Kevin Kelly Kevin Kelly

Narrative / Biography / Books / Contact





Chronology

1952

   

Born, in Pennsylvania, USA

 

1970

   

Graduated from Westfield High School, Westfield NJ.

 

1971

   

Dropped out of University of Rhode Island after one year.

 

1971

   

Resident photographer at Apeiron Photography Workshop in Millerton, NY.

 

1972
- 1979

   

Independent photographer in remote parts of Asia. Roamed Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Philippines, Burma, Thailand, Bengladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran.

 

1979

   

Editor for Bell Helicopter employee newsletter in Tehran, Iran.

 

1979

   

Became a Christian after conversion experience in Jerusalem. Rode bicycle 5,000 miles across continental US. During the crossing completed Bicycle Haiku, a collection of haikus and ink sketches in book form.

 

1980

   

Hiked the Appalachian Trail from NJ to South Carolina with two brothers, Brian and Michael.

 

1980

   

Initiated microphotography of the digestive system at the University of Georgia, Microbiology Department. Completed film with Dr. John Patton, entitled A Microscopic Look at Digestion, from Bandera Enterprises.

 

1981

   

Launched Walking Journal, first American magazine dedicated to recreational walking. Sold in 1984.

 

1982

   

Started and ran Nomadic Books, a mail order company specializing in hard-to-find budget travel information for world travelers. Sold in 1984.

 

1983
- 1984

   

Wrote monthly column on travel for New Age Journal.

 

1984

   

Researched and wrote cover story for New Age Journal on the "Network Nation," a very early report on online culture.

 

1984
- 1990

   

Edited last issue of Co-Evolution Quarterly and first issue of Whole Earth Review. Edited the Review for 6 years. Was acting-publisher of Whole Earth Catalogs after founder Stewart Brand left. Director of Point Foundation.

 

1985

   

Co-initiator of the Hackers' Conference, launched with Stewart Brand and organized by Ryan Phelan, and inspired by Steven Levy's book. This seminal gathering brought together three generations of programming hackers for the first time.

 

1985
- 1998

   

Served on Board of Directors of the WELL from its inception until its sale to Salon. The WELL was an early, influential, and pioneering outpost in what later came to be called cyberspace.

 

1986

   

Designed and published the Essential Whole Earth Catalog, a distillation of the best tools and books for self education.

 

1987

   

Married Gia-Miin Fuh, a biochemist.

 

1988

   

Conceived and edited Signal: Communication Tools for the Information Age, a compendium of digital resources and culture.

 

1988

   

Daughter, Kaileen, born.

 

1989

   

Created, together with Cheryl Nash, a 24-hour immersive jamboree in virtual reality, entitled Cyberthon -- the first public access to all then-existing virtual reality experiments.

 

1990

   

Daughter, Ting, born.

 

1990
- 1994

   

Researched and wrote Out of Control, the Rise of Neo-Biological Civilization. Reviewed in Fortune magazine as "A book that should be required reading for all executives....As entertaining as it is insightful."

 

1992
- 1999

   

Founding executive editor of Wired magazine, which was conceived by Louis Rosetto and Jane Metcalf. First issue is launched January 1993.

 

1994

   

Wired magazine wins National Magazine Award for General Excellence, the first time the award is granted to a start-up.

 

1995

   

Charter board member of the Long Now Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to encouraging long-term views and generational thinking.

 

1996

   

Son, Tywen, born.

 

1998

   

Completed New Rules for the New Economy, a best selling book on the dynamics of the network economy.

 

1999

   

As a client of the Leigh Bureau, made many presentations at high-tech conferences and corporate meetings world-wide.

 

2000

   

Conceived and launched, with Stewart Brand and Ryan Phelan, the All Species Inventory, an effort to discover and catalog all living organisms in one generation.

 

2001

   

Together with Stewart Brand, started up Long Bets, a mechanism to make predictions socially responsible.

 

2002

   

Published Asia Grace, a book of about 600 photographs (and no words) of life in Asia. Launched asiagrace.com, a supplemental web site with stories and text for the book.

Earned a "Special Thanks To" screen credit for the film Minority Report, as part of a group of futurists hired by director Steven Spielberg to imagine Washington DC in the year 2050.

 

2003

   

Created the weekly email list and website Cool Tools. Wrote, designed and published a limited edition of reviews in book form, Cool Tools 2003.

 

2004

   

Wrote, designed and published the book True Films: 100 Great Documentaries & Factuals. Appeared in "The Roots of the Matrix" portion of the Ultimate Matrix Collection DVD set, along with recommendation for Out of Control.

 

2005

   

Co-host (with Stewart Brand) the monthly Seminar About Long-term Thinking, a public series based in San Francisco and broadcast on the web. Launched The Technium, a blog about the nature of technology.

 

2006

   

Published True Films 2.0. Launched Street Use, a blog for venacular technology.

 

2007

   

Daily blogger of GeekDad. All Species Foundation closes and hands off mission to the Encyclopedia of Life.



This page was last modified on Thursday, May 31, 2007