The IndieWeb in 2030?
This is just some quick thoughts at the end of the year for this month's IndieWeb Carnival on the IndieWeb in 2030.
I don't think things will be radically different in 5 years time. Like today, it will be a constant flow of people joining the IndieWeb with their own website or blog, some staying, some abandoning it after a while. We will see the same with tools and services, new ones entering the field and existing ones becoming effectively abandonware. That is really just the nature of independent movements, there are messy and without top down structure. That is a plus not a negative.
That said, if the IndieWeb needs something to improve, it would more services opening up the joy of having your own website to a wider range of people. The DIY tools are good and plenty, but I believe we have more room for services like Pika, Bear Blog and micro.blog. Easier ways to engage with a community, find other bloggers and engage with each other. I am basically hoping for something that could do what a site like Blogger did for the personal blogosphere in the early 2000s. I felt like back then it was actually quite normal for everyone to have a personal blog that was really just personal, and not a professional portfolio or a means to sell something. It wasn't just techminded people. I think there is a ongoing shift towards something akin to that again happening right now, and as different people have different needs and skill levels, I think there is room for more IndieWeb services that for example make integration of things like Webmentions, webrings, commenting etc. more accessible.