Different

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The indieweb is different from previous efforts like blogging, federation, decentralization, etc.

Beyond Blogging and Decentralization

While the IndieWeb shares many of its principles with other efforts/communities, yet there are some key aspects that distinguish the IndieWeb from previous efforts.

• Principles over project-centrism. There are many similar efforts that are based on a single (often open source) project. We believe a community developing a plurality of projects following a set of principles is more robust and produces better results than any such monoculture.
• Make what you need. Use what you make. The best way to figure out what's most important, and actually build it, is by creating for and on your personal domain, then using it yourself for your personal needs (AKA eat what you cook), and iterating (AKA cook what you want).
• Design and UX first, formats/protocols second. We focus on UX first, and then as we figure that out we re-use/subset/implement/iterate/develop the absolutely simplest most minimal formats & protocols necessary to support that UX.

Indie but not a company

The IndieWeb is certainly indie and strongly supports independence and independents.

The IndieWeb is a community and a commons, not a company.

The company "ind.ie" (with the ".") is pursuing "indie technology" and does re-use some indieweb principles, yet is distinct from the IndieWeb.

Brainstorming

No blog is an island

Tantek Çelik: “No blog is an island” is a call for a deliberate shift in perspective and summary expression that describes the following ways that IndieWeb blogs & sites interact with each other and people differently than historical authors-first commenters-second blogs.

Prior blogs / blogosphere:

• "old school author-centered blogs" are all about just the author(s) of the blog, where everyone else is a second class commenter

Blogs replying to each other / IndieWeb:

• The peer-to-peer vision of the IndieWeb reflects a present and future where everyone is an author of their own site, and comments/commentary are between sites, not a "gathering" or a "community" of secondary contributors in deference to a primary author/authority/site-owner.

Some amount of blog to blog conversation did take place in the early 2000s, especially around political topics, as a form of public debate and back & forth. Some of this conversation was facilitated by realtime blog link discovery services like Technorati.

This phrase is also as an encouragement to figure out and support inter-blog connections (via Webmention etc.) rather than be so focused on "local comments" and the like.

In this regard, the IndieWeb philosophy is calling for a return to a more egalitarian and user/reader empowered vision of the web, where everyone can be and is treated as an author, even if only for short comments or remarks.

Thoughts / opinions / critical feedback?

• Add yourself here… (see this for more details)

See Also

• why
• principles
• selfdogfood
• design
• indie
• community
• commons