Facebook's Instant Articles does NOT help the Open Web

Nor the #Indieweb which is the term that I prefer.

I enjoy reading Dave Winer's blog posts that are related to blogging and other technology. I don't have to agree with him all the time.

Two recent DW posts:

• How Instant Articles helps the open web
• Who should support IA and how

I think that Instant Articles only works when viewing Facebook on the phone.

I tested this last spring when Facebook made the initial announcement, and NatGeo had their bee article in IA format. I think that was the reason why I installed the Facebook app on my phone. I have since deleted the app.

Facebook's Instant Articles feature does not work when viewing Facebook with a web browser on a desktop/laptop. And IA does not work when using a mobile web browser.

IA only works when using a mobile app on a phone. I'm unsure about a tablet.

A native app is not the open web.

The web and the internet are not the same. The internet is the network, and the web is one of the many "programs" or protocols that use the internet.

The internet is the highway. The web is one of the automobiles, riding on the highway.

A native app uses the internet. The web uses the internet.

My May 2015 post about IA:

http://jothut.com/cgi-bin/junco.pl/blogpost/54151/18May2015/Facebook-Instant-Articles-May-2015

Instant Articles is only a mobile app.

More Instant Articles :

• NatGeo
  • https://www.facebook.com/instantArticles/posts/851855718222179
  • http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2015/05/building-bees/mann-text
• NBC News
  • https://www.facebook.com/instantArticles/posts/851851028222648
  • http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/california-drought/almond-farmers-message-drought-critics-we-are-not-villain-n353836
• The Atlantic
  • https://www.facebook.com/instantArticles/posts/851858014888616
  • http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/06/clayton-lockett-execution/392069/

When viewing those IA links within a desktop/laptop web browser or a phone web browser, the info gets displayed like a normal article post. Nothing special happens. When clicked, I'm taken to the publisher's website.

An internet-based native mobile app is required to view Instant Articles. This is not the open web.

I read the contents of DW's "normal" RSS feed within JotHut by using this site's feed command

Scripting News - 2026-02-02T15:41:17Z

- 2026-02-02T15:41:17Z
I have an array built into every app I do, on server or in the browser, called snarkySlogans. When I need a bit of text to test with I just choose a random snarky slogan. They are little truths that have occurred to me over the years. You're free to steal this code, they do come in handy at times. There's a snarky slogan to cover that -- "Only steal from the best." Another one I really like: "Just because you're offended doesn't mean you're right."

- 2026-02-01T22:00:02Z
Why did we need all those programming languages?

- 2026-02-01T21:58:21Z
Imagine building blocks to assemble your own social web app. A toolkit you could plug into your bot.

- 2026-02-01T15:41:59Z
I was surprised to find that nirvana.userland.com, a site that was new in 1998, is still running.

- 2026-02-01T15:09:25Z
January is archived, as is 2025. On to the future! :-)

The "desc" is optional. Without it, only the titles are displayed. Some publishers put the entire contents of their articles