"Vibe" recounts the shift from subject-centred communities to persona-driven platforms, setting the stage for the spiral of alienation amongst Internet users in our current era of communicative capitalism. We begin with an introduction from our co-editor. A design theorist then describes her foray into platforms in the noughties, and how platforms — and her relationships with them — have since shifted. We end with a review of an exhibition exploring the changing individuality of a data-enabled present by our Chief Editor.

“Flow” draws attention to the blurring lines between the role of the platform and the user. A design theorist zooms in on the overlooked function of RSS. A curator draws out the complexities of using platforms to document and enable micro-local communication through an exchange with an artist and a co-founder of a data and narrative laboratory. A writer discusses causality, representation and navigating the dreamscape with an artist collective. 

“Growth” expands upon how platforms have transcended user interfaces and into the crevices of offline life. A design theorist charts out the UX minimalism that has enabled global platform growth. A performance researcher and writer reminds us of the ancient etymological origins of platforms and proposes Virtual Reality as an embodiment of platform-ing. A writer interviews an art collective and a scholar of religion on building synthetic realities and inventing systems of belief out of contemporary pop culture and socio-political agitations. A curator breaks down the “highs” of doom-scrolling and offers a guide to surfing the immaterial Net.

“Churn” discusses the seamlessness of haptic platform design and its effects on systems and community well-being. A design theorist investigates the components of social network ecologies and the birth of de facto “aesthetic generators”. Our co-editor interviews foreign policy consultant and writer on QAnon’s efficacy for community and ideology formation through gamification of the platform’s interface. A curator observes gaming platforms as stages that navigate political realities.