Recently I read a blog post by André Staltz titled “The Web began dying in 2014, here’s how“. The post talks about how the siloization (I think I just made up that word) of internet traffic around the three tech giants: Google, Facebook, and Amazon.
At a lower layer but essentially talking about many similar topics was a talk presented at RIPE 75 by Geoff Huston titled “The Death of Transit and Beyond“. In the talk Geoff proposes that we are living in a Gilded Age of the Internet referring to the huge influence of Big Content (of which Google and Facebook are definitely a part).
Reading between the lines of those two things it is easy to fall into a place of despair and hopelessness. Well that’s no good. I am here to join Dave Rupert in being “hopeful even at the risk of being naïve”.
I hear you ask, “Well Sadiq where are you getting this hope from?”.
Well, let me present to you the beautiful thing that is Neocities and it’s site directory.
Not a fan of a resurgence of Geocities? Perhaps a micro-blogging network that respects you is more your speed? Try Mastodon and be prepared to be bewildered by the memes.
Still not enough? This blog is brought to you by the wonderful software that is WordPress, a 14-year old project that is still going strong. I consider it a fantastic embodiment of the open web.
My point here is that the web endures, it will endure this so-called Gilded Age. It will endure Google, Facebook and Amazon. It will endure because we, yes you included are part of it and we are building the future we want to see.
The alternative is an imagined place of dystopia and despair that I refuse to entertain. There is enough of that in this world already.
So, what say you, join me in being naïvely hopeful, will ya?