Digital italic is dead, long live The Cubicgarden

For a long time, I have been known as DJ Digital Italic. However people have gotten very confused and so today I’m changing my DJ name to The Cubicgarden.

For a long time, I have been known as DJ Digital Italic. However people have gotten very confused and so today I’m changing my DJ name to The Cubicgarden.

DJ Digital Italic shown on a screen while people dance with lazers

Digital italic, came about when I was starting my move from vinyl to MP3’s (yes I switched CDJs because I didn’t like the format for its skeuomorphism. Even then I was thinking this makes no sense to copy the vinyl model.

Anyway I am waiting for my set recording from EMFCamp but honestly its a banger, as you can see in the video above.

I also decided to back off from self hosting my own mix site because sadly there is a bug in Yunohost’s peertube application which means every-time there is a security or feature update it breaks everything. Till then I’m going to use rankett.net, and will start making those changes including a new look soon-ish.

Drift DJ taken on a desk top
I took the drift zero apart to check if there was anything obvious

Another part of the decision is my move from the Pacemaker device to the Drift zero. Something I have been alpha/beta testing for a while. A little update is that it was going great with help from the Drift team but on my last trip to Amsterdam, it just stopped booting. I did the usual charging over night, etc but it wouldn’t boot at all. Sadly it was right before I could show Dirty Si, my friend who first pointed me towards the Drift Zero. It was a shame but ultimately, there was no way to send another prototype out, when the production ones were so close to ready.

My Drift Zero DJ production version

Then last Thursday the production version was delivered to my flat but I was on holiday and wouldn’t get my hands on it till Saturday. Then came Saturday and I got my first play with it and the latest firmware already installed. However its not till tonight I really got a play with it and loaded up a bunch of tunes.

Drift Zero DJ loading tunes

If you want to know more about what happens next, keep an eye on this blog and of course you can order your own and learn more at driftdj.com

Polaroid photo of the Drift Zero DJ production chip with #007 written on it

By the way, my production version is quite special… Yes #007!!!

Something I’m extremely proud to own and be part of right at the start. Now comes the important part of feedback, bug fixing, learning and playing as…

The Cubicgarden…

Time for a wealth tax in the UK?

If you haven’t come across Gary Stevenson of Gary Economics. I would recommend his book, which I have read a while back.

I remember meeting Gary in Manchester a long time ago and I honestly thought he was pretty much right in his mindset that equality is one is one of the biggest problems facing so many people in the UK right now.

Its is incredible that Andy Burnham is the UK’s next prime minister, wouldn’t it be great if a wealth tax was part of his 10 year plan?

Following the documentary I found a lot of negativity especially around Garry being “Owned” by his last interview guest Dan Needke. But watching, its clear Dan and Gary were arguing about something different. This was confirmed when watching this meta discussion about the interchange on Novara media.

Don’t get me wrong its very similar but Gary is trying to solve the big picture of equality, while Dan is so focused on the mechanism of the wealth tax.

Have you thought about your digital legacy? at EMF Camp 2026

Ian on stage talking from EMFCamp

Recently I had the pleasure of talking at EMF Camp about machine readable wishes. The slides are linked here.

The proposal originally was a workshop but converted to a 20min talk in the main stage of EMF Camp at 10am.

Death is inevitable, yet our digital infrastructure remains woefully unprepared for it. While traditional “Letters of Wishes” provide a static roadmap for executors, they lack the agency to interact with our complex, data-driven lives. This workshop introduces the concept of the Machine-Readable Letter of Wishes: a framework for post-mortem autonomy. By applying a “If This, Then That” (IFTTT) logic to digital legacies, we will explore how to automate final wishes across various services, ensuring data is handled with human dignity and precision.

The main reason for the workshop proposal is to hear the views of other people, which was great because in a separate tent in the sunshine; we had a 2 hour conversation about the machine readable wishes.

Update: the video is now available here on peertube and youtube

Thanks again to everyone who turned up at 1000 on a Sunday morning for my 20min talk and the excellent 2hour questions and answers afterwards

The recruitment agency scam, I almost fell for…

Recruitment job scams!

I almost fell for the recruitment agency scam… I was unsure but just had a some useful interaction with a recruitment agency.

Back on 7th July I revived an email on my gmail address, not the one I mainly use for linkedin and lots of sites. Regardless I thought maybe they got it another way.

