File over app: A philosophy for owning your digital data
By
Steph Ango
Summary
The article presents the "File over app" philosophy, arguing that digital artifacts should be created as files users can control and easily retrieve, rather than being locked into ephemeral software tools. It appeals to tool makers to give users ownership over their data, emphasizing that files outlast the apps used to create them.
Source
Key quotes
· 3 pulledFile over app is a philosophy: if you want to create digital artifacts that last, they must be files you can control, in formats that are easy to retrieve and read.
File over app is an appeal to tool makers: accept that all software is ephemeral, and give people ownership over their data.
In the fullness of time, the files you create are more important than the tools you use to create them. Apps are ephemeral, but your files have a chance to last.
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