#Love in the Decentralized Web

[nxlvb4]

Love in the Decentralized Web

It was the summer of 2035, and the world had changed in ways Olivia never imagined. The towering giants of the internet—Facebook, Google, Instagram—had begun to loosen their iron grip, giving way to a new era of decentralization. Users no longer had to rely on big tech to control their data or feed their content into a vacuum, hoping for a glimpse of visibility. The future, everyone said, was in…

[trothplighted]

Ok so first of all I just spent hours scrolling on your blog, I’m obsessed with your meta posts, they’re so well thought through and intriguing.

I am curious about your thoughts about Peter/how he was portrayed in the early days of the fandom. I originally got into the HP fandom back in 2010ish and for a long time I didn’t question Peter being constantly left out of fanfics and fanart because the Peter that we meet in PoA is just inherently unlikeable. Re-evaluating as an adult, I want Peter there (specifically in the context of first war fics). His betrayal is so much worse when he actually exists as a friend to the other Marauders, and I hate that it gets overlooked. And I really have a hard time coming up with a reason for his exclusion that isn’t just… fatphobia.

I re-entering the fandom last year after being out of it for nearly a decade, and now characters like BCJR and Evan Rosier and Regulus Black (who have been characterized by fans as hugely attractive) play a huge role in fanon, but Peter (who is canonically fat and a bit ugly) is still often left out. And idk I’ve been thinking a lot about how JKR associates moral goodness with attractiveness (Peter is fat and I believe at one point is actually referred to as looking like a rat, Sirius is described as attractive while Regulus is essentially described as mid, Snape, back in PS when we're introduced to him and supposed to think he's awful, has greasy hair and yellow teeth, Umbridge is described as looking like a toad). I know this is not unique to JKR but I think it has played a huge role in how fans view Peter, whose character could be so interesting to explore but is just… not even included half of the time.

I also get really irritated that he’s one of the only characters consistently headcanoned as aroace. And of course, aroace headcanons are good and lovely, I myself am aspec and love to see the representation within headcanons, but it really irks me that the only canonically fat character (I’m pretty sure he’s the only one? Correct me if I’m wrong) is so regularly headcanoned as aroace. It just feels like people projecting their own fat=undesirable perspectives onto him.

Anyway this ended up being way longer than I anticipated, but I’d love to hear your Peter thoughts :)

So this took a long time because I wanted to do enough broad research to make sure my memories matched up with broader fandom trends - the HP fandom has always been big, and since it began in a decentralized era of the web tracking it has always been hard. But from what I’ve been able to see I more or less had the right of it from the start, so let’s dig in.

The question of what to do with Peter has always been kind of a messy and complicated one. You can find comments and feedback on fanworks globally across multiple languages voicing contradictory opinions on him, and criticizing or praising his inclusion or exclusion or characterization, essentially as far back as you can find Marauders-era fanworks online. People would praise a story for incorporating him well, for treating him like an equal friend among the four boys, for giving him good qualities, and for not writing him like a villain-to-be. Some stories like The Shoebox Project made an effort to make him an equal protagonist, while many others would present Sirius-James-Remus as a tight-knit trio with a bonus hanger-on in Peter. And you can see based on the commentary (check Fanlore for this, particularly their records of things like fanbooks and doujinshi) that there were a lot of people who thought like you did - why not make him a full-fledged equal member? Isn’t that how he was? Maya’s “Sirius Black, Super Genius” (not hosted by the author anywhere but you can find reuploads and archives if you Google) is useful here - it’s a bit of a crackfic and definitely a comedy but Peter is a present character who feels very authentic to how I remember him in the fics that were kind to him.

For once I don’t think we can necessarily call this fatphobia’s fault. It wasn’t until OotP that we had any idea of what Peter looked like as a teenager, and several people headcanoned that he (like many people) was thinner as a student and a young man than he was as an adult, at least if the fanart is anything to go by. This is of course a different kind of fatphobia, linking innocence and good qualities with thinness, but if Peter isn’t seen as universally or uniformly fat by the fandom it does mean they’re treating him with a kinder and more nuanced hand. I think it comes from the fact that for five years, including the Three Year Summer that was the first generation of HP fandom’s major creative period, our only awareness of Peter was as a traitor or as the boy who grew into a traitor. People wanted to create reasons for that, so they made him the least-close of the four Marauders, or they made him the least intelligent, or the least Gryffindor-like (meaning here that he was least likely to break rules for fun or take risks for fun, and the most cowardly). People didn’t consistently want to make him a hero, because he wasn’t a character with a future to be spun out. There were sympathetic villains or charismatic antagonists who had devoted followings of their own, but these were people like Lucius or Draco or Snape or even Young Sexy Diary Tom Riddle rather than Peter.

I don’t think this necessarily had to do with physical appearance (Snape’s greasy unwashed hair, confirmed teenage acne, and canonical unattractiveness weren’t obstacles even before Alan Rickman was cast), I think it had to do with personality - there wasn’t anything that most people who woobified or sexified villains could work with in Peter. He was a spineless coward, and his second appearance in GoF made him even more spineless and weak and whimpering. Even his complicated potion and resurrection ritual work is unappreciated by the narrative - Voldemort negs him through it for the whole school year, and Harry justifiably doesn’t really care that it’s cool as shit that he grew a whole new body in a cauldron.

I tend to challenge Rowling’s attitudes about all of her characters, which is a substantial effort because she’s deeply opinionated about every single one of them, but Peter is difficult as fuck to flesh out because we essentially know nothing about him beyond his betrayal. We don’t know what his dynamic with the others was really like. We don’t know how he felt about them, because he never talks about them where we can see it beyond the conversation in PoA. We also don’t know many details of how they felt about him except that both Sirius and Remus would have died to protect him rather than turn traitor, though this is probably true of many people besides Peter, especially among other Order members. And when you look strictly at his deeds and his canonical dialogue, when you remove authorial motivation and judgment, what he did still sucks real bad. We can’t immediately presume he was dealing with trauma or working through internalized prejudices, we can’t identify abusive family or community members, we can’t say with canonical backing that he was probably feeling overshadowed in his friend group due to the actions of Sirius and James. All we’ve got is that when it mattered he broke. And people don’t really know what to do with that.

To your point about BCJR and Regulus and Evan Rosier - Rosier is a blank slate, we can do what we like with him (I personally don’t care about him); BCJR and Regulus both have characterization details like people who remember them and parents who exist in the text beyond one mention. They’re more solidly fleshed out as characters (and of course it’s funny because people choose to ignore those canonical character traits in favor of building their own, such is the way of fandom) which gives them more to do and more space to take up. Peter has one character trait, and it’s “sucks real bad”. Even Umbridge comes off better, because a sympathetic or JKR-critical reading of the text can find a lot of fertile ground in examining someone whose gender presentation is naturally hyperfeminine and who clearly loves being a girl but who isn’t conventionally attractive and who never was. Peter doesn’t even have that.

Regarding sexuality headcanons - I do think allo people generally tend to assign arospec and aspec headcanons to characters they personally find “least fuckable”. I don’t think this is a conscious decision necessarily, I think it’s the safe option for many fans, but I do think that it comes out here with Peter. There aren’t any ships people are really feral for that have Peter in them, and he’s both too defined to have a place in post-2016 Marauders Build Your Own Canon and too undefined to have a place in canon-compliant works that rely on canon characterization to inform the relationship dynamics. So he gets handed the arospec and aspec rep, and people don’t necessarily mean anything negative by it but it does pretty neatly stick him into the “nobody has to feel complicated or sad about him being gone or being evil” box.

