The speaker provides an introductory overview of protocol studies as a field, tracing the origins and evolution of the Summer of Protocols program (funded by the Ethereum Foundation to address blockchain resilience) from its 2022 pilot through theory research, real-world applications, and current pivot toward open-source education. They frame protocol studies as a broad analytical approach applicable across domains from quantum computing to flood management, emphasizing 'argument engineering' as a method for understanding and improving systems.
Nadia Asparouhova discusses anti-mimetics—ideas that resist spreading or being remembered—drawing from SCP Foundation fiction and connecting the concept to Venkatesh Rao's 'cozy web' theory. She explores how certain ideas fade from memory despite documentation, and examines the tension between isolated intellectual communities and information spread.
Nadia Asparouhova
The speaker explores three protocols—cosmopolis, metropolis, and nation-state—for articulating civilizational memory, with a focus on reconsidering what cosmopolitanism means in a changed geopolitical landscape. Drawing on over a decade of blogging, work with the Summer of Protocols program, and AI consulting, the speaker presents a book-length investigation into how these three units function as frameworks for understanding belonging, identity, and memory beyond familiar nationalist or globalist categories.
Venkatesh Rao
Nathan Schneider, professor of media studies at the University of Colorado Boulder, presents his research on protocol studies and shares a glossary project documenting the intellectual history of protocols across disciplines. He traces how the term 'protocol' appears across online economies, blockchains, crypto, and social networks, and discusses his oral history initiative interviewing protocol practitioners worldwide.
Nathan Schneider