The #OMN path is about much more than building software. It is about rebuilding the social infrastructure for digital media and communication, both online and offline. For decades, the web has been enclosed by the #dotcons. A handful of platforms now dominate how we communicate, organise and share information. This centralisation has concentrated power, narrowed public debate and made grassroots communities dependent on systems they neither own nor control. The #OMN path offers a practical alternative.
Decentralisation
The #OMN path puts control back into the hands of communities. By decentralising publishing, distribution and discovery, it reduces dependence on corporate gatekeepers and encourages a rich diversity of local media ecosystems rather than a handful of global monopolies.
The #4opens
Every #OMN project is built around the #4opens: open data, open source, open standards and open process. These are not simply technical choices; they are social values. Openness allows people to understand, improve and participate in the systems they rely on. It builds trust through transparency rather than control.
Media pluralism
Healthy societies need many voices, not one dominant narrative. The #OMN path supports diverse communities creating and sharing their own stories. It strengthens independent media and makes space for perspectives that are ignored, marginalised or distorted by the #mainstreaming media.
Resilience
Centralised systems fail in centralised ways. By distributing infrastructure, knowledge and responsibility across many communities, the #OMN path creates resilient media networks that are harder to censor, manipulate or simply disappear when a company changes direction or closes down. Following the #KISS principle keeps these systems understandable, maintainable and accessible to ordinary people.
Community
Technology should strengthen communities, not replace them. The #OMN path focuses on participation rather than consumption. It provides practical tools for grassroots organising, democratic discussion and collective action, helping people move from isolated users to active participants in their communities.
Empowerment
The goal is not simply to give people another platform. It is to give communities the ability to tell their own stories, build their own infrastructure and represent themselves on their own terms. This is especially important for grassroots movements and communities that have little voice within existing media structures.
Growing an #openweb
The #OMN path is ultimately about growing a healthier #openweb. A web that is decentralised instead of centralised. Collaborative instead of extractive. Participatory instead of passive. Community-owned instead of platform-controlled.
This work is already underway. Like any grassroots project, it needs people willing to contribute their time, skills and energy.
The current prototype is at:
(It’s currently up and down because we need more volunteer sysadmins. That’s the reality of grassroots infrastructure—but it’s also why building shared capacity matters.)