Dealgorithmed × 007

Anil, on a recent post titled “ENDGAME FOR THE OPEN WEB”, wrote:

Now, the hectobillionaires have begun their final assault on the last, best parts of what's still open, and likely won't rest until they've either brought all of the independent and noncommercial parts of the Internet under their control, or destroyed them. Whether or not they succeed is going to be decided by decisions that we all make as a community in the coming months. Even though there have always been threats to openness on the web, the stakes have never been higher than they are this time.

The post is quite long—for today’s standard, where everything needs to be over in 12 seconds—but it’s worth reading. I personally don’t think we’re at the end of the open web. I also don’t think there’s a community that can do anything to change this. There’s no community on the web, the same way there’s no community in the postal service.

The web has changed over the years, and the people around it have changed as well. The vast majority of the people who use the web don’t really think about it. Most people don’t own domain names, and most people don’t even know you can have a website. Does that mean the web is about to die? I doubt it. It’s changing, that’s for sure. Time will tell if this is a good or a bad thing.

One thing I find entirely unconvincing about that post is what Anil has to offer in terms of action we can take. Support the Internet Archive and Wikipedia? Support the EFF? Donate to Mozilla? Think fondly about Stack Overflow?

Is that going to save the open web? If you want to do something to save the open web, leave social media behind and make yourself a website. Take back ownership of your space online. Set up a forum for your friends. Bring back IRC servers.

The possibilities are endless.

— M.

Carnivals, Prompts, and other events

Pablo Morales is hosting this month’s IndieWeb Carnival on the topic of adventure. I’m sure we’re gonna get a bunch of fun submissions for this one.

And Jo has picked “Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency” for April’s IndieWeb Book Club.

Barry, give us…

Your bio, but don't mention your job

I'm a 40-something web resident living in Minnesota, USA. I'm an introverted family man and baseball fan who loves a good movie, a good album, and a good book.

A website we should visit at least once

zombo.com

This is the one website that makes me sad when I have to click the speaker button to hear sound.

A random fact you find intriguing

In the 1980's the owner of the National Football League's New England Patriots ended up living in one of their stadium's luxury boxes due to the financial difficulties he was facing from his failed investment in The Jacksons (as in Michael Jackson) final tour.

A piece of media worth consuming

Let's go with one of my recent consumptions, the movie Decision to Leave. This is a Korean detective mystery that ends up being more than a little Hitchcockian.

Something that no longer exists and you want back

The Homestead. My wife and I are childhood sweethearts, and this rundown, little Italian restaurant in rural Minnesota was the location of our first date. Looking back, I don't think it was in the least bit authentic, nor necessarily even good, but we loved it. When we make our way back home, we wish we could stop in for a meal with our family. Alas, it has been closed for twenty years.

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Want to join the fun? Grab the 5 questions down below and email me your answers at hello@manuelmoreale.com.

1. Your bio, but don’t mention your job
2. A website we should visit at least once
3. A random fact you find intriguing
4. A piece of media worth consuming
5. Something that no longer exists and you want back

Mystery links

The web is better when you can click around and discover something new.