Surprise Package

After reading my reviews on Virtualpolitik, Geert Lovink sent an envelope full of recent materials from the Institute of Network Cultures that included work by his colleagues covering topics that ranged from Netporn to a critique of the "creative industries." Opening this wonderful media theory present, I was particularly impressed by 1) the collaborative spirit of the materials, 2) the way the varied forms of print documents -- including newspapers and pamphlets -- could respond to issues being debated in the present in the public sphere unlike relatively slow-paced academic publications, and 3) the terrific graphic sensibility and color choices in the design. University publishers in the United States look very staid in comparison.