Re: Immersive Web Leadership changes

Hi Brandon, All,

Coming back from vacation, I'm thrilled to see this announcement. I couldn't think of better chairs for the upcoming WG than Ada and Chris. With Chris onboard, you're lucky to have a true old-timer (IE1?) who knows the W3C inside out. Ada with her hands-on attitude, developer community connections and focus will be a perfect complement to Chris. I also applaud the geographic diversity considerations reflecting that of the community itself.

Trevor I already considered the de facto CG chair. Just keep up the good work!

Brandon, Nell - you've done an amazing job shepherding the spec development while wearing multiple hats. Not an easy task. Speaking from an experience, you'll likely find it relieving to be able to focus on one role going forward.

It's soon 2 years since the initial WebVR kickoff workshop we had in Oct '16 [1] (time flies!), a ton of progress since, familiar names but also new ones, and this graduation now very timely. l look forward to the formal WG start in the coming months, the next step on our path toward broad adoption.

Ada, Chris, Trevor - I'm happy to share my lessons learned from running a similar CG/WG setup, help with the chartering etc.

Thanks,

-Anssi

[1] https://www.w3.org/2016/06/vr-workshop/



> On 30 Jul 2018, at 21.41, Brandon Jones <bajones@google.com> wrote:
> 
> Hello Immersive Web folks!
> 
> This past Tuesday (July 24th) the Immersive Web Community Group had a face-to-face meeting in Seattle, during which we discussed some leadership changes to the Community Group in preparation for the formation of an Immersive Web Working Group (a more formal group within the W3C with the ability to propose specs for "candidate recommendation" status.) The intent is that the WebXR Device API will be managed by the Working Group once formed, and the Immersive Web Community Group will continue to function as an incubator for new features and specifications to support the Immersive Web. As those features, APIs, and specs become similarly stable and demonstrate wide support, they can be adopted by a WG. We expect many proposals will be adopted as additions to the WebXR Device API and thus managed by the Immersive Web WG, but that’s not a foregone conclusion for every incubation and will be decided on a case-by-case basis. The Immersive Web Community Group will still incubate features that are recommended to other Working Groups like the CSS Working Group.
> 
> As many of you know, I've been acting as a de facto group chair and spec editor since the group's inception by virtue of being one of the earliest developers working on the WebVR spec. It's been my honor and privilege to work with you all in that capacity! We have an insanely talented group of people developing the Immersive Web, and I could not be happier with the results so far. However, as the WebXR Device API draws closer to readiness and work the group does becomes more diverse, it's becoming necessary to put more formal leadership roles in place. After some internal discussion and announcement at the face-to-face, we wanted to ensure the rest of the Immersive Web CG was also notified of the proposed changes:
> 
> Ada Cannon (Samsung) and Chris Wilson (Google) are being recommended as co-chairs of the upcoming Immersive Web Working Group. Ada's developer relations experience at Samsung provides a valuable and much needed insight into the needs of the developers who will be using the APIs the group produces, and she brings some welcome geographic diversity to a group that has been a bit too USA-west-coast-centric thus far. And Chris' prior experience working with multiple W3C standards is already proving critical as we navigate this transition.
> 
> Trevor F. Smith (Mozilla) is being recommended to take on the role of chair of the Immersive Web Community Group. As the WebXR Device API transitions to being managed by the working group the Community Group will continue to operate as an incubation ground for exposing to the web the variety of new technologies we expect this fast-moving field to produce. Trevor leads some of Mozilla's Mixed Reality efforts, and has already been serving in a chair-like capacity leading our AR-centric calls on alternating weeks. He'll provide a steady hand in the most volatile area of the Immersive Web's ongoing development.
> 
> Finally, we’re recommending that Nell Waliczek (Amazon) continue to work with me (Brandon Jones, Google) as spec editor on the WebXR Device API. Nell is a Principal Engineer on the Amazon Sumerian team, which is building tools for creating cross-platform immersive content on the web. She also brings with her a wealth of XR expertise from her previous role as a Principal Engineering Lead for Microsoft's Windows Mixed Reality platform. And I've been working on WebVR and now WebXR since their inception, pulling on previous experience working on the WebGL API to make a high-performance, developer friendly Immersive Web a reality.
> 
> Spec editing isn't a new role for either of us, but up to this point it has meant that we both informally took on a variety of chair-like responsibilities as well. With the group chair roles officially filled it frees us up to focus on the technical aspects of finishing the spec, which should help us reach that all-important shipping point faster and more confidently.
> 
> I cannot express how thrilled I am with the talent and experience of the team that's come together to guide the Immersive Web forward, and that of all the CG members working alongside us! Thank you for your continued support!
> 
> --Brandon Jones
>

Received on Tuesday, 31 July 2018 21:13:15 UTC