Every so often I post some things related to community led efforts to try to build some sort of alternative open services network to the current FAANG platforms. This is met with both scepticism and I guess dismissal of such an idea ever working. But I don't think that means we shouldn't try. It's really clear that the past two decades or so has led to the internet becoming siloed to these huge profit seeking blackholes. And while those companies have provided immense value, they are now also some sort of personal risk for our sensitive data and huge dependence on technology. It's not clear that we should be so highly dependent on things that are governed by single entities without the option for as good open services that are non-profit oriented.
I know how monumentally impossible that sounds, and it's obviously very clear we cannot replace what exists, nor would we want to, but perhaps just starting with one critical piece of software we all care about is the starting point. It doesn't take a lot of devs to do it, we've seen startups create value with less than 100 engineers. Looking at WhatsApp it was 50 at the time of acquisition with hundreds of millions of users.
So what I'm saying is, should we try? Should I try to do this? Is it worth the time and effort to attempt to establish an open alternative to the app platforms of today? Maybe just starting with one core thing like email or chat.
I'm interested in feedback, but I also have a proposal here I'd be curious to get thoughts on.