We need more than 2 popular and accessible types of mobile OS 📱

We need more than 2 popular and accessible types of desktop OS 🖥️

We need more than 2 popular and accessible types of browsers  

We need more than 2 popular high-capacity cloud services ☁️

We need more than a 2 popular and secure end-to-end encrypted email services 📧

We need more than a few popular and secure end-to-end encrypted messaging apps 💬

We need SO much more diversity in tech!

There seems to be a tendency to just pit projects against each other (or buy each other) until we only get 2 options in the end. This is horrible for consumer choices, for security, for privacy, for resilience, and just leads to more enshitification everywhere once people are locked in systems without viable alternatives.

We need much more options, everywhere.
Celebrate and encourage diversity.
In tech, and everywhere else.

#Tech

Protocols matter, even to users

Protocols actually are important to users, even if they don't know it, and never will.

If there is a platform vendor, a company that owns the protocol and has the exclusive right to move it forward (because they own all the users basically) then progress stops. There's only one way for the platform to work.

That's why all these systems are such careful emulations of Twitter. Because they all practically speaking did the same thing that Twitter did, they have APIs but no one but them can be in the driver's seat.

If this were the web, as open as it was in the 90s and early 00s, such a vacuum would never last, it would quickly be filled by individual developers and startups. For me this is not theoretical, I've actually worked in this kind of ecosystem three times in my career. And I've also tried to get things done in a platform controlled by a big company, such as Apple, Microsoft, Google, IBM, and many more. I probably have done more of each kind that anyone else alive! So believe me, the protocols do matter.

I could write a few books about that. 😉

Public service announcement.

(Created by https://bsky.app/profile/campfireharve.st )

A pivotal moment for Europe is here.

And we are ready to step up and mobilise up to €800 billion for European defence by:

🛡️ Allowing EU countries to increase defence spending within budgetary rules

🇪🇺 Offering €150 billion in loans for defence investments

🏗️ Using cohesion funds for defence

📈 Boosting private investment

We will present these proposals to EU leaders at today's European Council meeting.

Europe is ready to assume its responsibilities.