Module 8: Forging the Third Way—Capstone Design Project

Archaeobytology 300: Institution Building & Strategic Infrastructure

Module Overview

Core Question: What does a post-platform future look like? How do we design systems that embody sovereignty, avoid extraction, and outlast us?

Learning Objective: Students will synthesize all course concepts (Modules 0-7) into a comprehensive capstone project: a complete "Third Way" system design with institutional, technical, economic, and advocacy strategies.

Time: Week 17-18 (Final Project)

The Capstone Challenge

Modules 0-7 built individual skills: - Module 0: Diagnose institutional failures - Module 1: Design a preservation Archive - Module 2: Build a sovereignty Foundry business - Module 3: Create a distributed Seed Bank - Module 4: Curate a Haunted Forest memory institution - Module 5: Redesign Ground ownership systems - Module 6: Launch a movement - Module 7: Become a public intellectual

Module 8 asks: Now put it all together. Design a complete alternative to platform capitalism.

What Is a "Third Way"?

A Third Way is a system that rejects both: - ❌ Platform Capitalism (extractive, surveilled, centralized) - ❌ Tech Solutionism (blockchain, Web3, "decentralization" without values)

And instead offers: - ✅ Sovereignty Without Speculation (ownership that isn't commodified) - ✅ Connection Without Surveillance (community without algorithmic manipulation) - ✅ Infrastructure Without Extraction (systems that serve users, not capital)

Examples of Third Way Thinking: - Ghost: Open source + non-profit ownership + managed hosting (not VC-funded SaaS) - LOCKSS: Distributed academic consortium (not blockchain speculation) - IndieWeb: Personal domains + open standards (not walled gardens) - Co-ops: Member-owned businesses (not shareholder value)

Your Capstone: Design a Third Way system more ambitious than these examples.

Core Reading

Synthesis Texts

Rushkoff, D. (2016). Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus. Chapters 5-6: "Digital Distributism" - Focus: How do we build an economy that distributes value instead of extracting it? - Key Insight: The problem isn't technology—it's ownership structures - Question: What would a "distributive" digital system look like?

Doctorow, C. (2023). The Internet Con. Chapter 8: "Seizing the Means of Computation" - Focus: Interoperability as a tool for sovereignty - Key Insight: Users should be able to leave platforms without losing their network - Question: How do you design mandatory interoperability into a system?

Benkler, Y. (2006). The Wealth of Networks. Chapter 11: "The Battle Over Institutional Ecology" - Focus: How institutions shape freedom (or control) - Key Insight: We need diverse institutional forms (not just markets or states) - Question: What new institutional forms does digital culture require?

Inspirational Case Studies

Platform Cooperatives (Stocksy, Resonate) - Model: Artists/workers own the platform - Governance: Democratic (one member, one vote) - Revenue: Profits distributed to members - Challenge: Hard to scale (network effects favor monopolies)

The Internet Archive (Wayback Machine) - Model: Non-profit with earned revenue - Mission: Universal access to knowledge - Challenge: Legally vulnerable (publisher lawsuits), single point of failure (San Francisco)

The Fediverse (Mastodon, PixelFed, PeerTube) - Model: Federated (anyone can run an instance) - Interoperability: ActivityPub protocol - Challenge: Instance admin power, fragmentation, burnout

IPFS + Filecoin (Decentralized Storage) - Model: P2P storage with blockchain incentives - Technical: Content-addressed, distributed - Challenge: Speculation (Filecoin tokens), complexity, "pinning" burden

The Capstone Framework

Your final project has 4 integrated components:

Component 1: System Design (The "What")

- 40% of grade - Technical architecture, governance model, user experience - Drawing on Modules 1-5 (Archive, Foundry, Seed Bank, Haunted Forest, Ground)

Component 2: Movement Strategy (The "How It Grows")

- 20% of grade - How do you bootstrap adoption, build community, establish legitimacy? - Drawing on Module 6 (Movement Building)

Component 3: Public Advocacy (The "How You Influence")

- 20% of grade - Media strategy, policy goals, public intellectual positioning - Drawing on Module 7 (Public Intellectual)

Component 4: Presentation (The "How You Sell It")

- 20% of grade - 15-minute pitch to class (simulating pitch to funders/partners) - Visual, compelling, actionable

Capstone Options

You can design one of three types of Third Way systems:

Option A: The Complete Platform Alternative

Design a replacement for a major platform (Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, etc.) that embodies Three Pillars.

