WWW Inventor Unveils Plan to Decentralize the Web

Megalith

Megalith

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Tim Berners-Lee, father of the World Wide Web, intends to “take back power” from Amazon, Facebook, Google, and other giants profiting from the centralization of the internet with Solid, a decentralized web platform he is building with the help of MIT. Described as “Netscape for today’s internet,” Solid will give its users full control of their data by putting them in “pods” (an acronym for personal online data store).

On Solid, all the information is under his control. Every bit of data he creates or adds on Solid exists within a Solid pod–which is an acronym for personal online data store. These pods are what give Solid users control over their applications and information on the web. Anyone using the platform will get a Solid identity and Solid pod. This is how people, Berners-Lee says, will take back the power of the web from corporations.
 
Etherton said:
Wait, I thought Al Gore invented the internet?
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Yes, then the internet caused global warming. :D

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Hahah ... I'm dying. This is why we need "pods." So we can escape the same tired ass Al Gore jokes that for some reason kids keep posting over and over and over and over and over along with all the other crap.

Not sure how this would work but it would be cool if I just logged into a secure area that only other like minded people could be a part of. You wouldn't have to worry about which Kardashian was pregnant what week, Top 40 EMO pop sounds that everyone loves for some stupid ass reason. The latest Starbucks flavor, etc. Zero chance you're going to see skinny jeans on dudes or manicured beards dripping with artisan beard oils ... I mean, god. Am I the only one here that is seriously worried Drake or Bieber will one day actually make it into the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame? Jeezus. Kanye? Oh lordie .. I'm scaring myself.

I want this ASAP so I can escape all the lame mediocrity.

I envision those old BBS styled Q&A short questionnaires that only the "right people" knew how to answer haha. Sysop drops down and you're basically fcked if you're a poser.

Maybe we need smaller PODS or something. Kinda like closed Facebook groups but with a ton more functionality.
 
cyberguyz said:
And what happens when the wrong people get their hands on your pod?
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Hopefully it will have several check and balances built in that other people within the same POD have to validate one way or another. All done automatically of course. Something that's pretty damn smart and well designed.

No doubt the Government caught wind of this project and I'm sure he has been "interviewed" by now. The "backdoor" funding will come in handy I'm sure so he can finish this POD project ( this is a joke Big Brother )
 
"Take on Amazon"? Unless he plans to open up a gigantic online store, I'm not sure how he plans to deal with Amazon. Is he planning to try and force them to offload their entire profile & payment system to his service? Good luck with that.
 
So you can have your own POD and just talk to yourself or perhaps expand it to a few like minded individuals. That should stimulate new ideas. ;)
 
Comixbooks said:
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I like the web page he has up which is CERN
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I first got on to the internet is Dec of 93 using Windows 3.11 and Windsock Trumpet, 2400 baud modem. Web was bad but .. that looks ancient, maybe kinda close to what I remember.

yahoo and altavista, signed up for my anon.penet.fi account. My ICQ number was 4 digits whenever that was.

Yeah, we need Internet 3.0

I really like the ideal of the Chinese splintering off from the rest of the world. Part of me wishes the United States would too.
 
I don't want different kinds of "Internet". The existing Internet, with NN, is all we need.
 
Is that what the "Dark Web" is already? A disjointed area of the internet where everything is "De-centralized"?

The "Deep Web" is areas of the internet that aren't indexed by any of the search engines and are burried behind layers of the firewalls such-as a bank account at a financial institution or games that you play with a network account.

Then there is the "Internet" which is what we use all the time.
 
Seems pointless. HBO had a documentary series about start ups called Silicon Valley and they've already created this new Web. We don't need pods, because Richard Hendricks, Gilfoyle and Dinesh already got this.
 
big companies will just make most of the pods. aws cloud already host tons of pods. stuff won't change by this.
 
SixFootDuo said:
Hahah ... I'm dying. This is why we need "pods." So we can escape the same tired ass Al Gore jokes that for some reason kids keep posting over and over and over and over and over along with all the other crap.

Not sure how this would work but it would be cool if I just logged into a secure area that only other like minded people could be a part of. You wouldn't have to worry about which Kardashian was pregnant what week, Top 40 EMO pop sounds that everyone loves for some stupid ass reason. The latest Starbucks flavor, etc. Zero chance you're going to see skinny jeans on dudes or manicured beards dripping with artisan beard oils ... I mean, god. Am I the only one here that is seriously worried Drake or Bieber will one day actually make it into the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame? Jeezus. Kanye? Oh lordie .. I'm scaring myself.

I want this ASAP so I can escape all the lame mediocrity.

I envision those old BBS styled Q&A short questionnaires that only the "right people" knew how to answer haha. Sysop drops down and you're basically fcked if you're a poser.

Maybe we need smaller PODS or something. Kinda like closed Facebook groups but with a ton more functionality.
Click to expand...

I think you want the blue pill.
 
bigdogchris said:
I don't want different kinds of "Internet". The existing Internet, with NN, is all we need.
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This has more to do with the software services which are provided over the internet rather than the internet itself. The "web" (being the software which provides useful requests and responses over the internet) has been at fault for hemorrhaging personal data for decades and it's getting really awful considering how big the market is for personal data. There has been a lot of resistance to adopting secure alternatives for basic web related services by large dotcoms. Only recently has advocacy reached the attention of the general public, but even still people don't really give a shit and continue to use horribly insecure services.

Basically, the current business paradigm for the web is based heavily in lack of security. i.e. Services are "free" and attract people to use them. However, these services are subsidized via sales of usage metrics. Buyers process usage data and isolate profitable opportunities:

* apply schedule theory and figure out what times you're "online" and make some semblance of a cold call.

* build a profile on your financial state and sell it to a developer of online sales middleware so that prices may be adjusted in realtime to maximize the chance of a sale to any particular person.

* curb opinions and clicks by adjusting witnessed content to influence a particular, understood group of people perusing the web.

Net neutrality can't really help these cases, but lack of net neutrality could certainly find ways to exploit and benefit from the webs deficiencies.
 
This sounds just like a friendly way of setting up Internet ID, which is a bad idea.
 
Though I hope this works, I fear that the root of the problem is that people undervalue their personal data, and are too willing to give it up in exchange for some service. Those who do value their data are simply not on the platform, and are likely viewed as crotchety, anachronistic grandpas who do not understand technology.
 
Isn't the decentralized internet the theme of the current Silicon Valley season? (or wait, last year maybe)
 
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