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During the 1995 ASD XII conference in New York when I attempted to connect via the Internet with Dan Cummings (windeatr@sirius.com) during the DreamMosiac Presentation and bring to the ASD conferences its first Net connection.
It didn't work.
I had talked to Rita Dwyer and Kelly Bulkeley prior to the conference about ASD plans for Internet projects and they were very supportive and spread the word around, as well as informing me of the work of Robert Gongloff & others in digitalizing the ASD main office. But the NY conference site was not setup or prepared for this kind of connection. (I did get e-mail from the New York conference site about the conference from John Gallagher and others, so technically there *was* a Net connection to Conference XIII, but nothing public.)
When I heard the conference was going to be just north of Silicon Valley, in Berkeley, I realized that this was the time for ASD to go online and others in ASD felt the same as well. During these times we still had to explain what we meant by the word "Internet" but it didn't take very long for the idea of inexpensive global communication to become an easily understood and desired project.
I proposed an education and exhibition center to help presenters with digital presentations and to bring any concerned ASD conventioneer up to date on the latest developments and ideas about the Internet. Kelly Bulkeley and Jayne Gackenbach were instrumental in bringing ASD attention to the matter and Alan Siegel presented the ideas to the 1995-1996 ASD board. The board foresightedly agreed to back the project. Alan also brought the attention of the ASD community to the Internet & dreaming through the ASD Newsletter and the addition of the Cyberphile to inform and guide ASD members into Cyberspace.
The 1996 Conference XIII Committee fully accepted the project into the fabric of the conference planning and deserve special thanks for their cooperation. The planning committee actually began using the Internet as a means of inexpensive communication about the conference.
These proposals began to take shape in the hands of my first Web & Design team, which included James Wood and Lance Alexander.
Jayne Gackenbach proposed to the same ASD board a permanent ASD Web site which would be generously carried by the GMCC Server. As we had several months before the conference, I lent my web team to Jayne to help put the site together, though the project has drawn on a wide spectrum of support. See the ASD Web Acknowledgements for more information on Jayne Gackenback's amazing project and all the wonderful volunteers that have brought that site together.
The Conference XIII Net Team changed and grew to include a whole host of other wonderful volunteers. They have donated uncountable hours lovingly assembling the Internet and Computer program and convention web site to bring you up to date on the latest developments in Cyberspace, the venues where dreams are of concern and easy ways for you to connect your own dream project to the Global Cyberspace community.
The project has come to include online support from the global dreaming network, including the Electric Dreams community, the DreamLink community, the BADG, Bay Area Dreamworkers Group, Donna Campos & Compuserve, and Jermey Taylor & AOL to mention a few.
Another part of this convention project includes the Educational program and panel offered by Sarah Richards and the technical and supervisory & technical support of Lars Spivock. Special goes thanks to Charles Winstead for his coding and help in the Computer Hub. Thanks also to other volunteers including Peggy Coats, John Suler, Linton Hutchison, Chris Hicks, Jesse Reklaw, Jill Gregory, and others who have helped out in many ways in support of this project.
There are also a few others that have been working in peripheral with the program that should get special attention. The first is Linda Magallon who has been in charge of the most interactive parts of the Internet Education project. Linda has provided connections to online real time chat on one side and on the other has set up a programs to allow convention attendees to converse on these channels with other dream concerned individuals from around the world. Linda also has set up for the convention a way for people from around the world who can't make it to Berkeley to join in a variety of conference activities.
Another last minute but significant part of the project includes the online art galleries. Special thanks to Joanne Rochon for the tons of work in quickly getting the artist material to me for the Gallery, as well as Fariba Bogzaran and especially Caroline Crossfield who spent time getting the materials together in digital form.
There are many others not mentioned but our thanks goes to you in helping with the project. If you feel you got left off this list unduly, drop me a line.
Richard C. Wilkerson July 1996
A note about the Janus Graphic. (Special thanks to artist & designer Lance Alexander) From Leach's book on Folklore:
"In Roman Mythology, the two-faced god of beginnings, or doorways and entrances: a pre-Latin divinity, who with his feminine counterpart Jana, may have been the Highest (sun and moon) gods of the pre-Italian inhabitants of the country....Every action, occupation, undertaking, though sanction came from Jupiter, depended on its beginning being blessed by Janus."
The choice seems self-apparent and I'll say no more. -R
CONFERENCE XIII INDEX
