Meet Webmaker: Mozilla Launches "Summer Code" Web Love-in

Mozilla has long been a defender of a free and open web, and now the company has launched Mozilla Webmaker, which is aimed at taking ordinary web users and giving them development chops that can help them create new types of online "experiences." Mozilla claims that its goal is to "move millions of people from using the web to actively making the web." The effort also includes a "Summer Code" initiative which sounds like it has some rough similarity to Google's Summer of Code. Here are more details.

Mozilla's Summer Code Party is described as follows, and you can find a Summer Code event near you here:

 "This summer, we're inviting everyone to join us to meet up, make something cool, and learn how the code behind the web works. It's called the Summer Code Party, and it starts June 23. Mozilla is joining with dozens of other organizations to make this happen. Want to make a prettier template for your blog? Or level up your latest YouTube video? Or just learn a bit of HTML? We'll have tools, tutorials, and activites to help."

The available tools and tutorials will be available at the Webmaker site. Mozilla also has a post up about the effort, which describes some of what Webmaker will offer:

• 1) Tools. Authoring tools and software, designed and built with our community. From supercharging web video with Popcorn, to remixing with Hackasaurus, to making your own web pages with Thimble.
• 2) Projects. Practical starter projects, how-tos and recipes, designed to help people at all levels make something amazing with the web. From tweaking your blog template to building apps that change the world.
• 3) Community. Bringing people with diverse skills and backgrounds together. Teachers, filmmakers, journalists, youth. From web ninjas to newbies. All making and learning together at events, meet-ups and hack jams everywhere.

Mozilla will be reaching out to schools, summer camps and other organizations to participate in Webmaker, and the company is talking about a more "web literate planet." That can't be a bad thing.