Frustrated with the misunderstandings about the Web, and how it came to be, and what it really means I’ve come up with a plan, and I hope you will join me in this undertaking.
On January 1st I will prepare a copy of “Weaving the Web” by Tim Berners-Lee (Web inventor) for a year-long journey to as many people who will participate in the project. The process is simple, and old-skool for a reason – it’s a hands-on experience!
- We gather a list of snail mail addresses from participants here. You can use any address where you receive mail, but please be aware that this will be public information so work addresses and boxes are preferred for your privacy.
- On January 1st, I box up my copy and I’ll find some beautiful paper we can use to sign our names to. Then, I send it to the first recipient on the list. While media mail takes longer, it’s cheaper, so use that if it’s all you can afford as this is voluntary.
- I write up a blog post, tweet or other notification(s) including one thought or many about how reading “Weaving the Web” affected me.
- Person two receives the book and repeats the process.
- In one year the book is returned to me, and I will present it at some point to Tim Berners-Lee as a gift
Someone with some geolocation savvy can help me and anyone else put up a tracking site so we can track the book as it travels around the world, have photos of people who are involved, and track thoughts, etc. Interested in helping with that, just let me know in comments.
The goals: To deepen our awareness of what the Web was meant to be by the man who invented it. To unify us in spite of our different perspectives. To remind us of the nobility of our profession, and how we should all be very proud to be part of such an ideal.
If you are interested in the project, please share your thoughts and contact info below, and I will begin building the list and basic tracking site.
