Ambient Co-Presence

he Multiplayer Internet needs a Gradient of Presence.

We can be: ...

Alone in Alone Spaces

Alone in Together Spaces

Together in Alone Spaces

Together in Together Spaces

but the presence is a spectrum:

Lean In (Dominant)

Leank Back (Ambient)

We’ve lost gradients of intimacy, a concept from architecture, the ability to loiter and meander through a space, engaging when we want in varying levels of expression. We don’t have any peripheral vision on the internet. We have to be in one place or the other. Simultaneously, we’re never really in any place—we can always blame connection issues a... See more

These days many of the best online social experiences happen in very small-scale environments. A few friends, a loose microcommunity, a cozy corner with the right vibes.

It's in the air, thick with it, even, in certain places — the cozyweb, the indieweb, the slow web; tiny internets and run your own social; independent creative communities, local le... See more

I believe that we can build something that offers people a chance to participate in these new types of experiences, punctuated by silence and other opportunities for reflection. And they must be offered—because they no longer emerge naturally in the world that we live in. In other words, people don’t naturally fall into them or opt-in to them. They... See more