---
title: manifesto.neue
date:  2024-01-16
tags:  internet
tldr:  Build your Neue Internet
---

We aren't getting our Internet back; the smol web, quiet web, 𝐟𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐞𝐫𝐨 web,
whatever you wanna call it. Pandora's Box has been opened, nay, wretched and
held open by the data brokerage economy; empowered by unscrupulous advertisers,
their lobbyists, and their political allies eager to make a quick buck at the
expense (lol, get wrecked) of us all.

No, that Internet is gone…pilfered and gutted for its good parts, redesigned and
repackaged with dark patterns to keep us hooked on services we don't really
like; digital cocaine, if you will.

What we _can_ do is build a new Internet, together. We don't need permission.
We can just…do it, in our own way.

_screams internally_
UGH. Why do *I* have to work for this? I HAD it and it got stolen!!

I feel you. Truly. But if you can see the joy in tragedy, maybe you can be
inspired to code, sketch, write, or otherwise contribute to a
rebirth (renaissance?!) of the internet.

However, a common mistake we collectively make about taking the internet back
into our own hands is assuming everyone has the time and energy to code a blog
or set up a server. Even opening a terminal is too much for most. You might be
thinking, "you're hinting at creating platforms…isn't that how we got into this
mess in the first place?"

Platforms aren't inherently evil, they're just the vehicles through which our
Internet was poisoned. How can we ensure that won't happen again? To quote my
friend, Jordan Green:

> The Internet amplified voices you could've easily ignored in the past.

That is, aside from giving transgressors a judgmental eye, ignore them.
Don't engage. Don't sign up for their service. Recommend comparable services to
friends and family who may inquire. We know damn well that Facebook and Google
ill catch on and try to ride the wave (see: Facebook threatening the Fediverse
with Threads integration, and Google shutting down yet *another* service after
gobbling up user data because "refocusing efforts").

"Web3," a marketing term for Ethereum-based platforms and services, is supposed
to save us…right? Or maybe it's "the dWeb," the lesser-known marketing term for
blockchain-/community-based platforms and services. Their evangelists are
certainly loud as fuck about how their favorite blockchain is THE key to
unlocking a brighter future on the 'Net (greetings, I just roasted myself and am
an avid evangelist of (for?) the Handshake blockchain and will talk your ear off
if you let me).

I think the _solutions_ are somewhere in the middle. Notice the plural? There is
no singular salve for the blights upon our digital land, despite what anyone
says (I especially despise absolutist rhetoric, go touch grass, breathe
fresh air, or take a nap).

So, where do you come in?

If you're technical, write guides for normies (and for future you, who will
forget details).

If you're entrepreneurial, build platforms that make it super easy for anyone to
jump into the next stage of the internet. You have a major responsibility to not
get swayed by a billion-dollar check from these tech companies (idk your
financial situation so do you, I guess).

If you're artistic, draw, paint, and sculpt the idealized future you
want to see.

If you're a musician, become more experimental with your tunes and collaborate
with visual artists for your cover art.

If you're a creator, period, you have no idea just how powerful you are;
everyone is inspired by art and depictions of what *could* be. Think of your art
as a template for a new world.

Create in whichever way you know how. We aren't getting our Internet back but we
sure as hell can steward a new one.

🕸️