Any questions? Ask in the IndieWeb chat!
Notes for the meetup's etherpad.
This week's event host: Chris Aldrich
Homebrew Website Club is a meetup for anyone interested in personal websites and a distributed web. Whether you’re a blogger, coder, designer, or just someone who wants to improve their presence on the web, this meetup is for you.6:00pm–7:30pm IndieWeb Meetup
* Demos of personal website breakthroughs
* Discussion around the independent web
* Get to know other members of the IndieWeb!
* Create or update your personal web site!
* Finish that blog post you’ve been working on!Join a community with like-minded interests. Bring friends that want a personal site, or are interested in a healthy, independent web!
RSVP (optional)
If your website supports it, post an indie RSVP.
Or, log in and click “I'm Going” on the event. If none of that means anything to you, don't worry about it; just show up!Now weekly!
Check events.indieweb.org for next week's meetup! There are some meetups in European and US Eastern time zones as well.
Category: Events
Online event
August 22, 2020 at 11:00 AM- 01:00PMCorporate social media has been dominating the online space so significantly that the newest generation of Internet users now thinks that is what the "web" actually is. Fortunately, with WordPress as your platform, you can not only take back your online identity and presence, but you can use it to have a richer and fuller experience than the locked-down experience you get with the limits of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.
Chris will explore some open web standards and technologies that open up WordPress to allow site-to-site interactions and easier posting functionality through the magic of a small handful of simple plugins. These are simple enough building blocks that the beginning WordPress user can do some powerful new things with their sites but are also rich enough that senior developers can build and extend them or find uses for them for business sites and even e-commerce.
You can also find a
.A Domain of One’s Own Meetup | July 23, 2020
We’ll use Zoom for this online meetup (here’s the link to the room which should be active about 15 minutes before we start). We’re planning on using an Etherpad for real-time chat and note taking for the event.
Attendees will be expected to have read and agree to the IndieWeb Code of Conduct which will apply to the meetup.
We will
- Have discussions about A Domain of One’s Own and the independent web;
- Get to know other colleagues in the space;
- Ask colleagues for help/advice on problems or issues you’re having with your domain;
- Find potential collaborators for domains-related projects you’re working on;
- Explore new and interesting ideas about what one can do or accomplish with a personal domain;
- Create or update your domain
Agenda
- Welcome
- Introductions: short 2 minute introductions of attendees with an optional brief demonstration of something you’ve done on your domain or purpose for which you’re using your domain.
- Group photo for those who wish to participate
- Main meetup: Ideally everyone should bring a topic, demonstration, question, or problem to discuss with the group. Depending on time and interest, we can try to spend 5-10 minutes discussing and providing feedback on each of these. If questions go over this time limitation, we can extend the conversation in smaller groups as necessary after the meetup.
RSVP
To RSVP to the meetup, please do one of the following:
- Make a comment to indicate your attendance below;
- Tweet your RSVP reply to this Tweet;
- Comment your RSVP on the Reclaim Hosting Community post about the event;
- RSVP to the
- Publish an indie RSVP on your own website/domain and send a webmention to
Future meetups
While the time frame for this inaugural meetup may work best for some in the Americas, everyone with interest is most welcome. If there are others in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, or other locales who are interested, do let us know what dates/times might work for you in the future and we can try to organize a time to maximize some attendance there. I’m happy to help anyone who’d like to take the leadership of other time zones or locales to leverage some of the resources of the IndieWeb community to assist in starting future meetings to cover other areas of the world.