Historically, he was usually an unlucky-in-love straight boy who was just as girl-crazy as James was and Sirius was/pretended to be. (Bisexual Sirius was the fandom norm for a very brief window in time and fairly common for a decent while because of how hot and charismatic and presumably-slutty he was, because fandom is a reflection of society and that’s how the early 2000s felt about bi people. Post-HBP bi Remus became much more common and Sirius was firmly relegated to being 100% homo 100% of the time.) Part of it is that asexuality and aromanticism were very rarely discussed in broad fandom spaces, part of it was that if a character wasn’t gay/bi they were perceived as straight automatically, and part of it was again simply that nobody really could agree on what to do with him. You’d see a few fics that would expand on his affections and attractions, but they didn’t take hold in the public consciousness.

So - that’s more or less where we stand. I think Peter’s probably the only character whose position in fandom now is more or less exactly what it was 20 years ago. Isn’t that fascinating?

[essential-randomness]

Enter the FujoVerse™

Starting 2024's content creation journey with a bang, it's time to outline the principles behind the FujoVerse™: an ambitious (but realistic) plan to turn the web back into a place of fun, joy, and connection, where people build and nurture their own communities and software. (You can also read the article on my blog)

The Journey

As those who follow my journey with @bobaboard or read my quarterly newsletter (linked in the article) know, the used-to-be-called BobaVerse™ is a collection of projects I've been working on since 2020 while pondering an important question: how do we "fix" the modern social web?

Obviously the joyless landscape that is the web of today is not something a single person can fix. Still, I loved and owed the internet too much to see it wither.

After countless hours of work, I found 3 pillars to work on: community, software ownership and technical education.

Jump in after the cut to learn more about how it all comes together!

Community

Community is where I started from, with good reason! While social networks might trick us into thinking of them as communities, they lack the characteristics that researchers identify as the necessary base for "true community": group identity, shared norms, and mutual concern.

Today, I'm even more convinced community is a fundamental piece of reclaiming the web as a place of joy. It's alienating, disempowering, and incredibly lonely to be surrounded by countless people without feeling true connection with most of them (or worse, feeling real danger).

Software Ownership and Collaboration

As I worked with niche communities "software ownership" also became increasingly important to me: if we cannot expect mainstream tech companies to cater to communities at the margins, it follows that these communities must be able to build and shape their own software themselves.

Plenty of people have already discussed how this challenge goes beyond the tech. Among many, "collaboration" is another sticking point for me: effective collaboration requires trust and psychological safety, both of which are in short supply these days (community helps here too, but it's still hard).

Education (Technical and Beyond)

As I worked more and more with volunteers and other collaborators, however, another important piece of the puzzle showed itself: the dire state of educational material for non-professional web developers. How can people change the web if they cannot learn how to *build* the web?

(And yes, learning HTML and CSS is absolutely important and REAL web development. But to collaborate on modern software you need so much more. Even further, people *yearn* for more, and struggle to find it. They want that power, and we should give it to them.)

Once again, technical aspects aren't the only ones that matter. Any large-scale effort needs many skills that society doesn't equip us with. If we want to change how the web looks, we must teach, teach, TEACH! If you've seen me put so much effort into streaming, this is why :)

And obviously, while I don't go into them in this article, open source software and decentralized protocols are core to "this whole thing".

The Future

All of this said, while I've been working on this for a few years, I've struggled to find the support I need to continue this work. To this end, this year I'm doing something I'm not used to: producing content, gaining visibility, and putting my work in front of the eyes of people that want to fight for the future of the web.

This has been a hard choice: producing content is hard and takes energy and focus away from all I've been doing. Still, I'm committed to doing what it takes, and (luckily) content and teaching go hand in hand. But the more each single person helps, the less I need to push for wide reach.

If you want to help (and read the behind the scenes of all I've been working on before everyone else), you can subscribe to my Patreon or to my self-hosted attempt at an alternative.

I deeply believe that in the long term all that we're building will result in self-sustaining projects that will carry this mission forward. After all, I'm building them together with people who understand the needs of the web in a way that no mainstream company can replicate.

Until we get there, every little bit of help (be it monetary support, boosting posts, pitching us to your friends, or kind words of encouragement and support) truly matters.

In exchange, I look forward to sharing more of the knowledge and insights I've accrued with you all :)

And once again, to read or share this post from the original blog, you can find it here.

[dailydemonspotlight]

Alilat - Day 44

Race: Entity

Arcana: Empress

Alignment: Light-Chaos

June 13th, 2024

A personal favorite kind of demon throughout the series has to be the ones that are completely alien- demons that look like they originated from a psychological study, or living beings that, by all means, look like they shouldn't be real. Demons of this kind are surprisingly few and far between, with most appearing as rather standard depictions of monsters or humanoid beings, but when the artists dip their toes into the strange, almost beyond this world, I fall in love with the designs the instant I lay my eyes on them. One of these, of course, is today's Demon of the Day, and a strange outcast even among the strangest demons throughout the series- the ill-known Mother Goddess of the Arabian Peninsula, Alilat.

Mostly known by one of her many names, al-Lat, Alilat is a relatively obscure goddess in the grand scheme of history. As a pre-islamic goddess worshipped in Arabia, a lot of history surrounding her is hard to parse, even down to the exact areas that her reign was present within, but the general consensus appears to be that she was mainly worshipped in several widespread cults throughout Arabia during its pre-islamic days. Another name of hers, Allat, has actually been the name of several goddesses throughout several different areas in history as well, making her story even more confusing to dig through. The tangled webs of tales and future conflations between her and other deities make her an incredibly confusing deity to sift through the facts about.

Our first recorded mention of Alilat actually comes in the form of a retelling from Greek scholar Herodotus, who, in his book 'Histories' wrote,

"They believe in no other gods except Dionysus and the Heavenly Aphrodite; and they say that they wear their hair as Dionysus does his, cutting it round the head and shaving the temples. They call Dionysus, Orotalt; and Aphrodite, Alilat."

I will admit to copying that passage from Wikipedia, but I'm not about to sift through a copy of such a massive transcript to search for a single line. Interestingly, this transcription by Herodotus actually has a conflict with how most other people drew comparisons- it was commonly believed, and still is today, that Alilat was actually the ancient Arabian's version of Athena. As a goddess of motherhood and fertility, as well as peace, she shares some similar traits to Athena in greek myth, as they also both share a trait as a goddess of war. Where this came from is described in several Safaitic inscriptions, as she used to be invoked by travelers through the region in order to guarantee peace, prosperity, and protection, while warriors at the time would invoke her name to ensure good loot and those attacked would invoke her for vengeance. As one of two principal deities, she seemed to be stuck working overtime a lot.

This is also proven by how scattered her inscriptions are throughout Africa- there are only few given, and most of them are in vastly different areas, giving light to the idea that her cult was widespread but decentralized. And yes, it was a cult, not a formalized religion, as her worship was incredibly sparse. She was revered by many names and even more traditions, including a northern Arabian tribe known as the Qedarites, the widespread peoples of the Nabataeans, and even those residing within the largest Parthian city of its time, Hatra. A lost city known as Iram of the Pillars was also a home of Alilat worship, with them having erected a temple that has now been buried beneath the sands- tragically, all that has been left was a few pillars and a crumbled statue of a lion, but accounts and some small inscriptions on the inside of the temple revealed that it originally had a gorgeous statue of Alilat inside, resembling none other than Athena.

Unfortunately, as time went on, the temple fell into disrepair, having been the target of an attack from Greek forces, then utterly demolished in the fourth century by Christian mobs. You can read more about it on the blog I linked above. However, in terms of Mythology, there's still a bit more to go. Al-Lat wasn't just the deity of a cult, but also appears in Islamic tradition as well, fulfilling a similar purpose to Ba'al in some respects as a false god, though one depicted far more sympathetically. In some retellings, she's not even that, and is instead a daughter of Allah, or even a consort of his in others. Alilat was also the subject of the infamous Satanic Verses incident, something that is beyond the scope of this post, but is an incredibly interesting (and kinda hilarious) rabbit hole to dig through.

