Lamenting the LAN Party ft. Merritt K

2024-03-26

Writer and journalist Merritt K joins us this week to talk about their new book, LAN Party: Inside the Multiplayer Revolution. A collection of photographs, essays and vignettes documenting a short period in the late 90s and early 2000s, the book documents the rise of an internet culture driven by connectivity, created by young people with big computers and thousands of of cables. Merritt talks about the way LAN (Local Area Networks) influenced gaming culture and the industry at large, as well as the aesthetics associated w...

Writer and journalist Merritt K joins us this week to talk about their new book, LAN Party: Inside the Multiplayer Revolution.

A collection of photographs, essays and vignettes documenting a short period in the late 90s and early 2000s, the book documents the rise of an internet culture driven by connectivity, created by young people with big computers and thousands of of cables. Merritt talks about the way LAN (Local Area Networks) influenced gaming culture and the industry at large, as well as the aesthetics associated with the LAN party – from skate clothes and rubber soled sneakers to fast food and energy drinks that are banned across most of Europe. We also talk about the unique element of the LAN party – its ability to marry the physical and the digital, and in doing so, creating a space where someone could participate in digital culture, in a real-life social environment.

Purchase a copy of LAN Party, here: https://thamesandhudson.com/lan-party-inside-the-multiplayer-revolution-9780500026953

Follow Merritt on Twitter/X here: https://twitter.com/merrittk

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As the humanitarian crisis continues to unfold in Gaza, we encourage anyone who can to donate to Medical Aid for Palestinians. You can donate using the links below.

https://www.map.org.uk/donate/donate

https://www.savethechildren.org.uk/how-you-can-help/emergencies/gaza-israel-conflict

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Ten Thousand Posts is a show about how everything is posting. It's hosted by Hussein (@HKesvani), Phoebe (@PRHRoy) and produced by Devon (@Devon_onEarth).

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