Welcome to Dissident
Dissident doesn’t want to be just another platform. We see ourselves as an antidote to a world exclusively designed for and by the Big Tech. A slower, deeper, and healthier alternative for our personal, social and public content.
After two years of development and private testing, we are happy to announce the grand opening of the Dissident platform and our 3 products: Desktop, Dashboard, and Library.
This platform was created out of the frustration that we are no longer in control of our digital lives.
In many ways, Tech is broken.
The devices and apps we use every day don’t belong to us anymore. We don’t have full access to the content they store, and it’s hard, sometimes impossible, to move our data elsewhere.
The feeds of information that comes through our phones every day are packaged by machines that pretend to know us. But in reality their loyalty is to the advertisers. This is why their daily selection feels more and more like junk food.
The Internet was once envisioned to become the world’s largest library by the early tech pioneers. Today, it’s more about taming audiences and focusing on what isn’t really important.
In some ways the Internet feels “smaller” than it was when it opened to the public.
The tools, services, and platforms we use have made us more passive and less creative.
There are many things that need to change in our experience of the Internet, but access to our content is one of the most important, it drives all the rest. If our physical homes had the same constraint as our phones, we would never accept to live there.
It came down to ask ourselves these three questions:
What if we could recreate a sense of unity?
We struggle to live inside a fragmented app universe. Dozens of services are constantly competing for our attention. We keep jumping from one idea to the next, from one interface to another, without a place to call home.
What if we could control our own content (again)?
Current applications have been designed to offer less and less control over our own content. It’s harder to access and to search. It’s only compatible with certain apps and certain phones. When we use a service, it seems like we have to stick with it for life.
What if we could create a healthier environment for our minds?
Our creative energy is being diluted in an ocean of noise. Our brains are exposed to hundreds of unwanted and unhealthy articles and ads every day. Algorithms, or the people who build them, make general assumptions about our tastes. And in the end, we see exactly the same things as everyone else.
Technology is like food. We are what we eat. And what we absorb online for the moment is not very healthy .
It is time to try a different approach and change the way we consume and access content every day.
Our creativity, our digital ownership, and our free will are at stake.
We decided to become « dissident » to a world that doesn’t seem to care about fixing any of these issues.
The future we want is about taking back control, no matter what phone or service we are using. To be able to disconnect from the global hive mind. To rediscover alternative sources of inspiration. To reconnect with the content we forgot we loved. To create a different pace for our thought process.
To enjoy a slower, deeper, and more meaningful online experience.
We call that the Slow Web, a Slow Food Movement for technology.
Dissident has three different spaces. One for your personal data, one for your social media content, and one to access freely available knowledge and culture.
Each workspace has been designed with a focus on simplicity and ease of use by making all sources of content equal. Smaller services feels as powerful as the big one.
You can discover our product history here.
Now is a good time to be part of the slow web movement. Join dissident!
During our private testing we decided to offer access to the product for 5 euros monthly, the price of a latte, to cover our costs.
As we are about to open to a larger audience, we have decided to keep this current model in place. You can support us and organize your digital life by becoming a member.
We see ourselves as artisans who want to focus their time on building ethically designed software.
As a member, we will welcome your ideas to make Dissident better. We give you access to 50 services already but this is just the beginning!
We are looking forward to have you onboard!
Thanks in advance!
Join Dissident
Our official hashtag #wearedissident
Ps: Please share this article with your friends who are also interested in having a healthier content organization online.