Here’s the email…

Hello,
I hope you’re doing well.
I’m currently supporting several leadership and specialist searches, and your background stood out as potentially well aligned with a few of them.
Before sharing details, I’d be interested to understand what you’re looking for in your next career move. That way, I can determine whether there’s genuine alignment rather than simply sending over a job description.
If there’s a strong fit, I’d be happy to share more.
Would you be open to exploring opportunities that align with your experience and future goals?

Best Regards,

S*************
Recruiter
B**********

Now looking at it, I should have spotted the genericness of it but I was more interested in the name and company. A name and company I looked up online and on linkedin.

The thing which stood out was they were in America not the UK. I remember having a conversation with my partner about the what kind of opportunity they could be offering, and not wanting to work in the USA. Plus the agency is based in Washington DC.

With that I tried to arrange a video call, which of course I got knocked back. I wrote something back saying I want to stay in the UK or western Europe for family and values. Thinking there would be a proposal for something state-side. I also made clear I was working on things which matter for the public rather than giant corporates money.

A few days later, I got an job proposal back a hybrid position as AI Innovation Director in the UK Cabinet Office in London. I scratched my head and beard with a salary of up to 180,000 gbp, I browsed through the detail and it felt unhuman but then again its from a job spec (I thought). The recruiter kept asking me to provide my CV and cover letter.

I hope you’ve been doing well.

I just wanted to follow up on the AI Innovation Director opportunity I shared. I appreciate that you’re likely busy, so I simply wanted to check whether you’ve had a chance to review it.

If it still aligns with what you’re looking for, I’d be happy to review your resume against the mandate and determine the most appropriate next step.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts when you have a moment.

But I wasn’t sure about it, so pushed back and then they provided an alternative job a day later

Thank you again for your thoughtful response. I really appreciated the additional context you shared, particularly your interest in opportunities centered on the ethical use of technology, AI, open data, and responsible innovation. That gave me a much clearer picture of the type of mandate that would genuinely resonate with you.

Based on that, I came across a role that I believe is a much stronger fit.

Director, AI Ethics & Responsible Use
Marriott International | Remote

This executive leadership role is focused on shaping the organization’s Responsible AI strategy by establishing governance frameworks, guiding the ethical adoption of AI across the business, and partnering with executive, legal, technology, and product leaders to ensure AI is deployed responsibly, transparently, and in line with emerging regulations. The position also offers a highly competitive compensation package, including a six-figure base salary, annual bonus, and equity.

Given your background in ethical technology, emerging technologies, open source initiatives, and your passion for driving meaningful societal impact through responsible innovation, I thought this opportunity aligned much more closely with what you described.

If this resonates with the direction you’re looking to take, I’d be glad to share the full job description.

This is when I did what I should have done much earlier. I messaged the named recruiter on linkedin. It was a early message and I was 3 degrees away but they replied.

Hi Ian thank you for making me aware of this. That is NOT me. Please do not continue to respond to them. My legitimate email is ******************

It all clicked then and I realised I should have done this right at the start. The email was from the company, not a gmail. It also matched the recruiter company domain.

We talked for a bit and I shared all the emails with them, as they wanted to share it with their company security. This also made me think knowing this is a scam, I should share it with the NCSC, which I have done too.

Lastly because I am very aware of the social pressure to bury this stuff, I decided to write this blog to warn others of this scam and how easy it is to be tricked.

Be-careful out there!

The in & outbound train DJ mixes

The Future Is Europe 6 floor Mural in Brussels. Belgium. Maalbeek metro station
Seems Europe is a good excuse to do some DJ mixing too

Recently on a conference trip to Amsterdam for the excellent PublicSpaces conference, I took the Eurostar and it was a interesting experience with the whole outbound ride taking 11hours (its a long story but glad I over spent on food at London as it things get real when the food runs out in the eurostar’s onboard shops. Don’t get me wrong a journey which should have taken 6 hours maximum gets tiresome once you get to 11hours! But power and wireless did help, even if fresh water started getting a bit low.

However this gave me plenty of time to play with the Drift DJ Zero (upcoming post). It also gave me time to do a mix and redefine it a bit on the way back.