Requirements: - User experience comparable to platform (not worse) - Governance that prevents capture (not VC-funded) - Revenue model that avoids surveillance (no ad tracking) - Interoperability (can federate, export, migrate)

Example Prompts: - "Design a federated video platform (YouTube alternative) owned by creators" - "Design a community-owned social network (Twitter alternative) governed democratically" - "Design a sovereign photo-sharing system (Instagram alternative) with zero tracking"

Modules to Integrate: - Module 2 (Foundry): Revenue model - Module 5 (Ground): Domain/hosting/identity ownership - Module 6 (Movement): How to compete with incumbents

Option B: The Institutional Infrastructure

Design shared infrastructure for digital preservation, memory, or sovereignty that many organizations can use.

Requirements: - Solves a collective action problem (what individuals can't do alone) - Distributed governance (no single controller) - Economically sustainable (not dependent on grants forever) - Interoperable (works with existing systems)

Example Prompts: - "Design a 'Library of Congress for the Web'—a national digital archive owned by cultural institutions" - "Design a 'GitHub for Memory'—collaborative preservation infrastructure where museums/archives share costs" - "Design a 'Credit Union for Digital Ground'—cooperative domain/hosting service owned by members"

Modules to Integrate: - Module 1 (Archive): Preservation organization - Module 3 (Seed Bank): Distributed commons - Module 4 (Haunted Forest): Memory institutions

Option C: The Movement + Policy Package

Design a comprehensive campaign to transform digital culture through legislation, organizing, and institution-building.

Requirements: - Policy goals (what laws need to change?) - Movement strategy (who are your allies? how do you organize?) - Institutional anchors (what organizations embody the vision?) - Public narrative (how do you explain this to the public?)

Example Prompts: - "Design a campaign for a 'Digital Right of First Refusal' (when platforms shut down, archives get first access)" - "Design a movement for 'Public Digital Ground' (municipalities offer free domains/hosting to residents)" - "Design a policy package for 'Platform Interoperability' (mandated export tools, open standards)"

Modules to Integrate: - Module 6 (Movement): Coalition building, advocacy - Module 7 (Public Intellectual): Media strategy, testimony, op-eds

Deliverables

Your capstone consists of 3 deliverables:

Deliverable 1: Written Design Document (6,000-8,000 words)

Required Sections:

Part I: The Problem (1,000 words)

- Current System Failure: What's broken? (Use Module 0 failure modes) - Who's Harmed: Users, creators, communities, culture - Why Existing Alternatives Fail: What have others tried? Why didn't it work? - The Third Way Opportunity: What's possible now that wasn't before?

Part II: System Design (2,500 words)

- Vision & Mission: What are you building? For whom? - Technical Architecture: How does it work? (Centralized? Federated? P2P?) - Governance Model: Who controls it? How are decisions made? - Economic Model: How is it funded? Revenue streams? Costs? - User Experience: What does daily use look like? Onboarding? Migration? - Three Pillars Embodiment: How does it manifest Declaration, Connection, Ground?

Part III: Movement Strategy (1,500 words)

- Bootstrapping: How do you overcome network effects? First 1,000 users? - Institutional Anchors: What organizations adopt this? Universities? Libraries? Co-ops? - Knowledge Infrastructure: Journal? Conference? Textbook? (If relevant) - Community Building: How do you create a movement, not just a product?

Part IV: Public Advocacy (1,000 words)

- Media Strategy: How do you reach general audiences? - Policy Goals: What laws would support this? (If applicable) - Public Narrative: How do you explain this simply? What's the hook? - Advocacy Partners: Who are your allies? (EFF, Internet Archive, libraries, etc.)

Part V: Implementation Roadmap (1,000-1,500 words)

- Phase 1 (Years 1-2): Proof of concept, early adopters, MVP - Phase 2 (Years 3-5): Growth, institutional adoption, feature parity - Phase 3 (Years 6-10): Mainstream adoption, ecosystem development, sustainability - Budget: Estimated costs (infrastructure, staff, marketing) per phase - Success Metrics: How do you measure progress?

