The collaborative internet

1 July, 2026

One of my favourite websites on the internet is Wikipedia. First of all, it's full of weird and interesting facts, and makes looking up stuff super easy. But mainly because all content is written and edited entirely by volunteers (though the code is maintained by paid developers). Anyone can edit it, not just a select list of people. You can literally go to Wikipedia right now and change (nearly) any page there (but only do it if it's helpful).

Sure, it has vandals, but the number of people contributing constructively massively outweigh those trying to be disruptive, so it gets dealt with.

Wikipedia works.

This is how the internet should be. People making stuff together. Instead, it's full of corporate bullshit. I've often heard people talking about this in reference to the early days of the internet, where it was full of people, and not companies. Unfortunately, I'm too young to remember that era, so I just have to make do with what exists today.

But you probably knew all that. If you follow me and read my blog, you most likely have similar values to me. If you're a big pro-capitalist and somehow came across my blog, then... hi? Maybe you've learned something new. Also please give me money.

How to fix it

Make stuff. That's what they don't want you to do. The more non-corporate stuff that exists, the less power that the big companies have.

Share stuff. Your projects get better when you share them with people. Maybe you just made it for yourself, but there's a good chance at least someone else will find it useful or interesting or funny or enjoyable or entertaining or educational or. You might also get useful feedback on it; new ideas from a fresh set(s) of eyes. Normalise sharing scrappy fiddles.

Collaborate on stuff. If you don't collaborate, it's not a collaborative internet. Make open source projects, make wikis, team up with someone else on something. Making stuff is best when you're making it with other people.

Boycott all big companies. This is hard in practise, but try to use open source or small-company/one-person alternatives where you can. This makes your life better as well, because you don't need to have your data harvested and sold to the highest bidder.

Don't be a dick. This should go without saying, but it needs saying to some people. Dicks are the downfall of the collaborative internet. Be nice and helpful and your life will be better (probably).