mandamonius in the house of the flying internets aka amanda wheeler
the third webstock has come and gone, leaving me feeling bereft (as the passing of all great things do).
when we left auckland wednesday night i felt exhausted, a frazzled string of christmas lights. i don’t think i was the only one. over the 2 days of the conference it was as if each section of cord and each bulb slowly untangled itself and re-lit. by friday night i was tired but energised.
webstock is often a time of excitement just for the fact that personal or potential heroes attend. i met derek powazek and gave him a copy of my art zine, skeleton. for long time readers (or anyone who isn’t blind) i’ve often quoted derek and have always held his words on personal websites to be a manifesto of sorts. the unfortunate thing is that often in these situations one can’t think of much more to impart than gratitude for what the person does. sometimes it just doesn’t seem enough.
webstock is many things to many people but it is more than just a web conference. darren compares it to TED; it is more about concepts, creativity and inspiration than just demonstrations of technique by top players (though there is a bit of that in there too for those who are looking for that).
the presentations were fantastic and artfully segued between topics & the creation of themes; many carefully balanced between teaching and dangling questions, opening up ideas and pushing the audience to make their own choices. for many presenters i typed as fast as i possibly could; for others there was the chance to reflect and absorb their message.
i feel like this year i left with a sense of being able to now choose my own adventure more than ever before. many speakers touched on what’s happening in the world right now - many things won’t last & won’t hold but i think more than destruction it has to push us to be more, do more & make more. complacence just isn’t workable. criticism has to be a spark, not a dead end. both ze frank’s session and tash hall’s closing words brought me to tears - there is so much that happens online that can almost be discounted or overlooked but in so many ways it’s a big, beautiful, chaotic cathedral.
we have the capability to make positive change and now more than ever, the internet has to help save the world.
