Year 1 Update: The Past, Present and Future of WebUrbanist

Signage Used for Skateboarding
More extreme urban sports, skateboardable signage c/o Christof Damian

Regular readers know by now that there isn’t much self-conscious metablogging on WebUrbanist. The site is mostly about producing quality content related urban cultures, engaging designs and alternative arts. However, as with anything in urban life, it is worth pausing once in a while to take note of where we’ve been, reflect on where we are and consider what the future might hold. Don’t worry, though, it wouldn’t be a WebUrbanist article without some reader and artist-submitted urban arts and oddities mixed in the middle!

Home is Where I Lay My Head
More nomadic culture, home is where I lay my head c/o Stacee Droege

Past Successes: WebUrbanist has grown considerably in these last months and has been increasingly linked to from high-profile sites. The site was given a Google PageRank of 5 at the last update, is in the top 3,000 blogs in the world according Technorati and is in the top 20,000 most-visited websites in the world according to Alexa. Popular original articles, such as the 7 Wonders Series, have in some cases been viewed hundreds of thousands of times.

Freak Bike Culture Club
More creative urban art, freak bicycle culture c/o Stacee Droege

Present State: WebUrbanist’s current design was created by a highly skilled web designer who generously volunteered his abilities to reshape the site’s layout, look and feel. Hector Jarquin is currently working on some great social web projects, including a way to find interesting events and activities in your area. Have feedback on the new layout? Feel free to comment below or contact us with your thoughts.

entering-without-breaking.jpg
More great guerilla actions, entering without breaking c/o J. Vorsthammer

Future Developments: WebUrbanist is not and has never been about one-way communication from editors to readers. In fact, the site is at its best when reader feedback (via comments or the contact form) shapes the direction of the site. For lurkers and regular commentators alike, this is an opportunity for you to be heard. What would you like to see more or less of on WebUrbanist? What do you enjoy most or least about the site?

Guerilla Ikea Instruction Manual
More culture jamming, alternate IKEA instructions c/o J. Vorsthammer

What You Can Do: Beyond your feedback, there are a few ways you can help WebUrbanist as the site moves into the future. If you have a tip or wish to be a guest blogger on WebUrbanist, contact us anytime. If you haven’t already, please consider signing up for the RSS feed and making WebUrbanist a favorite on Technorati, Delicious and/or MyBlogLog. Finally, if you wish to help with the ever-growing costs of maintaining and hosting WebUrbanist, considering using the following link this holiday season to make a purchase from Amazon.com. Most importantly, though, just keep reading, commenting and submitting ideas when you have them. It is you, dear readers, that make WebUrbanist worthwhile.

One of the Skinniest Buildings in the World
Another incredibly skinny building from
Strasbourg, France c/o Benjy Bass

Thank You: There are some folks who have helped build WebUrbanist in a variety of ways – too many, really, to count. Here are just a few of the people who have had a role in shaping what the site is today. Mike, Jeff, Kurt and Kris are critical to producing content and maintaining WebUrbanist. Avi, Alex and Shane have continued to inspire the site’s progress. Without technical assistance from John and moral support from people like John, Gil, Skipp, Halil, Noid and K. Stone the site would not be what it is today. Thank you all, and thank you dear readers.