The Next 5 Minutes is the result of a lengthy period of research by the con-
ference editors, a number of the invited contributors and the extended net-
work of supporters, volunteers and critics. Over the months the NSM3 in-
ternet mailing lists have operated as a space of intense analysis and de-
bate in preparation for the conference. Usually, the result of this kind of
process evaporates into the ether; however, on this occasion these de-
bates functioned as a catalyst for making the NSM3 Workbook.

Moving from and including many of the rants, raves and responses, the
bread and butter of any working process, we, along with the main editors,
also followed some of the classical procedures of soliciting texts and vi-
suals around specific subjects that we saw necessary to address. This
collection is not intended to faithfully mirror or comprehensively cata-
logue the themes of the conference. Although many of the chosen topics
overlap, the eight selected headings in this reader function as an organi-
sational matrix, a way of plotting particular threads running through cur-
rent forms of resistance and interventionist practices. The collating and
editing process has been rapid and immediate; many of the texts were au-
thored in the month preceding the conference. Some contributions are
scholarly in nature, others are drafts and others 0.1 versions waiting for a
follow-up. As the editors of the reader we chose to minimally correct the
English with the acknowledgement that to develop text based projects on
the net is to directly experience the fact that the english language no
longer belongs to anyone, and has become richer and stranger as a result.
We therefore restricted ourselves to regulating comprehensibility rather
than insisting on any orthodox notion of correctness.

The N5M3 Workbook is a frozen moment, a snapshot, in the ongoing de-
bate on tactical media. It has been designed with the intention of being a
companion for visitors, a distribution site, a way of circulating information
and strategies. In terms of tactical media, this publication is meant to
function quite literally as a place where notes and addresses can he jotted
down in the flurry of the conference. (The Workbook Editors)