Post-Platforms Foundation

Almost everyone who hears Tim Berners-Lee’s proposal to take data away from platforms and return it to people reacts the same way: Platforms won’t allow that! After all, why would Zuckerberg surrender data that generates billions in profit? Surprisingly, platforms might not only relinquish data but do so willingly – because it could give them a competitive edge. Instead of being an obstacle, they could become the driving force behind the Web 3.0 Data Space. Unexpected? Let’s unpack this!

This article is the second in a trilogy: "1. Economic Impact of Data Space", "2. Why Corporations Need W3DS", and (TBD) "3. How to Roll Out W3DS". For over a decade, the European Commission has been working to establish a Data Space, committing more than a billion euros to the effort. Initially, the expectation was that businesses would take the lead in implementing it, but this hasn’t materialized. Instead, the key Data Space initiatives – IDSA, Gaia-X, Solid, and SIMPL – have the Commission, not businesses, as their main client. The EC sets the objectives and funds the outcomes. Businesses, meanwhile, have been largely excluded from the process. When they raise issues like data silos or counterfeit parts control, they’re often told, "This is out of the scope of Data Space". Such a Data Space doesn’t meet business needs. To be attracted to Data Space, businesses need more than protocols, standards, or data-sharing frameworks. What must be offered are real solutions to pressing business problems – problems that need to be fully "in the scope of Data Space." Today, we’ll discuss the specific digital challenges businesses need included in Data Space. The third article of the trilogy will explore how to transition from Web 2.0, which hinders businesses, to a Web 3.0 Data Space. #w3ds #dataspace #business

Ten years ago, Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the Web, introduced a bold idea: rather than storing our data on platforms, we could keep it on our own Personal Online Datastores, or PODs. These POD function like personal web or mail servers, but this time, they would contain all your data: photos, documents, social media posts, purchases, even finances. When we share this concept with people, a common response is: "So, you’re saying I shouldn’t store my data on Facebook’s cloud, but rather on your POD? And is this POD in the cloud too? Cloud providers like AWS control it instead of Facebook? So where’s my data sovereignty?" The goal of this article is to clarify that "owning data means controlling data" and to show how your POD – what we call eVault – is truly controlled only by you. #dataprivacy #dataownership #w3ds #pod #evault #datasovereignty #digitalfreedom #timbernerslee #cloudsecurity #futureinternet #web3innovation #postplatformsfoundation

The modern economy faces several major challenges, largely due to the structure of Web 2.0 platforms and their monopolistic nature. These platforms create barriers to entry, hoard user data, and charge high fees for basic services, all while stifling innovation. In truth, these platforms have merely hacked economy, much like Standard Oil did a century ago, by creating monopolies. We'll examine the key economic issues at play and explore how the introduction of Web 3.0 Data Space (W3DS) could resolve most of the Web 2.0 issues, paving the way for fair competition and more inclusive economy. Finally, we’ll look at whether the economy can become democratic and just, free from the Web 2.0 platform monopolies, and how this will differs from the Standard Oil case. #w3ds #digitaleconomy #postplatformsfoundation

Imagine that your various needs and opportunities – from borrowing a stepladder for a couple of hours to earning extra money by pet-sitting while the owners are on vacation – could be fulfilled instantly, right after you put them in your “Wish List”. Despite the power and diversity of today’s platforms, they still fall short of delivering such seamless experiences. This is due to the architectural limitations of the Web 2.0 approach, where fragments of information about us are scattered across countless platforms. But what if we turned the internet "inside out"? Imagine everyone having a single personal "Internet account" where all your information – from bio and posts to capacity and wish lists – is stored and managed by you. Could this shift and increased competition between thousands of platforms, perfectly match your capabilities and needs with those around you? Could it help build connections and even combat the growing loneliness epidemic? Read on to discover how Internet transformation and Wish-list technique could bring a sense of small-town community to the global world, fostering true freedom and creativity in our interactions. #w3ds #postplatformsfoundation # #digitaltransformation #futureinternet #dataprivacy #digitalfreedom #humanconnection #communitybuilding #sharingeconomy #wishlists #internetofthings #techforgood #lonelinessawareness #personaldata #globalcommunity #innovativetech #datasharing #data #datasecurity #socialconnections #internetrevolution #humancentricinternet

