Remember a freer web?

Remember when the World Wide Web was once much more open and freer?

Individuals used to maintained control over their own websites, curated their own content, and engaged with others without the influence of big tech social media, who have gotten way too big with the network effect.

Remember when content creators were publishing either directly at their own websites and not "microblog" at social media? The web was much freer then. We did not have to worry about our content getting removed, hard censored, or soft-censored with content not favored by "the algotirhm".

A part of the decline is due to the content creators themselves, attracted by the network effect and the near-instant gratification that social network platforms provide, another part is due to the mistreatment of social network platforms with the contents that they are being entrusted with by creators, to have them syndicated and pushed to their respective followers but failing these trust.

The recent controversies surrounding TikTok bans (The New York Times, 2023; Reuters, 2024), Meta’s decision to block news content in Canada (BBC, 2023; Financial Times, 2024), and Twitter/X’s continuous policy shifts (The Guardian, 2023; Wired, 2024) underscore how a select few corporations determine the parameters of digital communication.

This shift has significant consequences. Independent creators and smaller platforms struggle to gain visibility as algorithmic filtering prioritizes engagement-driven, monetized content. Where the web was once an egalitarian space, today’s digital environment increasingly favors corporate interests over user autonomy. The web, originally envisioned as a decentralized and democratized medium, now reflects the business priorities of a few dominant firms that set and alter the rules at will.

The decentralized web before social media

Before social media monopolized content distribution, users had significant agency over what they consumed and shared. Websites such as Blogger.com allowed individuals to self-publish, while content management systems like WordPress, Movable Type, Joomla, and Drupal facilitated independent website management without reliance on major tech firms while allowing free permissionless publishing onto the Web.

Prior to the dominance of algorithmic recommendations, content discovery operated through direct, user-driven mechanisms:

1. Engaging in discussions via blog comments and threaded replies.

2. Utilizing pingbacks and trackbacks to connect related content across different platforms.

3. Curating and sharing blogrolls—lists of recommended sites maintained by individual website owners.

Website administrators maintained complete control over their platforms, from advertising decisions to interface design and content structure. This diversity fostered a highly dynamic internet, where creative expression and niche communities thrived without external constraints.

Content discovery before "The Algorithm"

Content published on social media are now at the mercy of the algorithm that decides who should be seeing your content, and for how long. It would be easy to think that your content will be pushed to all your subscribers or followers on social media platforms, it was indeed done that way, but as of about a decade ago, it has stopped being done that way. For easy reference, let's call it "The Algorithm"

If you are wondering why YouTubers now specifically requesting their subscribers to "click the Bell" button, or Twitter users asking followers to "Click the Bell" icon, this is precisely the reason. It is no longer enough to simply be subscribing or following a friend to be getting all updates from the friend as The Algorithm dictates what gets syndicated and federated.

I will write more about "The Algorithm" in the future.

Before The Algorithm, we manage syndication, federation and discovery through:

1. Web Aggregators and Directories – Platforms such as Technorati, Ping.sg (which I launched in 2006), Tomorrow.sg, and Project Petaling Street curated and promoted blog content, allowing users to explore diverse perspectives. Many of these platforms have since become defunct due to the decline of open web and independent blogging.

2. RSS Feeds – Users subscribed to preferred websites using Google Reader and other RSS aggregators, ensuring direct and unfiltered content access. Many of RSS readers such as Google Reader have also gone defunct. RSS, which was quite the norm of any content-focused websites back in and around 2010 have also started to be quietly dropped or not feature them prominently anymore in header.

3. Manually Curated Networks – Users discovered content through personal blogrolls and link exchanges, fostering a decentralized and intentional browsing experience.

In this model, users actively shaped their digital experiences rather than relying on profit-driven algorithms to determine what they saw. Content quality and subject relevance took precedence over viral trends and engagement metrics. This also explains the limited quantity of popular at that time. We had Badger Badger, Star Wars Kids and not too many of them.

