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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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