about (we)bsite

(we)bsite is a living collection of internet dreams from people like you, inhabitants of the internet. It aims to create space to hold, show, and uplift everyday visions and hopes for the internet.

Despite all the time we spend on the internet, most of us are passive consumers of content and interfaces. Our standard digital environments do not offer let alone encourage us to imagine and create alternative futures for the internet.

What if everyone who used the internet was encouraged to dream about it? What would it look like if we collectively imagine and build a better internet together?

Change starts with possibility. We hope (we)bsite can be a catalyst for change by showing all the love, care, memories, and dreams that people have for the internet.

Colongraph

The intention behind the building of this site first and foremost was for it to feel fun. We believe that computing should be playful and take inspiration from those who have advocated for this (Cas Holman, Johan Huizinga, C. Thi Nguyen, and many others). This has manifested in many fun, at times unpractical, and interesting interactions that play with new ways of relating to one another in a digital space. For example,

  • dragging a letter to the desk to open it
  • visualizing the letters as real letters and the many animations associated with it
  • every visitor has their own unique fingerprint
  • visitors' fingerprints are left on the letters they drag, so that they are able to passively leave a presence. Others are ambiently aware of who has been here
  • real-time passive presence through cursors that match each person's color and through the fingerprints as they touch each letter.
  • letters remember where they have been dragged to emulate the permanence of actions in the physical world

All code is open-source and we welcome ideas, contributions, and extensions. The data is also public. Please contact us if you are interested in supporting the project through extensions or advocacy.

You can follow us on Twitter for updates on new releases and resurfacing letters from the community.