- Defensive: Design your own Mesh or Circumvention Concept
- Offensive: Design a Mobile Action/Attack/Spam Concept
My idea: Red tie and bookmarks, digitally.
In 1920's New York City, gay men had a code. A dress code. They would
wear red ties to indicate who they were to each other in a crowd.
Lesbians were more secretive. They sent each other books through the
mail with secret messages written on the bookmarks tucked inside. One
book passed from woman to woman either by hand or direct from one
address to another.
How to apply this to today to create a secure means of communication?
In Cory Doctorow's "Little Brother," Marcus throws a party to disguise
a web of trust. In the pre-Stonewall era, gays and lesbians exercised
an in-person web of trust with red ties and bookmarks. You personally
know everyone in your web of trust because you've communicated with
them directly. They know the code and how to use it. You would more
than likely trust a new red tie or book-holder if you knew the person
who was adding them to the web.
Of course, there could be fake ties or mistaken deliveries of books,
but you'd be able track them down through those whom you really
trusted. Those within your web of trust could also have their own
separate web of trust, and your numbers expand accordingly.
So, what if we made an electronic red tie, with bookmark messages?
Only the red ties you have personally vetted can use the bookmark
messaging system. If a new red tie tried to send you a bookmark
message, it could only be passed along via the mutual red tie. Sounds
like Linked-In, only secret, closed and queer.
Or just do it the old fashioned way.
What do you mean by Bookmark Messages exactly? My first thought was Delicious, but then I thought about Kindle. I think considering Kindle highlighting and comment sharing features, along with the ability to share books between Barnes and Noble Nook readers is an interesting area to consider. The Kindle has already proved to be quite a good firewall circumvention device, as it uses a secure connection between it and the Amazon data center.
ReplyDeleteBack to your core concept though... these social queues are very interesting to consider. Especially if they can made to be subtle, yet universally recognized by the right people. I remember growing up being told about guys having their ears pierced, and which ear meant what, and being very confused about it all. The same with gang colors kids would where in school. If you were in this mix of these social cues, than you knew what they meant. If you were not, then you might notice them, but only if you were actively looking, which most of the time you weren't, and as they often just blend in with normal everyday life, they aren't so easy to pick out from noise.
Beyond thinking about eBook systems, you might also consider avatar icons. Some subtle way of decorating, enhancing or altering your avatar could indicate some type of social allegiance or preference. We have seen people turn their avatars green, but that is usually for a specific event. Any sign of men wearing red ties in their avatars?!