These 2 mixes are a bit of cheat, as one was done on the way to Amsterdam (outbound) and home to Manchester (inbound). However I redid the outbound one, with some new tunes Dirty SI recommended. It doesn’t exactly tally but its stuck now. You will notice the first 3 tunes are the same but mixed slightly differently.

Anyway here the mixes are now live on my own peertube site (which has a problem, every-time I upgrade) and on rankett webmixgarden.

Enjoy the mixes and look out for me if you are lucky enough to get a super rare EMFcamp ticket.

Leaving Centraal : the outbound mix

00:00 The storm – Interitus Dei
05:47 Tell nobody – Basil O’Glue
08:49 Earth mover – Cosmic gate
12:44 Running up the hill (jerome isma-ae bootleg) – Placebo
17:18 For your mind (extended mix) – Ferry Corsten
21:54 Remember the future – Ferry Tayle & TonKs pres. Mirage
27:15 Stresstest (John Askew Remix) – John O’callaghan
33:49 Blah blah blah – Armin Van Buuren
38:11 Bring Back The Techno (Extended Mix) – Orjan Nilsen, Mark Sixma, nilsix
41:09 Erase – Brooks Aleksander
44:40 Leave a message – Will Atkinson
48:46 Extortion (Extended Mix) – EverLight
53:06 Outlaw (Extended Mix) – Fatum

Home to Manchester: The Inbound mix

00:00:00 The storm – Interitus Dei
00:04:25 Tell nobody – Basil O’Glue
00:07:56 Earth mover – Cosmic gate
00:11:24 Fiction (Extended mix) – Jerome Isma-Ae
00:15:35 For your mind (extended mix) – Ferry Corsten
00:19:55 Remember The Future (Extended Mix) – Ferry Tayle & TonKs pres. Mirage
00:24:35 Never (H3rtz Bootleg Rework) – The Roc Project Feat. Tina Arena
00:29:33 Seven cities (V-one’s living cities mix) – Solar Stone
00:35:30 Ecstasy – Eddie Makabi fest Einat
00:39:53 Back 2 Again (Extended Mix) – Apaches
00:45:06 Grotesque – RAM & Alex M.O.R.P.H
00:51:00 Blah Blah Blah (extedned mix) Armin Van Buuren

 

Public Service Internet monthly newsletter (July 2026)

Social playing cards with some on fire
Generated by Gemini modified by Ian

We live in incredible times with such possibilities that is clear. Although its easily dismissed reading the rule of the super rich on hearing about gig working nurses and is W social European and open or not??

To quote Buckminster Fuller “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.“

You are seeing aspects of this with a google engineer charged for inside trading on polymarket, cheap balcony solar equipment flooding the market and the open rights groups notes to our new prime mister in the UK.

Intimacy at risk

Ian thinks: This is such a good conversation about the state of looks-maxing, the difficulty of dating apps, and ultimately intimacy Its the reason why I started the podcast making the familiar strange.

You also fill every moment with media?

Ian thinks: I am so guilty of filling every moment with media, mainly podcasts, I am so use to my text to speech to read a lot of the stories in this internet notes. But this piece points the problems and reminds me of societies which don’t have lots of advertising everywhere.

Enshittification as an opportunity for better?

Ian thinks: Cory Doctorow and many others have mentioned the opportunities which have arisen due to the regime Trump and the silicon valley billionaires have pushed us into. One opportunity is highlighted here, with Meta providing a binary choice to existing users. There is always a third way, and that is to leave for something far better.

Imprison the government?

Ian thinks: During the PublicSpaces conference, myself and Laurens talked about the challenges to democracy. In his latest newsletter, he clearly links the unlawful riots in Northern Ireland and the external influences. I can only add, the UK police’s statement feels like they don’t fully grasp the impact of social media controlled by disruptive trillionares.

Standing for democracy and the rule of law ?

Ian thinks: This interview with Palantir UK head is unreal. Its one thing for Thiel and Karp to go off the very deep end but its quite something trying to defend them as the UK head. This is must watch to truely understand how shadowy this company represents its self, by not really answering straight forward questions.

World has moved on, have you?

Ian thinks: Cory’s connection with the Dark tower and the enshittified state we are in (and its getting worst every day) is a good connection. Cory’s addressing of nostalgia is also perfect, as this is not that. There is a lot in the post but the main point, about this being a political problem is apt. I recommend the open rights group in the UK, which I’m an advisor for.

