I've been following a project called Beaker Browser, which is a browser build on top of decentralized tech called dat (yeah, a confusing name), and just wanted to write a quick post about why I think it's a really cool project. This post was inspired by a Twitter thread that Paul Frazee (one of the creators of Beaker) posted earlier this week.

The Beaker project is moving in a direction that is very interesting to see. The idea of a browser that gives you a "filesystem as the network" is exciting and spurs on all sorts of imaginings about what that will do for the web. There are challenges of course, like will it ever get widespread adoption, but the good it can do for people creating for the web is huge. I think that Beaker has the right mindset about what the web should be, that it should be easy to get started, easy to grow, and to promote and share content. The whole idea behind a decentralized web comes out of the current age of big monopolies and everyone using giant services that are not without privacy concerns. If you are not paying for a product, then you are most likely the product, and we are products of so many companies. The vision I think is to be able to build interconnected communities without relying on big corporations like Google, Facebook, Microsoft or Twitter.

Imagine finding a store online that sells goods, and you want to sell something as well, you duplicate their store, add your own goods, and publish it with a click of a button. It's live, no need to buy a domain or pay for a server. Sure you can buy a domain, and pay for a service to re-share your store, but you started without any barriers or need of so much knowledge to get something out there. Combine this with the plethora of nocode tools and we have a web that empowers so much creation. The problem with todays web is that it's more about consuming than creating, because it's so complex to get started building out an idea you have. I think a decentralized browser like Beaker is a step in the right direction, and we can only hope that others will follow in its footsteps.