Jon Lebkowsky
Encyclopedia
Jon Lebkowsky is an web consultant/developer, author
and activist who was cofounder of FringeWare, Inc. (with Paco Nathan
). FringeWare, an early attempt at ecommerce and online community
, published a popular "magalog
" called FringeWare Review
, and a literary zine edited by Lebkowsky called Unshaved Truths. FringeWare's email list, called the FringeWare News Network, established an international following for the organization, which also opened a store in Austin, Texas.
He cohosts (with Nancy White
the ongoing Virtual Communities conference, the Blog confence, and the public Inkwell Conference, at the seminal online community, The WELL. He has a weblog, Weblogsky.com. He lives in Austin
, Texas
.
, an organization formed to be a chapter of the national Electronic Frontier Foundation
(EFF). EFF-Austin became a separate organization with Lebkowsky as President. Lebkowsky coined the phrase "Freedom to Connect," which became the name of an annual conference organized by David Isenberg, as an alternative to the term "network neutrality."
, where he had a brief stint as book review editor, and Mondo 2000
, where he wrote several articles and formed friendships with editors RU Sirius and Jude Milhon
. Through the WELL, he also became associated with Howard Rheingold
and Whole Earth Review
, the Electronic Frontier Foundation
, and boing boing
, where he was Associate Editor. He had early associations with staff at Wired Magazine and conducted a regular, weekly series of chats called Electronic Frontiers Forum at HotWired
. He was a subdomain editor for the Millennium Whole Earth Catalog and, in 1996, became a community host at Howard Rheingold's Electric Minds.
as its "Internet guy," to evangelize internally for the Internet and help lead their web-based ecommerce efforts, which ended in 2000 with the collapse of the so-called "Internet bubble." As Internet evangelist within the company, he advocated creation of online community at WholeFoods.com, and was Interactive Community Director for the ecommerce site that launched in 1998 The community included WELL Engaged forums and regular realtime chats using the IRC-based Talk City system. When WholeFoods.com was replaced by the ambitious Whole People, Lebkowsky moved to Colorado and helped manage technology for the new enterprise until the company ended the project following the "dotcom bust."
He was an early influential social software
advocate and one of the instigators of the Social Software Alliance. He was also an early blogger blogger at Weblogsky. With Clay Shirky, he created You're It, a blogs about tags and [folksonomy]. He also blogged at, and managed technology for, Worldchanging, an influential website focused on the future of sustainability that was inspired by the Viridian Design Movement.
, whom he has interviewed many times, and he created and operated the web site for Sterling's Viridian Design Movement. Lebkowsky and Sterling have a world-readable "State of the World" conversation for two weeks every January on The WELL
.
, and one of the contributors to the book Worldchanging: A Guide to the 21st Century. He was co-editor (with Mitch Ratcliffe) of the book Extreme Democracy
He has been an advisor to the SXSW Interactive (SXSWi) conference for many years. He curated SXSWi tracks on wireless in 2004, digital convergence in 2006, and journalism in 2011. He was a cofounder and an original board member of the Society for Participatory Medicine, and currently manages the Society's social media presence. He formed an Austin-based social web consultancy, Social Web Strategies, where he was principal from 2006 to 2009. He was also instigator and principal of Plutopia Productions, a future-focused entertainment and production company. He has also been involved in Austin sustainability projects, including Austin EcoNetwork, Austin Green Art, Austin 350, Solar Austin, and the Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems
.
In 2009 he left Social Web Strategies and returned to web consulting and development through Polycot Associates, a company that spun off from his earlier work with Polycot Consulting. He currently writes and speaks about the Internet, media, digital culture, and social technology. He has a web development and consulting company called Polycot Associates, a spinoff from Polycot Consulting.
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and activist who was cofounder of FringeWare, Inc. (with Paco Nathan
Paco Nathan
Paco Nathan is a computer scientist, author, and performance art show producer from San Luis Obispo, California, who established much of his career in Austin, Texas....
). FringeWare, an early attempt at ecommerce and online community
Online community
An online community is a virtual community that exists online and whose members enable its existence through taking part in membership ritual. An online community can take the form of an information system where anyone can post content, such as a Bulletin board system or one where only a restricted...
