA Publicaties/Amsterdam University Press, 2005, 29 pp. Inaugural speech at the Hogeschool van Amsterdam, February 2005, with three chapters on multitude, network and culture, the theory of free cooperation and the dawn of the organized networks.

• editor, with Soenke Zehle, Incommunicado Reader, Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures, 2005, 192 pp. [6]

• editor, with Lipika Bansal and Paul Keller, In the Shade of the Commons: Towards a Culture of Open Networks, Amsterdam: Waag Society, 2006.

• editor, with Jodi Dean and Jon W. Anderson, Reformatting Politics: Information Technology and Global Civil Society, CRC Press, 2006, 237 pp.

• Zero Comments: Blogging and Critical Internet Culture, New York: Routledge, 2007, 312 pp. Inquires the issues around blogs, wikis and social network sites; develops a "general theory of blogging".
  • Zero Comments. Elemente einer kritischen Internetkultur, trans. Andreas Kallfelz, Bielefeld: transcript, 2008, 332 pp; repr., 2015. [7] (German)
  • Zero comments: teoria critica di internet, trans. Alessandro Delfanti, Milan: Mondadori, 2008, 184 pp; repr., 2020, 184 pp. (Italian)

• editor, with Ned Rossiter, MyCreativity Reader: A Critique of Creative Industries, Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures, 2007.

• editor, with Sabine Niederer, Video Vortex Reader: Responses to Youtube, Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures, 2008, 315 pp.

• Dynamics of Critical Internet Culture, 1994-2001, Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures, 2009, 230 pp. Based on 2002 PhD dissertation. [8]

• with Pit Schultz, Jugendjahre der Netzkritik. Essays zu Web 1.0 (1995 – 1997), Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures, 2010, 96 pp. (German)

• editor, with Rachel Somers Miles, Video Vortex Reader II: Moving Images Beyond YouTube, Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures, 2011, 378 pp.

• editor, with Nathaniel Tkacz, Critical Point of View: A Wikpedia Reader, Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures, 2011.

• editor, with Mieke Gerritzen and Minke Kampman, I Read Where I Am: Exploring New Information Cultures, Amsterdam: Valiz, 2011, 264 pp. TOC. [9]

• Networks without a Cause: A Critique of Social Media, Polity, 2011, 220 pp. [10] [11]
  • Das halbwegs Soziale: Eine Kritik der Vernetzungskultur, trans. Andreas Kallfelz, Bielefeld: transcript, 2012, 240 pp. [12] (German)
  • Ossessioni collettive: critica dei social media, intro. Vito Campanelli, Milan: Università Bocconi: EGEA, 2016, xxv+227 pp. (Italian)
  • Redes sin causa: una crítica a las redes sociales, trans. Luingüics Comunicació, Barcelona: UOC, 2016, 308 pp. (Spanish)

• editor, with Miriam Rasch, Unlike Us Reader: Social Media Monopolies and Their Alternatives, Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures, 2013, 386 pp.

• editor, with Nathaniel Tkacz and Patricia de Vries, MoneyLab Reader: An Intervention in Digital Economy, Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures, 2015, 308 pp.

• Social Media Abyss: Critical Internet Cultures and the Force of Negation, Polity, 2016, 220 pp.
  • L'abisso dei social media: nuove reti oltre l'economia dei like, Milan: Università Bocconi: EGEA, 2016, 272 pp. (Italian)
  • Im Bann der Plattformen. Die nächste Runde der Netzkritik, trans. Andreas Kallfelz, Bielefeld: transcript, 2017, 262 pp. [13] (German)
  • Sosyal Medyanın Dipsiz Kuyusu, trans. Deniz Esen, Otonom, 2018, 340 pp. (Turkish)
  • El abismo de las redes sociales. Culturas críticas de internet y la fuerza de la negación, trans. Carlota Rangel, Mexico City: Centro de Cultura Digital, 2019. [14] [15] (Spanish)
  • She jiao mei ti shen yuan: pi pan de hu lian wang wen hua yu fou ding zhi li [社交媒体深渊: 批判的互联网文化与否定之力], Zhongqing: Zhong qing da xue chu ban she, 2020, 13+305 pp. (Chinese)

