The Reboot

18/08/2021

Gentrification is a useful idea for understanding some of the internet’s problems.

Gentrification doesn’t just describe struggles for power and authority in urban neighborhoods, it also describes struggles over online communities.

Gentrification is a useful idea for understanding the internet’s problems, as well as the need for alternative models that are open and fair.

29/07/2021

Choosing Google's Android means our data are heavily monitored by the company. Choosing Apple’s iOS means paying a small fortune for a device that collects less data but is not easily repaired and will be made obsolete in a few years.

Challenging Google and Apple's dominance of mobile operating systems can give users more control and support a broad realignment within tech.

15/07/2021

DeFi has the capacity to transform financial services, but challenges and risks need to be properly addressed to fulfill its potential.

09/07/2021

Halfway through 2021, several countries have shut down access around election periods in attempts to stop misinformation from spreading. In doing so, they restrict key debate about candidates and important electoral information.

In democracies and authoritarian nations alike, governments have come to rely on an ability to cut off internet access to the public.

01/07/2021

A regulatory push in Congress, along with Big Tech critic Lina Khan's ascension as a chief antitrust official, may signal meaningful reform.

24/06/2021

How do you design products that allow people to take full advantage of technology, not for business models and companies to take full advantage of people? https://thereboot.com/fixing-techs-design-problem/

UX designers, engineers, and the iPhone's co-designer are reassessing the priorities behind the ways we interact with apps and devices.

10/06/2021

No one in Big Tech cared about privacy until it looked like it could become a competitive weapon, available only to those with the monopoly power to wield it.

Apple and Facebook's dispute over iPhone data tracking reveals more about corporate power over the internet than it does about user privacy.

04/06/2021

The more companies know about you, the more power they have over you.

The data economy depends on violating our right to privacy on a massive scale, collecting as much personal data as possible for profit.

28/05/2021

Support for municipal broadband in cities like New York could spark a movement for equitable internet access throughout the US.

12/05/2021

It’s almost impossible to do anything on the internet without encountering the underlying services of Amazon, Microsoft or Google

It’s almost impossible to do anything on the internet without encountering the underlying services of Amazon, Microsoft, or Google.

04/05/2021

As the Apple v. Epic trial kicks off, the platform economy continues to exploit small game devs and reward incumbents, fueling a dubious push for data analytics and constant optimization.

The platform economy exploits small game devs and rewards incumbents, fueling a dubious push for data analytics and constant optimization.

29/04/2021

A plan to encrypt the world's web traffic could allow Google and Cloudflare to dominate network navigation.

05/04/2021

A toxic focus on misinformation has taken over the media ecosystem. Fixing it will involve rebuilding a stronger and properly funded press.

23/03/2021

Submarine communications cables seem uniquely at risk, but we may have more to fear from corporate consolidation than from undersea sabotage.

08/03/2021

There’s no security to be found in hoping that we aren’t evicted by the platforms that have unaccountable power over us.

Breaking the platform economy’s cycle of extraction and enclosure can redistribute power over data and infrastructure to the public.

02/03/2021

By encouraging looseness and diversity within infrastructure, vulnerabilities and failures become smaller. Potential catastrophes become relatively manageable problems.

Malware and weaponized software flaws exploit the inherent risks that come with building tightly coupled, complex infrastructure.

22/02/2021

Understanding the ways that misinformation campaigns are seeded and unfold online can help us determine how to stop their spread.

15/02/2021

Rogue capitalism owns and operates the internet. With self-sovereign identity, you only present relevant credentials on an as-needed basis to parties that require them, helping restore digital anonymity.

Self-sovereign identity is a model that gives users control over their data, enabling digital experiences that are secure and interoperable.

09/02/2021

Former Google employee Tim Hwang warns that today’s ad-driven internet bubble is an elaborate fiction — and a ticking time bomb.

01/02/2021

Building the next big social app? Look at the architectural qualities of email.

Email is a stable, decentralized technology that spurs interoperability and competition, presenting a model for other internet technologies.

26/01/2021

26/01/2021

25/01/2021

It was estimated that in 2015, there were about 20 million people doing hidden on-demand work in the US alone.

An invisible, on-demand workforce supports everything from Facebook to Uber and beyond with project-based tasks — and little to show for it.

21/01/2021

If we want to build a better web, we've got to start at the beginning. These are the developmental milestones that have defined the internet.

A chronological overview of the developmental milestones that have shaped and defined the internet's history.

19/01/2021

Community-based rideshare alternatives like Arcade City and Eva reflect the potential and promise of a more equitable gig economy.

Experimental, community-based rideshare alternatives reflect the potential and promise of creating equitable alternatives to Uber and Lyft.

11/01/2021

It's no secret Google, Apple, Amazon, and Facebook use their unparalleled data access to squash competitors. A broader approach to data portability and interoperability could address a wide scope of competition challenges.

A broader approach to data portability and interoperability could address a wide scope of competition challenges in the tech industry.

08/01/2021

Insecurity is the internet’s original sin.

Insecurity is the internet’s original sin, yet officials are trying to undermine the encryption technologies protecting our data and privacy.

07/01/2021

16 years after Facebook was created, it faces scrutiny for the spread of misinformation and political propaganda culminating in today's ban of President Trump's account.

Here are more developmental milestones that have defined the internet.

A chronological overview of the developmental milestones that have shaped and defined the internet's history.