The web is broken, but it doesn't have to be that way
December 12th 2020 | ~ 2 minute read
The state of the modern web is, quite frankly, disappointing. Long gone are the days of the web as a medium for sharing of ideas, creativity and inspiration. What stands in its place is the web 2.0, a corporate sponsored Orwellian dystopia of surveillance, censorship and complete disregard for the individual, ethics and freedom. What started out as a promising medium, now paints a very bleak and downright depressing picture.
It stands to reason that something needs to be done, and despite what many naysayers would like you to think, you, yes, you, can make a difference. We can bring back the web as we used to know and love. Take matters into your own hands. Here's a list of but a few things you can do to make the web a better place.
- Run your own website and write what you're passionate about.
- Support independent content creators.
- Promote the use and advocate for the free and open web.
- Spread awareness about the dangers of internet surveillance.
- If you are a web developer, write quality, performant, free and open source, privacy respecting web applications.
- If you're a web administrator do others a favor and don't collect any data on your users.
We must unite, now more than ever before to fight the disease that has stolen what was ours. You can be the change you wish to see in others, you can inspire others to follow alike.
For the web developer reading this, you can make the most difference, not just on a moral front, but on a technical one as well. Simply put, write performant web applications.
Don't do something as outrageous as putting a 46.77MB background video on your website, just for aesthetics.
In essence here's a two step process of designing performant web pages:
- Send only what is absolutely necessary for the web page to render correctly.
- Stop.
There is no need to bombard users with copious amounts of JavaScript, third party fonts, transitions, videos and so on. The content is what matters, make it a first class citizen!
For the rest of you folks, don't let your voice get taken away from you! Use it to the best of your ability. Spread the word before it's too late.