Excursions

This is a must read article from Ben Werdmüller where he concisely conveys the problem around fake news¹ and also presents how different players in the system can contribute in their own way.

How can trust be regained by the media, and how could the web become more credible?

There are a few ways to approach the problem: from a bottom-up, user driven perspective; from the perspective of the publishers; from the perspective of the social networks used to disseminate information; and from the perspective of the web as a platform itself.

Social networks have to play a big part, changing their outlook, their perspective to the problem is important. And that is one aspect that is discussed the most. However, the other players in this - we the users, the publishers and the web as a platform will also have to play a significant role if this increasingly painful blight is to be addressed.

It was really fascinating to read Ben talk about the web - in his words “a peaceful, decentralized network of human knowledge and creativity, designed and maintained for everyone in the world”. That is perfect. As I had shared recently as part of another post, it is high time the web, and the gateways to the web, introduce more ways to capture the context from the readers and present the same in a simpler manner for all the future readers. A link can stay contextless, but it is important that the information it lays out is vetted by every one who consumes it.

It is welcome to see that groups like W3C Credible Web Community Group already exists and even the established players are getting involved to build a “more credible web”.

I wonder how is this still allowed on the App Store.

★ Liked “How I gained commit access to Homebrew in 30 minutes”

As an industry, we need to invest in the well being of core OSS software that we all use and depend on.

Every day dawns with a new lesson. There is just so much fun stuff to learn in the IndieWeb world. And play around with. I have booked myself at least a couple of weeks worth of work. Yay(!?)

★ Liked “First Amendment Experts Warn Facebook Banning InfoWars Could Set Completely Reasonable Precedent For Free Speech | The Onion”

“What we see here really could be the beginning of a slippery slope towards a horrific ordeal in which any citizen who violates hate speech policies or blatantly spreads lies that cause other individuals to receive death threats will immediately be discredited and, perhaps, even asked to host their demonstrably false content on a website that they actually own.”

After an extremely productive last couple of weeks, it was time to reflect on the days gone by and update the /now page. It is good every now and then to read through your recent posts. To see what worked well and what needs changed.

Micro.blog is the only service that I use which uses email-only authentication. And it is a win-some-lose-some experience. There are times, especially on mobile, when I love that there is no password involved. I open the email in my client, click a link and I am in. But then there are times, especially when I am on a system where I just don’t want to login to my email, I would prefer authenticating via a device I own, I trust - usually my mobile.

On IndieAuth front, I completely agree with Glenn. It is wonderful to login with your own website.

★ Liked “AWS icon quiz”

You use AWS, but how well do you actually know AWS? How many AWS icons can you correctly identify?

The Web is, without a doubt, the most powerful research tool currently available to man. No longer must researchers comb through endless indices and catalogues to find what they are looking for.

In spite of its tremendous improvements on what came before, however, the Web is frankly a disappointment in comparison to what it could be. Most saddening, perhaps, is the way in which the Web constrains the use of links. For example: although the link is the primary form of reference on the Web, underpinning the tangle of connections that make the system so useful, the ability to create new links is a privilege granted only to content producers. The vast majority of those interested in a piece of work are merely readers, unable to contribute, only to consume.

Even though a bit unrealistic, this work by Joe Savage around open hypermedia is a fascinating exploration of what happens when you take link-based web systems outside of the web browsers. The possibilities are endless as it opens up a completely new paradigm to hyper linking — this takes it across all apps.

And therein lies the biggest friction for this concept. Expecting every app to support this is too much to ask from the developers who are already running thin meeting the changing expectations of the primary platform they are built for.

The simple goal of bringing annotations to the web (which should address some of the concerns the open hypermedia attempts to handle) itself has been attempted so many times, but has failed to stick.

Anyway, for the research community, the prototype system as demonstrated below should work wonders. And they might welcome this. But it is a long shot to expect this to be implemented and accepted anytime soon.

I also believe Bloomberg’s this statement, though accurate, is misguided.

“(…) unless you really love Apple, there aren’t many reasons to buy this expensive phone.”

This is not India specific, that is believed to be Apple’s user base across the world.

..related