Dear Science / Computer Science Site,
This morning, prominent author and futurist Howard Rheingold launched
ELECTRIC MINDS (http://www.minds.com), an online destination where
experts
and knowledge seekers gather to share news, analysis and opinion about
technology, science, computers and their affect on peoples' lives. We
are
inviting individuals and users at technology, college and social
computing
sites to participate and share a common vision with us, as developing
community is essential to long-term success of the Web and loyalty and
connection between people is as important as ideas and information. By
balancing content and online conversation, Electric Minds is driving
the
evolution of the Web from a publishing medium into a social medium -
the
Social Web.
We are *not* just a magazine online - who would care?! We are a living,
breathing, dynamic community where some of the smartest thinkers from
around the Net will come each day to discuss, debate and connect with
ideas, visions and news of our brave new Web world. More than product
reviews or digital fashion, Electric Minds is about meaning and
context.
Recently, Jerry Michalski of Release 1.0 commented, "Most Web sites
create
content, context or conversations. Few do any worthwhile integration of
all
three elements, and none enrich the combined materials over time, and
turn
them into long-lived resources for use in other media. Electric Minds
is
the first company I have seen that is creating such an environment.
Because
it combines crafted points of view, snappy conversations and links to
other
such conversations across the Net, its system should have broad
appeal."
As a virtual community, we combine content from high-profile
contributors
with facilitated conversations using Web conferencing systems.
Contributors
for the site include HTML guru Laura Lemay, VRML co-creator Mark Pesce,
former San Francisco Chronicle online commentator Bob Rossney, Virtual
Reality author and Silicon Graphics VR evangelist Linda Jacobson and
many
others of similar repute. Rheingold himself wrote the bestselling book,
The
Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier, which sold
100,000 copies in 6 languages. Furthermore, we are a global family, as
we
have contributors from Japan, Australia, France, Germany, England and
across the US giving street-level reports on technology and digital
culture
as it happens. We are part university, part laboratory, part magazine
and
part thinktank.
We look forward to your participation, feedback and enthusiasm in our
new
adventure - see you there!
The Electric Minds Team
(http://www.minds.com)
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