I was 10 years old when the internet was born. My first lines of code animated 8-pixel images, long before the web reached our homes. I knew the screeching sound of dot matrix printers spitting out code that we'd then copy onto our personal computers, and the endless program loading from magnetic tapes, as noisy as the modems that would arrive years later. Some of us even recorded music in mono on half of the tape to pass the time.
Then the internet arrived. First in cybercafes, geek hangouts, then in our student rooms. A new world opened up, free from market constraints, a space for sharing knowledge, hypnotic video games, and every imaginable perversion. But very quickly, the market took over: massification, standardization, profitability.
Of course, there was huge progress. Performance exploded, cinema found its way onto our PCs. We no longer needed to go out, or even to interact with other humans.
We then found ourselves in a world that looked more like Cyberpunk than the initial utopia. The cure had become the poison. Not only do the internet and its applications pollute our minds with indigestible content, but they also deplete the planet's resources. Yet, when you've grown up with this "drug," withdrawal seems impossible...
But perhaps it's possible to repair, at least in part, things? To put this formidable tool at the service of the community, while respecting the environment and humans as much as possible?
Large platforms, with their economic models, constantly degrade their service quality. They have strayed from their initial missions to sell their users' attention to the highest bidder, even for premium services.
So, how can we remain free and escape this "enshittification" without the user becoming the product? My answer lies in three principles:
Staying small means targeting a niche service. This allows me to limit maintenance and hosting costs and uphold my commitment to true gratuity. Staying small also means not scattering resources across multiple services and features that would eventually divert attention from the user to satisfy advertisers. It also makes advertising displays irrelevant. But can you grow while staying small? Yes: by multiplying!
But how to make money then? By selling services to those who can afford to pay.
Blablastars.ch is my first service, an event-based carpooling platform dedicated to amateur astronomers. But the platform I created to host this service is a generic event carpooling platform. It can be specialized and adapted infinitely to meet niche needs at low cost.
Are you an association, a club, a local authority, or a philately enthusiast? Would you like to set up a platform to communicate about your events and offer a carpooling service and secure messaging to your members? I can help you.
I can assist you in setting up a clone of Blablastars, customized to your needs (taxonomy, styles, etc.). For this, you'll need web hosting compatible with Node.js and some web administration skills. The WordPress API will allow you to integrate the display of the latest events and single sign-on from your WordPress sites. Once the Android application is operational, it will also be customizable for your use.
Feel free to contact me for access to the source code. If you don't have the necessary technical resources, reach out to me via the contact form to assess how I can help you. Depending on the complexity, I will provide you with a quote. You will be the one who brings this platform to life!