Lori Emerson
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loriemerson.net
Lori Emerson
@loriemerson.net
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media studies professor | Other Networks: A Radical Technology Sourcebook (Anthology Editions, May 2025) | dir. @mediaarchaeology.bsky.social | http://loriemerson.net | Boulder, Colorado | 🇨🇦 🇺🇲 🏃‍♀️🚴‍♀️ | 📷 Jenna Maurice
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loriemerson.net
We are gathered here today to witness the joining of these twelve beautiful typewriterssswheeee! Let the joyful clackety clacking begin! New ribbons for everyone!
12 manual and electric typewriters arranged in a semi circle, quietly chatting to each other on a rainbow colored rug. The typewriters range from brown and beige to light grey, brown, light blue, turquoise, yellow, and beige.
November 25, 2025 at 2:57 AM
loriemerson.net
If you’re wondering why I’m taking so long to respond to your emails it’s because I only do Slow Email now. Please join me. Type, Scan, Send, Repeat. #othernetworks
Dark yellow manual typewriter (a Brother 250TR nonetheless!) sits on a green wooden kitchen table. The text on the white sheet of paper reads “This is a tes of this very beautiful typewriter”
November 22, 2025 at 2:38 AM
loriemerson.net
trust me, guys, "Papers & Paychecks" is not nearly as fun as it sounds... (Dungeons and Dragons, 1979)
cartoon depicting characters from Dungeons and Dragons playing a rousing game of "Papers & Paychecks". caption reads, "It's a great new fantasy role-playing game. We pretend we're workers and students in an industrialized and technological society."
November 16, 2025 at 6:29 PM
loriemerson.net
here is a so-called "properly spelled" version for all those who are in the pocket of Big Dictionary
ASCII style art that spells "OTHER NETWORKS FOR OTHER FUTURES" using a lower-case 'x'
November 15, 2025 at 10:49 PM
loriemerson.net
not bad for a first version of the cover for what will (eventually) be the #othernetworks #zine
8.5"x11" sheet of white paper folded in half with ASCII style art spelling out "OTHER NETWORKS OTHER FUTURES" with the letter 'x.' a hand drawn image of an imaginary network topology appears underneath the title along with typewritten "LORI EMERSON / BOULDER, CO". hand drawn black border.
November 15, 2025 at 10:02 PM
loriemerson.net
mechanically reproduced documentation of students, friends, colleagues gathering in the @mediaarchaeology.bsky.social to learn how to build their own mini FM transmitters 😍 #othernetworks #radiofutures
picture taken by a smartphone of a polaroid of 4 women and 1 man smiling at the camera and holding pamphlets titled "How to Build Your Own Mini FM Transmitter"
November 15, 2025 at 5:27 PM
loriemerson.net
#othernetworks zine coming soon (not son) and get ready for alllllll the typos
Beige Smith-Corona electric typewriter from the 1960s probably sitting on a green table being inspected by a large Siamese cat. The sheet of paper reads “#othernetworks zine coming soon”
November 15, 2025 at 2:47 AM
loriemerson.net
rest in peace, Grandad aka "G-dad" aka John Dumbeck who passed this afternoon at the age of 103 after a life of making his own wine, running a radio station, being a war-time pilot, being a barber, being on the run from the law (at least twice), playing in over a dozen jazz bands and on and on 💚
black and white photo from about the 1940s of a man standing in a snowy field wearing a jaunty hat, sweater, tie, vest, baggy pants, and two guns in holsters.
November 13, 2025 at 12:55 AM
loriemerson.net
here's where I'm at right now - too diffuse? too much? definitely too white...
