WHAT IS THE WEB REVIVAL GROUP?
Do you miss when the Internet was personal and filled with surprises? Our proposed group is a “show-and-tell” gathering for people who are making their own websites to share their interests, without relying on centralized social media.
We want to take the Internet back into our own hands and have fun again!
We do not want our experiences online to be gatekept by an algorithm designed to own our connections with others and monetize them for their own. The tools are available to use! We are willing to learn, build, and share!
The audience for this group are people in the Greater Nashua Area that…
- are writers, artists, indie makers, bloggers, hobbyists, curators, culture hounds
- want to have control of their home on the internet, free to make it as uniquely theirs as possible
- are willing to put in the effort to learn how to tame the technology
- are comfortable with experimental hands-on approaches to learning web technology
- like sharing their stories and interests in the context of putting cool stuff online
- miss the 1990s-2000s when the Internet was a wild place full of surprises
RELEVANT HASHTAGS
#webrevival #socialweb #humanetech #smolweb #indie-maker
GROUP MISSION
The initial mission of the Web Revival group is simply this:
To gather people who are in the process of building their personal own websites, and like talking about what they’re doing for fun!
The focus on on building fun websites and sharing stories about that experience. Sustained over time, the desirable outcome is that people make acquaintances with other people in the area who are publishing unique content for the sake of it.
My hope is that people will meet people they might not have met otherwise, forming new creative connections that strengthen our local community. With luck and time, people will form partnerships to create their own collaborative visions.
The group mission does not include two areas of interest, though we will do our best to help people find appropriate resources in the area:
1. We love learning, but the group is NOT an instructional group or class!
The group is explicitly not a teaching resource for web technology; there are plenty of classes and online videos that already do that well.
Our focus is to share the excitement of making something ourselves and putting it on the Internet in its full glory, to embrace our experiments, and celebrate our successes. Sharing of knowledge and know-how is part of this celebration.
2. We love engagement, but the group DOES NOT address business/marketing needs!
This group is also not for people who are focused on the business and marketing aspects of being online, farming engagement, or being an influencer. There are plenty of such groups already that cover these topics!
Our focus instead is on having the confidence to share your interests in your own voice online and owning it. While not strictly anti-commercial, our main focus is on self-education and self-empowement to make the Internet ours again. This is the way the Internet used to be before the 2010s. This is the revival we want to see for ourselves.
GROUP FORMAT
Initially, we will have a number of informal hosted gatherings in public spaces, where people can express what they are interested in and what they would like to see. We are gauging interest.
After these initial meetings, we’ll solidify this group charter and find a regular meeting spot. A simple website will be set up somewhere that describes the group that will serve as a centralized gathering place.
Our initial regular meeting format will likely be Show-and-Tell, an informal meeting structure where people can simply talk about what they’re doing and share knowledge. The tone is set by a host which helps guide the conversation and takes the time to get to know each person. Visibility of the meeting’s value is captured through shared notes that persist on a central website, so people on the fence about joining will see what they are missing.
STAFFING NEEDS
We are an informal volunteer group. It is being spearheaded by Sri (dsriseah.com) who dabbles in writing, graphic design, and web development.
Initially it would also be nice to have volunteers who enjoy:
- writing notes about what we learned at the meeting and updating a website
- are excited about what is happening around them in the community
- likes the idea of publishing pretty-looking stuff online and in print
A key supporting activity for the staff is to create fun and engaging online summaries of what’s going on in the Greater Nashua area, using the very technologies we are using to create our Web Revival.
EXTENDED MISSIONS
If the group sustains interest over time, more missions may be added based on member response. Some possibible topics:
SHARING THE VIBE
- sharing what we make without apology
- celebrating our perseverance in posting our interests
- feeling connected to others who are doing stuff online
TECH
- sharing tips and know-how without judgment
- colaborating to get hands dirty and try things out
- sharing info about tools available to people at any level
SOCIAL
- how to create belonging on our own terms?
- how to bridge to different networks
- creating local community ties to online content
- tools community builders use
CREATING RESOURCES
- compiling a resource list for members of all levels of technical ability and resources
- finding community builders who are using web technologies in Nashua area
- creating a directory of local websites
SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP: ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
- question: How does this make us feel? How does this create belonging?
- question: How does psychological safety grow intro trust and lead to change?
- identifying community roles: architects, creators, builders, supporters, consumers, organization leaders
- identifying community member archetypes (e.g. Scott McCloud’s types of creators)