The World Wide Web started with so much promise: to connect people across any distance, to allow anyone to become a publisher, and to democratize access to knowledge. However, today the Web seems to be failing us. It’s not private, secure, or unifying. The Internet has, in large part, ended up centralizing access and power in the hands of a few dominant platforms. 

But what if we could build something better, what some are calling the decentralized web?

In this series of six workshops, METRO was joined by our partners at Internet Archive, DWeb, and Library Futures to explore the ways in which moving to decentralized technologies may enhance your privacy, empower you to control your own data, and resist censorship: 

The Decentralized Web: An Introduction
Thursday, January 27th, from 4:00pm to 5:00pm EST

• Resource guide
• Event recording
• Blog post

In an Ever-Expanding Library, Using Decentralized Storage to Keep Your Materials Safe
Thursday, February 24th, from 4:00pm to 5:00pm EST

• Resource guide
• Event recording
• Blog post

Keeping Your Personal Data Personal: How Decentralized Identity Drives Data Privacy
Thursday, March 31, from 4:00pm to 5:00pm EST

• Resource guide
• Event recording
• Event summary

Goodbye Facebook, Hello Decentralized Social Media? Can Peer-to-Peer Lead to Less Toxic Online Platforms?
Thursday, April 28, from 4:00pm to 5:00pm EST

• Resource guide
• Event recording
• Blog post

Decentralized Apps, the Metaverse and the “Next Big Thing”
Thursday, May 26, from 4:00pm to 5:00pm EST

• Resource guide
• Event recording
• Blog post

Ethics of the Decentralized Web & Uses for the Law, Journalism, and Humanitarian Work
Thursday, June 30, from 4:00pm to 5:00pm EST

• Resource guide
• Event recording
• Blog post