The Platform is the Problem is a zine which I am making in collaboration with Senka. The publication considers limitations/implications of particular features of online platforms and suggests alternatives to these features. Broadly speaking, the zine features negative commentary on the features of online platforms. Senka and I are not the most avid users of social media. We're both on WhatsApp but beyond that our engagement with other platforms is limited. I found writing the copy for the publication challenging for the reason that I am not an active user of many online platforms. Ultimately, Senka wrote more of the copy than I did.

Senka	T/F	Riviera	T/F
Downloadability	T	Private Messaging	T
Circulation	T	Reaction	T
Mentions	T	Deplatforming	T
Doomscrolling	T	Group Messaging	T
Anonymity	T	Exclusivity	T
Ads	T	App Permissions	T
Linking	T	Embedding	T
Payment Systems	T	Screening Sensitive Content	F
Verification	T	Clickbait	F
Memes	T	Monetary Perks	T
Following	T	Blocking Features	T
Blocking People and Content	T	Publicness of Posts	F
Curating Content	T	Tags/Tagging	F
Customization of Profile	T	Profitability	F

There are differences in our contributions to the copy. However, we thought collaboratively about and worked together on the design of the publication.

Where did this all begin?

In preparation for the broadcast for week five of trimester one, Rosa asked that caretakers meet and cut up the audio for their broadcasts. Senka and I found ourselves in a predicament: neither of us had the file of our broadcast which took place in week three. Instead the recording was available on Worm's Mixcloud account, but downloading the file from Mixcloud was not an option. We therefore formulated a protocol for chopping up the audio without direct access to the file. We decided to label the track using paper and pens, noting down times when we would cut the audio once we had access to the mp3 file. It was a fine plan, but there were several unforeseen drawbacks which became apparent only after interfacing with Mixcloud. For example, without a premium account, one can only play recordings an arbitrary number of times. Also, without a premium account, one can only rewind audio by an arbitrary number of times. Along with the impossibility of downloading the file from the website, these limitations frustrated me. I messaged Senka about this frustration writing that 'some say the medium is the message, I say the platform is the problem'. Senka thought this was a good quote and eventually suggested we make a zine called 'The Platform is the Problem'.

We had briefly discussed in class the shortcomings of Mixcloud. It's a cloud-based solution which is not owned by Worm. In terms of providing accompanying descriptions, tags and titles we had no protocol for uploading the files to Mixcloud. I sought to respond to this issue by creating a podcast generator script. My thinking was that the podcast could be hosted on chopchop and the source code for the generator could be made publicly available. This, to some extent, addresses the issue of ownership. By hosting the podcast locally and working in open source ways, ownership over the recordings was enhanced. However, it was also made clear that Worm 'do not need another solution' for their archive. In essence, Mixcloud is part of Worm's way of archiving audio recordings and it sounds as if Worm are resistant to changing this

Designing The Platform is the Problem

Senka and I shared ideas about the design of the zine. We envisioned an A5, double-sided, spiral-bound publication. We thought it would be interesting to cut each page into three, 70mm high sections. On the top third of each page would be a description of a platform feature. The middle third would contain the limitations of that feature. Lastly, the bottom third would contain copy relating to alternatives for the feature. We did a quick word count and estimated that each block of copy should be no more than 150 words. In general, we were inspired by the 'Exquisite Corpse' of surrealist practices. The design facilitates readers to mix-and-match features, limitations and alternatives, encouraging a non-linear reading.

We also deliberated over the software we would use to make the publication. Personally, I am a fond user of the ConTeXt typesetting system whereas Senka has more experience working with HTML. We decided it would be worthwhile attempting to use both HTML and ConTeXt; formatting half of the document one way and the other half the other way. We would then collate the pages correctly for printing. This would require some consideration. In particular, we would need to line up the cut marks, as well as decide on font sizes and margin dimensions.

Putting The Platform is the Problem into practice