Part VI: Risk Analysis & Mitigation (500 words)

- Technical Risks: What could break? How do you prevent it? - Governance Risks: Who could capture this? How do you defend? - Economic Risks: What if funding dries up? Revenue model fails? - Social Risks: What if no one adopts it? How do you pivot?

Deliverable 2: Visual Presentation (15 minutes)

Format: Slide deck (10-15 slides) + live demo (if applicable)

Required Slides: 1. Hook: One compelling image/statistic that illustrates the problem 2. Problem: What's broken in the current system? 3. Solution: Your Third Way (one sentence) 4. How It Works: Technical architecture (diagram) 5. User Experience: Mockups or walkthrough 6. Governance: Who controls it? (Diagram) 7. Economics: How it's funded (revenue model) 8. Differentiation: Why this succeeds where others failed 9. Roadmap: 3 phases (years 1-2, 3-5, 6-10) 10. The Ask: What do you need? (Funding, partners, early adopters)

Presentation Tips: - Lead with story (not technical specs) - Show, don't tell (visuals, mockups, diagrams) - Anticipate objections ("Why not just use X?" "Won't Y happen?") - End with clear call to action

Audience: Simulates pitching to funders, university admins, potential partners, or policymakers.

Deliverable 3: Prototype or Campaign Artifact (Choose One)

Option A: Technical Prototype - Build a minimal viable product (MVP) - Can be: - Functional website (even if limited) - Interactive mockup (Figma, InVision) - Demo video (showing how it would work) - Goal: Make it tangible (not just a document)

Option B: Campaign Package - If your capstone is policy/movement-focused, create: - Policy Brief (5 pages, legislation summary + rationale) - Op-Ed Draft (800 words, publishable in major outlet) - Media Kit (1-pager: problem, solution, quotes, stats) - Goal: Ready to deploy (could actually pitch this to New York Times)

Option C: Institutional Prospectus - If your capstone is an organization (Archive, Foundry, etc.), create: - Business Plan (budget, timeline, staffing) - Pitch Deck (investor-ready slides) - Partnership Proposals (letters to potential partners: Internet Archive, libraries, universities) - Goal: Could actually seek funding or partnerships

Evaluation Criteria

Written Design Document (40 points)

| Criterion | Points | What We're Looking For | |-----------|--------|------------------------| | Problem Diagnosis | 8 | Clear, compelling case for why current systems fail (Module 0 insights) | | System Design | 12 | Technically feasible, governable, economically sustainable (Modules 1-5) | | Movement Strategy | 8 | Realistic adoption plan, community building (Module 6) | | Advocacy Plan | 6 | Media/policy strategy, public narrative (Module 7) | | Three Pillars Integrity | 6 | Does it embody Declaration, Connection, Ground? |

Visual Presentation (20 points)

| Criterion | Points | What We're Looking For | |-----------|--------|------------------------| | Clarity | 8 | Can we understand it in 15 minutes? | | Persuasiveness | 6 | Would funders/partners support this? | | Visual Design | 3 | Professional, compelling slides | | Q&A Response | 3 | Can you defend against tough questions? |

Prototype/Campaign Artifact (20 points)

| Criterion | Points | What We're Looking For | |-----------|--------|------------------------| | Tangibility | 10 | Is it real enough to show others? (Not just a PDF) | | Feasibility | 5 | Could this actually be built/deployed? | | Alignment | 5 | Does it match the written design? |

Integration & Originality (20 points)

| Criterion | Points | What We're Looking For | |-----------|--------|------------------------| | Course Integration | 10 | Does it synthesize Modules 0-7? Or only use 1-2? | | Originality | 10 | Is this genuinely new? Or just copying Ghost/Mastodon/IPFS? |

Total: 100 points

Example Capstone Projects (Hypothetical)

Example 1: "Perennial" (Platform Alternative)

Pitch: A federated social media platform owned by users, governed democratically, funded by member dues.

