A conversation about where we are now
and where we’re going with the web
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Latest

028
3 January 2023
The open web and the Open Web Mind
Is the web getting more open, or will big tech continue to control it? What's the best way to make the web more open, protocols or web3? Which approach should I take with the Open Web Mind?
027
20 December 2022
Here's to the holes in your CV
From my earliest days of work, I was warned about an affliction that might threaten my career: the _hole in the CV_ or the _gap in the résumé_. Here's how one technology has entrenched the idea of job after job after job, and how another technology promises to explode that convention.
026
13 December 2022
Why it's important to be open in tech podcasting
Martin Feld believes in RSS, the protocol for getting podcasts out there. Why? Because RSS is _open_. No one controls it. Anyone can put out a podcast on RSS.
025
15 November 2022
Tech podcasting versus tech YouTubing versus tech TikToking
Tarek Madany Mamlouk is all about tech content. From hour-long multi-host podcasts through snappy YouTube explainers to TikToks, he has it all covered. Join Tarek and me for our lively conversation about tech content creation.
024
25 October 2022
Talking web3
Alexandra Arens is host of the Venly Expert Talks podcast, where she discusses all things web3. We talk about tech podcasting: differentiation and discoverability. And we dive into web3: the good, the bad and the scammy.
023
11 October 2022
Pivot point
I've reached a pivot point with Tangled Web. I don't quite know where I'm going to be taking it from here. Rather than decide in isolation, I thought I'd let you know what I'm thinking.
022
30 August 2022
How I know that Facebook is dead
Facebook is dead. I'm aware that this is a bold statement, seeing as three and a half billion people are on Facebook. That's a sizeable user base for a dead tech giant. How do I know that Facebook is dead? Here's the clue: Facebook won't let me give them money.
021
19 July 2022
Why does nothing work on the web?
Sometimes it seems that nothing works on the web. It's not just the incompetence of big tech. It's a deeper issue with the complexity of the web. And - well, I can't just let Google off the hook here - it's an even deeper issue with the authoritarianism of big tech.
020
5 July 2022
7 steps to the Open Web Mind
How to get started on a project as enormous as the Open Web Mind? Take the first step. Then take the next step. Keep going until you're taking steps you could never have anticipated. That's how. Here are the 7 steps that I anticipate will take me to the Open Web Mind.
019
7 June 2022
What is Bitcoin?
A friend asked me: What is Bitcoin? I think she was expecting a long answer. Instead, I gave a short answer: Bitcoin is money that's issued by an algorithm, not a government. Here's why that's all you need to know about Bitcoin.
018
24 May 2022
File format inflation
Why do there have to be so many file formats? How's anyone who's not a file format expert meant to choose? Here's my account of what happens when file formats breed: why it happens, who benefits, who bears the costs.
017
10 May 2022
7 principles of the Open Web Mind
When I started work on my most ambitious project, the Open Web Mind, I established fundamental principles to guide my decisions about the project. Here they are: 7 principles of the Open Web Mind.
016
26 April 2022
The worst way to fix Facebook
Everyone agrees that we need to do something about Facebook, Google, Apple and Twitter. Here are three ways we could fix Facebook: the worst way, the not-quite-so-bad way and (let me dream a little) the best way.
015
19 April 2022
Many small bets
When I quit my job to go all in on my own projects, I had to make a decision: focus on a single idea or pursue several ideas at the same time? Many small bets or one big bet?
014
12 April 2022
Visualizing values in the Open Web Mind
There are a lot of numbers on the web. Table after table gives you column after column and row after row of numbers. If only there were a way to visualize all those values. Here's how the Open Web Mind might make sense of all the numbers on the web.
013
5 April 2022
Everyone wants to fix Facebook
The defining characteristic of our times is this: everyone wants to tell everyone else what to do. Especially when it comes to Facebook. Twitter, too. And TikTok. But mostly Facebook. Everyone want to fix Facebook. Here's why I, for one, would rather leave Facebook alone.
012
29 March 2022
No‑code meets web3
Doc Williams covers a wide range of just the kind of tech topics that interest me. I especially wanted to talk to him when I saw that he'd created NFTs called Atom Bomb Bunnies using no-code tools.
011
22 March 2022
Why I'm adopting Packy McCormick's Not Boring podcast style
Here's why I read my articles on the Tangled Web podcast and channel: it widens my audience; writing helps me think; writing helps me talk; and talking helps me write.
010
15 March 2022
A visualization from the Open Web Mind
The Open Web Mind is my most ambitious project. It's difficult to know where to start when talking about it. So I'm going to start small and specific, with one visualization of Startup Hubs around the world, and how the Open Web Mind made it easy to generate.
009
8 March 2022
Why spam filters are getting worse
How much time do we lose when important emails end up in our spam folders? How many opportunities do we miss out on? Here's why spam filters are so bad... and getting worse.
008
1 March 2022
A no‑code frame of mind
No-code-first means writing code when you have to, but only when you have to. Here's how Fraser Gorrie uses no-code to better serve his clients.
007
22 February 2022
15 quick questions to evaluate your side hustle idea
If you're thinking of starting a side hustle, or a full-on startup, you'll need to decide which ideas you should focus on. I've made a free online tool for you to evaluate your ideas.
006
15 February 2022
The weird thing that convinced me we need web3
I've never been convinced that we really need web3. Isn't the blockchain just a seriously slow, extremely expensive, disastrously distributed database? Well, something weird just happened to me that helped convince me that we do need web3.
005
8 February 2022
10 things I did to bring my 2010 web site back to life
I neglected my visualizations web site, things made thinkable, for too long. Here's what I did to bring it back to life.
004
1 February 2022
What is no‑code and why does it matter?
The no-code revolution is helping people build everything from simple web sites to complex SaaS products, without writing a line of code. Lola Ojabowale from Lunch Pail Labs on how no-code makes software innovation permissionless and available to ever more people.
003
25 January 2022
So I bought a mirror in the metaverse
NFTs: probably the most arcanely-named tech innovation ever. Here's the simplest explanation of Non-Fungible Tokens, in less than ten minutes!
002
18 January 2022
Let's stop calling it the creator economy
If you're not in the creator economy, I have some bad news for you: you're out of a job. Pretty soon, the creator economy, along with the caring economy, will be the economy. That's a good thing. Here's why.
001
11 January 2022
The web has only just begun
I'm Mark Jeffery, founder of the Open Web Mind, and creator of Tangled Web. That's three names you've probably never heard before. Since I'm just starting out here, let me explain each of the three.
000
7 January 2022
Where we're going with the web
Welcome to Tangled Web, a conversation about where we are now and where we're going with the web.