Link: The internet isn't dying, it's changing

I enjoyed this brief post by Cory Dransfeldt. Instead of taking the typical "doomer" outlook on where the internet is headed, he takes a more optimistic view:

The old guard of social platforms are looking more and more like AOL, Prodigy and similar walled-garden gatekeepers. We've been through this in that dial-up-enabled heyday and have followed a similar cycle once again. We can let these companies and gatekeepers fade because they aren't — and never were — the platform. The web has always been open and continues to be.

Having watched this cycle complete twice now myself, I'm inclined to believe he's correct. His call to "us" (developers, designers, creators, etc) to rebuild the web from the ashes of the current Big Tech burnouts is one I'll be following:

Communication can be slower, smaller in scale and healthier. Write a blog post, read another and author a thoughtful response. We don't need to scroll endlessly and we don't need content to be infinitely available.

The internet used wisely is a wonderful thing. Unfortunately, we're at the tail-end of a period where it has been misused in ways that have harmed, not helped humanity.

Here's to rebuilding.