It's here
Cloud, decentralization, and more…
I’m observing a pattern in my platform selection these days. I like to work or save everything on the cloud. I want only limited data on my devices. This is a trauma response, I guess.
The incident
Everything changed on 10 Oct 2015 - night. I was doing a test work related to an interview and I got a few suggestions from the person who helped me. I was doing that to finalize and send it to them. Suddenly I heard a thunder and I got an electric shock in my hand from the mouse. I heard Mom’s scream from the living room. It took me a few moments to regain my senses. We faced terrible financial losses from this incident - TV, lights, fans, my computer everything fried.
I sold the computer my mother bought for me in 2013 for $450 (₹37k) to a scrapyard for $1.20 (₹100). It still hurts!
I lost all my data - everything! I couldn’t complete the interview process. I tried to explain, but this is a business, right? So in a way my career changed, otherwise I’d have gone with the 3D and VFX way. But I like where I am now.
After effect
After this, I won't switch on anything during the lightning and thunder. I began to upload everything to Google Drive. I don’t want to deal with another data loss ever again. For media I chose Google Photos - it was free and unlimited during those years.
From the Figma era, I completely shifted to cloud storage. Remember Photoshop’s file corrupted? These are all a big frightening experience. Hours of work just gone like that and no way to restore it. Never again.
Still, I save some data on my computer which I’m fine with. I don’t care if it vanishes, because I know how to download it again and the broadband speed is not in the way.
But when storing everything on the cloud may arise some questions. What about privacy and security, and what if they stop services like that?
Well, I choose platforms with my understanding and senses. I bet on my consciousness here. There are several types of data. I choose which item to store where and all these are mapped in my mind. If I lose my consciousness. I lost my data - a deal I’m fine with.
A deviation
Most of you know the concepts of Peer-to-peer (P2P) and Decentralization. The former is currently known for torrenting and maybe Napster1. And the latter was mainly popular in the Web3 era, but everyone observed it as a scam or something like that. However, it is a great concept in which the initial stage, use cases are mainly used by scammers.
Peer-to-peer (P2P): People can share stuff directly. A system where there's no middleman, just people talking and sharing with each other.
Decentralization: There's no one big boss in charge. No single authority calling the shots, just independent parties working together.
What I’m talking about is
My short bio in every platform is “hoping for decentralized platforms”. I stumbled upon a platform a few days back and can't resist my excitement from then. We’re entering a stable and believable decentralized era, I guess.
And one of them is Anytype
Available for Mac, Linux, Windows, Android and iOS. No need for an email or mobile number to create a digital space. It’s just private keys!
I could have created my side project - Instances - on this, but shareable docs is planned for the 1Q 2024 release.
Use cases
Today, Daily journal, Strategic writing, Knowledge base, Trip planner, Study hub, Recipe book, Habit tracker, Data vault
Release 1Q 2024
Team wiki, Shareable docs, Press kit, Startup data room, Curated lists, Personal portfolio
Release 4Q 2024
Community hub, Public Blog, Shared graphs, Collaborative Projects
Local-first: Crazy-fast loading times (Speed as it works locally)
Peer-to-peer: Secure & decentralized sync
Open code: Verifiable autonomy & security
I read most of their docs, FAQ, and more except the code (I don't how to verify that, I’m leaving that to the experienced devs), and needless to say this is the start of projects like this. They talked about their philosophy and missions. So nice to even read.
There is a sentence at the end of their footer “Create your own piece of the web”. This is what the open internet I always expected.
TON is also doing something like this, but it is different maybe they will meet somewhere in the future with their offerings.
I’d be really happy if Telegram also pivoted in this way. I mean the account creation without the identifiers like emails/mobile numbers.
Below is a sentence from their website that I think needs more reach;
Humans found a way to use these stories to build trust and freedom at the same time. To achieve greater cooperation, we need both. If we have trust but lack freedom, it results in a dictatorship; if we have a lot of freedom but lack trust, it leads to anarchy.
The right to privacy of thoughts.
The freedom to connect with those we trust.
The freedom to form and join communities.
The freedom to govern our creations and contributions in the world of bits.
Go on try Anytype today and if you absolutely like it, do this…
Using this means, you are responsible for everything. Losing private keys is final and there is no going back. So use a password manager.
The Napster file-sharing network was a centralized P2P network because there was a central server that maintained the directory of shared files.