• Depending on Other in the IndieWeb: Navigating Holistic and Prescriptive Building in a Decentralized Social Network

    Author(s):
    Jack Jamieson
    Editor(s):
    Kanishka Sikri (see profile)
    Date:
    2022
    Item Type:
    Article
    Permanent URL:
    https://doi.org/10.17613/z0qp-3487
    Abstract:
    There is a growing movement to build alternatives to large, corporate web platforms. This is motivated largely by concerns that these platforms exercise too much power. In Franklin’s terms, they do so using prescriptive technologies, which limit individuals’ control for the sake of facilitating complex projects too large for any individual to manage. This paper investigates the construction of the IndieWeb, a people-focused alternative to corporate platforms composed of personal websites that are connected using simple peer-to-peer standards. IndieWeb embraces holistic technologies, emphasizing individuals’ control over their online identity and experience. How can they pursue this goal while building a system for large-scale social networking, an endeavour conventionally achieved through prescriptions? I investigate this question using digital ethnography and critical making. I find that IndieWeb self-consciously attempts to maximize individual freedom at a micro-scale while using prescriptions at a macro-scale. As well as occurring in IndieWeb’s technical structures, this phenomenon is evident in community and organizational structures, where it is employed to support equity and diversity. The main contribution of this paper is to unpack IndieWeb’s synthesis of holistic and prescriptive technologies across scales, which offers lessons for building an equitable and empowering future real world of technology.
    Metadata:
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    Published as:
    Online publication     Show details
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    10 months ago
    License:
    Attribution
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