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Kevin Kelly is no stranger to cyberspace. In fact, in
more ways than one, he not only saw the future much before the others,
but also wrote about it and is now living it. His more than 15-minutes-of-fame
came recently, thanks to a short clip from The Matrix Revisited video
(the making of the Matrix) in which Keanu Reeves recounts how each actor
had to read Out of Control before they could open the original
script.
Kelly wrote Out of Control: The New Biology of Machines, Economic
and Social Systems, in 1994. The book is about how machines, the
economy, and all large man-made inventions are becoming biological.
Over the years, it has acquired a cult following. In 1998, he published
New Rules for the New Economy, which set the agenda for the
new economy. From 1984 to 1990, Kelly was publisher and editor of the
Whole Earth Review, a journal of unorthodox technical news.
Under Kelly's mentorship, it became the first consumer magazine to report
on virtual reality, ecological restoration, the global teenager, Internet
culture and artificial life et al. Interestingly, Kevin has no college
or university degrees.
It doesn’t stop here. Kelly was a founding member of the WELL
(www.well.com),
a model of online culture, and a pioneer in developing online communities.
Kelly also helped launch Wired magazine in 1993, and served
as its Executive Editor until January 1999. He is now Editor-at-Large
for Wired. Impressive credentials.
His current passion is a campaign to make a full inventory of all living
species on earth. This project, called the All Species Inventory (www.all-species.org),
received its first mega bucks in funding and is currently endorsed by
most taxonomic groups as an idea whose time has come. It hopes to make
a web-based catalogue of all species on earth in one generation. He
is also in the throes of researching for his next book that seeks to
answer the question: what does technology want?
But these are not the reasons why I am writing about Kevin Kelly—technophile
author, Internet seer, nomadic photojournalist and bicycle enthusiast.
I’m writing about him because he is much in news in cyberspace
because of his new website, Cool Tools, which makes a virtue of gadget
and gizmo recommendations and reviews—an enduring fetish with
Kevin.
Wired News calls Kelly's site “a refreshing antidote
to the hype that surrounds the latest hot gadgets. Unimpressed by newness
for newness' sake, Kelly is attracted to objects that have withstood
the test of time -- and is passing those ideas on to others.”
I logged on to Kevin’s site at www.kk.org
and discovered a fascinating world of subliminal knowledge, practical
wisdom and minimal design. Click on the Cool Tools section and you would
get to see Kevin recommendations viz. books, gadgets, software, videos,
maps, hardware, materials, websites or gear that are extraordinary,
little-known, or reliably handy. He depends on friends and readers to
suggest things they actually use. Particularly welcomed are old items
that you still dote on after years of use. If you'd like to be on Kevin’s
list, send him one cool tool review and he may add you to it..
Carry on surfing!
strehan@hindustantimes.com
