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Inside Web Lab
Issue 6.0
November 5, l999
Our Slogan of the Month:
Web Lab: A lot of juice for the squeeze!
http://www.WebLab.org
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CONTENTS
The Big Picture
American Love Stories - really, it's over!
Lab Stats
Sightings
Comings and Goings
Ripple Effect
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THE BIG PICTURE
It's officially Autumn in NYC, and here at Web Lab,
we're just getting around to some Spring cleaning.
We rearranged the cubicles a bit, and even dusted off
underneath the monitors. Probably just an outward
manifestation of what's really on our minds.
We've had an extremely successful run since those wacky
talent show days, and we find ourselves in the
beguiling position of having a wonderful pool of talent
to rely on, some good press (we like to call it 'street
cred'), a teeny bit of clout (oh, just humor us), and
even a marketable resource or two.
So where do we go from here? Well, you've probably
read by now about our plans for the new improved
Web Development Fund. We're awfully excited about the
new plan, wherein we partner with funders, portals,
technology innovators, or other contributors to sponsor
a variety of tracks through which producers and artists
can submit proposals. We look for this approach not only
to open up new partnership opportunities for Web Lab, but
also to spark new ideas about creating meaningful content
and experiences online.
At the same time, we're finding a couple of our own in-house
innovations in demand. When we first started our WDF
review process, we commissioned the design of a Web-based
proposal tracking and review system which we now plan to
license to other non-profits and foundations. We are
also exploring opportunities to license our small
group dialogue software, now in its 3rd incarnation.
We're hoping both of these new sources of revenue,
along with some new alliances will build the foundation
for our next big push toward a better Web for all!
The Web Lab Advisory Board is convening this month
(for the first time ever!) to discuss these changes
and to do a little more conspiring on the future of
Web Lab. This organization has been a work in
progress since its inception, and we wouldn't be
where we are without the support of so many members
of the community. If you have ideas or suggestions
regarding our new direction, or would just like more
information on any of the items mentioned, by all
means tell us about it!
For more information on the Web Development Fund:
http://www.weblab.org/wdfpartner.html
For more information on Web Lab's small group
dialogue technique:
http://www.weblab.org/salon.html
To tell us what you think:
http://www.pbs.org/weblab/contact.html
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AMERICAN LOVE STORIES - really, it's over!
http://www.pbs.org/weblab/lovestories
This last Tuesday night, Web Lab said goodbye
to a couple of things we'd really gotten attached
to. First, we put American Love Stories to bed.
It was a very rewarding project for all of us, but
quite an undertaking as well. The pages have been
evergreened on the PBS site, and after the relief,
the nostalgia is beginning to set in.
We bowled off our sorrow at a post-ALS party
which doubled as a send off for ALS project
manager and long-time 'bLabber Suzanne Seggerman.
We wish we could say Suzanne is a great bowler,
but there are plenty of other great things about
her, and if we start to list them, we'll all just
get teary-eyed. So we wish the best of luck to
Suzanne as she takes a six month leave to aid
in the rebuilding of Kosovo.
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LAB STATS
To our delight, it looks like even with the close of
American Love Stories, we were able to welcome over
100,000 unique visitors to all of Web Lab's sites in
the last month. This means we've broken the 6 digit mark
three months in a row, a significant record for us.
Of course, we like to measure our sites by the impact
they have on the people visiting, but with stats like
these, we're not above bragging.
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SIGHTINGS
Marc Weiss was doing his Eastern Seaboard thing this
month, heading down to Washington, D.C, to describe
the Reality Check impeachment discussion at a
conference about "The 'New' Public Opinion: Using
the Internet to Measure the Public Pulse" sponsored
by The Annenberg Public Policy Center, George
Washington University and the National Journal.
A week later, Marc was in Cambridge for a presentation
about Web Lab's small group dialogue technique at a
meeting of the "New in the Future" consortium at the
MIT Media Lab. Web Lab Advisory Board member Glorianna
Davenport reported that the presentation "generated
rave reviews and a host of ideas."
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COMINGS AND GOINGS
We're pleased to announce that Joanne Wilson is the newest
member of the Web Lab Advisory Board. Joanne is the
chairperson of MOUSE, a NY-based charity focused on
bringing technological improvements to the New York
City Public Schools System.
She's been active in the Silicon Alley community since
early 1997 when she joined the publication Silicon Alley
Reporter as its second employee to spearhead sales of
advertising and event sponsorships. By the time she left
two years later, SAR had become the leading publication
for the Internet business in New York City and Los Angeles.
We're delighted to be working with her as we search for
new sources of income to sustain our work.
And a big welcome to our new intern, Ellen Scott. After
some educational but ultimately unsatisfying forays in
the corporate world, Ellen is pursuing an MFA in Computer
Graphics at Pratt Institute. She is thrilled to be doing
work that feels like play, and hopes she can get away with
it for a long time. She treasures action figures, edamame,
awkward moments, and having exact change.
Our special thanks go out this month to Kathryn Perry,
Web Lab's Director of Communications. Kathryn commanded
two very successful pr campaigns during her time at Web
Lab (VAGUEpolitix and American Love Stories). She has
accepted a position with PR21, and we wish her the best
of luck.
Did we mention we're going to miss Suzanne? Suzanne
Seggerman, Web Lab elder, project manager extraordinaire,
and all-around fashionable gal, is off for a six month
stint in Kosovo. We're sure she'll make valuable
contributions there, but we'd like to remind the
world: We found her first! Good luck, Suzanne!
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RIPPLE EFFECT
We at Web Lab never set out to change the world. Well,
OK, maybe we did, but we always had in mind a ripple
effect. We were terribly excited and even a little bit
proud when a group of participants from Reality Check
(Web Lab's forum on the Starr-Clinton-Lewinsky debacle)
set out to publish their own on-line zine.
They call it Dyads, and it features a series of
articles arranged in a point/counterpoint format. The
first issue is on government, and it's online now!
http://website.lineone.net/~dyads_magazine/
At the same time, the listserv that began last March
when Reality Check closed, just surpassed 3,000 posts,
and the 3 completely separate listservs that grew out
of our recent American Love Stories dialogues, when
combined, have already reached half that number!
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