Re: Immersive Web Leadership changes

Nice, thanks for the recap Brandon, and congratulations Ada, Chris, Trevor,
Nell and Brandon on your very well roles and recognition! We're in good
hands :)

On Mon, Jul 30, 2018 at 11:43 AM 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
>
-- 
Josh Carpenter
UX Lead, WebVR/AR
Google