All I want is a playground with an open API and enough creative users to try out new ideas from developers.#
I want to go back to the pace of innovation we had going in the 90s and 00s. The big platforms snuffed all that out, corralled it and kept it in some too-restrictive bounds. Did what BillG failed to, locked us in the trunk and cut off the air supply. #
That some of these people were the most fervent advocates for open platforms says that maybe those beliefs ran pretty thin, and the opportunity to cash it out for billions made it worthwhile.#
Maybe we'll just be hobbyists. I'm okay with that. Or maybe people are will to pay good money to sustain creative development.#
I don't expect that to be possible on Facebook's new network. #
You know those obnoxious sites that pop up dialogs when they think you're about to leave, asking you to subscribe to their email newsletter? Well that won't do for Scripting News readers who are a discerning lot, very loyal, but that wouldn't last long if I did rude stuff like that. So here I am at the bottom of the page quietly encouraging you to sign up for the nightly email. It's got everything from the previous day on Scripting, plus the contents of the linkblog and who knows what else we'll get in there. People really love it. I wish I had done it sooner. And every email has an unsub link so if you want to get out, you can, easily -- no questions asked, and no follow-ups. Go ahead and do it, you won't be sorry! :-)