Let a Hundred Zines Bloom

In the 80s and 90s, a zine called Processed World was published in San Francisco. It was written and produced by individuals experiencing first-hand the transformations in work and workplaces wrought by the so-called "information age." More recently, new zines have been appearing with titles such as "Bug Report!", "Contingent Worker", and "NO TO AMAZON!" In many ways, these zines follow in the footsteps of Processed World, challenging our prevailing ideas about the positive social impact of technology, the benefits from the growth of big tech, and what the lives of tech workers are actually like.

Join us to discuss the broader history of zines, their importance in oppositional subcultures, and what tech-related zines today are telling us about the state of the industry. This learning club is for tech workers, zine makers and lovers, and people interested in making culture "from below." Got a favorite zine, tech-related or not? Bring it along to show others to educate and inspire!

Readings

• "On the Bleeding Edge" (2005) - from Processed World, a zine published from 1981-2005.
• Bug Report! Issue 1 (2018)
• Tech Won't Build It! (2018)

Additional Resources

• Processed World archive
• NO TO AMAZON! (Against HQ2 in NYC)
• Academics Taking Action

Discussion Questions

1. List some ways that popular culture and mass media have shaped our commonplace ideas about tech workers' lives and experiences and the social impact of technology. See if you can come up with specific movies, books, advertisements, events, news and magazine articles, even artwork or music or architecture.
2. Spend a few minutes browsing through one of the zines given to your group. How does the content compare to what your group came up with for question #1? Can you relate to anything in the zine? How do your own experiences compare?
3. Even though digital is arguably a more effective way to distribute information in general, zine culture remains firmly planted, for the most part, in print. What might be some of the benefits of print in the digital age?
4. What other forums or mediums have you encountered where you can express honest dissatisfaction and dissent from tech work culture?
5. If you were to contribute to a tech zine, what experiences in your own life would you write about or draw from, that you'd want to share with other tech workers?