about   projects   papers   events   contact Blob In the context of the C4R project, NetHood develops a platform that allows the partners of a collaborative project, and beyond, to build a collective digital platform by just tagging appropriately content created on their own individual web sites. It builds on the widely known RSS (Really Simple Syndication) protocol, used extensively in the early days of the Internet, which still works but is less used because of the domination of the global platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and the like. We call RSF (Really Simple Federation) the reconceptualization of the RSS protocol as means to aggregate and filter content collectively, instead of just broadcasting. You can take a look at the current version of the platform aggregating content from the C4R partners web sites on our development server here: https://rsf.mazizone.net/. Central to this process is the Blob software, which offers the possibility to host on low-cost servers customized aggregators of RSS feeds from multiple sources in a way that it is usable, attractive, collaborative. Social media platforms are nothing more than aggregators of content, and blobs will offer the same functionality with the big difference that content will be created on traditional web sites built with popular CMS solutions like Wordpress, Grav, etc. Users and curators of blobs can then choose sources and fine tune the dissemination onto their own websites-networks through the selection of appropriate tags. Not only posts, but also audio/video etc. can be provided through feeds. What is missing today is the possibility to customize such aggregation. Blob will offer a wide range of customization options through a powerful admin interface that will allow to present and filter content sources in different ways. It will also allow the curated sources embedding - a blob - into another website, similarly to Gmaps or Youtube code snippet. Creating a content aggregator, a social media platform, will be made as easy as creating a simple web site! Finally, it is important to note that the RSF ecosystem will promote online exchanges that are not addictive and emotional but evolve at a slower pace which is more healthy, more sustainable, and more fulfilling. The rhythm of online activity imposed by platforms like Twitter is simply not human. The blob software developed by lesion is close to have its first official release. Stay tuned!