We need to talk about AI successionism

Ian thinks: In my research into AI, I have seen points towards people who believe human kind is purely here to foster super AI in to existence. Booster, doomer or somewhere else, this is a something we should all be very aware of. The religion of AI is very real.

Watch the AI doc? TL:DR?

Ian thinks: Quote a lot of the time, people talk to me about AI and I always ask them what aspect of AI are they focusing on. Secondary I suggest watching the AI Doc, as I have done here. Now if most can’t watch because its not freely available. Now there is a TL:DR summary all can watch freely.

AI is here so what next?

Ian thinks: There is a lot of conversations about AI, but this mature conversation about what to do with AI is something we need a lot more of. Although I don’t agree with everything which is said, there is a lot of questions we should all be asking instead of the race to AI general intelligence.

Telling us to get off X? Why don’t YOU get off X?

Ian thinks: This is great someone in the UK government actually says this out loud. But it doesn’t go far enough. Recently the University of Sheffield Student Union took a strong stance calling out much of the US big tech for their complicity; and them selves up on the Fediverse. If only democratic governments would do the same?

Like this newsletter? Find the monthly archive here

Whatsapp must never be public infrastructure

For the longest time I have avoided using Meta’s Whatsapp.

Recently its become more difficult with more and more services using Whatsapp as there default way to communicate. Luckily my partner has become a bit of a human bridge to some Whatsapp groups.

To be really clear this is not good! I’m very aware of the mental load women shoulder in society and relationships. I struggle with it but we have talked about it and how I do a lot in our relationship too.

I am finding it almost inconceivable that WhatsApp has become (de-factor) something like public infrastructure. It was refreshing to see a ton of people using signal, the fediverse and heck email to swap details…

Which leads me the PublicSpaces conference, where people who strategise, build and encourage; a future which is democratic and fair for everyone. Unlike a lot of conferences I have been to, this had the actual builders alongside policymakers, all considering how this can actually practically work.

Usually PublicSpaces is 2 days of conference but this year there was a extended day of conference on Friday (added the open social awards) and also a series of unconferences, social events and workshops the day before and the day afterwards. We were fully immersed and perfectly created.

Robin with a slide on a big screen saying fediverse heart matrix heart atmosphere
Foreshadowing later announcements

Robin Bjon’s opening keynote set the mood, I especially loved this quote from Audre Lorde…

But I do have hope. To face the realities of our lives is not a reason for despair—despair is a tool of your enemies. Facing the realities of our lives gives us motivation for action. For you are not powerless.

Then in the afternoon, during a panel which I was chairing came the European social stack. It was all live streamed so you will see the chaos which unfolded and myself trying to manage it (I felt I did a reasonable job)

Ultimately the European social stack is an attempt to standardise a stack of open social platforms and private messaging. Based around core principles of… Autonomy, diversity, decentralisation, democracy, open source and more.

But this isn’t some blind manifesto, this has aims which are defined. It’s also not about being in Europe but rather the values, and represents a 3rd way between the other super powers vision of the internet.

Later on the same day during the Social web awards, Rudy from Black Sky algorithms gave ActivityPub some props in his talk, similar to Robin from Eurosky. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who was impressed the two break off skies (Eurosky & Blacksky) were positioning themselves in a very different space than the big mainstream Bluesky. Reminding me, I should just move off Bluesky…

His talk was framed as a talk with dangerous ideas and honestly there was a lot of excellent ideas. For example I was looking into Blacksky cash a while back and it’s something which takes an old traditional way of sharing wealth and puts it in the modern world; but relies on strong community and democracy.

It feels like the protocol wars are cooling between Activitypub and ATProto. But better still is the formulation of a social stack, which is logical and still gives plenty of room for creativity and experimentation without taking liberties with people’s data, attention and democracy.


Looking forward to open social becoming a reality for more people. I would also add this was one of the best publicspaces conferences I have been to and likely one of the best conferences in recent times.

Where to go next in 2017?
The Eurostack adopts the European social stack live at PublicSpaces 2027?!

It’s Pebble time… 2!

Finally the Pebble time 2 came…

As most of you know I was a big Pebble fan, for many reasons but battery life is a massive plus. The Ticwatch 5 pro was doing my head in, because although it will last a day no problem. Once you add sleep tracking its a very different story.

