Re:A Reflection on the Small Web
by jjulius on Thursday September 29, 2022 @10:28AM
(#33021141)
>I'm not sure I like it.
I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that that is basically what it boils down to - the small web, and similar movements, just aren't for you. Because...
>This Small Web stuff (and other similar movements) is close enough to plausibility to capture people's time and attention, but far enough from reality to inevitably fail without making a dent in the awful state of the Web today.
... in spite of that point, the small web has always been around in one form or another. While the rest of contemporary culture glommed onto Web 2.0 and social media, there were just enough people keeping alive some of the ideals from the older web that have made their way into the more contemporary "small web" movements that you see today. There's always been an audience.
>Which indicates a kind of lack of high-level, systemic thinking that is absolutely essential if you want to change anything at scale.
But I don't see it (and this is just my view of the small web) as an attempt to completely wipe out the current, contemporary, "popular" web. "Scale" isn't the goal, and I'd argue that scaling is antithetical to the general ideal of a small web. It's about focusing on smaller, community-run spaces without all of the noise and bullshit. You have to resist scaling in order to keep that spirit.
To that end, the small web will always be there, for those who want it.
I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that that is basically what it boils down to - the small web, and similar movements, just aren't for you. Because...
>This Small Web stuff (and other similar movements) is close enough to plausibility to capture people's time and attention, but far enough from reality to inevitably fail without making a dent in the awful state of the Web today.
... in spite of that point, the small web has always been around in one form or another. While the rest of contemporary culture glommed onto Web 2.0 and social media, there were just enough people keeping alive some of the ideals from the older web that have made their way into the more contemporary "small web" movements that you see today. There's always been an audience.
>Which indicates a kind of lack of high-level, systemic thinking that is absolutely essential if you want to change anything at scale.
But I don't see it (and this is just my view of the small web) as an attempt to completely wipe out the current, contemporary, "popular" web. "Scale" isn't the goal, and I'd argue that scaling is antithetical to the general ideal of a small web. It's about focusing on smaller, community-run spaces without all of the noise and bullshit. You have to resist scaling in order to keep that spirit.
To that end, the small web will always be there, for those who want it.