blaine
@kissane 1000% this.
To take a small part of what you're saying and to be massively reductionist, as far as the technical stuff, goes:
RSS = Software-agnostic "what's happening with my website"
ActivityPub = Software-agnostic "what's happening with my website"
atproto = Software-agnostic "what's happening with my website"
It would be way healthier if we framed the distinctions more like those between JPEG, DNG, and PNG.
blaine
@kissane @polotek the particulars of a given technology matter, but the best technologies are those that can be invisibly replaced and upgraded.
As someone who's worked on protocols, my biggest feeling of success comes when the thing grows beyond what my original imagination and/or capacity was, becomes something bigger, and no-one but some boffins notice.
Getting excited about technology can be great – getting religious about it? Can we not, please? 😅
Evan Prodromou
@blaine @kissane @polotek it's not about the technology. That's a smokescreen.
Folks from these startups are trying to frame their efforts at enclosing the commons as a technology difference. So and so proprietary protocol is soooo much better than the open standard.
But it's not about the tech; it's about governance. VCs are betting their investment companies can sweep the board and own the entire ecosystem. That's how venture capital works.
blaine
@kissane there are cultural differences on the various networks, to be sure, but negotiating THAT is a conversation that actually goes somewhere.
Being someone who only uses PNG – and only communicates with people who also use PNG – because it's somehow a better technology? The sooner we can get past that particular phase of all of this, the better.
As @polotek started with, the reasons people choose one network over another are just so unrelated to technology it's not even funny.
Evan Prodromou
@blaine @kissane @polotek The fediverse has a different vision. There are over 100 known implementers of ActivityPub. Nobody is in charge; the technology is open and unpatented. Anyone can play.
That's not about bits on the wire; it's about people, social interaction, and frankly about control.
Evan Prodromou
@blaine @kissane @polotek our vision is better. Everyone gets to win -- not just a few series A funds on Sand Hill Road. That's why I'm going to keep fighting for it.
Evan Prodromou
@blaine @kissane @polotek one thing I do like is seeing hundreds of millions of dollars going into distributed social networking. It's unfortunate that it's done in that winner-take-all VC game, but it's a good signal.
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