I am posting this topic with the hopes of getting a discussion going. I enjoy reading all the interesting articles, but with all the intelligent people on the boards I would really like to get an intelligent discussion going to see what other people are thinking.
There has been a lot of articles posted about companies like Twitter and YouTube/Google censoring topics at the behest of big business and governments. This has been going against what the Internet was initially built for. The Internet has been a tool for the free exchange of information and ideas without the interference of big companies and governments. But as the Internet has become more commercialized it has become all too easy for those in power to squash the voices of the little people. One of the reasons why hackers emerged in the first place was to ensure that no one controlled information and voices.
But the best thing about the Internet, is that those with the knowledge (us hackers) can fight this trend. A little while ago I proposed a question about the future of the Internet. Since the web is just basically code and can be rewritten at any time, I postulated that the power can be usurped from those who think they have the power and given back to the masses at any time. The question went a little something like this:
One of the best things about writing software is that you constantly get to make things that didn't exist before. The Internet was originally created so scientists could share information almost instantaneously. The Internet has evolved into something most people could not have conceived of back then. Now that we know it's capabilities, if you could remake the Internet from the ground up, how would you do it, what would you include? Even with web 2.0 there's a lot of legacy involved. If we were completely unshackled from the past to make it in HN's image, how would it look?
I know this is a radical idea, but just imagine making something completely new to compete with the entire Internet! Would the browser even exist as we know it? I'm sure it could be better, even seamlessly integrated into the OS. The interface could be completely different. Forget just targeting individual sites or services, what could be awesome enough to change the entire face of online computing? If u build something truly awesome, Microsoft, Amazon, Google could be rendered obsolete overnight! Hindsight is 20/20, for once we have that working in our favor, who knew what the Internet would become, let's take what we know it can do, build it even better and then add all the features to take us through the next decade and beyond.
It is entirely possible and some might argue our responsibility to remake the World Wide Web in our own image. Especially given the dangerous road of net censorship and the threat of net neutrality being taken away. There is definitely a better way to fight big businesses and government lobbies. If it was up to you, what would you do?
I have an idea. I'm a firm believer in changing the whole game. While everyone is playing baseball, can come up with football and make everything that they're doing obsolete overnight. Why fight them on their own turf when you can change the sport and the stadium there playing in. If you do it well enough, they'll be so off balance you will have a huge advantage because they'll be playing the wrong sport entirely. Okay enough of the sports metaphors.
If I were putting together the Internet today I would design it more along the lines of a peer to peer decentralized system. Destination websites as we know them would be a thing of the past. As it stands now we give these portals way too much power over our surfing experience. If they want to block us, track us, install root kits without our knowledge etc. There is very little we can do. The "browsers" would not just be a way to navigate to different websites. Each browser would have built-in tools that would give you an active role in creating the Internet. Instead of the passive browsers that we use today where you just open a window and look at what someone else has created, you would be able to create content as you browse. I want you to think of your browser as an online extension of your home. You can design, decorate, upload and host anything you want. And since data exists in your "home" and not uploaded to some third party site, it remains in your control and no one can shut you down because they disagree with what you have posted. To clarify even further, think of it in terms of real-life. If your browser were you home, while you will be responsible for whatever is in there, you would feel free to put anything you want in your own home. People could visit your online address and be exposed to whatever it is that you wanted them to be exposed to. It would be no intermediary imposing their own TOS. For example you wouldn't have to go to YouTube to upload a video. The option to upload videos would be built into your browser, and would therefore exist as a part of the content you created and be located in your online address. It would be similar to hanging a painting in your own house. Your browser will become an extension of you without having to go through a third-party website hosting company. If I hung up a painting in my house no one would be able to tell me what kind of painting I could hang, where I could hang it, how long I can hang it for and how many I could hang. And if you came over to my house you would see a true expression of what I wanted you to see. It would not have to be cleared by someone else's terms of service. If I hung an Occupy Wall Street "painting" I would not have to worry if YouTube or Twitter would take it down if they were petitioned by big corporations or governments.
You could say I'm taking the idea of a web address more literal than it is used today. My browser, for lack of a better term would be an extension of my house, and would instantly become my property not the property of the company I hosted my content. Right now we relinquish all of our IP to these huge corporations. And most of the time they can do whatever they wish with it once it is on their servers.
In addition to all the fun things that we can do on Internet my starting point would be that anything we posted online would remain the property of the poster. Even if the information was hosted by someone else, the arrangement would be more akin to renting an apartment. You do not technically own the apartment, but everything in it is yours and you're free to do with it what you wish. Just because you moved it into your apartment doesn't mean that the apartment complex now owns it and can restrict access to it as they see fit. Also, it doesn't mean when you move out they get to keep a copy of whatever it is you had in your apartment. If you took it down/deleted it, they would no longer have a copy of it either. An apartment complex doesn't automatically get copies of your digital pictures and DVDs when you leave right? There aren't new rules because it's digital, property is property. My own personal test, is that if it seems out of place in real-life then it's probably out of place online.
Search engines would obviously function differently than they do today. It listings would more closely resemble the old-school telephone books. (White pages). At least for individuals, displayed information would be limited, or at the very least a person would be able to choose what is displayed. The entire contents of your browser/online house would not be exposed by default. There was a time when the only easily public information about a person available were named, telephone number and address. Obviously for businesses, this would not apply. But that's another feature for another day.
Like I said this is just a starting point, and I had to repurpose a few terms because there aren't words for all my ideas yet, but I think it's an important place to start.
Just because something already "is", doesn't mean it always has to "be".
