A New Ecosystem for the Web

We imagine a new ecosystem for the web that moves beyond platforms.

Platforms have two peices: a user (you) and the app (them). You create an identity and account with them, and they control all of your data associated with that identity. The platform decides if they want to play nice with other platforms, or not. The platform mines, sells, and exploits this data. That’s where the money is, and that’s why the platform is free.

The new ecosystem for the web changes the exsting two-party structure of the platforms in a way that empowers people to have control and agency over their own identity and data.

We introduce the idea of an identity and storage provider as a third party. You create your account here – maybe it’s a collective where you own your data, a system you run yourself, or something provided by your local library system. You use this identity to log in to apps, and those apps store all your data here, where you own and control it.

This means that these apps may cost money! Or need donations. But what your’re paying for is what your getting – a service that brings value to your life on it’s own merits, written by real people who are your peers, not faceless extractive platforms.

We believe in a vision of the open web – a sustainable approach to the Internet and computing that doesn’t rely on extractive capitalism and exploitative practices. We believe in an ethical web that manifests the values we want to see more of in the world. we believe in our collective ability to create enough value through ethical development to support ourselves independent of corporate patronage and wage labor. We believe that we can make art, tools, processes, and ideas that make society richer and happier. We believe we can care for each other, and the web is corner for delivering that care.

Maybe you believe in this too.