This has no relation to Google's Gemini large language model.

The Gemini protocol is a lightweight alternative to the web. I'll often jokingly refer to it as "Web 0.5", playing on terms like "Web 2.0" and "Web 3.0".

Over the past few decades, the web has grown into a behemoth--a massive, global platform for building rich applications and networks that serve billions of users. The smallweb movement presents an alternative: small websites and small networks. Tight-knit communities of peers. A focus on content over presentation.

In its earliest iterations, the web was nothing more than a network of documents that link to one another. Check out the first ever website as an example. Over time, the web has accumulated layers of complexity to enable the applications it's used for today. That complexity comes at a cost, however: ballooning resource usage requiring ever-more powerful computers, threats to our privacy, and the commodification of our attention.

Gemini is a return to the principles of the early web: a network of documents that link to one another. It's private, secure, and lightweight by default--deliberately designed to head off any attempts to expand its scope or complexity.

Instead of massive social media networks controlled by big tech monopolies, Gemini is full of small blogs and personal sites hosted by individuals just for the fun of it. If this appeals to you, I encourage you to give it a try. I recommend downloading Lagrange, a browser like Chrome or Firefox, but for Gemini.

If you're interested in hosting your own Gemini site, I built a simple static site generator that you might find useful.

I used to host a Gemini site under this domain. I've taken a break from it, but might return someday. Amid the growing enshittification of the web, alternatives like Gemini are starting to look more and more appealing. They won't replace the web, but they don't need to. Gemini is a small, quiet corner I can retreat to when I need a break, and I'm grateful for it.