, published a popular "magalog
Magalog
A magalog is a promotional copy of a magazine, usually in a 12-page catalog format. The name is a portmanteau of "magazine" and "catalog". Magalogs help introduce magazines to new readers. It can also help existing readers see new or upcoming changes, additions, or improvements to the magazine...
" called FringeWare Review
FringeWare Review
FringeWare Review was a magazine about Subculture published in Austin, Texas. Many of the publication's writers and editors were associated with other publications such as Boing Boing, Mondo 2000, Whole Earth Review, and Wired. The last issue of the magazine was #14...
, and a literary zine edited by Lebkowsky called Unshaved Truths. FringeWare's email list, called the FringeWare News Network, established an international following for the organization, which also opened a store in Austin, Texas.
He cohosts (with Nancy White
Nancy White
Nancy White is a Canadian singer-songwriter, whose topical songs were a regular feature on CBC Radio from 1976 to 1994 on the public affairs show Sunday Morning...
the ongoing Virtual Communities conference, the Blog confence, and the public Inkwell Conference, at the seminal online community, The WELL. He has a weblog, Weblogsky.com. He lives in Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
.
Internet Advocacy
Lebkowsky has a history of advocacy in support of a free and open Internet, and was a co-founder of EFF-AustinEFF-Austin
EFF-Austin was formed in Austin, Texas by Steve Jackson of Steve Jackson Games shortly after the Electronic Frontier Foundation or EFF was formed. Jackson was pursuing a lawsuit, eventually successful, against the Secret Service with EFF's help, and suggested the formation of an alpha EFF chapter...
, an organization formed to be a chapter of the national Electronic Frontier Foundation
Electronic Frontier Foundation
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is an international non-profit digital rights advocacy and legal organization based in the United States...
(EFF). EFF-Austin became a separate organization with Lebkowsky as President. Lebkowsky coined the phrase "Freedom to Connect," which became the name of an annual conference organized by David Isenberg, as an alternative to the term "network neutrality."
Early History
Lebkowsky joined the WELL in 1990, and became a host or co-host of several forums on the conferencing system, including forums devoted to Factsheet FiveFactsheet Five
Factsheet Five was a periodical mostly consisting of short reviews of privately produced printed matter along with contact details of the editors and publishers....
, where he had a brief stint as book review editor, and Mondo 2000
Mondo 2000
Mondo 2000 was a glossy cyberculture magazine published in California during the 1980s and 1990s. It covered cyberpunk topics such as virtual reality and smart drugs. It was a more anarchic and subversive prototype for the later-founded Wired magazine....
, where he wrote several articles and formed friendships with editors RU Sirius and Jude Milhon
Jude Milhon
Jude Milhon , in Anderson, Indiana, best known by her pseudonym St. Jude, was a hacker and author in the San Francisco Bay Area....
. Through the WELL, he also became associated with Howard Rheingold
Howard Rheingold
-See also:* Collective intelligence* Information society* The WELL* Virtual community-External links:***** at TED conference** a 48MB Quicktime movie, hosted by the Internet Archive...
and Whole Earth Review
Whole Earth Review
Whole Earth was a magazine which was founded in January 1985 after the merger of the Whole Earth Software Review and the CoEvolution Quarterly. All of these periodicals are descendants of Stewart Brand's Whole Earth Catalog...
, the Electronic Frontier Foundation
Electronic Frontier Foundation
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is an international non-profit digital rights advocacy and legal organization based in the United States...
, and boing boing
Boing Boing
Boing Boing is a publishing entity, first established as a magazine, later becoming a group blog.-History:...
, where he was Associate Editor. He had early associations with staff at Wired Magazine and conducted a regular, weekly series of chats called Electronic Frontiers Forum at HotWired
HotWired
Hotwired was the first commercial web magazine, launched on October 27, 1994. Although it was part of Wired Ventures, Hotwired was a separate entity from Wired, the print magazine, and had original content....
. He was a subdomain editor for the Millennium Whole Earth Catalog and, in 1996, became a community host at Howard Rheingold's Electric Minds.