System Design: - Technical: ActivityPub federation (like Mastodon) + co-op ownership - Governance: Member-owned co-op (one member, one vote) - Revenue: $5/month membership (no ads, no tracking) - Differentiation: Unlike Mastodon (admin power), members collectively govern policies

Movement Strategy: - Target artists, writers, marginalized communities - Launch with 1,000 founding members ($60k/year revenue) - Scale to 100,000 members ($6M/year) in 5 years

Advocacy: - Op-eds: "Why We Built a Social Network Without Billionaires" - Policy: Advocate for platform interoperability (so Perennial can federate with Twitter)

Example 2: "National Digital Archive" (Institutional Infrastructure)

Pitch: A federally-funded preservation institution (like Library of Congress, but for the web) that coordinates distributed storage across universities.

System Design: - Governance: Hybrid (federal agency + university consortium) - Technical: LOCKSS-style distributed redundancy - Economic: Federal appropriation ($100M/year) + university in-kind contributions - Scope: All public web content, social media (with consent), government records

Movement Strategy: - Build coalition: ALA, SAA, Internet Archive, universities - Lobby Congress for funding (model: Library of Congress budget) - Pilot with 10 universities (proof of concept)

Advocacy: - Testify to Congress: "Digital cultural heritage is a public good" - Op-ed: "When GeoCities Died, America Lost Part of Its Memory" - Model legislation: "National Digital Heritage Act"

Example 3: "Right to Archive" Campaign (Movement + Policy)

Pitch: A national campaign to pass laws protecting digital preservation and requiring platforms to support data export.

Policy Goals: 1. Expand fair use for preservation (no permission needed to archive public content) 2. Mandate platform export tools (users can download all data in usable formats) 3. "Digital Right of First Refusal" (when platform shuts down, archives get 90 days to preserve)

Movement Strategy: - Coalition: EFF, Internet Archive, ALA, SAA, Creative Commons - Grassroots: "Save Our Digital Memories" campaign (petition with 100k signatures) - Legislative champions: Find bipartisan sponsors in Congress

Advocacy: - Whitepapers: "The Economic Cost of Platform Shutdowns" - Op-eds in major outlets during platform deaths - Celebrity advocates: Brewster Kahle, Tim Berners-Lee, etc.

Discussion Questions for Final Seminar

Session 1: Capstone Workshopping (Week 17)

1. The Interoperability Question: Should your Third Way system interoperate with extractive platforms (bridges to Twitter, etc.), or stay pure?

2. The Scale Dilemma: Is sovereignty compatible with scale? Can a distributed system serve billions?

3. The Funding Reality Check: Where does the money come from? Are your projections realistic?

4. The Governance Hard Problem: How do you prevent your system from being captured over time? (Acquisitions, founder exits, mission drift)

5. The Adoption Chicken-Egg: Network effects favor incumbents. How do you bootstrap when everyone is already on Twitter/Instagram?

Session 2: Final Presentations (Week 18)

Format: - Each student presents 15 minutes - Class asks tough questions (5 minutes Q&A) - Instructor provides feedback

Evaluation Questions (For Peer Feedback): 1. Is the problem diagnosis compelling? Do I believe this matters? 2. Is the system design feasible? Could this actually be built? 3. Is the movement strategy realistic? Would I join/support this? 4. Does it embody Three Pillars? Or recreate platform problems? 5. Would I fund this? Partner with this? Use this?

Beyond the Course: Making It Real

The best capstone projects don't stay in the classroom. Here's how to take yours further:

Path 1: Seek Funding

- Grants: Mellon Foundation, Knight Foundation, Mozilla, NEH - Crowdfunding: Kickstarter, Patreon, GoFundMe - Fellowships: Internet Archive fellowship, EFF fellowship - Incubators: Y Combinator (for-profit), Fast Forward (non-profit)

Path 2: Build a Prototype

- Technical: Actually code the MVP - Community: Launch with 10-100 early users - Iterate: Learn, improve, scale

Path 3: Publish & Advocate

- Academic: Turn design document into journal article or thesis - Public: Write op-ed, start blog, launch podcast - Policy: Share with advocacy orgs, offer to testify

Path 4: Join an Existing Effort

- Internet Archive: They hire Archaeobytologists - EFF, Creative Commons: Advocacy organizations - Museums/Libraries: Memory institutions need curators - Startups: Join a team building something aligned with your vision

The Goal: This course should launch careers, organizations, and movements—not just produce papers.

Final Reflections: The Meta-Question

This entire course is itself a Third Way experiment.

