~ Early Web Links ~

Blue Backspace is a small independent publication run by Jillian Caulfield and Quint Iverson, covering games, music, books, film, and television through personal essays and criticism. Hand-coded in HTML as an undergraduate thesis project, the site has a charming update log format and a growing archive of thoughtful long-form pieces.

Joe Ross is a lawyer with a keen interest in law, tech policy, and geekery who runs this frequently updated link blog sharing commentary on politics, culture, and the occasional obscure delight. Posts range from Supreme Court dynamics and civil liberties to RoboCop statues and rare Steve Jobs interviews, making it a lively and eclectic read.

Jeff Kaufman's personal blog covers a wide range of topics including effective altruism, urban housing policy, parenting, contra dance music, and technology. The site features regularly updated posts with thoughtful analysis on civic and social issues, alongside links to his music projects and coding work.

Chaos Theory: Tales Askew is an online zine or literary publication that appears to have been running since at least 2011, reaching its 14th issue at the time of this snapshot. The splash page hints at a creative writing or speculative fiction publication associated with the Genspace community, with a farewell message suggesting the final issue.

This is a Magazine (about nothing) is an eclectic online publication from 2001 featuring contributors, curated compendia, and a live drawing tool called liveDraw. Its playful self-described identity as a magazine 'about nothing' suggests a creative, art-and-culture zine with a collaborative editorial spirit.

A curated LibGuide from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign library that compiles digital zine archives, lending libraries, and artist collectives into one organized reference hub. It covers everything from activist zines and science-fiction fanzines to POC and queer zine collections, making it a rich starting point for researchers, educators, and zine enthusiasts alike.

GEOZONe is an archive of radical geographic zines and print ephemera, collecting over 80 titles that explore themes like abolition, urban geography, climate politics, housing justice, and community mapping. The collection spans deeply political and experimental works, from strike zines to queer school charters to guides on gentrification, making it a remarkable repository for radical geography enthusiasts and activists.

Sheryl Vernon is a mom-zine creator whose work covers topics like local Minneapolis news, parenting a teenager, and school refusal, available through Scope Creep Press and a network of zine libraries. Her personal site doubles as a hub for finding and buying her zines, with a retro-styled blog and guestbook adding a nostalgic early-web charm.

Worldbridges.net is a network of online communities built around homegrown webcasting and new media technologies, connecting educators and learners across projects like EdTechTalk, WebcastAcademy, and WebheadsInAction. The site serves as a hub for live and recorded webcasts, collaborative learning events, and a calendar of participatory broadcasts aimed at global education and communication.

Brent Simmons, creator of NetNewsWire, writes thoughtfully about the collapse of Twitter's dominance as the internet's de facto town square and what it means for the open web. The post argues passionately for a return to the decentralized, creative energy of the early web and the RSS-driven blogosphere.