🎉 Invitations 🎉
Tim Owens, Aaron Davis, Cathie LeBlanc, Kartik Prabhu, Amber Case, Amy Guy, Greg McVerry, William Ian O’Byrne, Jim Groom, Kimberly Hirsh, John Johnston, Robin DeRosa, Audrey Watters, Ken Bauer, Will Monroe, Jeremy Dean, Nate Angell, Jon Udell, Adam Procter, Amy Guy, Kris Shaffer, Anelise H. Shrout, John Johnston, Mark Grabe, Rick Wysocki, Doug Holton, Jeffrey Keefer, Rayna M. Harris, Davey Moloney, Vicki Boykis, John Carlos Baez, Dan Scott, Taylor Jadin, Kathleen Fitzpatrick (mb), Blair MacIntyre (mb), Doug Belshaw, Adam Procter, Dan Cohen (mb), Dave Cormier, Scott Gruber, Kay Oddone, Kin Lane, Martha Burtis, Lee Skallerup Bessette, Adam Croom, Sean Michael Morris, Jesse Stommel, Cassie Nooyen, Stephen Downes, Ben Werdmüller, Erin Jo Richey, Jack Jamieson, Grant Potter, Ryan Boren (mb), Paul Hibbits, Maha Bali, Alan Levine, John Stewart, Teodora Petkova, Lora Taub-Pervizpour, Clint Lalonde, Clint Lalonde, Sonja Burrows, Jonathan Poritz, Chris Long, Mo Pelzel, Michelle S. Hagerman, Anne-Marie Scott, Tim Clarke, Amy Collier, Laura Pasquini, Martin Hawksey, Zach Whalen, Daniel Lynds, Tom Woodward, Mark A. Matienzo, Laura Gibbs, Autumn Caines, Chris Lott, Jess Reingold, Terry Green, Erin Rose Glass, Trip Kirkpatrick, Meredith Fierro, Lauren Brumfield, Helen DeWaard, Keegan Long-Wheeler, Irene Stewart, Christina Hendricks, Bill Kronholm, Xinli Wang, Tineke D’Haeseleer, Martin Weller, Jeremy Felt, Jane Van Galen, Tanis Morgan, Library Carpentry
Know someone who would be interested in joining? Please forward this event, or one of the syndicated copies (linked below) to them on your platform or modality of choice.
Hashtags: #phdchat, #DoOO, #edtechchat, #literacies, #higherED, #dh, #ds106, #educolor, #WPCampus, #openscience, #clmooc, #digped, #altc
Featured image: Hard Drive Repair flickr photo by wwarby shared under a Creative Commons (BY) license
Getting Started with WordPress, an IndieWebCamp Pop-up Session
Saturday, August 1, 2020 9:30 – 11:30am (America/Los_Angeles)
This will be a broad-based introduction to the IndieWeb session specifically focused on using WordPress. Our aim is to help people get set up and running a self-hosted IndieWeb-based website with WordPress though some of our discussion will work for WordPress.com versions as well.
- Grab a cup of coffee and get an IndieWeb site up and running in just a few hours.
- Have questions or problems with your current WordPress IndieWeb site? Stop by and get some help.
- Just figuring out what IndieWeb is about? Much of what we’ll discuss is applicable to other platforms and may be useful to other beginners as well.
- All levels of experience welcome
- (Note: for those without a domain registered or web hosting, we may have a brief pre-session to help you out so we can be more productive during the main session.)
- Notes for the session will take place at: https://etherpad.indieweb.org/WordPressQuickStart
- Create week: Following the session, we’ll give people a chance to create something for their site to do remote demos.
- Demos: When we’re done, we’ll have a short online demo session so people can show off the new sites and maybe demo their favorite functionality.
Would you like to volunteer to help manage the session? Add yourself to the list on the IndieWeb wiki or contact the organizers in chat.
Code of Conduct: indieweb.org/code-of-conduct
I’m thinking monthly to start, but I’m curious what days of the week and times might work best for people, especially across time zones?
Let me know if you’re interested in helping to organize or would like to join us to participate.
Featured image: Hard Drive Repair flickr photo by wwarby shared under a Creative Commons (BY) license
IndieWebCamp 2020 West: June 27-28, 2020
The broad ideas behind DoOO dovetail quite well and the IndieWeb community has a welcoming, inclusive, and helpful atmosphere with a solid code of conduct.
The upcoming event is called IndieWebCamp 2020 West (based roughly on the Pacific time Zone). I’ve already started proposing a few DoOO-related sessions on their organizing Etherpad. I’d encourage others in the community who are interested to register for the free two day camp to talk about what we can do with our websites and how we can improve them. Students, faculty, staff, and even hobbyists of all levels of ability are welcome. If you’ve got ideas for things you’re interested in doing on or with your website, feel free to propose your own topics (either now or the morning of day one).
