Linda McKenna is ds106 #4life

Yesterday I had the opportunity to realize a long-time dream of reflecting on ds106 with one of the many awesome internauts that traveled where no student had gone before. Linda McKenna was just the internaut I was looking for, and as luck would have it she still hosts websites on Reclaim Hosting and we happened to re-connect in a support ticket, wherein I asked her to chat about ds106 as part of our Reclaim Today series, and she graciously agreed!

It was a really fun discussion, and Linda is amazing. I clearly remember her role in helping to build out the ds106 in[SPIRE] site with Alan Levine, which, as it happens, used Gravity Forms. What I did not expect was how many memories flooded back when she recommended we take a look at her final ds106 reflection video wherein she highlights not only her projects, but all the people that made it possible. It encapsulates the magic of that community so well.

There are the amazing TDC assignments, her brilliant photography, Kim Droom and the ongoing Emre5087 investigation, as well her ridiculously amazing audio work wherein she wrote a script and recruited open ds106er Norm Wright to collaborate with her on the project.

This Week in ds106: Kim Droom vs Enre5807 from umwnewmedia on Vimeo.

It was a wild and at times strangely emotional trip down memory lane that further reinforced why I keep returning to ds106: it was/is a fountain of awesome that created so many rich tributaries that it’s impossible to catch them all from draining into the web of oblivion. Luckily chatting with Linda reminded me they’re all still there, and the spirit is alive and well for making some art dammit. Linda described her approach to ds106 as “all in,” which says it all. It’s not about your grade in a disposable course at university, but about committing to connect and create as part of one’s lived experience. It is the essence of any work worth doing. That’s #4life!

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6 Responses to Linda McKenna is ds106 #4life

  1. Alan Levine says:

    That’s brilliant to see and hear Linda (linda 3 dots!) again discuss her ds106 work and where she has taken it, and especially photography skills were memorable.

    #4life is much more than a hash tag.

  2. Linda McKenna says:

    It was great traveling down the memory lane with you! Thanks for having me on your channel! By the way, I found the entire radio show segment of the Droom Interview on my Soundcloud account (9 min.). You were hilarious! https://soundcloud.com/linda3dots/droom-interview-final

  3. norm wright says:

    What a great little flashback. I recall Linda’s work on DS106 was always impressive. I ha a good time helping with her DS106 radio project; Linda did most of the work, but I had a lot of fun taking part.

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