TheWebsThePlace

ThoughtStorms Wiki

This great TimBray article http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/200x/2003/07/12/WebsThePlace

does two things :

warns developers of the dangers of being a sharecropper on someone else's platform (See more ShareCropping / Enshittification)
reminds us how good the web / browser is as an interface because it's so simple and universal (See more on WebDesign, UserInterfaceStuff)

Update : http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/200x/2003/07/14/ShareCrop2

Of course things have moved on considerably this article was written. The technologies have changed, the players have changed. The costs-benefits being offered by platforms trying to lure you in to a life of share-cropping have changed. The pressures to accept such deals are waaaay higher now.

But the principle remains. Own your own space / platform. Don't rely on someone else's.

Fundamentally, having your own domain / brand which is the first place people can get to you and your stuff means that the platform can't abuse you. Even if you don't get the benefits of the platform either. Somehow you must fight for the ability to own and hold that relationship. Even if you temporarily use other people's platforms you should always think of them as temporary conveniences, and your first responsibility is to route that attention to the place you own and control.