In the Book of Idols, an encyclopedia on pre-islamic religion in Africa written by scholar Hisham ibn al-Kalbi, it's written that a group of the Quraysh would chant a set of verses celebrating al-Lat, al-'Uzza, and Manat, of which al-Lat is our subject of interest. A common translation purports the word used to refer to them as a collective, gharaniq, to mean "Most exalted females," but this is hotly debated. Again, see the Satanic Verses incident. Lastly, she is mentioned in the Quran, albeit rarely, and, again, as the subject of the Satanic Verses incident. This is starting to feel like the noodle incident of this post.

I wish I could've shown her uncensored design, but alas, I have no idea if it'd pass the 'Female presenting nipple' guideline, but take it from me when I say that Alilat has an amazing design. Combining her esoteric and hard to sort through lore with her role as a mother goddess was a great call, as it makes her both unique and almost unsettling, even in this series rife with body horror. Even the titties, which I normally see no real point in having on a lot of designs and just feel like gratuitous fanservice (cough cough LAMIA) serve a purpose, as what does a mother do but breastfeed? The idea to portray her almost like a piece of art on a bizarre, floating obelisk was such a cool concept, and it was done perfectly.

I also love how the imagery associated with Alilat on the stone itself resembles stone-age portraits of how a body would look, more specifically the Venus of Willendorf, a famous sculpture that is typically used to represent fertility, tying it all together. Given that this inscription was also carved into stone in Alilat's design, and it ties everything together. Not only does her design look unique even for the series, not only does it tie so many ideas together in neat little bows, not only is it glowing, but it's all also brought together in representing one of the most mysterious and interesting gods in history, and demons in the series.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

This day in history

#15yrsago Mall cops in Norwich, England get police powers https://web.archive.org/web/20091220231959/http://www.edp24.co.uk/content/edp24/news/story.aspx

#15yrsago Kenyan bike-mechanic’s homemade tools https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEeyY09YzEY

#15yrsago Science fiction fandom is 80 today https://web.archive.org/web/20091214023834/http://www.tor.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=blog&id=58405

#15yrsago English anti-terror cops ask nursery school workers to watch 4 year olds for signs of “radicalization” https://web.archive.org/web/20100106032907/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article6952503.ece

#15yrsago Just look at this awesome EU banana curvature regulation. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CONSLEG:1994R2257:20060217:EN:PDF

#15yrsago Anti-Olympic mural censored in Vancouver https://web.archive.org/web/20091214014017/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/vancouver-orders-removal-of-anti-olympic-mural/article1396541/

#15yrsago RIAA, MPAA and US Chamber of Commerce declare war on blind and disabled people https://web.archive.org/web/20091214062920/https://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/12/blind_block/

#15yrsago Dr Peter Watts, Canadian science fiction writer, beaten and arrested at US border https://memex.craphound.com/2009/12/11/dr-peter-watts-canadian-science-fiction-writer-beaten-and-arrested-at-us-border/

#10yrsago Google News shuts down in Spain https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/12/google-news-shuts-shop-spain-thanks-ancillary-copyright-law

#10yrsago Calling out the doctors who abetted CIA torture https://kottke.org/14/12/medical-profession-aided-cia-torture

#10yrsago Lawquake! Judge rules that explaining jailbreaking isn’t illegal https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/12/pointing-users-drm-stripping-software-isnt-copyright-infringement-judge-rules

#10yrsago We know you love privacy, Judge Posner. We just wish you’d share. https://www.techdirt.com/2014/12/09/judge-posner-says-nsa-should-be-able-to-get-everything-that-privacy-is-overrated/

#10yrsago Furry convention evacuated after chlorine-gas attack https://www.themarysue.com/furry-con-terrorist-attack/

#5yrsago Twitter wants to develop an open, decentralized, federated social media standard…and then join it https://www.techdirt.com/2019/12/11/twitter-makes-bet-protocols-over-platforms/

#5yrsago The true nature of creativity: pilfering and recombining the work of your forebears (who, in turn, pilfered and recombined) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CB1KE5dbOZo

#5yrsago South Carolina’s feudal magistrate system may take a modest step toward modernization https://www.propublica.org/article/we-investigated-magistrates-now-lawmakers-want-to-overhaul-the-system

#1yrago Daddy-Daughter Podcast 2023 https://pluralistic.net/2023/12/11/daddy-daughter-2023/#not-bye

[sodaliteskull]

Top 5 Things I Enjoy Writing About

I appreciate the tag @byjillianmaria! You can find hers over here!

This one's an open tag, but I'm also hitting up @noblebs, @noveldivergence, and @wintherlywords (no pressure though!)

*Hatsune Miku voice* ~Women~: I know this is the piss on the poor website, so upfront disclaimer about how this is not in reference to actual living, breathing, IRL people (HAVE WE ALL UNDERSTOOD THAT?!?), but I am fucking sick of men! "Male" has been the default gender, the default POV in stories for eons now, and I'm tired of it! Men bore me!!! I want to write about men the way misogynist men write about women - in that there is only one of them (if any at all!!!), and they're only there to advance the female character's story (by being fridged, most likely!!!)! I want to write about WOMEN!!!! I want to write about them being cunning and clever, as badasses and bastards, as both the princess and the knight!!! You know, like how women actually are in real life!!! Decentralize men? Honey, they're not even in my orbit!!! NO BOYS ALLOWED!!!! I'M EXHAUSTED!!!!!

Monsters as metaphors: Tale as old as time here, but I love it when a creature is actually a stand in for something a little more abstract. Vampires as a the fear of foreigners come to despoil our delicate Victorian sensibilities, Godzilla as the spectre of nuclear annihilation, werewolves as the visceral and horrifying changes girls go through when they enter puberty, that's some good shit!!! Any time I have some kind of monster in any of my stories, please know that it actually represents something else!

When a plan comes together: I love when people are in cahoots, when they get up to shenanigans, when games are afoot and capers are carried out! Heists? Delicious. When it looks like the antagonists have thwarted the protagonist's plans, but that was actually accounted for in the plans all along and they've actually fallen even deeper into the protagonist's web?! SUBLIME.

Hashtag Squad Goals: Having people grouped up for whatever arbitrary reason the plot demands is such a neat little way to get to play with a bunch of different dynamics all at once! These two are ride or die, but these two don't see eye to eye, and yet they're all the best of buds! How does that work?! I love getting to show the ins and outs of that!

Ancient Aliens: I don't mean the concept that all historical feats of engineering carried out by non-White™️ cultures were actually done by aliens (THAT concept makes me fucking furious!!!), but instead the theory of panspermia, of life originating elsewhere in the universe and being seeded across the stars. My favourite flavour of THAT is life originating on Earth, but then being brought elsewhere, with humans as basically food stock for some more advanced race! I was digging through my WIP pile the other day, and I realized that concept crops up A LOT for me!

