Nick Norman
Associate Producer · Internet Archive
DWeb Camp 2022 was not just a conference. It was the first time a global community of decentralized web builders had come together in person after COVID scattered them across continents. Nick helped make it happen.
Wendy showed me that the most complex problems are just an invitation to build something no one has built before.
Nick Norman, on working alongside Senior Producer Wendy Hanamura
The moment
DWeb Camp had been on hiatus since COVID. For a community that runs on in-person trust, collaboration, and connection across borders and time zones, that gap was significant. By 2022 people had been building independently, in silos, without the connective tissue that only a gathering can provide.
This was not just a return to normal. It was a deliberate effort to reconnect a distributed global network and give the movement its momentum back. That required coordination at every level, from international travel logistics and payment solutions for participants from restricted regions, to COVID protocols, volunteer integration, and community building across 80 acres of open land.
Nick's Role
Associate Producer
Working directly alongside Senior Producer Wendy Hanamura, Nick coordinated operations across partners, volunteers, international participants, and logistics teams for the duration of the event, from pre-camp micro-gatherings through final breakdown. He also contributed to funder and sponsor engagement, helping secure the coalition of organizations that made the event possible.
What the work required
Getting people there from everywhere
Participants came from conflict-affected and access-restricted regions where standard payment tools like PayPal did not work. Nick researched payment restrictions by country, developed alternative solutions including cryptocurrency payments and quadratic funding, and monitored nearly 1,000 ticket transactions across time zones to resolve issues in real time.
COVID compliance across 500 people
From pre-camp sleepovers at the Internet Archive to the main event, Nick helped coordinate COVID testing verification for all attendees at the gate, managed four cases that required participants to return home safely, and achieved zero post-camp infections reported in the survey.
Tracking everything and everyone across 80 acres
With a sold-out event across more than 80 acres including 27 children, every attendee needed to be matched to a specific bunk, tent, vehicle, or accommodation arrangement. Nick maintained continuous alignment across multiple inventory systems, partner databases, and real-time changes up to the final moment with zero errors.
Managing high-tech equipment across a global event
The event required international shipments of specialized technology including mesh networking equipment and Hacker's Hall infrastructure. Nick coordinated closely with the inventory manager and participated in technical meetings to understand handling requirements, track every item from packaging through return, and support participants showcasing their own projects.
Rebuilding connection after isolation
Eighty-five volunteers arrived in two waves two days apart, which meant the second group needed integration into a community that had already formed. Nick worked to ensure every volunteer felt connected and supported across setup, the event itself, and breakdown, while also holding space for Indigenous community members, artists, academics, founders, and participants from eleven global DWeb nodes.
Supported by
DWeb now has 15 nodes located around the world. The network continues to grow, with camps and gatherings happening across continents. Learn more about the DWeb network.