PollyWeb :: A communications platform for Super Activists

Welcome to PollyWeb. PollyWeb is a next generation communications platform built for Artists and Super Activists.

What we have built with PollyWeb might best thought of as the type of rich communications features built into a social media tool like Facebook but without the inherent problems of censorship, AI and monetization.

Built in features to PollyWeb include:

• Web Hosting on your own domain
• Photo Galleries
• YouTube Media Carousels
• Document Publishing similar to Google Docs
• MP3 Galleries
• A cross social media posting engine -- write once, post anywhere
• Shared Calendar
• Full Text Search across all your media

FAQ

You describe PollyWeb as a "Communications Platform for Super Activists".

Q: What is a Communications Platform?

PollyWeb is based on our belief in the coming end of "big social" and the need for anyone but particularly activists and artists to own their own platform. Although the big social platforms are compelling, their move towards aggressive monetization and "pay for play" models mean that any artist or activist quickly becomes a captive of the platform -- their success drives the platform more than it does themselves -- and this was not the way that social media was ever supposed to work.

Q: What is a Super Activist?

We've all see that in the world there are some people with a disproportionate impact. We see this in all fields of endeavor -- the politician who rises to the top, the chef who emerges as a superstar, the computer user who is suddenly lauded as a "power user". We believe these people also exist in the world of political activism and we built PollyWeb for their specific needs. Our goal with PollyWeb is to empower these Super Activists to be more productive than ever before.

Q: How is PollyWeb built?

PollyWeb is a Rails 8 application built on top of the normal set of Open Source tools including Bootstrap 5, Redis and Postgres. Underlying all of PollyWeb is a robust data model that drives all publishing and communications.

Q: Can a different CSS engine other than Bootstrap 5 be used?

No. Bootstrap 5 was a deliberate technical choice and is tied to our future development strategy.

Q: How is MP3 playback enabled?

We have embedded the Open Source tool FairCamp within PollyWeb. FairCamp is a toolkit which takes a file directory of MP3 files and generates an embedded website for audio playback. Based on leading audio technology using the Rust language, FairCamp uses all the metadata embedded in the MP3 files that any artist needs to create anyway to provide a powerful listening experience.

Q: What is the business model for PollyWeb / How is it priced?

PollyWeb has been built as a public service project to empower people taking ethical stands against the administration through their activism / their art. At this point there is not an immediate plan to commercialize it.