[bawwsadface]

cohost is dead, long live tumblr (again)

in 2023 i took a liking to the independent blog platform cohost.org. it was a very cool, very principled website that offered a taste of the old internet with a splash of the posting-centric new net. it functioned very similar to tumblr, but attracted its own type of crowd. mostly millennials burnt out on the death march of the modern web. those of us old enough to have been on forums and been on irc and been in ancient aol chatrooms. those of us who remember a more decentralized internet. one that felt like a destination as opposed to an ever cancerous appendage of modern life.

cohost was cool. everybody on it was chill and we all used that space for different things. but all outlets were equally as expressive. it was a place to try new things, to do old things you hadn't done online in 10 or 15 years, to post like you used to pre-2010, and it was a place to find community. many of us migrated over there with a handful of friends and formed a comforting online space together. i know i very much enjoyed my time there.

and i used it to practice my skills writing. taking a crack at longer form blogs and formulating in-depth and involved writing projects for the future. i love the stuff i wrote on there, and it gave me the confidence to use that skill more often and on other ventures. i think i'm gonna start making youtube video essays. i think i was always destined to follow this path, glad my writing feels worth the effort of trying now.

cohost also made me realize that to have a decentralized web again, or to usher in a new age of the web that is untethered from algorithms and the prying hands of the devilish tech sector, you have to build your own communities. you have to work outside the major forces and try and grow an online coalition. or at least online spaces that aren't hostile. you have to build a website. you have to make a blog. you should start an rss feed. and you shouldn't use squarespace. it's time to learn html buddy. cuz the internet you want is not the one that gets venture capital funding. a better web is possible, but it's not going to be handed to us, we have to make it.

in the meantime tho, while i learn how to do all that, i'm coming back here. to the one social media site that will always have me back without judgment. at least for a little while. look forward to more writing. and thanks to those who still follow the blog and look at it all these years later. love yall.

[aquaiznet]

Hello! I’m Iznet (it/its), welcome to my blog!

What is this blog? ‘Tis my main blog. Here are some of my other blogs:

@artizitnot - sfw art blog (empty)

@iznet-others-art-archive - minimal use blog for works of art(not just illustrations) I want to see again in the far far future

=+=+=+=

What I do for fun:

Listen to music

Read web novels

Play video games

What I love:

Music, shape/form, Isopods, teeth, industrial machines, apples

What I like:

Insects, pixel art, scalies, machines, computers, chimeras/shapeshifters, magic, physics, electricity, language, analogue technology, and more

…

…

That’s all, I wish you luck in these severely fucked times.

…

Reminder to self: warn excessive use of punctuation

[meeedeee]

"We will find or make another place, eventually. It won’t be exactly the same. It never really is. But we’ll gather again, and they’ll burn it down again, and we’ll start over again. Some of us will lose everything in the cracks between safe spaces. Some of us won’t. It’s impossible to predict who will be who. We just keep trying. Keep trying not to let each other fall. I’m exhausted but that doesn’t mean I get to stop.

Doesn’t mean we get to stop.

Don’t ever stop talking to each other. It’s what the internet is really and truly for. Talk to each other and listen to each other. But don’t ever stop connecting. Be a prodigy of the new world. Stand up for the truth no matter how often they take our voices away and try to replace the idea of reality with fucking insane Lovecraftian shit. Don’t give up, don’t let them have this world. Love things. Love people. Love the small and the weird and the new....

Geeks, though. Us weird geeks making communities in the ether? We love. We love so stupidly hard. We try to be happy. We get enthusiastic and devote ourselves to saving whales and trees and cancelled science fiction shows and each other. The energy we make in these spaces, the energy we make when we support and uplift and encourage and excite each other is something people like Musk can never understand or experience, which is why they keep smashing the windows in to try and get it, only to find the light they hungered for is already gone. Moved on, always a little beyond their reach....

Because that’s what we have to do. Be each other’s pen pals. Talk. Share. Welcome. Care. And just keep moving. Stay nimble. Maybe we have to roll the internet back a little and go back to blogs and decentralized groups and techy fiddling and real-life conventions and idealists with servers in their closets. Back to Diaryland and Minnesota and grandiose usernames and thoughts that take ever so much more than 280 characters to express. That’s okay. We can do that. We know how. We’re actually really good at it. Love things and love each other. We’re good at that, too. Protect the vulnerable. Make little things. Wear electric blue eyeshadow. Take a picture of your breakfast. Overthink Twin Peaks. Get angry. Do revolutions. Find out what Buffy character you are. Don’t get cynical. Don’t lose joy. Be us. Because us is what keeps the light on when the night comes closing in. Us doesn’t have a web address. We are wherever we gather. Mastodon, Substack, Patreon, Dreamwidth, AO3, Tumblr, Discord, even the ruins of Twitter, even Facebook and Instagram and Tiktok, god help us all. Even Diaryland."

[inkofamethyst]

July 2, 2025

I am in fact knitting as a manifesto.  I know John Oliver was just making a joke, but he was kind of right.

Knitting and Crafting as Subversion of Neoliberalism <3

Dumb phones, home labs, indie web.  I wonder if there will be a widespread movement to reject convenience.  I wonder how capitalists could, well, capitalize.  Technofeudalism is seeping into the common lexicon, and while I wasn’t convinced it was anything more than a doomerist panic the first time I’d heard of it (granted, I hadn’t read the book that coined the term), I am coming around to it.  I may give the book a read, actually.  I am becoming more and more interested in decentralization.

I think I am, in some ways, already part of some movement to reject convenience through my interest in garment construction, fibercraft, textile engineering, whatever you want to call it.  I think there is a lot of messaging that paints technology as being complex and inaccessible to the general public.  That it’s not worth us understanding what’s happening under the hood, and that we can just kind of leave the hard stuff to the tech bros, while we, in exchange, become the product.  But there are some people who are actively rejecting this idea and who are documenting how they change their interactions with technology.  And I’ve kind of been digging it?  Like a lot?  I can’t pinpoint when it started, but a couple years ago I thought about building my own PC to make it repairable, then I started hearing about de-googling and why internet privacy was actually important, then binging f4mi videos kind of kicked my interest up a gear.

I’ve sort of been dipping my toes into this movement from a tech perspective (I think historybounding crowd really primed me for this, by the way, as one of the central tenets of those popular in the scene were to have a strong understanding of how the modern-day fashion/clothing environment is distinctly harmful despite its ease and that struggling against that ease could be a valuable use of one’s time (yes, this admittedly does assume a certain level of privilege for the typical or popular historybounder, but that’s a conversation for another day).).  I’ll occasionally see and watch a video on de-googling or making an internet in a box or making a disaster-proof laptop (one video I saw put a whole locally-running large language model into their doomsday machine which is dope), but something about it feels slightly out of reach.  There are the things I can easily define: lack of time, lack of skill.  And the less-easy to define: not wanting to fail.  I suppose that, like, my toxic trait is my belief that I can do anything with enough time and focus.  So I think that fear of failure is really baked in from the subtle messaging that “It would be difficult for me to learn this; just let the educated tech bros handle it.  I’ll just take what they give me.”  But then there is this part of me that rails against that idea.  And so I feel a bit caught and I’m not sure how to best unstick myself.  I think the problem is that I don’t know where to start.

I was recommended Pewdiepie’s (I know, I know, I know, I know, I know.  I know.) de-googling and linux videos recently and this is the first time I’ve seen an example of one of these workspaces rather than a tutorial or explanation of how these personalized, customizable workspaces can be useful.  And his was lovely.  I’m sure it took a ton of time but it’s kind of what I was looking to build with my Spacedock in Notion but just supercharged (I’m even “larping” Star Trek the way that he’s “larping” his nuclear reactor thing, haha).  I have the linux subsystem on windows.  Pewds mentioned that you could install a linux distro and keep windows, at least while starting out.  Maybe that’s a winter project?

Limiting the bloat that comes with all of the software which has become part of our daily lives (Windows, Chrome, Google Apps) not only has the benefit of customizability (in addition to just having increased technical knowledge) but also improving privacy and reducing the drain on one's devices which should make them last longer and be more environmentally friendly (even if marginally). Fewer charges reduces strain on the grid.

