Citizens! Springtime is upon us and new beginnings are in the air.

With that in mind, I’d like to welcome you all to the new home of Bitmap, and the official launch of the blog with this first post.

My intention here is to set the scene for spring and for what is to come with Bitmap: New Beginnings and my Springtime Agenda.

Think of this theme as a new approach and a new way to engage with the community of developers, builders, and citizens alike.

I’d like to bring you all into the fold as we unify our collective efforts and till the soil for the seeds we must spread and sow this season.

This is not just my home, it is a place for the hardworking members of our beloved community to express themselves. It may not seem like much now, but I’d like to grow this into the place that people go to and refer to when you say “bitmap”. I’d like all contributors of Bitmap to call this place their home too.

With that in mind, here I will share my Springtime Agenda, and how you can join!

Open Bitmap

The overarching theme for my Springtime Agenda is enabling Open Bitmap, which is simply an idea that all of us can embody, just as Bitmap itself is. My goal with bitmap.land and Open Bitmap is to help connect the dots of the community, and give us a place we can call home as a collective. Think about it… when you have been asked about Bitmap, where do you send people?

It is my responsibility to make sure that there is a place for us to go, and that it is represented not by a single person, but by the community.

With that being said, here is how you can get involved in Open Bitmap!

Blog

It was only fitting that I open up this Blog with a post of my own, and I will continue to use this as my place to go deeper than I can possibly go on X, however this is not my Blog alone. It is the Bitmap blog and I am opening the door for citizens to write here! If you are a Bitmap writer, or would like to write about Bitmap, don’t be afraid to submit your application!

Directory

This will become your source of every app, bapp, and map! The aim is to keep a historic up-to-date record of all Bitmap developments, and I’m going to need your help! I’m seeking contributors to help add and maintain quality of listings.

X: @openbitmap

It’s finally time to start utilizing @openbitmap on X (Twitter). Blockamoto is just one voice among the global community and, as the theme of this season, I would like to invite citizens to contribute and seed the spirit of Open Bitmap so we may proliferate our message tactically to the world.

Bounties

I’m also pleased to announce that I will be putting out Bounties. This will be like an ongoing hackathon with seasonal themes. Each Bounty will have a brief with a deadline and winner prizes.

It will give our community of builders and developers the opportunity to earn Bitcoin and Bitmaps for their contributions. There may also be non-developer focused Bounties, but the focus here will be forging ahead with the Bitmap roadmap.

Please look forward to the launch of Bounties on bitmap.land!

Concept Map

With the release of Bitoshi Theory and Ruleset, I have finally reached a point where the core parts of the Bitmap Standard are public, and let me tell you… it is a great relief!

There is still much to be added to the Concept Map as we continue research and development, however all the major pieces are now in place to read and write to Bitmap.

I’m especially eager to work on the Cartography entry, which will delve into concepts such as the Tree of Bitmap, the branches, and its leaves. We will also delve deeper into Bitoshi’s and how these can be expressed with different shapes, and different Space Filling Curves. My aim here is to inspire budding cartographers to start plotting their own maps, and for developers to build apps to help make this process accessible.

This website will be especially useful in documenting this journey, and in breaking down simply what can be done with Bitmap at each level so it can be easily understood and shared.

Final Thoughts

With spring in the air we can spend the next three months sowing the seeds for a beautiful Bitmap Summer, which will set the scene for the Autumn harvest.

I’m extremely thankful to have you all to share this journey with, excited to have a place for all our contributions to live, and I’m feeling positive that this is a much needed shift in approach that will help us unify our efforts as we march forth, together.

“If we can’t live together, we’re gonna die alone.” – Jack Shephard

Thank you so much for reading my first blog post, and here’s to many more! 🥂