David Pierce

I mean, you can think of Google as just a tool on top of the internet. All Google does is search a bunch of web pages for you. That's a pretty good business, it turns out, because you can put ads on those search results and then you have to go to court about how successful your business has been. If we do the Fediverse right, there are going to be lots of those things too.

There will be lots of companies that get to build and charge for tools. There will be companies that get to charge for really cool algorithm ideas about how to sort things or really great apps for how you want to read or watch or listen to the things from there. The moment we're in right now feels like idealism because it's a bunch of

There will be lots of companies that get to build and charge for tools. There will be companies that get to charge for really cool algorithm ideas about how to sort things or really great apps for how you want to read or watch or listen to the things from there. The moment we're in right now feels like idealism because it's a bunch of

There will be lots of companies that get to build and charge for tools. There will be companies that get to charge for really cool algorithm ideas about how to sort things or really great apps for how you want to read or watch or listen to the things from there. The moment we're in right now feels like idealism because it's a bunch of

happy developers coding against several trillion dollar companies. But if we can make that turn, the opportunity gets really big and much wider for companies.

happy developers coding against several trillion dollar companies. But if we can make that turn, the opportunity gets really big and much wider for companies.

happy developers coding against several trillion dollar companies. But if we can make that turn, the opportunity gets really big and much wider for companies.

Oh, wow, that is a big question. I think it is a little bit of a metaphor for our democracy. It's a question of who's in charge, right? And I think the story of the last two decades of the internet is that we gave away everything in exchange for convenience and cool features. And we picked the things that were easy to sign up for. We picked the things that made it easy to talk to our friends.

Oh, wow, that is a big question. I think it is a little bit of a metaphor for our democracy. It's a question of who's in charge, right? And I think the story of the last two decades of the internet is that we gave away everything in exchange for convenience and cool features. And we picked the things that were easy to sign up for. We picked the things that made it easy to talk to our friends.

Oh, wow, that is a big question. I think it is a little bit of a metaphor for our democracy. It's a question of who's in charge, right? And I think the story of the last two decades of the internet is that we gave away everything in exchange for convenience and cool features. And we picked the things that were easy to sign up for. We picked the things that made it easy to talk to our friends.

We picked the things that shipped to us fastest. And we didn't reckon with any of the consequences of that. And then I think really over the last decade, the consequences of that started to become really obvious. And what the Fediverse promises is to give us some control. My information, my content, my followers, my network becomes mine again, and I get to choose what to do with it.

We picked the things that shipped to us fastest. And we didn't reckon with any of the consequences of that. And then I think really over the last decade, the consequences of that started to become really obvious. And what the Fediverse promises is to give us some control. My information, my content, my followers, my network becomes mine again, and I get to choose what to do with it.

We picked the things that shipped to us fastest. And we didn't reckon with any of the consequences of that. And then I think really over the last decade, the consequences of that started to become really obvious. And what the Fediverse promises is to give us some control. My information, my content, my followers, my network becomes mine again, and I get to choose what to do with it.

The process of getting there, like democracy, messy and weird and full of mistakes, but it is the right goal. And before we get there, we have to rename it. Can I interest you in open social web, which is the other thing the nerds like to call it? Yeah, please. There we go. It's the people like the social web, which I think is fine. I just call it the internet.

The process of getting there, like democracy, messy and weird and full of mistakes, but it is the right goal. And before we get there, we have to rename it. Can I interest you in open social web, which is the other thing the nerds like to call it? Yeah, please. There we go. It's the people like the social web, which I think is fine. I just call it the internet.

The process of getting there, like democracy, messy and weird and full of mistakes, but it is the right goal. And before we get there, we have to rename it. Can I interest you in open social web, which is the other thing the nerds like to call it? Yeah, please. There we go. It's the people like the social web, which I think is fine. I just call it the internet.

If we do this right, it's just the internet. The internet. Now there's an idea.

If we do this right, it's just the internet. The internet. Now there's an idea.

If we do this right, it's just the internet. The internet. Now there's an idea.

Hello, and welcome to Decoder. I'm David Pierce, the editor-at-large at The Verge. As you may have noticed, we're dropping some extra episodes in the Decoder feed this week. You'll have Nilay back on Friday and for next week, I promise, as we run towards the end of the year. Lots of good stuff still coming.