To zoom out a little, I’m not sure if this is just because there’s a republican in power now or if it’s because it’s these particular republicans in power now or if it’s a backlash to technological overdependence or if these actions have been taking place for a long time but have only just now been coming to the forefront, but I’ve been hearing significantly more about “prepping” from people on the left recently.  I attended a one-off lecture several months ago about destigmatizing this idea of prepping by shifting the focus from protecting an individual to protecting one’s immediate community in the event of some disruption.  And I really connected with that. My island-friend had a friend tell her self-improvement doesn't need to be inherently selfish, as improving yourself helps you show up better for the people around you. That's stuck with me as well.

But really, where to start? Technologically, there are all of these services I'm interested in learning more about (nextcloud as a google apps alternative, proton mail (or something I heard of where you have an address that you keep secret but multiple aliases that you give out depending on the use case), jellyfin for creating my own content hub.. and so many more), but I'm kind of drawn to ani-cli as a potential first foray, haha. I might even be able to do it within WSL.

I shall draft up some plans. I love drafting plans. It helps me linearize.

Today I'm thankful for the local yarn store that I went to today. I was in there practically prancing around like a little kid for like an hour or something, completely giddy and overwhelmed with awe. I managed to find a lovely yarn to use for the socks I want to make my mom (after hunting in three different yarn stores around my uni's city). I got to feel a bunch of brands and noted the ones I liked the most. I think I may go back before I leave. And I'll likely return once more in August. I may never financially recover from this :P

I'm thankful for being able to laugh with my sister <3

[edit: also, found some dude who does stretch routines I like! if I stick with this daily through august I may buy a yoga mat]

[toniethetigr3]

Tech matters

I wanted to write something about Microsoft and the whole web 3.0 and decentralized thing with tech. A part of me feels passionate with the whole web 3.0 and decentralized culture in tech. Another part grew up using Microsoft products and watching Bill Gates. A third part feels a strong pull towards innovation and what Steve Jobs did with Apple is incredible.

Here's my torn take on the 3. I love Microsoft architecture and products in general. I don't like Apple but they are very innovative. As far as decentralized products like Linux feeds to my inner "hacker". Someday, I see decentralized computing being something far more than we can imagine. There are downsizes to it though. I've used Linux for a bit and was constantly frustrated always trying to troubleshoot problems.

For now I stick with Microsoft. If Microsoft started doing phones again, I'd prob get one but for now, I'm in a mix of all 3. I want to navigate towards Linux because of how I feel about privacy and that of my hacker identity. It's just so damn time consuming taking time to trying to figure it out. Of course, there's Google & Android but I'm not really a fan. Maybe someday, if I try to do some research but for now...

[timothyjchambers]

The Seven Deadly UX Sins of the Fediverse Web Experience (To Fix)

So, confession time: I was recently helping a new client get set up on the Fediverse—guiding them through their first steps into our glorious decentralized galaxy. And seeing it all again through fresh eyes?

Reader, it was brutal.

So much of what should be table stakes for any social media UX in the year of our Lord 2025 still is missing or deeply broken still. I know progress has been made and a good fight, fought. But those of us who love the Open Social Web can get blinded to the rough edges not yet fixed or not having lived with them, start to consider them not so bad. Beloved, they are that bad. Still.

Let me be crystal clear before we begin: I say all of the below with love for the fediverse.. Deep, stubborn, open-source-loving, billionaire-eschewing love. I want the Open Social Web to win. But wanting it isn’t enough. If we want this thing to thrive we have to face the user experience sins head-on—and maybe even laugh at them a little along the way.

<Caveate>I love native apps like Ivory or Mona or custom web UX like Elk or Phanpy as much or more than any of you but those are all UX bandaids over things we have needed to fix in most cases for years. That time is now.</Caveate>

So I jotted down the seven things that make my clients’ eyes cross. And no, this isn’t me dunking on one app or interface. Pixelfed—you’re not off the hook. No snickering, Friendica. These are Fediverse-wide sins.

And don’t get smug, Bluesky. You’ve got some whoppers in your closet too—and I’m saving those for another article.

So grab a cup of coffee—or maybe the nearest comfort blanket—and let’s soberly and bravely take a cathartic journey through the Deadly Sins that plague the Fediverse’s web UX.

(And any I missed in the comments to this blog post)

1️⃣ The Sin of Overwhelming Complexity: Instance Selection Paralysis

Ah yes, we start the OG sin. This one’s been haunting the Fediverse since before most people even knew the Fediverse existed. Again see this with fresh eyes:

Imagine the moment you decide to join the Fediverse. You’re feeling a tad noble. Brave. Ready to reclaim your digital life from Big Tech’s clutches.

Then… boom. You’re confronted with a cryptic list of servers, each with a name that sounds like a cross between a startup pitch and a medieval tavern.

Wait, what? “social.town or lemmy.world? climatejustice.social or a server with a frog logo? What am I signing up for here?” No warm hand-holding, no curated suggestion. Just a buffet of options that would make even a seasoned sysadmin’s head spin.No wonder so many people bail before they even get started. It’s like trying to join a secret club when no one will tell you the handshake.

And even our terms “Server” Or “Instance” make sense in an engineering flowchart but why in all that is holy would we foist those onto users to pretend to understand? At the very least we should talk about new folks joining a “server community” of fellow users.

And here’s the harsh truth: even offering more than one onboarding “server community” choice is often one too many. Even the fix at JoinMastodon for the mobile app only not the web app - while admirable and going in the right direction. If your onboarding flow requires a glossary, a decision tree, and a four-part documentary on federation theory, something’s gone very wrong. A multi-step wizard isn’t going to save you—it’s just a fancier maze. We’ve seen flows that bleed 50% of users per screen. That’s not onboarding, that’s a prescription for a slow-motion rage quit.

“But what about decentralization?” someone valiantly cries from the back row.

Don’t worry: I’m not selling it out. I adore decentralization as much as you and trust me, we don’t have to throw that out to give users onboard for the first time only one server choice. I hear you audibly confused now but trust me, wait for it.

For now I think we can agree that new users to the Fedi need an onboarding experience that doesn’t feel like a grad school entrance exam. I believe a far better way is possible, and I’ll spill the beans in the next post.

2️⃣ The Sin of Inconsistent Navigation: Timeline Turmoil

Congrats, you survived the Great Instance Selection Gauntlet™. You’ve picked your server, verified your email, maybe even uploaded a profile pic. You’re finally ready to explore your new digital neighborhood.

And then—bam. Three timelines.

Not one. Not two. Three.

Home, Local, Federated—each more enigmatic than the last. The Fediverse’s multiple timelines are a beautiful idea in theory, but in practice?

Home: Hopefully your cozy friends’ chatter.

Local: Pretty much your instance’s collective brain dump.

Federated: the cosmic firehose of everything, everywhere, all at once. Many are sure to be in languages you don’t speak. Basically: digital chaos in reverse-chron order.

New users are expected to intuit the metaphysical difference between timelines, And honestly—why should new users care? What does each one do for them?

What problem is it solving? No really, I’ll wait.

3️⃣ The Sin of Remote Interaction Purgatory: Federation Gymnastics

One of the Fediverse’s great promises is universal interaction—no matter which server someone calls home, you can still follow them, reply, boost, interact. In theory? Utopian.

In practice—for web users—it’s an absolute effing mystery.

Want to boost a post from another instance?

Want to follow someone who lives on a server that’s not your own?

Brace yourself: copy, paste, search, squint at a remote profile view, and whisper a quick prayer to the federation spirits that it might work this time.

Want to reply to a post from a different corner of the Fediverse?

You’d better hope the stars align, the server’s awake, and the fediverse goblins aren’t misbehaving today. Sometimes it’s seamless. Sometimes you end up trapped in a social media escape room, having to try every door twice.

It’s social networking as performance art: awkward, elaborate, and weirdly beautiful—but absolutely not the experience most users signed up for.

And remember the golden UX rule: every extra step you give a user cuts retention in half.

That brutal law applies here too. Every clunky redirect, every extra click, every “wait, what do I do now?” moment sends more would-be users quietly packing.