Whole Foods Market
In 1997, he joined Whole Foods MarketWhole Foods Market
Whole Foods Market is a foods supermarket chain based in Austin, Texas which emphasizes "natural and organic products." The company has been ranked among the most socially responsible businesses and placed third on the U.S...
as its "Internet guy," to evangelize internally for the Internet and help lead their web-based ecommerce efforts, which ended in 2000 with the collapse of the so-called "Internet bubble." As Internet evangelist within the company, he advocated creation of online community at WholeFoods.com, and was Interactive Community Director for the ecommerce site that launched in 1998 The community included WELL Engaged forums and regular realtime chats using the IRC-based Talk City system. When WholeFoods.com was replaced by the ambitious Whole People, Lebkowsky moved to Colorado and helped manage technology for the new enterprise until the company ended the project following the "dotcom bust."
Web Development, Social Software, and Blogs
Lebkowsky turned to web development, and formed Polycot Consulting with Jeff Kramer and Matt Sanders on September 12, 2001. He became an advocate of Open Source systems based on PHP, and later Ruby on Rails.He was an early influential social software
Social software
Social software applications include communication tools and interactive tools. Communication tools typically handle the capturing, storing and presentation of communication, usually written but increasingly including audio and video as well. Interactive tools handle mediated interactions between a...
advocate and one of the instigators of the Social Software Alliance. He was also an early blogger blogger at Weblogsky. With Clay Shirky, he created You're It, a blogs about tags and [folksonomy]. He also blogged at, and managed technology for, Worldchanging, an influential website focused on the future of sustainability that was inspired by the Viridian Design Movement.
Bruce Sterling, Viridian Design, and the State of the World
He is a close friend of author Bruce SterlingBruce Sterling
Michael Bruce Sterling is an American science fiction author, best known for his novels and his work on the Mirrorshades anthology, which helped define the cyberpunk genre.-Writings:...
, whom he has interviewed many times, and he created and operated the web site for Sterling's Viridian Design Movement. Lebkowsky and Sterling have a world-readable "State of the World" conversation for two weeks every January on The WELL
The Well
- Titled works :* The Well , 1986 novel by Elizabeth JolleyMusical albums:* The Well , by Waking Ashland* The Well, 2001, by Jennifer Warnes* The Well, a song from the "Come to the Well" album by christian group Casting Crowns...
.
Writing
Lebkowsky has written articles and essays, and is a contributing writer and columnist at WorldchangingWorldchanging
Worldchanging is an American non-profit online magazine and blog about sustainability and social innovation. At 19/09/2011, it was taken over by Architecture for Humanity....
, and one of the contributors to the book Worldchanging: A Guide to the 21st Century. He was co-editor (with Mitch Ratcliffe) of the book Extreme Democracy
Other Projects
He also led Austin's Wireless Future project for IC2 Insititute in 2003-2004, and was a prominent figure within the Central Texas Digital Convergence Initiative, Bootstrap Austin, ATX Equation, and other local economic development projects.He has been an advisor to the SXSW Interactive (SXSWi) conference for many years. He curated SXSWi tracks on wireless in 2004, digital convergence in 2006, and journalism in 2011. He was a cofounder and an original board member of the Society for Participatory Medicine, and currently manages the Society's social media presence. He formed an Austin-based social web consultancy, Social Web Strategies, where he was principal from 2006 to 2009. He was also instigator and principal of Plutopia Productions, a future-focused entertainment and production company. He has also been involved in Austin sustainability projects, including Austin EcoNetwork, Austin Green Art, Austin 350, Solar Austin, and the Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems
Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems
The Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems , established in 1975, is a non-profit education, research, and demonstration organization specializing in life cycle planning and design...
.
In 2009 he left Social Web Strategies and returned to web consulting and development through Polycot Associates, a company that spun off from his earlier work with Polycot Consulting. He currently writes and speaks about the Internet, media, digital culture, and social technology. He has a web development and consulting company called Polycot Associates, a spinoff from Polycot Consulting.
Writings
- List of links to writings and interviews.
- Posts at Worldchanging.com
- "In Your Facebook"
- "The Serious Play in Saving the World"