Issue 33

the Week of February 22, 2016
Picture of a tunnel with streams of car lights on the walls and ceilings, with a man standing far away from the camera.

In this issue, we look at labor issues in crowdsourcing and open data, discuss the links between hip hop and entrepreneurship, and explore how popular tech economic models were first developed in marginalized communities. We examine intersectional approaches to the pipeline, and confront capitalism’s impact on people with chronic mental illness and disabilities. Plus, an exclusive interview on creation, representation and “passion” in the games industry, and a critique of tech workers’ emotional attachment to corporations. Photo CC-BY Fitz Crittle, Fitz Crittle Photography, cropped.

The Death Star rising above an urban landscape with power lines in the distance.

Tech Workers: Please Stop Defending Tech Companies

Why in the fuck would you stand with billionaires, corrupt power centers, and technology dynasties... over the very people that you work alongside?

An out-of-focus figure, standing by the window gazing outside.

Tech Culture Perpetuates Eating Disorders

There is not one single thing that makes it a good place for people with eating disorders to exist or recover.

Rows and rows of books in a library, on vast curving shelves.

Crowdsourcing, Open Data and Precarious Labour

Crowdsourcing and microtransactions are two halves of the same coin: they both mark new stages in the continuing devaluation of labour.

Photo of Anthony wearing a Phat Startup t-shirt and a hat, arms crossed.

An Interview with Anthony Frasier

"There’s always a lot of things when it comes to Black people in America, where it can make a young person feel like, why even try? It can create so many mental barriers for a young person. So if I can do my part in trying to break those down before they even build up, I’m gonna do that."

An electric sign above a garage reading 'Capitalism Kills Love.'

The Sick Day that Never Ends: Capitalism’s Pricetag for the Disabled and Marginalized

Capitalism is an economic system of convenience… that is, the convenience of management and CEOs.

An image from REDDER, in sunset tones. The character is shown standing on a ledge. An energy cell, which the character must collect, is on a long ledge above where they stand.

Ohmygod Are You Going To Be Alright? An Interview on Passion, Perseverance and Hope for the Future with Anna Anthropy

"I don't know if I believe in passion. Passion is the thing that lets us overlook how badly we're hurting."

A bright, busy market with rows of vendors in early evening.

How Tech Business Models Come From Marginalized Communities, But Startups Are Still Mostly White

The word “startup” has begun to signify a particular brand of business success... and a particular type of business person.

Teens of color working in groups on a few laptop computers.

Intersectional Approaches to Diversifying the Tech Sector

If programs to get youth into tech are adding an extra layer of difficulty for young people, rather than improving their lives, why would they enter and stay?

This issue is made possible in part by some of our generous readers: Briar Rose Schreiber, Nigel Kerr, R. C. James Harlow, Galen Pewtherer, Ben Wood, Dawn Isabel, Erica Joy and James Turnbull. To become a sponsor, email modelviewculture -at- gmail.