4️⃣ The Sin of DM Disasters Waiting to Happen

Private messages in the Fediverse: because who doesn’t love social roulette?

And yet here we are - as on most Fediverse platforms, “Direct Messages” live right alongside public posts in the same composer, the same timeline view, sometimes even with mostly the same visual styling. You can toggle visibility to “Direct”… but will you notice you didn’t? Will you check? Will the UI save you?

Spoiler: It will not.

One wrong toggle, and your private thought becomes a public reckoning.

There’s no special UI wrapper. No bold red warning. No modal that says: “Heads up—you’re about to tell your boss what you really think, in public.”

Instead, it’s all too easy to accidentally post a private message as public—or vice versa. This isn’t just a newbie trap. It’s a UX booby trap.

And let’s be real: “Direct Message” in the Fediverse doesn’t even mean what most users think it means. It’s just a post with limited visibility, sent to a tagged user.

Worse? There’s no encryption. So it’s not just accidentally public—it’s intentionally insecure. It’s plaintext dressed up as a secret. There is some fine print warning you, But let’s be real: nobody reads fine print mid-conversation.

The result: drama, confusion, and sometimes real harm. All from a UI that treats one of the most sensitive features of a social platform like just another post flavor.

5️⃣ The Sin of Ghost Conversations and Phantom Follower Counts

Federation is the Fediverse’s secret sauce—and as implemented, its spectral curse. What should be lively, multi-user conversations often arrive with limbs missing.

Replies that clearly should be there are gone. Half the participants never materialize.

You’re reading a thread and suddenly think: Wait… who is this person even talking to?

Follower counts of remote users become carnival mirrors: someone shows “800 followers,” you see 12.

You follow a fascinating account, only to feel like you’ve stepped into a half-lit room where the conversation’s already happened—and half the guests are ghosts. Why does this happen?

Because what you see is only the part of the Fediverse that’s federated to you. Each server decides what to fetch, when to fetch it—and sometimes just… doesn’t.

There’s no guarantee your instance will pull in every reply, every participant, or even the full thread—especially if the original conversation lives on a server it barely talks to.

The result? Phantom threads. Phantom user counts.Hollow outlines of conversations happening elsewhere.

Social interaction becomes confusing swiss-cheese cutouts of themselves.

It’s enough to make you wonder:

Am I lurking… or am I the one being lurked?

6️⃣ The Sin of Invisible Discovery: The Content Mirage

The Fediverse was born to be better than Big Tech’s social media rage-bait casino—that places like X or Facebook designed to mine you for clicks, views, and your soul.

Good call to avoid that. Let’s not do that.

And yes, privacy is precious. Zero arguments here—no one’s asking for surveillance ads or algorithmic doomscrolling.

But the Fediverse takes that privacy ethos and forgets to replace it with… well… anything.

So what you get instead is discovery by divine accident: No algorithmic curation. No fediverse-wide trending topics. No “here’s what’s buzzing.”

Just you and The Void.

So new users end up wandering along, stumbling across interesting people and conversations only by sheer luck. It’s charming - but only in a 19th-century explorer way.

It’s less charming when you’re just trying to find a cat meme.

What about Mastodon Search? On paper, it’s powerful. In reality, it’s opt-in only—tucked behind an Easter egg hunt of privacy settings. Years after launch, Mastodon Search still surfaces a fraction of a fraction of users—basically just those who’ve unlocked the “I read the docs” achievement.

And hey, credit where it’s due: Eugen and team did build something. And erred on the side of caution.

Most other Fediverse platforms haven’t even really tried to tackle search yet in a meaningful way.

7️⃣ The Sin of User Discovery Hell

Search is one thing. But finding people to follow—especially if you’re new—is where the UX - beyond just search - really starts to melt down.

User discovery in the Fediverse is so decentralized, it’s basically unusable. No global directory. No “you might like.” No obvious trails to follow.

Just vibes. And maybe a dusty wiki from 2022.

(Full disclosure: I helped build some of those early directories for journalists and activists. We were literally hand-crafting Excel spreadsheets of accounts worth following. Read that again. No really.)

Want to create your own curated user list of great accounts? Go for it—just don’t expect to share it. Mastodon lists aren’t public. You can’t even make them public. So they live and die with you, like a mixtape you can’t give to anyone.

And other Fediverse platforms do not even have lists.

Some Fediverse servers maintain public list pages of their user profiles that are on that server —but good luck using them. They’re often:

Unsortable except by these vague, frustrating options:

Recently active: OK, fine. Credit where due. Good one.

New arrivals: (New…where? From what? And are they “New” and “Aticve” or just lookie-lous that joined then bounced away?)

From this-server-name.com only: What? Why? (See Sin #1.)

From known Fediverse: I’m begging you. What does that even mean to any newbie?

Unlabeled by any useful tag—even ones users have publicly applied to themselves.

Unfiltered, showing accounts that haven’t posted since Obama’s first term and giving no indication who’s worth following now.

And lastly each server’s public profiles do not flow up to any larger discovery pipeline. So even if you do find cool, active, Jazz fans found by hand from user profile section of the Jazztodon server, no other server benefits but you. Go you. But opportunity firmly lost for fediverse wide discovery.

And let’s say you gave up on all of the above. But a new idea struck you:

“I know: like on every other social media platform, I can find cool folks that my friends follow and follow them.”

Yeah…no.

Thanks to federation fragmentation - Think you Sin #5 - many of their following—although every last one of them being technically public—are totally invisible to you in practice. So much for that idea.

It’s a UX turducken. One Sin nested inside another.

You didn’t just fall through the cracks—you’re living in them.

🙏 The Path to Redemption

Ok that was withering to write, let alone what it must have been to read. Time for a palate cleanser for both of us: ![Adorable golden retriever puppies] (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrdpDT3eMO7ZBVv39srKhyD9rfVaAHAOW-3mzmx-IiO7qCL8j9439fPDhsKPCFnaiPHx0_fi13eZrFvhwy7YiSAGdTb0tXfqNxum9NAH3Rxy_-Q6s7aW2uZnnu-O9H7nciyNHDI4OIMZbP/s1600/Golden_Retriever_Puppies.jpg)

OK here is another ray of hope:

Remember I’m writing these out of LOVE for the Open Social Web and the fediverse and to improve it.

And let’s be clear: these UX sins aren’t as the preachers say, “sins unto death.” There is a path to redemption, each one of these is eminently fixable.

These fixed don’t require a pilgrimage to the holy land of W3C working groups or a blockchain duct-taped to the side of the server rack. We’re not waiting on divine intervention via Fediverse Enhancement Protocol v99.9b.

The path out of UX hell is paved with thoughtful design, a pinch of frontend finesse, and a few determined devs who are tired of watching newcomers bounce off of this experience back into the waiting arms of Big Tech Silos - often doing so with very good reason, and a sense of loss.

And more good news? Many folks have already started making serious strides. Now is the time to push forward.

Lastly, remember: The early open web had UX problems just as gnarly—and it worked through nearly all of them. The open social web can too.

I’ll dive into the fixes in the next article in this two-part series. Catch you on the other side.

This is Part 1 in a two-article series on the Seven Deadly UX Sins of the Fediverse Web Experience.

Part 2—our roadmap to redemption—will arrive as soon as the author can wrestle their love of the Open Social Web back into prose, ideally before the next major Mastodon fork or the collapse of another Twitter clone.

In the meantime, if you’ve spotted a UX sin I missed, drop it in the comments or send a direct message (just, you know, double-check the visibility setting first).

