Content-type: text/html Downes.ca ~ Stephen's Web ~ The punk rock internet – how DIY ​​rebels ​are working to ​replace the tech giants

Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

Count me as being among the punk rock rebels on the internet - even though my punk anthem might be something like Walking on Sunshine. As Laura Balkan says, " I want to be able to be in a society where I have control over my information, and other people do as well." And she adds, "Being a woman in technology, you can see how hideously unequal things are and how people building these systems don't care about anyone other than themselves." The story focuses a lot on the technical means being employed to create  the indienet - distributed data and blockchain, for example - which may or may not work. But the tech isn't the objective, the outcome is. "If we want a more diverse, open, decentralised internet, developers are going to have to wave goodbye to the idea of huge platforms that will supposedly make them rich. We've kind of been brainwashed into this Silicon Valley idea of success," he says. "You know: 'Unless you've made a billion dollars and you're on the cover of Forbes magazine as the next king, you're not successful.'" The point isn't to create a unicorn. It's to create an idea.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

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Last Updated: Apr 25, 2024 12:36 p.m.

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