The Hub

rethinking
business
practices

There are several ways to deal with anger.

You can start punching and shouting.

You can become a cynic, finding your superiority in the knowledge that humans are too insignificant to give them a second thought.

You can decide to bite back by becoming a brainless profiteer.

Or you can sit yourself down and ask a few questions, like what makes me angry about the internet, and what would it take so I don’t get angry any more?

And here is a funny thing. I had several reasons to sit myself down for a rethink of the internet (one of them is the easy town story, I write), but so far the result is that I get angrier about the internet — and faster — because now I have a pretty good idea what I want the internet to be like. And the only way out of that anger is to actually build the Hub, and be done with the tech giants.

Now you might say: What’s your anger to me? And why should we build something you want?

Well, my hope is that I am not the only person who is fed up with today’s internet, and since I love the Hub, I invite you to take a look at the ideas.

enter

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Hub Stations – How to de-giant the internet

What does it take to build the Hub?

Perspectives, principles
and business approaches

The Hub & businesses

About the author

That would be me, Charlie Alice Raya.

I’m a Berliner, the no-nonsense kind, a bit snotty, blunt, reckless, stubborn and (I’ve been told) with an exceptional clarity of mind. Though, I can testify that I can get things terribly wrong.

I like complexity. I like to empower. I love to create ripple effects. That’s why I love the Hub idea. It has so much potential to make us independent again, to empower instead of exploiting and competing, to create for the planet and for enjoyable lives, and to allow us to build something together, something that defies the narratives of dominance and power and replaces them with balances and thriving.

Now, I want to be honest with you. Things have not been easy. Over the last eight years, I have been pretty much cooped up, first immersed in writing the easy town books and in developing ideas like the Hub, and then my body went on strike after years of overwork, plus, I got a breast cancer diagnosis and underwent a double mastectomy. Lucky for me, I am happily breastless, and I’m building some nice muscle.
Fast forward about fourteen months, and I am about to be back — but, and this is a bit of a confession, I have no idea how to get in touch with you, you the programmer, you the developer, the designer, the visionary, and everyone else who is ready to rethink and reshape — well, a lot, including the internet, business practices, how we deal with each other and a few other trifles.

Yesterday, I thought that I had just majorly screwed up my first attempt at winning an ally. But when I looked at it again, today, I realised that I didn’t screw up. My communications were sober, clear, honest, focused. What I failed to see, I think, is that the other person lives in their bubble and I am just a stranger who comes along with a bag full of ideas, visions and with that hungry fire you get after month and month of slow recovery. There is a need in me to live and to get active after this prolonged recovery period that might be difficult to digest for people who have been active for a long time and might even be exhausted, and maybe frustration about the abysmal state of our world plays a part, too. I understand exhaustion and frustration, been there, done that. But right now, I am striding on a wave of stored up energy, defiance, determined not to give up on humanity and to do my bit for us and the planet.

I’d happily focus on writing, but for the Hub, for dot. I’m ready to go all in. My honesty and transparency, which are sometimes paired with bluntness, will be the basis of the integrity of all project businesses. I might not always find the right words or gestures, but you can trust me that I measure business success by the amount of ripple effects we can create for us, for the people and for the planet.

If you are interested in getting on board, or if you are up to spitballing ideas, or if you have any questions about the Hub or about the other business ideas, please, get in touch.

You can find out more about me on the new Charlie Alice Raya website.

And you can get a preliminary overview of some of the 70+ business and network ideas on the easy town visions website. I hope to further update this website in the coming weeks.

So much for today. I look forward to hearing from you.

Charlie Alice Raya, 15 September 2024

Note

Back in 2022, when I first built this and other easy town project websites, each of them got a photo special for two reasons: it is something they all have in common, and many photos are available as Fine Art Prints in support of the easy town projects.

More photos and the catalogue are available on the Charlie Alice Raya photography website.