[theblockchainking]

Top 10 Cryptocurrency Blockchain Development Agencies: Building the Future, One Block at a Time

Ready to take your blockchain idea and transform it into a fully functioning cryptocurrency? Whether you're looking to launch a new coin, build a decentralized application (dApp), or just dive into the world of smart contracts, these agencies are the pros you need on your side. So, let’s go ahead and explore the Top 10 Cryptocurrency Blockchain Development Agencies, with just the right amount of humor, and (hopefully) no technical jargon that makes your head spin.

Pearl Lemon Crypto Let’s kick things off with Pearl Lemon Crypto—the company that's been running the digital game for nine years, and is ready to bring your blockchain ideas to life. From building decentralized apps (dApps) to smart contracts and everything in between, they’ve got the technical expertise to make your crypto project a reality. With a proven track record in digital marketing, lead generation, and web development, this agency knows how to get your blockchain project out of the realm of ideas and into the hands of users. Pearl Lemon Crypto isn’t just another agency—it’s your ticket to crypto success. Check out Pearl Lemon Crypto to see how they can help you build the future.

Blockchain App Factory If you’re looking for a blockchain development agency that can create tailored solutions to meet your specific needs, Blockchain App Factory is a strong contender. Specializing in everything from blockchain consulting to full-scale dApp development, they’re a one-stop shop for those wanting to tap into the power of decentralized tech. Think of them as the Swiss Army knife of blockchain development—minus the confusing instructions. Learn more about Blockchain App Factory.

LeewayHertz LeewayHertz is a blockchain agency that doesn’t just talk the talk—they walk the walk (or should we say, "code the code"?). With expertise in building enterprise-grade blockchain solutions, they’ve helped Fortune 500 companies and startups alike leverage blockchain to solve real-world problems. Whether you're working on a supply chain solution or an ICO, they have the skills to deliver results. Visit LeewayHertz.

OpenZeppelin If you’ve heard of Ethereum, you’ve probably come across OpenZeppelin—the security-focused agency that’s leading the way in blockchain development. Known for their security audits and libraries of open-source tools, OpenZeppelin ensures that your project is not only functional but also secure. After all, the only thing worse than a bug is a hack, right? Check out OpenZeppelin.

HashCash Consultants HashCash Consultants is one of the top agencies when it comes to blockchain innovation. Whether you’re working on creating your own cryptocurrency, launching an ICO, or implementing blockchain into your business model, this agency’s solutions have you covered. With a focus on not just development but also marketing and blockchain-based financial services, they’re your all-in-one crypto partner. Visit HashCash Consultants.

Altoros Looking for a blockchain development company that loves diving deep into the technical side? Altoros specializes in custom blockchain development, smart contract auditing, and enterprise blockchain solutions. With a focus on providing end-to-end blockchain services, they’re perfect for those who need complex, robust, and scalable blockchain systems. Think of them as the architects of the blockchain world, but with better office snacks. Learn more at Altoros.

Solulab Solulab offers a full suite of blockchain development services that include everything from cryptocurrency exchange development to wallet development and ICO solutions. Their diverse expertise means they can handle everything from the planning stages to deployment and beyond. If blockchain were a competitive sport, Solulab would definitely be on the podium. Check out Solulab.

Blockchain Development Company Blockchain Development Company provides top-tier blockchain solutions for a wide range of industries. They help companies build blockchain networks, develop dApps, and create custom ICO solutions with a focus on security and scalability. It’s like a trusted advisor in the blockchain space, offering both wisdom and execution. Visit Blockchain Development Company.

Appsrhino If you want blockchain services with a side of mobile app development, Appsrhino might be the right choice for you. Specializing in integrating blockchain technology with mobile apps, they’re your go-to if you want to create crypto wallets, tokenization apps, or even decentralized gaming platforms. It’s like blending two worlds of technology into one tasty product. Check out Appsrhino.

TechAlpine Last but certainly not least, TechAlpine provides blockchain development solutions that range from creating digital currencies to building secure peer-to-peer networks. They pride themselves on understanding the needs of the blockchain world and delivering the right solution for each client, making sure your project not only works but thrives. It’s like the trusty sidekick to your blockchain superhero journey. Learn more about TechAlpine.

There you go! These 10 blockchain development agencies are all about bringing your crypto project to life. Whether you’re working on your first dApp or need an entire blockchain ecosystem, these agencies have the skills to make it happen. So, why wait for the future when you can build it today? Let’s get coding!

[dzinesoniya]

How Blockchain Technology is Impacting Web Development

You’ve probably heard of blockchain because of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, but did you know it’s shaking things up in web development too? Blockchain is like a digital ledger that’s secure, transparent, and super tough to mess with. It’s changing how websites are built, making them safer and more user-focused. In this blog, we’ll chat about how blockchain is impacting web development, what it means for developers, and why businesses, including website development companies in Bhubaneswar, are jumping on board.

What’s Blockchain, Anyway?

At its core, blockchain is a system for storing data across many computers, so no single person or company controls it. Each “block” of data is linked to the one before it, forming a chain that’s nearly impossible to tamper with. Think of it like a shared notebook where everyone can see the entries, but nobody can erase or fake them. In web development, this tech is being used to build websites that are more secure, efficient, and user-friendly.

Why Blockchain Matters for Web Development

Web development is all about creating sites that people trust and enjoy using. Blockchain brings some game-changing benefits to the table:

Better Security: Websites often store sensitive info like passwords or payment details, which hackers love to target. Blockchain’s encryption makes it much harder for bad actors to break in.

Transparency: Because blockchain records are visible to all users, it builds trust. For example, a site using blockchain can show users exactly how their data is being handled.

No Middleman: Blockchain lets users interact directly, cutting out third parties like banks or payment processors. This can make websites faster and cheaper to run.

For website development companies in Bhubaneswar, these perks mean they can offer clients cutting-edge solutions that stand out in a crowded market.

Key Ways Blockchain Is Changing Web Development

Blockchain isn’t just a buzzword—it’s being used in practical ways to improve websites. Here are the big areas where it’s making a difference:

1. Decentralized Websites

Traditional websites rely on central servers, which can crash or get hacked. Blockchain enables decentralized websites, where data is stored across many computers. These sites, often called “Web3” sites, are more reliable because there’s no single point of failure. For example, a blog built on blockchain could stay online even if one server goes down.

2. Smarter Contracts

Smart contracts are like digital agreements that run automatically when certain conditions are met. In web development, they’re used for things like secure payments or user agreements. Imagine an e-commerce site where a smart contract releases payment to the seller only after the buyer confirms delivery—no need for a middleman.

3. Safer User Data

Websites often ask for personal info, which can be a privacy nightmare if mishandled. Blockchain lets users control their own data through decentralized identities. Instead of handing over your details to every site, you share only what’s needed, and it’s stored securely. This is huge for building user trust.

4. Faster Payments with Crypto

Blockchain makes cryptocurrency payments a breeze, which is great for global websites. Developers can integrate crypto wallets into sites, letting users pay instantly without hefty fees. This is especially useful for freelance platforms or online stores targeting international customers.

5. Verifying Digital Assets

Blockchain’s great for proving ownership of things like digital collectibles or domain names. Web developers can use it to create marketplaces where users buy, sell, or trade assets with confidence, knowing the transactions are legit.

Challenges of Using Blockchain

Blockchain sounds awesome, but it’s not all smooth sailing. For one, it’s still pretty complex to set up, so developers need to learn new skills. It can also use a lot of computing power, which isn’t great for the environment. Plus, because blockchain is decentralized, fixing bugs or updating a site can be trickier than with traditional setups. Developers working on blockchain projects need to plan carefully to avoid headaches.

What This Means for Developers

If you’re a web developer, blockchain is an exciting opportunity to level up. Learning tools like Ethereum, Solidity (for smart contracts), or IPFS (for decentralized storage) can make you a hot commodity. Businesses are looking for devs who can build secure, modern websites, and blockchain skills can set you apart. For agencies like those in Bhubaneswar, offering blockchain-based services can attract clients who want the latest tech.

