TowerWeb Productions
The Alternative Library

I'm Working on It!

For the Summer '99 issue of the Midnight Times I introduced the complete guide to Webhead's Universe. What is Webhead's Universe? Well, it's the name I made up for what you're looking at. No, not this page your reading--the Midnight Times--but the whole thing: hundreds of my Web pages floating out here in my own little chunk of cyberspace. I've had a few friends ask me what I'm doing here, and so far I've only been able to respond with, "Well, it's the framework for this idea that I have," which is exactly why I came up with this newsletter (e-zine, digital mag, whatever) in the first place: I needed a way to highlight everything that's going on with my Web site, TowerWeb Productions.

But there's a little more to it than that. As long as I can remember I've been an avid reader. I've always loved reading--things like science fiction, fantasy, Stephen King, Anne Rice, J.R.R. Tolkien, etc. This lead to an interest in writing (mainly fiction, but also some poetry and other stuff). Since writing has always been tied to some type of communication tool (i.e. hard pointy rock + stone face > feather quill + parchment > typewriter + paper), and since my interest in writing coincided with the home computer revolution (think early 80s), I bought a Commodore 64 and typed out a word processing program from a magazine (yes, it's hard to believe, but at one time you actually could get free software code by reading it in a magazine rather than downloading it from the Internet). As a result of having a computer with a word processor, I did a lot of writing that (much to my surprise) eventually led to a B.A. in English (the "English" really means literature and creative writing--believe me, I hate grammar just as much as anyone else). Then I got (see what I mean?) a real job in the real world (I tend to refer to my existence outside of cyberspace as the "real world" for obvious reasons) and have hated work ever since (just kidding--actually my job isn't too bad since I get to work with computers all day). The point here is that the writing and computers have been invariably intertwined, and when my current employment led me to the Internet, the whole thing kind of came together and made sense. As a writer, computer hobbyist, and information specialist, I pulled all the elements together, and this Web site is the result--the result of a lifetime (so far) spent reading, writing, and working with computers.

Which brings me to the question of just what exactly is TowerWeb Productions? When I first discovered the Internet way back in 1995 (believe me, this is eons ago in computer years) I immediately recognized its potential and decided I better learn HTML. Mitch Kapor (founder of Lotus Corp.) wisely envisioned back in 1991 that the Internet would become a forum for anyone who wanted to publish from their own Internet "node." (1) Liking this idea of self-publishing in a digital medium, I bought a couple of books on HTML, went to Web sites and compared the pages with the source code and quickly picked up the coding (it's pretty easy to learn). One great piece of advice I got from a book on creating Web pages was to keep things focused on a particular topic. I of course ignored it, having this great big idea which over the past three years has evolved into the 100+ pages that now comprise my Web site. This, literally, is Webhead's Universe.

So what does TowerWeb Productions have to offer? Essentially, I formed this Web site based on four basic objectives: 1) a "personal portal" with links to the very best World Wide Web sites on specific topics that are of interest to me (and hopefully anyone else who chances by), 2) a digital library gateway with content of an alternative nature, 3) an e-zine, highlighting works of fiction and poetry by me (i.e. Webhead), and 4) a foundation to promote a the CD-Roms I'm currently designing.

In short, TowerWeb Productions is the "Alternative Library." It's a digital publishing project and an electronic information center. TowerWeb utilizes the potential of this new medium called the Internet and seeks to contribute to the vast cyberworld of information and knowledge we are all contributing to when we post our home pages on the World Wide Web.

Read on if you wish to explore the realms of my vision and the depths of my imagination. Read on if you're interested in a digital universe created by me and dedicated to free thought and free speech. I welcome you as my guest, and hope you will enjoy your stay.--JFM.

¹ from The Hacker Crackdown by Bruce Sterling ©1992: [Kapor] "So one direction in which technology has to evolve is much more standardized units, that a non-technical person can feel comfortable with. It's the same shift as from minicomputers to PCs. I can see a future in which any person can have a Node on the Net. Any person can be a publisher. It's better than the media we now have. It's possible. We're working actively." (http://www.eff.org/papers/hacker_crackdown/crack.html)