Plato, "The Phaedrus" (370 BC) Friedrich Nietzsche, excerpt from Birth of Tragedy (1872) Ernst Kapp, excerpt from Elements of a Philosophy of Technology (1877) Walter Benjamin's "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" (1936) Norbert Wiener, excerpt from Cybernetics (1948) Claude Shannon, “A Mathematical Theory of Communication” (1948) Alan Turing, “Computing Machinery and Intelligence” (1950) Martin Heidegger's "The Question Concerning Technology" (1953) Hannah Arendt, excerpt from The Human Condition (1958) Gilbert Simondon, excerpt from On the Mode of Existence of Technical Objects (1958) Franz Fanon, "This is the Voice of Algeria" (1959) Marshall McLuhan, "The Medium is the Message" (1964) Amiri Baraka, "Technology & Ethos" (1965) Nathan Enzensburger, "Constitutuents of a Theory of the Media" (1970) Langdon Winner, "Do Artifacts Have Politics?" (1980) Donna Haraway, "Cyborg Manifesto" (1984) Friedrich Kittler, excerpt from Discourse Networks, 1800/1900 (1985) Vílem Flusser, Does Writing Have a Future? (1987) John Guillory, "Genesis of the Media Concept" (2010) Jussi Parikka, excerpt from Insect Media (2010) Erkki Huhtamo and Jussi Parikka (eds), excerpt from Media Archaeology: Approaches, Applications, and Implications (2011) William Lemphert (ed), Indigenous Media Futures (2018) Cajetan Iheka, excerpt from African Ecomedia: Network Forms, Planetary Politics (2021) Armond Towns, excerpt from On Black Media Philosophy (2022) Siobhan Angus, excerpt from Camera Geologica: An Elemental History of Photography (2024)
November 9, 2025 at 12:53 AM
loriemerson.net
this is what I have so far - probably problematic in ways I will learn to appreciate but...right now, looks like fun!
Plato, "The Phaedrus" (370 BC) Friedrich Nietzsche, excerpt from Birth of Tragedy (1872) Ernst Kapp, excerpt from Elements of a Philosophy of Technology (1877) Walter Benjamin's "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" (1936) Norbert Wiener, excerpt from Cybernetics (1948) Claude Shannon, “A Mathematical Theory of Communication” (1948) Alan Turing, “Computing Machinery and Intelligence” (1950) Martin Heidegger's "The Question Concerning Technology" (1953) Hannah Arendt, excerpt from The Human Condition (1958) Gilbert Simondon, excerpt from On the Mode of Existence of Technical Objects (1958) Franz Fanon, "This is the Voice of Algeria" (1959) Marshall McLuhan, "The Medium is the Message" (1964) Amiri Baraka, "Technology & Ethos" (1965) Nathan Enzensburger, "Constitutuents of a Theory of the Media" (1970) Langdon Winner, "Do Artifacts Have Politics?" (1980) Donna Haraway, "Cyborg Manifesto" (1984) Friedrich Kittler, excerpt from Discourse Networks, 1800/1900 (1985) Vílem Flusser, Does Writing Have a Future? (1987) John Guillory, "Genesis of the Media Concept" (2010) Jussi Parikka, excerpt from Insect Media (2010) Erkki Huhtamo and Jussi Parikka (eds), excerpt from Media Archaeology: Approaches, Applications, and Implications (2011) William Lemphert (ed), Indigenous Media Futures (2018) Cajetan Iheka, excerpt from African Ecomedia: Network Forms, Planetary Politics (2021) Armond Towns, excerpt from On Black Media Philosophy (2022) Siobhan Angus, excerpt from Camera Geologica: An Elemental History of Photography (2024)
November 9, 2025 at 12:52 AM
loriemerson.net
I announced in today's faculty meeting that "I have an AI bee in my bonnet" to which @stevenfrost.bsky.social responded with this perfect portrait if you were wondering what an #AI bee in a bonnet looks like
pen drawing labeled "AI Bee" depicts a woman with a bob haircut and glasses wearing a top hat. her mouth is open. an angry-looking bee has emerged from her hat.