We’d love to see everyone there.
Day one is a brief introduction followed by various discussion-based sessions on topics of interest to those who attend. (First time attendees are given the first opportunity to schedule topics.) Day two is a creator day on which people write, create, build, code, or otherwise improve something on their website. If you don’t yet have a website, people will be on hand to help you set one up, or get around obstacles you may have for being able to use and manage your website.
Details and RSVP information can be found here: https://indieweb.org/2020/West
If anyone has questions or needs further details or help proposing potential sessions, don’t hesitate to ask.
IndieWebCamp 2020 West is Officially On
Tickets / RSVP
- To RSVP and claim your FREE tickets, register here: https://ti.to/indiewebcamp/iwc-west-2020
- Optionally, if you’re able to log into events.indieweb.org with your own website you can RSVP here OR if your website supports it, post an indie RSVP on your own website and send a Webmention to: https://events.indieweb.org/2020/06/indiewebcamp-west-2020-ZB8zoAAu6sdN
What is it?
Two days meeting up online to share ideas, create & improve personal websites, and build upon each other’s creations. Whether you’re a blogger, coder, designer, or just someone who wants to improve their presence on the web, there is something for you here. All skill and experience levels welcome.
If you’ve never attended an IndieWebCamp, we’ve got an article to describe what to expect.
I’m definitely attending, and I hope you’ll join us!
June 27 - 28, 2020: Two days meeting up online to share ideas, create & improve personal websites, and build upon each other's creations. Whether you’re a creator, writer, blogger, coder, designer, or just someone who wants to improve their presence on the web, there is something for you here. All skill and experience levels welcome.
Passionate about helping people to get online? Volunteer to help us out.
June 3, 2020 at 6:00pm–7:30pm Online
Homebrew Website Club is a meetup for anyone interested in personal websites and a distributed web. Whether you’re a blogger, coder, designer, or just someone who wants to improve their presence on the web, this meetup is for you.
ONLINE: Homebrew Website Club West Coast on May 13, 2020
Join the Zoom call
We will provide a Zoom video conference link 20-30 minutes before the meetup here and in the IndieWeb chat. Here’s the link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85315852710?pwd=OGlSSTQxV1A3blVmR2Y3R21XOW1FZz09
Homebrew Website Club is a meetup for anyone interested in personal websites and a distributed web. Whether you’re a blogger, coder, designer, or just someone who wants to improve their presence on the web, this meetup is for you.
- Demos of personal website breakthroughs
- Discussion around the independent web
- Get to know other members of the IndieWeb!
- Create or update your personal web site!
- Finish that blog post you’ve been working on!
Join a community with like-minded interests. Bring friends that want a personal site, or are interested in a healthy, independent web!
RSVP (optional)
If your website supports it, post an indie RSVP. Or simply post a comment below. If none of that means anything to you, don’t worry about it; just show up!
Now weekly!
Check https://events.indieweb.org for next week’s meetup! There are some meetups in European and US Eastern timezones as well.
Gardens and Streams: Wikis, Blogs, and UI—a pop up IndieWebCamp session
Session Topic
We’ll be discussing and brainstorming ideas related to wikis and the IndieWeb, user interfaces, functionalities, examples of wikis and how they differ from blogs and other social media interfaces, and everyones’ ideas surrounding these. Bring your ideas and let’s discuss.
- Hashtag: #GardenAndStream
- Session facilitator: Chris Aldrich
This is just a single one hour IndieWebCamp-like session (though we have the option to go over a bit since there isn’t a session following us) where we’ll brainstorm and discuss a particular topic. Hopefully the weekend time will be convenient for a wide range of people in Europe and North America who have previously shown interest in the topic. Everyone is welcome to attend.
Resources
To prepare for the session we’ll be using the following:
- Zoom: for the audio/video conference portion
- Etherpad: https://etherpad.indieweb.org/GardenAndStream (for real time chat, questions, and note taking during the session)
See also: https://indieweb.org/IndieWebCamps/Attending#Technology
This event is covered by the IndieWeb Code of Conduct. By participating, you’re acknowledging your acceptance of this code.
