About The Next Layer
The Next Layer
Arts, Politics and Free and Open Source Software
The Next Layer is an online publishing project which aims at providing an environment to reflect and get informed on a range of issues relating to arts and politics under the condition of the internet and free and open source software. TNL looks at social change and 'the new' in a non-trivial way, investigating how desirable forms of social change can be achieved through research, reflection, the making and doing of things in crossover and hybrid areas of activity, whereby technical development, artistic and esthetic engagement and social concerns find together.
TNL encourages theoretic as well as journalistic and poetic writing styles. From long essays and research papers to short news items everything is possible whereby the aim is to provide well thought through and formulated content and avoid copy-and-paste style 'blogging' of content which exists already elsewhere.
TNL aims at becoming a platform for experiments with formats. This can include journalistic formats as well as ways of collaborative filtering, multimedia and artistic types of expression, interesting ways of creating summaries and excerpts, references and links data bases, and data mash-ups and other yet to be developed ideas of any kind.
The site for TNL is currently being created using Drupal. It allows a layered system of user management with readers, contributors and editors. The site starts with contributions in English and German, while we hope to have soon contributors writing in other languages.
Regarding design the idea is to develop 'formats' and 'channels' with distinguished graphic identities; structural design efforts will also look into dynamic design concepts using scripts, images, DHTML, audio podcasts, maps, video, etc.
TNL starts now and looks for participants who would like to contribute to the design and content of the site.
