It’s a big day for One Web Day! [Disclosure: I’m on its board.]

First, Mitch Kapor has agreed to become its chair. Mitch is an Internet lifer who has put his shoulder to the wheel in some of the founding efforts that have made the Net what it is today. So, yay!!!

What is One Web Day? As Mitch puts it:

OneWebDay is an annual, global event which is celebrated every September 22. Much like Earth Day, which inspired it, OneWebDay provides an opportunity for communities to celebrate the power of Web for positive change, to take action to protect what is precious about it, and to educate the public and policymakers on how the Web works.

Second, the Ford Foundation has given OWD a major grant — yay!! — so now we can move from being an all-volunteer organization to hiring an executive director…which leads to…

Third, Nathaniel James is the new executive director. He comes from the Media and Democracy Coalition, and is an ideal fit. Yay!!

One Web Day — founded by Susan Crawford — is a day for us to celebrate the Web, but also to renew our commitment to work together to advance the values that make the Web not just a technology but a hope. Today is a very good one for OWD and for what it can contribute to that hope.

[Tags: owd one_web_day mitch_kapor susan_crawford open_net ]

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Someone asked me the other day if I still think the Web has not been hyped enough. Damn straight. This thing is bigger than all of us put together. We’ve only just begun to figure out how to take advantage of our new connectedness of ideas and people. It’s worth a little celebrating, don’t you think?

That’s what One Web Day is about. And it’s coming up on September 22, which means it’s time to start organizing something in your community.

As with Earth Day, it’s up to each community — real-world or online — to decide how to celebrate OWD, but you’re encouraged to do something that will add value to the Web. Bring the Net to some people who don’t yet have it. Post works that tell local stories or that encourage others to be creative. Support politically what you consider to be the core values of the Web. (OWD is non-partisan.)

Woohoo! The Web! Woohoo! One Web Day!

[Tags: one_web_day owd ]

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