It’s taken a little while (just under a year I think) to get back into the pebble way of doing things but after 2-3 days I have forgotten most of the affordances of Android Wear OS.

Sleep tracking is exactly what i should be, and so far I have half charged it since I got it and then one more time to full a few days before going to Amsterdam. Funny enough the temptation to charge it every morning is pretty high. So far the only thing which has caused me to really think its waterproofing and spa use.

I do wish it had better waterproofing and could handle the heat and wetness of a steam room but I am reminded how the buttons on the original Pebble 2 started caved in on itself (while in a spa).

Maybe there’s a covering which could help?

Public Service Internet monthly newsletter (June 2026)

Hands surround a white man's head while one of his own hands cover part of his saden face

We live in incredible times with such possibilities that is clear. Although its easily dismissed seeing the problems with single sign on, Google chrome forcefully downloading 4gig of a LLM and why on earth is meta smart glasses selling so well, despite privacy worries?

To quote Buckminster Fuller “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.“

You are seeing aspects of this with the dailyshow solve a male loneliness battle, Kindle owners jail breaking their devices and Flickr.org proving death is not a edge case.

The fed up partners of AI workers

Ian thinks: Although the piece about the wives of AI skilled workers Wired magazine makes clear the wider sad effect of everything centring around AI, is causing huge problems for partners, friendships and families. The domination of AI in every conversation is something I have noticed more and more. Sad times indeed.

Wrapped in optimistic from Doctorow?

Ian thinks: This piece titled comrade trump sums up a lot of the points have made about the Trump effect. Of course, its all side effects of some of the worst political policy’s in decades (it can be argued). But Cory and others are right, this disruption to the order does provide a green light for public value alternatives. Also worth watching Cory from Republica this year which touches on these these themes.

AI likely won’t cure cancer any time soon

Ian thinks: One of the biggest claims about AI is it will solve cancer. This episode breaks down the claims and puts everything in perspective. The idea of AI solving cancer gets thrown around a lot and its not just a lie but also takes resources away from existing efforts which shocked me.

The Fediverse built a bigger tent

Ian thinks: I didn’t get much time to be involved in this years Fediforum but Laurens, covered the event and pulls some good ties between it and 2mr.social. The interesting point is how its become a bigger tent for much more than the technology of the activitypub. Having the green party give a keynote and even larger conversations about sovereignty from American traditional social media; is a clear sign of maturity.

Ai psychosis one of many stories

Ian thinks: This is one so many true stories of the ongoing problem of AI psychosis. Its unreal but so dangerous. The analysis afterwards is good but doesn’t go into enough depth. You might look at it and shrug but the recent research isnt looking good either, with AI frying our brains in other ways.

The market certainly will not solve everything

Ian thinks: With the insanity of predication markets comes a crypto driven site called Dare market. Its exactly like Black Mirror’s common people. But comes from the madness of the memecoin era when people would do outrageous things to convince people to buy their memecoins. A time of corruption, foolishness and rug pulls.

Are you paying attention to the words coming out of my mouth?

Ian thinks: 404 interview the highly rated Natasha Dow Schüll, who’s excellent book Addicted by design, I quote a lot. Its great to see how relevant her book is during social media addiction then and now prediction markets. If you haven’t read her book go do it! I also noticed a lot uptick in this space with Mozilla, tech wont save us and even Jon Oliver talking about prediction markets (not available outside the USA, so here is a reaction video).

Jumping on the European sovereignty bandwagon

Ian thinks: When W Social jumped into the limelight and claimed to be the only European social network to fill a void. Many of us couldn’t believe what we were seeing. Elena’s uncovering post cuts the cord on the whole shambles which is W Social and is a clear reminder to work together not alone in darkness.

Designing for after the feed

Ian thinks: The New_public live events are always worth watching even before I started working for them. Tackling the AI monster with human and public thoughts is a good start for a conversation about a future most of us would rather make happen.

How I Became an Apocaloptimist?

Ian thinks: I recently watched the full titled  AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist. Watching with my partner and friends raised an interesting discussion. The AI doc really tears down the binary wall of AI boosters and doomers, with some practical suggestions we can all do.

Like this newsletter? Find the monthly archive here