JPG Internet

Hello, world. Last week I heard about the launch of Internet.org, and then about the new $12 Facebook-only Sprint plans, and realized that we're quickly moving towards a world in which we'll have people on Facebook, who do not have the Internet. (You may need to read the last half of that sentence again.) An idea entered my mind, and I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry, but I built it - JPG Internet. This is not a startup, it's a Facebook Page where you can post a link on the wall*, and servers will grab a screenshot of the website, upload it to Facebook, and reply with a link to the JPG, so you can view the Internet on Facebook. If it is a long webpage, it will cut the image into pieces and upload it as a correctly ordered photo album. Those of you who know me are of course aware that I have a history of building ridiculous things, but I believe this tops the list of the dumbest pieces of internet I have ever put my hands on. And yet - though it strains credulity - thanks to the lack of net neutrality, and the attitudes of ISPs, telecom, and Facebook itself, there's a growing number of people who have Facebook without Internet. So. You can try it here: https://www.facebook.com/JPGInternet * make sure you wait for Facebook to recognize the link and add a preview. I only add links that pass their filters. ** please expect/report bugs, this is a hack. It's also open source: https://github.com/mhuebert/http2facebook and https://github.com/mhuebert/facebook-firebase-stream *** some friends plan to help add text processing next week, so it will work for people who have the text-only Internet.org version of Facebook, eg/ Zambia, but the JPG version can help our Sprint customers, and there are actually many countries where Facebook cuts deals to become synonymous with "Internet"