I’ve been exploring how AI systems are starting to act as an interface to the web. To help organizations navigate this shift, I’ve developed an Agentic Web Audit — a hands-on, non-automated assessment of how AI systems access, understand, and interact with your site. ricmac.org/agentic-web-...

I've updated my handle to @ricmac.org, since my personal website has become the center of my online existence again. Previously I had a handle connected to my internet history website, Cybercultural — but that's currently on pause while I focus all my energies on earning an income post-TNS.

THE AtmosYear 2026 - ATmosphereConf 2026 YouTube video by AT Protocol Development, Tech Talks, and Events

Checking out the ATmosphereConf 2026 highlights. Wow there are a lot of videos! I'm especially curious to watch ones about "atmospheric websites" and blogging on AT Protocol. Didn't immediately see any videos about @standard.site, etc — anyone have pointers? www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBYN...

The Agentic Web: how AI systems will change websites - Richard MacManus How AI agents are reshaping the web — from websites as content to websites as capabilities — and what it means for publishers, developers and product teams.

Most people think AI will reduce the importance of websites. I think the opposite is happening — but in a very different way. Here's how I'm looking at the emerging Agentic Web, including its opportunities for web publishers and developers...and the very real threats, too. ricmac.org/2026/04/07/t...

It’s 20 years since Jack Dorsey sent the first tweet. That same day, 21 March 2006, I posted “microcontent design” on ReadWriteWeb. This was the feeds world web geeks like me wanted to become a reality: web standards-based feeds, using RSS/Atom, microformats, etc. web.archive.org/web/20060508...

Just once, once on initialization. You could get more complex with this, e.g. depending on the query. But as I noted in the post, I deliberately kept it simple for this experiment.

Building an article assistant: local AI in the browser with cloud fallback - Richard MacManus How I built an article assistant for my website that uses local AI (via Chrome + Gemini Nano) when available, and falls back to a cloud model when it isn’t.

New from my Web AI Lab: I’ve built an “article assistant” for my site that runs using local AI in the browser (via Chrome + Gemini Nano) when available — and falls back to a cloud model when it isn’t.

I think local AI has huge implications for the #OpenWeb.

ricmac.org/2026/03/19/a... #WebAI

What is this stage of perimenopause where old songs bounce off me, but seeing a 21-year-old website can make me weep for a better time…?

Implementing WebMCP: letting AI agents interact with my website - Richard MacManus What happens when a website exposes tools to AI agents? To experiment, I implemented WebMCP on my personal site using two simple browser-side tools.

I experimented with WebMCP on my personal website, exposing two tools an AI assistant can call directly from the browser: searching an article and subscribing to my newsletter. It’s a small prototype, but it hints at how websites are fast becoming AI-interactive surfaces. ricmac.org/2026/03/11/w...

Screenshot of tenth-muse.com in 2006

tenth-muse.com in 2006
web.archive.org/web/20060703210129if_/ht...

Building Ask Ricmac: my first experiment in the Web AI stack - Richard MacManus Over the past few months I’ve been exploring what I think of as the Web AI stack — the emerging intersection of artificial intelligence with the open web. As part of that exploration, I built a small ...

As part of my Web AI explorations, I built an AI chatbot for my personal website called Ask Ricmac. Under the hood, it runs on a Cloudflare Workers backend that uses Vectorize, D1 and Workers AI. During development, I also used the WordPress MCP Adapter and Claude Desktop. ricmac.org/2026/03/06/b...

1995: From Batman Forever’s cinematic design to HTML tables 1995 begins with web designers creating cinematic experiences using images and browser tricks, and ends with the arrival of table support in Netscape Navigator — giving true control over layout.

♛ 1995: From Batman Forever’s cinematic design to HTML tables. History lesson and appreciation by @ricmac.cybercultural.com.

cybercultural.com/p/1995-web-d... #WebDesign #WebDesignHistory #DesignHistory #WarnerBros #cinema #movies #films #marketing #promotions

1995: From Batman Forever’s cinematic design to HTML tables 1995 begins with web designers creating cinematic experiences using images and browser tricks, and ends with the arrival of table support in Netscape Navigator — giving true control over layout.

In the latest post in my web design history series, I look at Batman Forever, an influential 1995 website by @zeldman.bsky.social and friends. Also, later in the year HTML tables arrive, along with early visual design tools FrontPage & PageMill. cybercultural.com/p/1995-web-d... #WebDesignHistory

Yowzers.

