Published: 2024-02-10T12:33:58+01:00
Words have power, and the paradoxical nature of the vocabulary used in Geminispace is symbolic of a greater underlying change that society must embrace.
I have noticed that a lot of the naming and vocabulary in Geminispace is based on astronomical terminology. And I like it. Much of Geminispace has a slightly surreal feeling to it, one in which I am eager to participate. The feeling that you are floating in space, a vast universe before you, with only you and the fundamental forces of nature as your companions, is manifest in the way we write the words presented on capsules. That feeling appears in the name of the protocol, the standard port (1965), and in many of the capsule names used.
It evokes a specific feeling, one that for me represents the hope of something new, an exploration of deep possibility and potential. The feeling of vastness is paradoxically coupled with the close-knit nature of the small web (let's face it: Gemini is not well-known or easily accessible to the average user). Those of us who are in Geminispace are all explorers of a new method of thinking and doing things with technology. Words have power, processes have power. Technologically speaking, Gemini is a reaction of sorts to what the Web has become, but there is a powerful symbolism behind it, and that symbolism is attached to an ever-growing movement. Gopher, Gemini, the Fediverse, Matrix, XMPP, and other technologies are different facets of a larger current of social change.
Large corporations have built the cathedral and locked it down, while we continue to mingle in the bazaar. We in the bazaar do not always agree on "the right way" to do things (and in fact, that disagreement can sometimes be a hindrance), nor do we even all have the same opinions or ideologies. But what matters is the unified attempt to reclaim and redefine technology in a way that works for us, rather than exploiting us.
One of the most important things we can hope to achieve from these disparate movements is an embrace of digital democracy, where technology works for the interests of society and a free people. This is even more important in an era where generative AI and deepfakes are causing disinformation to rocket out of control. Projects like Gemini are a simple manifestation of a much greater obligation that we have. The promotion of innovations like Gemini pushes the idea of digital democracy, privacy by design, and decentralized control over our own data into the public mindset. Telling a friend about something like Gemini might seem inconsequential (and when measured alone, it probably is!), but it furthers the greater behind it all, even if in the most minute way.
Gemini isn't going to be the thing that helps people take back the internet. But it will be one building block in an optimistic future where user freedom and privacy reign supreme. Technology alone will not bring about this future: it's about mindshare, cultural shifts, and regulation, too. These things are arguably even more important than the software itself.
Filed under: opensource, ideology, gemini
License: CC-BY-SA-4.0.
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