Over on Facebook and on Twitter I posted a thought, that software could be "radically silo-free."
David Eyes asked what it means. I referred him to my blog, I said "scroll to the bottom and then read up." That's because this idea is so fresh that I hadn't yet written a post explaining. I thought I probably should.
First, I said I was going to hold up the release of MyWord Editor because I wanted it to be silo-free from the start. Then I spent a week doing that. While that was happening, I made a list of things that would make software silo-free, and I did all of them. I wanted to consciously, mindfully, create something that perfectly illustrated freedom from silos, or came as close as I possibly could to the ideal. In that post I defined the term.
"Silo-free" means you can host your blog, and its editor, on your domain. I may offer a service that runs the software, but there will be no monopoly, and it will be entirely open source, before anything ships publicly.
In the post announcing the open source release of MyWorld Editor, I included a section listing the ways it was silo-free, fleshing out the idea from the earlier post. And from that list, comes my definition.
Has an open API. Easily cloned on both sides (that's what open means in this context).
It's a good API, it does more than the app needs. So you're not limited by the functionality of MyWord Editor. You can make something from this API that is very different, new, innovative, ground-breaking.
You get the source, under a liberal license. No secrets. You don't have to reinvent anything I've done.
Users can download all their data, with a simple command. No permission needed, no complex hoops to jump through. Choose a command, there's your data. Copy, paste, you've just moved.
Supports RSS 2.0. That means your ideas can plug into other systems, not just mine.
There may be other ways to be silo-free. Share your ideas.
In that post I explained why the software was "radical".
These days blogging tools try to lock you into their business model, and lock other developers out. I have the freedom to do what I want, so I decided to take the exact opposite approach. I don't want to lock people in and make them dependent on me. Instead, I want to learn from thinkers and writers and developers. I want to engage with other minds. Making money, at this stage of my career, is not so interesting to me. I'd much rather make ideas, and new working relationships, and friends.
I guess you could say I believe there are other reasons to make software, other than making money. Some people like to drive racecars when they get rich. What I want is to drive my own Internet, and for you to drive yours too.