Becoming a Web AI Practitioner: A Map of the Emerging Stack - Richard MacManus Earlier this month, I was laid off from my job as senior editor at The New Stack. While I figure out what’s next, I resolved to dive into a technology stack I’ve been deeply interested in for a while: Web AI. Only this time not just writing about these technologies,…

While I figure out what’s next in my career, I resolved to dive into a technology stack I’ve been deeply interested in for a while: Web AI. Only this time not just writing about these technologies, but building apps with them too. ricmac.org/2026/02/26/w... #WebAI

Ditto! Next time I'm in London, I'll be sure to give you and Simon a shout.

Thanks Blaine, and I've been following with interest what you're doing at Roundabout/New_ Public. Hope to catchup soon.

Personal update: after nearly 6 years at The New Stack, my role has come to an end as part of a broader round of redundancies. I’m now exploring ideas at the intersection of AI and web systems, particularly how AI is reshaping the architecture and future of the open web. I welcome conversations.

1994: Cool Site of the Day and the rise of curated web design Although the Web is technically limited in 1994, it is a fast-growing network and so curation quickly becomes a design problem. Enter Glenn Davis and his website, Cool Site of the Day.

Although the Web is technically limited in 1994, it is a fast-growing network and so curation quickly becomes a design problem. Enter Glenn Davis and his website, Cool Site of the Day. cybercultural.com/p/1994-cool-... #WebDesignHistory

The Internet Underground Music Archive (IUMA) website in 1994

The Internet Underground Music Archive (IUMA) website in 1994, showing what was possible using colorful graphics and minimal HTML. Read more about 1994 web design: https://cybercultural.com/p/1994-web-design/

This whole series is unendingly delightful. Especially if the 90s is the internet you remember most fondly.

1994: Publishing comes to the Web — and design matters 1994 marks the Web’s shift into a publishing medium. As site authors seek control over formatting and design, the WWW-Talk mailing list hosts an early debate over style sheets and presentation.

In the latest post in my history of web design, we enter 1994 — when the Web shifts into a publishing medium. As site authors seek control over formatting and design, the WWW-Talk mailing list hosts an early debate over style and presentation. cybercultural.com/p/1994-web-d... #WebDesign

Screenshot of tobaccofreekids.org in 2000

Suggested update for 2026: Big Tech, Still Addicting Kids
tobaccofreekids.org in 2000
web.archive.org/web/20000618170315if_/ht...

Le WebLouvre, a 1994 virtual art gallery

Le WebLouvre, a 1994 virtual art gallery (via https://www.ford-mason.co.uk/resources/stw/node52.html

Screenshot of the first web design of Global Network Navigator, O'Reilly's 1993 "online magazine"

This is the first web design of Global Network Navigator, O'Reilly's 1993 "online magazine". It was designed by Jennifer Niederst Robbins, arguably the world's first web designer: cybercultural.com/p/1993-global-network-na...

Drupal turns 25: From simple to complex — then simple again With the release of Drupal CMS 2.0, Drupal marks its 25th year by returning to a simpler content management system — rebuilt for the AI era.

For @drupalassociation.bsky.social's 25th anniversary, I spoke with founder Dries Buytaert. His advice for building a long-term open source community: “Don’t expect overnight success. I think anything successful in life usually takes 10 years.” thenewstack.io/drupal-turns... #OpenSource

1993: Global Network Navigator and the first web designer It's difficult to apply design to a website in 1993, but that doesn't stop O'Reilly & Associates from launching an 'online magazine' called GNN. Suddenly Jennifer Niederst, a book designer, has a new ...

Continuing Cybercultural's history of web design, we're still in 1993 but now we come to perhaps the world's first web designer: Jennifer Niederst Robbins. She designed O'Reilly's Global Network Navigator (GNN). cybercultural.com/p/1993-globa... cc @jenville.bsky.social @rachelandrew.bsky.social

Why platform companies keep buying frontend framework teams The news of Cloudflare acquiring the company behind Astro is just the latest in a string of similar frontend framework deals. We look at the risks and rewards.

The news of Cloudflare acquiring the company behind Astro is just the latest in a string of similar frontend framework deals. Some of these arrangements go well, some...not so much (RIP Gatsby). thenewstack.io/why-platform...

🧵 Your micro-memoir doesn't need to be about life-changing moments.
It can be deeply nerdy about whatever you actually care about.
Here's what a tech history newsletter taught me about documenting the small, obsessive details that only you would think to preserve:

MTV, April 1994

The first 1993 post is now on Cybercultural and it tells the story of how the MTV website was born. Unfortunately screenshots are rare for any 1993 website, but this image from April 1994 gives you an idea of what it looked like. https://cybercultural.com/p/1993-mtv-internet/