Solid: taking back the Web through decentralization App development as we know it will radically ch…
Channel: FOSDEM
Date: 2019-05-02

Solid: taking back the Web through decentralization App development as we know it will radically change
by Ruben Verborgh

At: FOSDEM 2019
https://video.fosdem.org/2019/Janson/solid_web_decentralization.webm


Solid is a new ecosystem for the Web, in which people store their own data instead of having to upload it to applications. This changes how we will build apps: we no longer have to harvest people's data, but ask permission to access people's data space. Solid was created by the inventor of the World Wide Web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee. Its mission is to reshape the web as we know it. Solid will foster a new breed of applications with capabilities above and beyond anything that exists today. 

Within the Solid ecosystem, people decide where they store their data. Photos they take, comments they write, contacts in their address book, calendar events, how many miles they run each day from their fitness tracker… these are all stored in their Solid pod. This Solid pod can be in their house or workplace, or with an online provider of their choice. Since they own their data, they are free to move it at any time, without interruption of service. People can give apps permission to read or write to parts of their Solid pod. So whenever they’re opening up a new app, they don’t have to fill out their details ever again. Things saved through one app are available in another: syncing is never needed, because data stays with people. 

This approach protects people's privacy and is also great for developers: we can build apps without harvesting massive amounts of data first. 

Room: Janson
Scheduled start: 2019-02-03 10:00:00+01