Google Reader quits? That's wonderful, because...
This is a WONDERFUL occasion
These days half the Internet is upset because Google Reader is about to quit. I am not. I am really happy about these news, because this is a wonderful occasion for everybody to consider again something that I have been suggesting for a while now.
I couldn’t care less about the end of Google Reader for the same reason why I would have no problem at all if services like Gmail, Del.icio.us, Blogspot etc… closed tomorrow. Because I do the same things with open alternatives that:
- have been around for years
- do not need any central service provider (aka “single point of failure”)
- can run on any home computer or on any hosting account, maybe even free ones
- I could move in any moment to any other hosting provider, without any service interruption, if the original one went out of business or blocked my account for any reason
Alternatives to Google, Facebook and friends already exist. They must only be integrated as I explained here to become really usable by everybody.
What’s happening with Google Reader proves, assuming it was still needed, that maybe it’s time to spend a bit less resources to explain and fund startups that may “become the next Google”. Maybe it’s time to fund somebody, even if it were just some really out-of-fashion Software Faculty of some public University, to minimize our current and future dependence by any behemoth of that kind. See here for practical details.
Who writes this, why, and how to help
I am Marco Fioretti, tech writer and aspiring polymath doing human-digital research and popularization.
I do it because YOUR civil rights and the quality of YOUR life depend every year more on how software is used AROUND you.
To this end, I have already shared more than a million words on this blog, without any paywall or user tracking, and am sharing the next million through a newsletter, also without any paywall.
The more direct support I get, the more I can continue to inform for free parents, teachers, decision makers, and everybody else who should know more stuff like this. You can support me with paid subscriptions to my newsletter, donations via PayPal (mfioretti@nexaima.net) or LiberaPay, or in any of the other ways listed here.THANKS for your support!