"The easiest and best way to succeed is to invent the car while everyone is busy improving the horseless carriage" -Shawn Goolsby
There has been a lot of articles posted about companies like Twitter and YouTube/Google censoring topics at the behest of big business and governments. This has been going against what the Internet was initially built for. The Internet has been a tool for the free exchange of information and ideas without the interference of big companies and governments. But as the Internet has become more commercialized it has become all too easy for those in power to squash the voices of the little people. One of the reasons why hackers emerged in the first place was to ensure that no one controlled information and voices.
But the best thing about the Internet, is that those with the knowledge (us hackers) can fight this trend. A little while ago I proposed a question about the future of the Internet. Since the web is just basically code and can be rewritten at any time, I postulated that the power can be usurped from those who think they have the power and given back to the masses at any time. The question went a little something like this:
One of the best things about writing software is that you constantly get to make things that didn't exist before. The Internet was originally created so scientists could share information almost instantaneously. The Internet has evolved into something most people could not have conceived of back then. Now that we know it's capabilities, if you could remake the Internet from the ground up, how would you do it, what would you include? Even with web 2.0 there's a lot of legacy involved. If we were completely unshackled from the past to make it in HN's image, how would it look?
I know this is a radical idea, but just imagine making something completely new to compete with the entire Internet! Would the browser even exist as we know it? I'm sure it could be better, even seamlessly integrated into the OS. The interface could be completely different. Forget just targeting individual sites or services, what could be awesome enough to change the entire face of online computing? If u build something truly awesome, Microsoft, Amazon, Google could be rendered obsolete overnight! Hindsight is 20/20, for once we have that working in our favor, who knew what the Internet would become, let's take what we know it can do, build it even better and then add all the features to take us through the next decade and beyond.
It is entirely possible and some might argue our responsibility to remake the World Wide Web in our own image. Especially given the dangerous road of net censorship and the threat of net neutrality being taken away. There is definitely a better way to fight big businesses and government lobbies. If it was up to you, what would you do?
I have an idea. I'm a firm believer in changing the whole game. While everyone is playing baseball, can come up with football and make everything that they're doing obsolete overnight. Why fight them on their own turf when you can change the sport and the stadium there playing in. If you do it well enough, they'll be so off balance you will have a huge advantage because they'll be playing the wrong sport entirely. Okay enough of the sports metaphors. If I were putting together the Internet today I would design it more along the lines of a peer to peer decentralized system. Destination websites as we know them would be a thing of the past. As it stands now we give these portals way too much power over our surfing experience. If they want to block us, track us, install root kits without our knowledge etc. There is very little we can do. The "browsers" would not just be a way to navigate to different websites. Each browser would have built-in tools that would give you an active role in creating the Internet. Instead of the passive browsers that we use today where you just open a window and look at what someone else has created, you would be able to create content as you browse. I want you to think of your browser as an online extension of your home. You can design, decorate, upload and host anything you want. And since data exists in your "home" and not uploaded to some third party site, it remains in your control and no one can shut you down because they disagree with what you have posted. To clarify even further, think of it in terms of real-life. If your browser were you home, while you will be responsible for whatever is in there, you would feel free to put anything you want in your own home. People could visit your online address and be exposed to whatever it is that you wanted them to be exposed to. It would be no intermediary imposing their own TOS. For example you wouldn't have to go to YouTube to upload a video. The option to upload videos would be built into your browser, and would therefore exist as a part of the content you created and be located in your online address. It would be similar to hanging a painting in your own house. Your browser will become an extension of you without having to go through a third-party website hosting company. If I hung up a painting in my house no one would be able to tell me what kind of painting I could hang, where I could hang it, how long I can hang it for and how many I could hang. And if you came over to my house you would see a true expression of what I wanted you to see. It would not have to be cleared by someone else's terms of service. If I hung an Occupy Wall Street "painting" I would not have to worry if YouTube or Twitter would take it down if they were petitioned by big corporations or governments. You could say I'm taking the idea of a web address more literal than it is used today. My browser, for lack of a better term would be an extension of my house, and would instantly become my property not the property of the company I hosted my content. Right now we relinquish all of our IP to these huge corporations. And most of the time they can do whatever they wish with it once it is on their servers. In addition to all the fun things that we can do on Internet my starting point would be that anything we posted online would remain the property of the poster. Even if the information was hosted by someone else, the arrangement would be more akin to renting an apartment. You do not technically own the apartment, but everything in it is yours and you're free to do with it what you wish. Just because you moved it into your apartment doesn't mean that the apartment complex now owns it and can restrict access to it as they see fit. Also, it doesn't mean when you move out they get to keep a copy of whatever it is you had in your apartment. If you took it down/deleted it, they would no longer have a copy of it either. An apartment complex doesn't automatically get copies of your digital pictures and DVDs when you leave right? There aren't new rules because it's digital, property is property. My own personal test, is that if it seems out of place in real-life then it's probably out of place online.
Search engines would obviously function differently than they do today. It listings would more closely resemble the old-school telephone books. (White pages). At least for individuals, displayed information would be limited, or at the very least a person would be able to choose what is displayed. The entire contents of your browser/online house would not be exposed by default. There was a time when the only easily public information about a person available were named, telephone number and address. Obviously for businesses, this would not apply. But that's another feature for another day.
Like I said this is just a starting point, and I had to repurpose a few terms because there aren't words for all my ideas yet, but I think it's an important place to start.
Just because something already "is", doesn't mean it always has to "be". "The easiest and best way to succeed is to invent the car while everyone is busy improving the horseless carriage" -Shawn Goolsby