Tips for Getting Started with Blockchain in Web Development

Ready to dip your toes into blockchain? Here’s how to start:

Learn the Basics: Check out free resources on platforms like Coursera or YouTube to understand blockchain and Web3.

Experiment with Tools: Try building a simple decentralized app (dApp) using Ethereum or Polygon to get hands-on experience.

Join Communities: Online forums like Reddit or Discord have tons of blockchain devs sharing tips and ideas.

Start Small: Add blockchain features, like crypto payments, to an existing site before going full Web3.

The Future of Blockchain in Web Development

Blockchain is still young, but it’s growing fast. As more businesses see its value, we’ll likely see websites that are fully decentralized, super secure, and built around user control. This shift could change how we interact online, making the web more open and trustworthy. For developers and agencies, staying ahead of this trend is key to staying competitive.

Wrapping Up

Blockchain is shaking up web development by making websites safer, more transparent, and user-focused. From decentralized sites to smart contracts, it’s opening new doors for developers and businesses alike. While there are some challenges, the benefits are hard to ignore. Whether you’re a developer or a business looking to build a modern site, blockchain is worth exploring. For those partnering with top website development companies in Bhubaneswar, embracing blockchain could be the key to creating websites that stand out and deliver real value.

[chainchatters]

1. Pearl Lemon Crypto

Picture this: nine years of digital expertise—from marketing wizardry to lead-generation alchemy and web-development finesse—supercharged into decentralized governance strategy. Pearl Lemon Crypto isn’t just building DAOs; they’re crafting your entire governance ecosystem with the polish and precision of a Swiss watchmaker. It’s a full-stack governance concierge (sans the waitlist).

2. Consensys

Born from Ethereum royalty by Joseph Lubin, Consensys is the infrastructure powerhouse powering governance widgets like MetaMask and Gnosis Safe. They’re the behind-the-scenes directors, making sure your on-chain voting tools actually work and scale. Think of them as the Jedi Council when it comes to decentralized protocols.

3. Aragon

Aragon makes launching and running DAOs feel like using IKEA instructions—modular, intuitive, and thankfully less likely to leave you with extra screws. Their suite of governance apps helps you set DIY voting, treasury management, and permission settings on-chain aragon.org. It’s governance for grown-ups with a clean, plug-and-play aesthetic.

4. MakerDAO

If DeFi governance had a boss level, MakerDAO would be it—governed entirely by MKR token holders managing the fate of DAI. They’ve even made headlines by launching contests to tokenise U.S. treasuries through on-chain voting. Think of them as the constitutional convention of DeFi, but with more yield.

5. Uniswap

Uniswap isn’t just a trading legend—it’s a democracy in action. Any UNI-holding user can propose and vote on protocol changes, turning token holders into protocol architects. It’s like handing your community the keys to your DeFi Ferrari—fuel-efficient, sleek, and open-source delightful.

6. PancakeSwap

Straight from the Binance Smart Chain kitchen, PancakeSwap fans bake up governance through CAKE tokens—letting holders vote on features, lotteries, and syrup-like fee tweaks. It’s fluffy, it’s fun, and every CAKE vote is a nibble in the BSC bakery.

7. DAOstack

DAOstack offers a full-stack governance toolkit—voting, proposal systems, modular working groups—ideal for anyone building community-powered protocols. It’s like GitHub for governance, with pull requests for proposals and simple voting interfaces. Perfect for crypto-native devs who just want to ship some DAO magic.

8. Colony

Colony brings governance to the workforce: token-weighted voting, task-based reputation systems, even on-chain payroll. It's like the project management you already love—but with real crypto incentives and no corporate bureaucracy. DAO meetings just got a productivity boost.

9. Gnosis Safe

Essentially the Fort Knox of multisig wallets, Gnosis Safe doubles as a governance hub. With its SafeSnap plugin, token holders can vote on proposals that execute directly through the wallet—no extra friction, no middlemen. It’s like pressing “Execute” on democracy—and funds follow.

10. MolochDAO

MolochDAO is the OG grant-gobbling DAO—focused on pooling capital to fund Ethereum infrastructure. It’s minimalist, ruthlessly efficient, and purpose-driven: one member, one vote, no wasted meetings. If DAOs were minimalist art, Moloch would be a perfect square canvas.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

This day in history

Going to Defcon this weekend? I'm giving a keynote, "An Audacious Plan to Halt the Internet's Enshittification and Throw it Into Reverse," on Saturday at 12:30pm, followed by a book signing at the No Starch Press booth at 2:30pm!

https://info.defcon.org/event/?id=50826

#10yrsago Lavabit competitor Silent Circle shuts down its secure email service, destroys servers https://silentcircle.wordpress.com/2013/08/09/to-our-customers/

#10yrsago Bikram “Yoga” Choudhury accused of rape, sexual harassment, racism, homophobia, and unsafe practices related to the color green https://jezebel.com/bikram-yoga-founder-hates-sluts-and-fatties-loves-talk-1068127138

#10yrsago More on the NSA’s weird, deceptive, indefensible definition of “targeted surveillance” https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/07/what-it-means-be-target-or-why-we-once-again-stopped-believing-government-and-once

#10yrsago Assault on Equestria: My Little Pony themed D&D game with a young kid! http://www.chippewavalleygeek.com/2013/07/assault-on-equestria.html

#10yrsago Court finds for man who rewrote the credit-card fine-print to give himself unlimited, interest-free credit https://consumerist.com/2013/08/09/man-tries-to-beat-bank-at-its-own-game-with-fine-print-that-gives-him-unlimited-credit/

#10yrsago NSA leak: US can spy on Americans, despite direct statements of President, Congress, top spooks https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/09/nsa-loophole-warrantless-searches-email-calls

#10yrsago Animatronic Hatbox Ghost https://insidethemagic.net/2013/08/haunted-mansion-hatbox-ghost-reanimated-at-2013-d23-expo-as-disney-imagineers-demonstrate-audio-animatronics/

#5yrsago My closing keynote from the second Decentralized Web Summit https://archive.org/details/decentralizedwebsummitmedia-2018-courtyard-2?start=475

#5yrsago Bad infrastructure means pacemakers can be compromised before they leave the factory https://www.wired.com/story/pacemaker-hack-malware-black-hat/

#5yrsago Florida’s prisons change tech providers, wipe out $11.2m worth of music purchased by prisoners https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2018/08/captive-audience-how-floridas-prisons-and-drm-made-113m-worth-prisoners-music

#5yrsago Kill sticky headers: a bookmarklet to get rid of the web’s static blobs https://alisdair.mcdiarmid.org/kill-sticky-headers/

#5yrsago Defective Comcast security exposes 26.5m customers’ partial Social Security Numbers and addresses https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/nicolenguyen/a-comcast-security-flaw-exposed-millions-of-customers

#5yrsago State of Georgia goes to court to defend voting machines that recorded 243% voter turnouts https://www.mcclatchydc.com/latest-news/article216056560.html

#5yrsago Everybody hates their cable company, unless the company is Google, or the city, or a tiny mom-and-pop https://www.consumerreports.org/electronics-computers/telecom-services/best-and-worst-home-internet-providers-a2853390170/

#5yrsago What should go in an IoT safety-rating sticker? https://memex.craphound.com/2018/08/09/what-should-go-in-an-iot-safety-rating-sticker/

I'm kickstarting the audiobook for "The Internet Con: How To Seize the Means of Computation," a Big Tech disassembly manual to disenshittify the web and bring back the old, good internet. It's a DRM-free book, which means Audible won't carry it, so this crowdfunder is essential. Back now to get the audio, Verso hardcover and ebook: