solarsocial
solarsocial: a quiet architecture for media and light
technology isn’t inherently evil. it is not innately anti-ecological. but it does tend to block out or forget the sun. in doing so, some technologies have become increasingly energy-hungry, and in the name of the speed of progress, have adopted unsustainable methods for distribution and adoption. technologies that connect us (the internet, smartphones, social media) have environmental consequences we often overlook.
most of the tools and platforms we use to connect today weren’t built for resilience, or reflection, or ecological intimacy. they were built for speed, scale, metrics, and for dopamine loops. when we use them, we aren't forced to think of their ecological effects. in all our earthly and solar forgetting, we lose something important: rhythm.
this is a call to remember that rhythm in our communication through something we can call the solarsocial.
what is solarsocial?
solarsocial is a way of thinking about media, networks, and digital life in terms of solar logic: slow, ambient, renewable, intermittent, and deeply alive.
it’s not just about powering tech with sunlight. it’s about designing systems and relationships with longevity and the cyclical environmental patterns/rhythms of the planet in mind. it is a philosophical and ethical approach to how we communicate.
a solarsocial approach is seasonal, asynchronous, and gentle. it values presence over performance, and intention over interaction.
a solarsocial media shift
it is important to start thinking about our internet and communication habits, namely: those relating to social media and media consumption. within the solarsocial umbrella, we can dream of a solarsocial media platform that might:
- go offline when the sun goes down
- publish only on full moons or equinoxes
- eliminate likes, metrics, and infinite scrolls
- is completely decentralised
- run on a raspberry pi, an old smartphone, or a janky old laptop/mini-pc with a solar panel taped to your window
- runs on green servers out there under the sun
- delivers writing slowly, moving like the weather, not as a treadmill of quick updates
in this architecture, energy becomes an interface, uptime becomes tidal, and sunlight becomes a signal.
🌱 conceptual parallels
traditional social media and solarsocial media operate on entirely different logics. here’s how they diverge:
- infinite scroll → becomes finite, seasonal publishing
- cloud-hosted platforms → shift to locally-hosted or intermittently connected systems
- engagement-optimized design → gives way to reflection-optimized experiences
- fomo and speed → replaced with jomo (joy of missing out) and slowness
- surveillance and targeting → traded for anonymity and intimacy
- extractive attention economy → reimagined as a regenerative attention ecology
yes, solar and slow servers already do exist
this isn’t just a metaphor, it’s already happening. here are some examples:
- solar low-tech magazine runs from a solar-powered pi in barcelona. if there’s no sun, the site sleeps.
- the solar protocol is a distributed network of solar servers. traffic routes to whichever node has the most sunlight.
- greengeeks and planethoster offer partially solar-powered or offset hosting. not perfect, but a start.
- experimental folks can deploy their own solar sites with yunohost, gemini, and maybe even through something like dat-ecosystem’s p2p protocols …
these are not big tech tools. they are garden tools.
how to host your own solar server
you don’t need a data centre. you need a window, a panel, and some curiosity.
what you can use:
- a raspberry pi (any recent model works) or equivalent low-power consumption device, even an old smartphone
- a small solar panel (10–20w is enough for a pi)
- a battery bank or ups to smooth the uptime
- a static site (html + css)
- local server stack (lighttpd, nginx, or even python’s http server)
optional extras:
- use pagekite or something like it to expose your local server to the web
- set up a daylight-aware cron job to publish or sleep
- track uptime and share weather-based logs for poetic transparency
tip: don’t chase 100% uptime. embrace intermittence. if the sun’s not shining, the site can nap.
you don’t need perfection. just a bit of sun. just photosynthesis.
interesting and related links for inspiration
examples
- solar low-tech magazine → solar.lowtechmagazine.com
- solar protocol → solarprotocol.net
tools
- yunohost (self-hosting made easy) → yunohost.org
- gemini protocol → gemini.circumlunar.space
- pagekite (self-host through firewalls) → pagekite.net
- dat protocol → dat.foundation
inspiration
- how to build a low-tech solar website → lowtechmagazine.com/2021/10/how-to-build-a-lowtech-website.html
- solar-powered media → lowcarbonmethods.com/local/zine4web.pdf
toward a slower solar/hybrid net
what if instead of always-on feeds, we had digital gardens?
what if media responded to weather, to light, to rest?
what if the internet could nap?
solarsocial is another seed. a theoretical framework.
it’s not just for disruption. it’s for re-rooting.
build something that goes offline sometimes.
build something that listens to the sun.