Ask HN: What makes you optimistic about the future?
Open Source has been a resounding success. It has become so ubiquitous that we don&#x27;t note it anymore. Its the normal. Moreover, its general cultural practices, openness, collaboration etc have also become norms. Back 20 years ago, this was unimaginable. A great change has happened.<p>On top of that, user-generated content has become the king. Its not 6-figure columnists working for corporate outlets who are setting the trend on the net like early 2000s anymore. We, the people, who were once in small forums on the fringes of the internet, have become the motor of the internet.<p>Crowdfunding, citizen-initiatives etc have grown. Independent content creators, software developers, even journalists are funding their activities by the support of their audience, using crowdfunding or membership tools. Democratization of these sectors bear great changes.<p>All of these combine into a world in which a lot of things are being democratized, and given into the hands of the people. Reducing the power of the corporations.<p>This was unimaginable in 1990s. We would sit pretty, shut up, watch and listen to what we were told and consume. All that we could do would be to send back some feedback to our corporate overlords about some product if they ever stooped so low as to ask our opinion.<p>Compared to those times, things are MUCH better now. Which is the reason for the discomfort in a lot of the old establishment and the noise they make about various things. From attacking net neutrality to wanting &#x27;content to be auto moderated&#x27;.