From Instagram to Open Journalism: Towards Public Space Online

Instagram’s Terms of Service changes are the most recent in a long string of events that remind us of the deal we make when we embrace a “free” commercial platforms online. As one person put it – if your aren’t paying, you are the product, not the customer. Plenty has already been written about the changes, what they may or may not mean, and now Instragram is going back to the drawing board and revising at least the framing if not the rules themselves.

However, rather than wait for Instragram to get it right (or perhaps wait to be disappointed when the continue to get it wrong), perhaps we should think about making something different. Maybe it’s time to get serious about creating more community-driven noncommercial public space on the web.