It's been a while, but we're finally ready to start publishing the research from the 2023 Summer of Protocols program!
On Wednesday December 13th, at 1730 UTC (9:30 AM Pacific), we will be officially launching the Protocol Kit! Join us on Zoom for the special 30-minute launch event, which will be followed immediately by a talk by researcher David Lang titled Standards Make the World, whose essay of the same name is part of the first module of research being released as part of the launch.
The Protocol Kit is an online+print compendium of all the output of the summer program, available completely free! We will be publishing all the research, speculation, artwork, games, and other goodies that came out of the program in 6 modules over the next 6-8 months. The first module will (with a dozen or so pieces) be released at our launch event. PDF versions will be immediately available on the site on the 13th for you to browse (we'll be adding other formats like epub later). A limited print edition of the kit (512 copies to be precise) will be available as well. These are in the form of 3-ring binders designed to hold all the research, and 6 packages of inserts that will be mailed out in the coming months, covering all the research plus extra goodies. Join us at the launch event for a sneak peak at the physical kit, which we've really enjoyed designing and putting together (thanks to Josh Davis and Jenna Dixon, who did much of the heavy lifting this effort took).
The limited edition printed kits will be distributed free to individuals and organizations who might help advance the study of protocols and spark an active research and exploration scene around the world. If you're interested in snagging one of the kits, request one using the form on the kit page.
We also have a shiny new Summer of Protocols site up and running, with all the research, the calendar of events, videos of talks, and more. As we publish the research, we'll gradually build it out into what we hope will become a comprehensive resource for all who are interested in protocols. We will be doing regular updates on all the publishing, events, and live conversations in this newsletter.
And finally, if you want to get quickly caught up on what the Summer of Protocols is all about, you might want to check out this Infinite Loops podcast episode featuring Tim Beiko and Venkatesh Rao talking to Jim O'Shaughnessy and Ed Williams. In this wide-ranging conversation, we talked in depth about protocols in general, the research output, and the program. If you're joining us late, this is probably the best general introduction to the story so far.
Please forward this newsletter to anyone you think might be interested, and hope to see you at our December 13th launch!