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Every now and then there are these news, where platform owners "abuse" their power on the platform to do something in their favor. I remember an example where
by fhennig 7y ago
Every now and then there are these news, where platform owners "abuse" their power on the platform to do something in their favor. I remember an example where HN discussed about how "Amazon's choice" doesn't mean that it's a good product, it's likely just a product which generates a lot of revenue for amazon.
It should be of no surprise that plaform owners will behave in this way. I think the way forward should be protocols over platforms. ActivityPub over social networks. Matrix over instant messengers.
Protocols are empowering. In the earlier days of the web there were many different protocols for different things people wanted to do, such as SMTP, FTP, HTTP etc.
- doubleemms 7y agoYes! So much this! You can choose your email provider, or your cell phone carrier, and no matter who you choose, you'll still be able to email and text/call others (regardless of who _they_ choose). But you can't choose a new Facebook provider. There's no recourse if a given platform is behaving badly, and the network effect just reinforces their hold on users. Open protocols free users to make choices about providers and foster competition based on the service provided instead of having to "choose" to go where the people already are.