It just occurred to me that the prevalent idea that apps killed the open web is completely and utterly wrong. The open web is still there, it still works, and it still needs no-one’s permission before you can publish there. Sure, the vast majority of the attention is elsewhere, in siloed apps, but then it was in the glory days of the web, too.

Maybe that’s OK. Maybe that’s how it should be. And that’s maybe where those of us who enjoy something different, something alternative, something fun can build new and interesting things. We need new mechanisms to help people navigate these alleyways, and to connect with each other, as most of the old ones are gone or transformed. But that can be done.

Maybe, just maybe, the victory of the apps has handed us the blessing of being counter-cultural again. And that’s exciting.