Friday 5

5 rock stars of the new web culture

Lots of things that once seemed immutable are changing fast in 2008, but many of the people who are reshaping America’s economy, technology, laws and culture remain unknown to all but a few million participants in the emerging networked culture.

The July 11 print edition gives you short capsules on the five we picked. Read on for more... and to find out some of the names that almost made the cut...

WHAT IF? Surviving (& thriving) in 1000 AD

As we mention in this week's dead tree edition, our favorite time-waster of the past week has been this post and thread over at the eccentric economics blog Marginal Revolution. To wit: If you were unexpectedly transported to a random spot in Europe around the year 1000 AD with only the clothes on your back and the thoughts in your head, how would you survive?

Since this write-in request for for "survival tips" on June 6, readers have provided more than 100 screens worth of thoughts, suggestions, caveats and information about life in the Dark Ages.

Why is it so interesting? Several reasons:

• It makes us think about what we actually know well enough to implement if we were taken out of our culture and time and dropped into a less advanced civilization;
• It lets us imagine not only how we'd survive, but also how we might use what we know to actually thrive;
• It encourages us to wonder about the value of things that we take for granted as valuable today.

Our suggestion? Have at it. Or show it to your kids and get them talking about it (hint, hint)...