The Buddhist text Tittha Sutta includes one of the earliest versions of the famous parable "The Blind Men and the Elephant." In this tale, a group of blind men who have never encountered an elephant before try to understand and imagine what the elephant is like by touching different parts of it. The parable’s moral is that people struggle to grasp the essence of complex, systemic phenomena that they have never encountered before. Today, we will discuss one such phenomenon, which even lacks a proper name. For our purposes, we'll refer to it as "Data Space," though that term isn't universally accepted. Indeed, it’s a vast and poorly understood elephant. Yet, this is far from a theoretical discussion. The European Commission has already spent over a billion euros on this 'elephant' and plans to invest even more, without a clear vision of the whole animal, and sometimes without seeing it at all. Why can’t the European Commission see this, and what can we do to help? Also, how can we save the EU money? Read on. #w3ds #dataspace #datapolicy #eu #digitalfuture #techgiants #datamonopoly #dataprotection #digitalsovereignty #digitaltransformation #eucommission #dataownership #internetfrontier #gdpr #futureofdata #europeanunion #platformeconomy #dataeconomy #digitalpolicy #digitaldemocracy #postplatformsfoundation

Since human communities grew beyond the size of a tribe, where everyone knew everything about everyone, they needed registers. Land registers, population registers, and marriage registers were established. Later, registers for companies, ships, cars, and even cats were introduced. And, of course, it was usually the state that maintained them – after all, someone had to remind people who was married to whom. But perhaps humanity has reached a point where we can handle the task of confirming various facts without the state.  Indeed, IT technologies have advanced to the point where registers can be decentralized, non-governmental, and even more reliable. How? Find out in this article.

Since human communities grew beyond the size of a tribe, where everyone knew everything about everyone, they needed registers. Land registers, population registers, and marriage registers were established. Later, registers for companies, ships, cars, and even cats were introduced. And, of course, it was usually the state that maintained them – after all, someone had to remind people who was married to whom. But perhaps humanity has reached a point where we can handle the task of confirming various facts without the state.  Indeed, IT technologies have advanced to the point where registers can be decentralized, non-governmental, and even more reliable. How? Find out in this article. #decentralizedtechnology #w3ds #futureofgovernment #datasecurity #digitaltransformation #futureofinternet #future #postplatformsfoundation

Tell me, are you also annoyed by dozens of logins and passwords and the need to create a new account in each new system? Have you ever thought about what a world would look like where you have just one universal key to all doors: you can use it to log into a new system, withdraw money from an ATM, open a hotel door or start a rental scooter. Without any preliminary registrations, uploading profile data and all that stuff? It would be a very convenient world, wouldn't it? Then let's go read how to get there!

How many logins and passwords do you have? A hundred? Two hundred? It’s maddening, yet we’ve come to accept this as a reasonable trade-off for the convenience of accessing hundreds of platforms, services, and online stores. But let’s take a moment to consider how we might solve this issue. One seemingly obvious solution is a Single Key for all online and even offline systems. The European Commission is heading in this direction with the eIDAS standard. However, this doesn’t actually solve the problem. The real issue with eIDAS isn’t technical, but lies in how the problem is framed. So, what would the right approach look like? Let’s start by exploring that in this article. Prepare for a journey, much like in The Lord of the Rings. #loginoverload #passwordfatigue #onlinesecurity #eidas #singlekeysolution #digitalidentity #dataprivacy #securitysolutions #futureofsecurity #eidas #digitaltransformation #w3ds #postplatformsfoundation