• with Ned Rossiter, Organization after Social Media, Minor Compositions, 2018, 182 pp. [16]

• Sad by Design: On Platform Nihilism, Polity, 2019, 192 pp. Essay. [17] [18]
  • Nichilismo digitale: l'atra faccia delle piattaforme, trans. Marco Cupellaro and Giuseppe Barile, Milan: Bocconi, 2019, xxvi+197 pp. (Italian)
  • Digitaler Nihilismus. Thesen zur dunklen Seite der Plattformen, trans. Petra Ilyes and Andreas Kallfelz, Bielefeld: transcript, 2019, 240 pp. [19] (German)
  • Tristes por diseño: las redes sociales como ideologia, trans. Matheus Calderón Torres, Bilbao: Consonni, 2019, 256 pp. [20] [21] (Spanish)

• Bilwet, Bilwet Fascismemap (1983-1994), Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures, 2019, 292 pp, EPUB. [22] (Dutch)

• with Mieke Gerritzen, Amsterdam Design Manifesto, Amsterdam: The Image Society, 2019, 79 pp.

• Kriticheskaya teoriya interneta [Критическая теория интернета], ed. Anton Gumensky (Антон Гуменский), trans. Dmitry Lebedev (Дмитрий Лебедев) and Petr Torkanovsky (Петр Торкановский), Moscow: Ad Marginem, and Garage, 2019, 304 pp. Selected essays. [23] (Russian)

• with Mieke Gerritzen, Made in China, Designed in California, Criticised in Europe: Design Manifesto, Amsterdam: BIS Publishers, 2020, 109 pp. Publisher.

• editor, with Andreas Treske, Video Vortex Reader 3: Inside the YouTube Decade, Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures, 2020, 306 pp, PDF, EPUB.

• with Mieke Gerritzen, Help Your Self: The Rise of Self-Design, Amsterdam: Valiz, 2020. [24]

• co-editor, The Aesthetics and Politics of the Online Self: A Savage Journey into the Heart of Digital Cultures, Springer, 2021, xix+379 pp. Publisher.

• Stuck on the Platform: Reclaiming the Internet, Amsterdam: Valiz, 2022, 240 pp. Publisher.
  • In der Plattformfalle. Plädoyer zur Rückeroberung des Internets, Bielefeld: transcript, 2022, 232 pp. Excerpt. Publisher. (German)
  • Le paludi della piattaforma. Riprendiamoci Internet, trans. Silvia Dal Dosso, Rome: Nero, 2022, 220 pp. Publisher. (Italian)
  • Atrapados en la plataforma. Reclamando Internet, Barcelona: Bellaterra, 2023, 223 pp. (Spanish)

• Extinction Internet: Our Inconvenient Truth Moment, Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures, 2022, [69] pp. Inaugural lecture as Professor of Art and Network Cultures, University of Amsterdam.

• Platform Brutality: Closing Down Internet Toxicity, Amsterdam: Valiz, 2025, 304 pp. Publisher.

Thesis

• Dynamics of Critical Internet Culture (1994-2001), Melbourne: University of Melbourne, 2002. PhD dissertation.

Selected articles

• with Andreas Broeckmann and David García, "The GHI of Tactical Media", Dec 2002.
• "Extinction Bauhaus", Arts of the Working Class, Berlin, Dec 2020. [25]
• more, more

Interviews

• Valérie Schafer, "Interfacing Counterculture and Digital Cultures: An Interview with Geert Lovink", Internet Histories 2:3-4, 2018, pp 328-338; repr. in Oral Histories of the Internet and the Web, eds. Niels Brügger and Gerard Goggin, Routledge, 2022. [26] [27]

• "1990s! Interview with Geert Lovink by Georgina Cojocaru/ARTA", 2019.

• more

Links

• Blog, since 2004
• CV, 2018
• Website, c.2007 (archived)
• Website, 2005 (archived)
• Website, c.1999 (archived)