Join us for the EFF-Austin holiday party! What used to be an annual tradition is finally back, and in an awesome new space graciously donated for the festivities in south Austin. Pizza and refreshments will be available for your enjoyment, along with a brief talk on online community from one of our board members, in addition to socializing with your fellow cyber activist nerds. We encourage you to RSVP here (https://www.grotto101.com/eff-austin-holiday-party-rsvp/), as space is limited. Upon registration, you will receive an email before the event with the address and additional details.

BIO:
Our party's speaker is EFF-Austin board member Jon Lebkowsky. Jon is a prominent figure in the realms of digital culture, activism, and technology. He is an internet pioneer and writer who has been actively involved in discussions around technology and society since the early days of the web. Lebkowsky co-founded the influential company FringeWare and its publication, FringeWare Review, which focused on cyberculture, fringe technology, and digital activism during the 1990s.

Jon is an authority on, and evangelist for, computer-mediated communications, virtual communities, and online social networks. He has been a writer, editor, publisher and digital culture maven. He also worked in various capacities as a project manager, systems analyst, technology director, and online community developer. He's a greybeard, a meditator, and wishes he could play the sax.

He is also known for advocating the potential of the internet to foster positive social change. Lebkowsky has written extensively on topics like the digital divide, net neutrality, and the implications of emerging technologies. He has also been involved with the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and other organizations dedicated to defending digital rights.

Today, he continues to be active in online communities, exploring the intersection of technology, culture, and social activism.

Jon is cofounder, co-host, editor and sometimes blogger at Plutopia News Network, which is a freewheeling independent media organization co-operated with cofounder Scoop Sweeney.

TALK SUMMARY:
In the early days of the internet, online community development was a foundational element of social technology, preceding the corporate-dominated social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Early platforms aimed to foster genuine community affiliation, prioritizing meaningful connections among users. In contrast, later social media models pivoted toward monetizing user attention, designing experiences that prioritize engagement over authentic community-building by catering to advertisers. In his talk, Jon Lebkowsky will explore effective strategies for structuring independent (non-corporate) online communities, with The WELL as a prime example. Launched as a bulletin board system (BBS) in 1985 and still active today, The WELL (Whole Earth ’Lectronic Link) stands as one of the earliest and most enduring online communities.