“The poster’s guide to the Internet of the future” via verge, via @manton
Encouraged to see the evolution of thinking around individual posting on the web - the resurgence of some tools, the creation of new ones, and the emergence of web standards to enable.
The term POSSE that’s part of this conversation was new to me, but the concept not, as I’ve tried to achieve of version of this over the last 17 years (e.g., eschewing Facebook posting as it wasn’t open, using Buffer for professional posting, etc.)
The challenges described in the latter half of this article are noteworthy, however, and without adequate answer, will prevent the vision from being realized.
On the cross-posting side, the variety of platform standards does seem to necessitate a two-step process, or at least a real-time visualization within the POSSE composition platform. Buffer had to go this approach because hidden, rules-based programming doesn’t adequately address.
The threading of mentions and replies also presents a challenge, though this seems more achievable.
For both of the above, the walls erected by the platform silos seem the greatest friction point. They know that part of their value comes from the walled garden effect and the exclusivity effect. A generous view would also attribute an interest in avoiding detritus on their platform. I imagine a robust identity authentication schema would be part of a solution.
But I’m hopeful this movement continues to advance as I think it does form a better web of interconnected humans than what we have now.