We've designed: - A curriculum (not a traditional discipline) - A movement (Archaeobytology as a field) - A set of principles (Three Pillars) - A vision (sovereignty without platforms)

The Meta-Capstone Question: If Archaeobytology succeeds as a discipline in 20 years, what institutional form should it take?

- Departments in universities? (Risks: gatekeeping, credentialism) - Professional society? (Risks: bureaucracy, elitism) - Distributed network of practitioners? (Risks: fragmentation, no coordination) - Platform co-op? (Risks: governance challenges, funding)

Your capstone is practice for this meta-question: How do we build institutions that embody the values we teach?

Course Conclusion: Where Do We Go From Here?

You've spent 18 weeks learning to: - Diagnose institutional failures (Module 0) - Design preservation organizations (Modules 1-4) - Redesign ownership systems (Module 5) - Build movements (Module 6) - Become public intellectuals (Module 7) - Synthesize everything (Module 8)

You are now equipped to: - Found Archaeobytology departments at universities - Build preservation institutions (Archives, Haunted Forests) - Launch sovereignty businesses (Foundries) - Advocate for policy change (Right to Archive, Platform Accountability) - Curate the Umbrabytes (museums, memorials, exhibits) - Write the books, teach the courses, organize the conferences

The question is: Will you?

Archaeobytology isn't real yet. But it could be—if a critical mass of people decide to make it so.

You are that critical mass.

Final Assignment Instructions

Timeline:

Week 17 (Workshop Week): - Monday: Submit capstone outline for peer review - Wednesday: Workshop drafts in class (bring printed excerpts) - Friday: Optional office hours for feedback

Week 18 (Presentation Week): - Monday: Submit final written document (6,000-8,000 words) + prototype/artifact - Wednesday: Presentations (Group A: 8 students × 15 min) - Friday: Presentations (Group B: 8 students × 15 min)

Final Grades Posted: One week after final presentations

Submission Requirements

Written Document:

- Format: PDF, 6,000-8,000 words - Citations: Chicago or APA style - Sections: As outlined above (Parts I-VI) - Appendices: Can include additional diagrams, budgets, mockups (not counted in word limit)

Visual Presentation:

- Format: PDF slides or live demo - Length: 15 minutes (will be cut off at 17 minutes) - Q&A: 5 minutes (be prepared to defend)

Prototype/Artifact:

- Format: Depends on option (link to website, PDF of policy brief, video demo, etc.) - Submission: Upload to course platform or share link

Grading Summary

| Component | Points | Due Date | |-----------|--------|----------| | Written Design Document | 40 | Monday, Week 18 | | Visual Presentation | 20 | Wednesday or Friday, Week 18 | | Prototype/Campaign Artifact | 20 | Monday, Week 18 | | Integration & Originality | 20 | (Assessed across all deliverables) | | Total | 100 | |

Final Words from Your Instructor

You came to this course to learn about institutions. You're leaving with the tools to build them.

The world is full of broken systems: - Platforms that delete our memories - Domains we rent but never own - Identities controlled by corporations - Archives that die with their founders

You now know how to build alternatives.

The question isn't whether you can do it. It's whether you will.

Archaeobytology doesn't exist yet—not as a department, not as a profession, not as a movement.

But it could.

And if it does, it will be because people like you decided to: - Write the first journal articles - Organize the first conferences - Found the first preservation institutions - Advocate for the first laws - Build the first Third Way systems

The future isn't written. You have to forge it.

Now go build something that outlasts you.

End of Module 8 | End of Course

Appendix: Portfolio Presentation

After the course ends, you'll have a complete portfolio demonstrating expertise in:

1. Institutional Design (Modules 1-4 assignments) 2. Systems Architecture (Module 5 assignment) 3. Movement Strategy (Module 6 assignment) 4. Public Intellectual Plan (Module 7 assignment) 5. Capstone Project (Module 8)

This portfolio can be used to: - Apply for jobs (curator, archivist, policy advocate, startup founder) - Seek funding (grants, fellowships, investment) - Launch organizations (use your designs as business plans) - Publish scholarship (turn assignments into journal articles) - Advocate for policy (use your policy briefs in testimony)

You're not just leaving with a grade. You're leaving with a blueprint for the next 10 years of your career.

Go make it real.

Course Complete. Congratulations, Archaeobytologist.