Remember files?
.doc .doc .doc .doc .jpg .jpg .svg
You write a document, hit save, and the file is on your computer. It’s yours. You can inspect it, you can send it to a friend, and you can open it with other apps.
Files come from the paradigm of personal computing.
This post, however, isn’t about personal computing. What I want to talk about is social computing—apps like Instagram, Reddit, Tumblr, GitHub, and TikTok.
What do files have to do with social computing?
Historically, not a lot—until recently.
alice owns owns bob .doc .doc .doc .doc .doc .doc post post .jpg .jpg .jpg .jpg .jpg .jpg .jpg .jpg follow follow vote vote
But first, a shoutout to files.
Files, as originally invented, were not meant to live inside the apps.
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