Questions? Concerns?
Feel free to ask in the IndieWeb chat: https://chat.indieweb.org/indieweb/
RSVP (optional)
If your website supports it, post an indie RSVP. Or, log in to indieweb.org and click “I’m Going”. (And if none of that means anything to you, don’t worry about it; just show up!)
Join the Zoom call: link to come
We will provide a Zoom video conference link 20 minutes before the meetup here and in the IndieWeb chat.
Homebrew Website Club is a meetup for anyone interested in personal websites and a distributed web. Whether you’re a blogger, coder, designer, or just someone who wants to improve their presence on the web, this meetup is for you.
6:00pm–7:00pm Quiet writing hour
- Finish that blog post you’ve been working on!
7:00pm–8:00pm IndieWeb Meetup
- Demos of personal website breakthroughs
- Discussion around the independent web
- Create or update your personal web site!
Join a community with like-minded interests. Bring friends that want a personal site, or are interested in a healthy, independent web!
Please read through our Code of Conduct.
IndieWebCamp Online 2020 is a two-day online event for independent web creators of all kinds, from graphic artists to designers, UX engineers, coders, hackers, to share ideas, actively work on creating for their own personal websites, and build upon each others creations.
Been unable to attend an in-person IndieWebCamp? IndieWebCamp Online is an opportunity for you to interact with other members of the community. Zoom will be used to create conference rooms.
See the schedule for each day with links to the Zoom remote participation rooms at indieweb.org/2020/Online

I have several events scheduled for the Lurking book tour including Books are Magic (Brooklyn Feb 27), Harvard Bookstore (Cambridge March 5), RiffRaff (Providence March 11), and Skylight (Los Angeles April 8). ❧
WordPress and IndieWeb: Creating Your Dialtone on the Internet
After having watched the livestream of Tantek Çelik’s invited talk at WordCamp US entitled Take Back Your Web, I’ll note that my intention is to generally pick up from where he left off and get into some of the nuts and bolts of what some of the IndieWeb philosophies and technologies are and how they work with WordPress. (Though don’t worry if you missed his talk, I’ll put all the ideas into their larger context.) I’ll approach it from the perspective of a WordPress beginner, but will have some pointers to lots of in-depth resources for designers and developers. In short, I’ll attempt to provide a crash-course overview of what the IndieWeb looks like from a WordPress perspective.
Below is a brief teaser for the talk:
Welcome to Web 3.0, the internet you always wish you had.
I can have phone service on Verizon and you may choose to use AT&T, T-Mobile, or Sprint, but as long as we’ve got phones we can talk to each other or any other phone number that’s connected to the network. But why can’t Facebook users interact directly with Twitter users or Instagram users or vice versa? Crucially why couldn’t one website built on WordPress talk to another website built with Drupal or Kirby? The internet is an open communication platform after all! I’m going to show how this (and so much more magic) can all be done with some simple plugins in under an hour!
Over the past several years a group of dedicated bloggers, technologists, and designers has been innovating, building, and testing a suite of open W3C web standards to allow their personal websites to recreate the major pieces of interactive functionality that are part of the largest social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, SoundCloud, etc. These larger pieces are now all working together across dozens of content management systems including WordPress, Drupal, WithKnown, ProcessWire, Elgg, Nucleus CMS, Craft, Django, Kirby, static site generators like Hugo and Jekyll and services like Micro.Blog and Mastodon. This means that instead of relying on smaller non-interoperable social media sites that obsessively surveil you and then pollute your stream with obtrusive ads, you can now better own and control your own data and comprehensive identity on your own domain name. In this talk we’ll take a high level look at W3C web specs including Webmention, WebSub, Micropub, and the forthcoming Microsub to see how you can make your own website a first class citizen on the (social) web. Using WordPress and a few simple plugins you can now close the circle of website-to-website intercommunication across the open web. Use your own website to read and consume web content, post your own status updates, bookmarks, likes, and replies while interacting directly with other websites. In many cases you can also do this with social platforms like Twitter, Instagram, Flickr, GitHub, Mastodon, and Micro.blog.