October 8, 2025 at 7:25 PM
loriemerson.net
peoples! we did a big, exciting thing today! @rose-alibi.bsky.social & I strung up a full wave antenna in my backyard and sent/rec'd a little CW / morse code today over 20 meter band! next step: set it up off a 35 ft mountain drop to see if we can connect w/our pal in Berlin #amateurradio #cw
woman in black overalls and a sleeveless top sits atop a ladder leaning against a large tree. she is stringing antenna wire on a branch. 20 meter band silve radio stacked on top of a SWR meter sits on green grass in front of a flower bed. a long yellow wire antenna stretches across the yard beside it. a pair of black headphones are also lying on the ground. selfie of two women. the woman on the left wears a sleeveless top and black overalls. she's holding the antenna for a SDR SWR meter attached to her cell phone. she is also holding an audio cable and her thumb is paused above the connector as she's in the middle of transmitting morse code. a 20 meter band radio sits on the grassy ground directly behind them. the second woman leans into the camera on the right. macbook pro laptop is open showing live audio translation of morse code into the latin alphabet.
October 2, 2025 at 11:35 PM
loriemerson.net
also, the @mediaarchaeology.bsky.social's Victrola not only works it BLASTS music!
Victor Victrola plays a Johann Strauss disc. it sits on a white table against a window with rainbow vinyl horizontal stripes. beside the Victrola are other discs as well as a small pamphlet titled "How to get the most out of your Victrola"
September 29, 2025 at 9:36 PM
loriemerson.net
one of many oddities from today's visit to the @mediaarchaeology.bsky.social - a gift from @rose-alibi.bsky.social: the Canadian Whole Earth Almanac?? from 1971! "Printed in Canada on Canadian Paper"
pink cover of the Canadian Whole Earth Almanac Spring 1971 Volume 2 Number 1 with a list of table of contents and a small image of a fir tree engraving of two hands touching with index fingers against a wide, open prairie sky. "PRINTED IN CANADA ON CANADIAN PAPER" appears at the bottom
September 29, 2025 at 9:31 PM
loriemerson.net
there couldn't be a better ending to a symposium on the origins of AI and art than human networking with and around an ancient sequoia... #othernetworks #ai
two women and four men hugging the trunk of a large sequoia tree
September 21, 2025 at 9:12 AM
loriemerson.net
this is just to say: I swapped eating cake in Vienna this morning for running and it was absolutely the right decision.
Large slice of layered cake and a large cup of espresso sit on a pink glossy table
September 20, 2025 at 12:24 PM
loriemerson.net
Viennese vandals say “ERROR MACHINE”
Black and white colored sticker on the back of a street sign. Depicts an early 80s computer. “ERROR MACHINE” is the only text on the screen
September 18, 2025 at 9:27 AM
loriemerson.net
in 1954 telephone employees at Mountain Bell came to Boulder, Colorado for "Dial Day" to teach residents how to dial a telephone. reportedly, employees explained "how busy signals were different than siren-like tones that indicated that a caller had mis-dialed." #othernetworks
photograph of a full page newspaper story. the top half of the page features a black and white photograph of a woman smiling with a telephone handset up to her mouth. she is standing on the left of a large replica of a telephone dial possibly with a switchboard. a man in a suit stands on the right. text for the article is below. In 1954, Mountain Bell employees taught Boulder residents how to dial a telephone. 1954 Dial Day' in Boulder In the early months the finger stop, the dial pany employee, was unique to Area codes, at the time, were of 1954, Mountain Bell must be allowed to re- party-line subscribers. Most only used by operators who Telephone employ- turn freely to its start- party lines were spread across ees visited clubs and ing position." were contacted by dialing four households. Residents the number "0") for long-dis- schools in Boulder to Boulder, in 1954, had could (and often did) listen in tance calls, even from Boulder teach members of the a population of approxi- to conversations of the other to Denver. The operators also mately 25,000 residents. subscribers -- often, annoyed gave directory information and a telephone. Before "Dial Day," residents wanting to make a call only had to pick up their receivers and wait for an operator to ask, "Number please?" Finally, on March 6, 1954, phone users could make local calls themselves, but they had a lot to learn. "Midnight tonight will be a historic moment for Boulder,". stated a writer in the Camera's 24-page special "Dial Day" sup-plement. Subscribers had to be told to wait for the dial tone ("a steady hum") before placing their calls. Then, they were taught how to physically dial their new rotary phones. "Don't force the dial to try to speed it up," stated a Mountain Bell employee. "After each number is pulled around to According to the Cam- when the shared phone was in assisted in emergency calls. era, there were 40 tele- use. In return, they got reduced Individuals took a while phones for every 100 ra…
September 13, 2025 at 3:58 PM
loriemerson.net
one of the @mediaarchaeology.bsky.social's very talented artist in residence is hosting a "Mundane Magic Lantern Spectacular" every Monday this semester 5-7pm in the MAL pop up on campus (CASE W250). come play with magic lanterns and even learn how to make your own slides!
