This is a good time to point out Micro.blog, an independent publishing platform designed to empower publishers and protect privacy. (Not my work, but I'm a fan)
Check it out: https://micro.blog/
We should replace Facebook with personal websites
31–40 of 318 posts
Re: We should replace Facebook with personal websites
#32A rough timeline of the early 2000s: 1. Google creates the first noteworthy current gen search engine. 2. The web slowly starts moving towards a semantic platform with separate presentation. 3. Google creates the world's largest ad platform. 4. The semantic web inexplicably dies (see 3). 5. The web painfully and lossily becomes a series of dense monolithic networks. 6. People realize this might be a bad thing.
> 6. People realize this might be a bad thing.
6. Technical experts realize this might be a bad thing, non-technical users are fine with it.
Good or bad, monolithic networks save a lot of ordinary users the pain of having to learn. The reason they might not want to learn varies greatly, but I'll go out on a limb and say it's related to a lack of time and basic backgrounding, in equal measure.
It's not always only about the technically qualified.
Re: We should replace Facebook with personal websites
#33I have being thinking about the same idea for a long time. Search can be externalized, and hosting is very cheap these days. Actually, with right approach, hosting might be virtually free, if we use cloud drive providers
Re: We should replace Facebook with personal websites
#34Alright folks, it's time to bring back Geocities and Angelfire. Pull out your antique rotating skull and "under construction" gifs.
+1 for under construction gifs. I saved all of them! Sparkle rainbow cats too.
Rainbow cats are out, Unicorn cats (or more properly caticorns) are in. Keep up with the times ;)
Re: We should replace Facebook with personal websites
#35That's a good idea. We need a decentralized facebook, where everybody hosts and shares their data. It would need a registry or identity provider for the initial contact, but then it should replicate facebook functionality in a decentralized way. If you want to see posts in a group (like facebook group) - you query online members part of the group for their data, and download/share the latest version.
Would you find an issue with user interaction though? If you provide a means of customization, then your site’s aesthetic depends upon a user’s incentive to change their page’s display. Once a certain fraction of ppl stop caring, then you’d see a visual degradation of the site that would cause a ripple effect.
A decentralized social network protocol is needed (ActivityPub is something like this), data stored in a neutral way, and the software. When exchanging data between users, you exchange only data, and you see it based on your software (protocol implementation).
The software would ideally be hosted on the cloud, so it's always online. You log in your software and see all your updates/interact with others.
Re: We should replace Facebook with personal websites
#36This is so crazy, I love the idea but the world isn't going back to how it was in the late 1990s / early 2000s. I've been in web hosting for a long time and I love the idea of everyone creating their own little website. The truth is people don't have the skills or care enough to do something like that, FB, Quora, Twitter, all these services that are walled gardens work because they make it EASY to share/create and CONNECT people easily with others and easy to use apps that do x. WordPress is about the closest you get and it is a nightmare to manage and $$$ on the hosting side compared to closed gardens.
We need to just accept the new world and keep innovating inside it, there isn't going back to how it was.
And stop this nonsense about privacy, either pass a big federal law or accept that your info is how free sites are funded :).
Re: We should replace Facebook with personal websites
#37I might be looking at this too simply, but I think FB's "current" success is related to the fact that it's simple to use and "everyone" is already there. It's just not worth the effort for a non-technical person to set up a personal website that involved selecting a platform, configuration, hosting, space restrictions, fees, access restrictions, etc. FB is like an "all-inclusive" resort for those wanting to easily connect/share with friends, family and acquaintances quickly. It's free (at least in direct financial costs) and there's very little friction and decision-making involved.
As a web developer, I see the value in owning your web space, but it's a very hard sell for others due to the extra work involved.
Re: We should replace Facebook with personal websites
#38Bring back LiveJournal!
Re: We should replace Facebook with personal websites
#39This conversation always devolves, or evolves into a discussion about RSS.
I actually think there's an opportunity for the "website builders" namely WordPress, to create "consumer" app(s) that pull in feeds from WordPress powered blogs (with RSS) This consumer / consumption app would compete with Facebook/Twitter directly.
WordPress powers a significant % of the web and combined with the market share of some of the other large providers like Wix & Squarespace I think they could mount a legitimate challenge to FB/TW
Re: We should replace Facebook with personal websites
#40Okay, I pay almost nothing for my domain.
Provide me with the tools to create a cheap, mobile friendly, HTTPS website and I'm in.