The rise of "The Algorithm"

Initially, social media functioned as a supplementary tool for content creators, offering microblogging capabilities that linked back to full-length articles. Platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace were originally designed to complement, rather than replace, independent publishing. Early users were using these tools to post links and snippets to their full articles, often published on their own websites. However, as user behavior adapted to shorter, immediate content formats, social media began to supplant traditional blogging entirely.

Initially, microblogging was rather awkward. Twitter tried to make it less so by labeling the content area with "What are you doing?", encouraging you to share less thoughtful content on Twitter rather than publishing on your site. The dopamine associated with the instant gratification has made microblog becoming more common and less akward. We stopped posting only what we were doing but more thoughts and later starting to find 140 chars terribly limiting (it was due to SMS char limit).

We started posting less and less on our websites and most services that were fascilitating content creation, hosting, federation and syndication started to falter (cite more examples, such as Google Reader shutting down, Technorati losing traffic, RSS losing trend). Big social media started to gain momentum, and with that more power, and started to play a role in deciding what content we see, or should not be seeing. This is also known as "the algorithm". "The algorithm" is not merely referring to censorship, but generally presenting content to readers not in any logical order, reverse chronological or any other form, but in order to get readers to be hooked and start doom scrolling.

• Aggregator sites like Technorati lost relevance, limiting independent publishers’ reach.

• Chronological feeds were replaced by algorithmic rankings, curating content based on platform priorities rather than user preferences.

Path of destruction

"The Algorithm" is engineered by the big tech social media in order to maximize viewership time. It started with an innocent article/video recommendations, and eventually resulting in a blackhole-like mechanics such as that of TikTok or YouTube Shorts where it's so effective that viewers, akin to a zombie, wired to their screen continues, without any pause, to be fed with videos after videos that are brief and designed to fully suck you in.

With "The Algorithm", users of social media then try to beat it, in order to get more views or interactions. This is similar to Search Engine Optimization (SEO) practice that was used by websites, usually commercial, that tried to exploit popular keywords to gain more organic visits resulting from search engine hits.

These changes led to passive consumption habits, where users primarily engaged with whatever was surfaced by the algorithm rather than actively seeking out diverse sources. This shift also facilitated the creation of filter bubbles and echo chambers, wherein users predominantly encounter viewpoints aligned with their existing beliefs.

Additionally, social media platforms now monetize visibility, requiring creators to pay for audience reach through promoted posts and advertising. This model disadvantages independent voices while reinforcing corporate hegemony over online discourse. At the same time, platforms collect and exploit user data, leveraging it to fine-tune engagement-maximizing algorithms at the expense of informational diversity.

Reclaiming the Open Web

This discussion is not merely retrospective. This is a call to action. The web was conceived as an open forum for information exchange and self-expression, yet the endless viewership optimization of the algorithm has robbed the original intent away.

Concrete steps towards this goal:

1. Reviving Independent Publishing – Supporting personal blogs and self-hosted websites to reduce reliance on social media platforms.

2. Using self-controlled Discovery Tools – Encouraging the use of RSS feeds, newsletters, and independent aggregators to follow content without algorithmic interference.

3. Challenging Algorithmic Domination – Promoting content distribution models that do not rely on opaque ranking systems designed to maximize engagement rather than inform users.

4. Advocating for Open Web Standards – Endorsing policies that ensure equal access to web infrastructure and reduce corporate influence over digital spaces.

5. Educating Users on Digital Autonomy – Raising awareness about the implications of centralized control and encouraging critical engagement with digital platforms.

The web should facilitate intellectual exploration, creative freedom, and meaningful connections—not merely function as a revenue-generating apparatus for tech giants. As users, we possess the agency to redefine our relationship with digital content by prioritizing independent platforms and open web practices.

I remain committed to this cause through advocacy, public discourse, and the development of technological solutions aimed at preserving internet openness. By collectively working toward a decentralized web ecosystem, we can reclaim the web’s foundational ethos—a free, open, and user-governed space.