Can you feel it? Starting as a low rumble last winter
with the attempted
squashing of e-toy, there is a reactive gathering together of independent web
developers and producers in a reunification that is fast approaching, as a June
thunderstorm. The creative community of designers, artists, writers and programmers who
launched this wired medium in the early nineties were tossed aside and left as carrion
by the quick-strike dotcommies and their Wall Street greed. The voice is returning. The catalyzing event, in my
view, was Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson's ruling that technology giant Microsoft had
broken anti-trust law. Contrary to pundit expectations, the technology markets in
Chicago and New York went into a tail spin. Busting up Microsoft doesn't enhance
competition. Instead, it disassembles the foundation of the total technology pyramid
brick by brick. Suddenly all the flash-in-the-pan e-commerce whizkids have to pay to
play. Shareholders tired of empty promises and quarterly losses are demanding return
on investment. The dotcommies are dropping like flies. Enter the IndepenDev Realm. Seizing the opportunity to
recapture momentum while the commercial web-world is reeling, the community of creative
development is organizing its force. This Internet underground is engaging in
conversation. The Cluetrain guys had it right.
The swift expansion of the formerly hibernating weblog rings is rallying the troops. The
production enclaves in Silicon Valley, New York City, Sydney and Scandinavia are
discarding petty rivalry. Unproclaimed leaders with names like
Zeldman,
Arthur,
Powazek,
and Schmidt are getting face-time and dead tree
ink in visible, mainstream publications. Forums
and message boards all over the world are expressing common themes. It is time to
get the word out that another World Wide Web exists. Ports of embarkation with names like
Coolstop,
Glassdog,
and WebbieWorld are garnering more
attention than ever before — and not just from within the community. The Web
isn't only about buying and selling or sports scores. There actually are sites that
don't blink and flash with thousands of irritating electronic billboards. It is
resplendent with museums of
art, projects for creative design,
and learning centers that teach you how to
participate. Interestingly enough, the same Internet that is the
platform for contemporary creativity is the vehicle for dissemination. It is a
near-perfect conversation communication mechanism. Take weblogs for example. Online
journalizing has been around since the days of the original Mosaic web
browser. This personal expression enjoyed a rebound in popularity in 1999, and has been
propelled to tornado-like movement around the planet since the
automation of updating by resourceful outfits
like Pyra and others. The bloggers are asking each
other what they can do to improve their conjugal lot. Mostly, it boils down to the
essence of the Web, the hyperlink. Back and forth, round and round, from Phoenix to
Peking, developers are reminding each other — tell the rest of the world how to
discover the hidden Web. My message and hope is simple. I feel fortunate and
grateful you were able to find this independent site. I know it takes an explorative
nature to get even this far. If you are new to the Internet or just a casual observer,
I invite and encourage you to discover the beauty and creativity that abounds. Use
your sense of exploration by clicking some of the links above. If you are an independent
content producer yourself, please take just 15 minutes out of each day to help those
newcomers learn about the kinder, gentler Web.
25th of May 2000