MUNDANE MAGIC LANTERN SPECTACULAR CASE W250, Fall 2025 5pm-7pm, every Monday INFO: mediaarchaeology@colorado.edu MEDIA ARCHAEOLOGY LAB POP-UP What are we really buying into when we purchase the products of the future? Allison Radomski (filmmaker and MFA candidate) invites you to explorethe tangled intersections of technology, marketing, and history through the Magic Lantern! Come learn more about the Magic Lantern, play with antique slides, and help design new slides for the installation
September 12, 2025 at 4:59 PM
loriemerson.net
oh hey this is what 66 feet of antenna wire laid out across a back alley on campus looks like because one can't answer emails and be in zoom meetings allllll the time! #othernetworks @rose-alibi.bsky.social
two white women standing 66 feet apart in an alley way holding a long piece of yellow antenna wire
September 11, 2025 at 9:51 PM
loriemerson.net
oh stop it, C.P. Snow, with your charming, slightly self-deprecating critique of "computer gadgets" from 1964!
The Gadget Charm My second apprehensive question concerns an intellectual danger with great practical consequences. Cybernetics, as named by its founder, is a beautiful subject with great intellectual variety, depth, and complexity. I suspect, however, that the computer in certain hands could easily become a gadget. Gadgets are the greatest single source of misjudgment that I have ever seen, or that anyone has ever seen in scientific decisions in our time. People get fascinated by gadgets. They love them. They want everything to be explained in terms of their gadget. They think it is the answer to everything on heaven and earth. All the bad decisions I have seen have some element of gadgetry in them. And I suspect that computers in government are going to get into the hands of persons with mildly defective or canalized judgment and become gadgets. It will be astonishing if that does not happen.
September 4, 2025 at 9:45 PM
loriemerson.net
squealing silently to myself w/glee over this test microbroadcast of a Barenaked Ladies demo tape I bought in 1991 to this extremely cute gathering of radios humming along themselves. if you need a reason to come to the Boulder Public Library 09/09 5pm for my lecture-peformance here it is!
August 18, 2025 at 8:46 PM
loriemerson.net
please join me Sept. 9th 5pm at the Boulder Public Library (Canyon Theater) for a 30 minute #othernetworks lecture performance involving handheld FM radios, semaphore flags, and more! followed by a 30 minute discussion with @nathanschneider.bsky.social and Q&A. also note....: [1/2]
rust and orange colored poster with an image of a two-page spread of a map of a microwave relay network spanning the U.S. title: Other Networks: Beyond the Internet Imaginary. WHEN: Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025 5:00pm to 6:30pm. WHERE: Canyon Theater, Boulder Public Library Main Brain, 1001 Arapahoe Ave.
August 17, 2025 at 8:33 PM
loriemerson.net
oh boy do I ever feel seen - gift from a friend #othernetworks
Black t shirt laying on a silver work table with white text that reads “Radio Free Alcatraz 1969 / Giving voice to the voiceless.”
July 27, 2025 at 9:55 PM
loriemerson.net
playing around with the Nabu RetroNET project (emulates the the hardware used to connect NABU Personal Computers c. 1984 to the NABU Network), tried out NABU Doom and I'm pretty sure I just got rickrolled 😂 #othernetworks nabu.ca
black Sony CRT showing pixelated message in black text on white background that reads "NABU DOOM LOADING" black Sony CRT showing black pixelated image probably of Rick Astley dancing text on white background
July 14, 2025 at 6:30 PM