We’re so glad you’ve come along. Welcome to Popula, a news and culture publication for readers, owned and operated by journalists and artists. It’s a collection of experiments in media and cryptoeconomics. A demonstration of what blockchain technology can do for journalism and speech rights. A showcase for writing and art sourced from all over the world, presented from a humanist, inclusive point of view.
Mainly we plan to tell the truth and have fun.
The identity of the “ego” in the phrase that appears in the bottom right of the Guercino painting Et in Arcadia Ego (ca. 1622) is interestingly unclear. Some conjecture that the speaker is Death himself and the message means, “Even in the midst of Paradise, there is Death.” But I read it as the message of the long since fallen shepherd whose skull his comrades are so tenderly lamenting. If so, it would mean something more like, “I too was once in Paradise.” As if to comfort them and to encourage them not to be downcast, but to lift their eyes to the glorious landscape around them, stretching far beyond.
At a time of such great uncertainty around the profession of journalism and the protection of speech rights, it wouldn’t be crazy to feel a little wary about the future. But also, it’s possible to make use of our resources right now, and they are many. For now, it’s possible to lift our eyes to the horizon, and that’s what we are going to do.
Thank you for joining us!
