From time to time, quite a few people ask us about the meaning of the name of our initiative. We’ve written quite a few blog posts about other issues, and after 5+ years doing what we do, now might be a good time to talk about this. Initially, we thought the idea behind the number 68 was obvious, but people are still asking 🤷.

In the early days, finding the name was relatively easy. A few brainstorming sessions and we were set on the name and other important elements, including visuals and the logo. After deciding that we wanted to have the number 68 in the name we spent a lot of time on the technical setup, the operational side, technical & user support, and other details. We opted for a setup that would have more third-party costs and less revenue for us, but would be more reliable and qualitative—a decision that, in retrospect, was one of the best we made. The thing is, we focused on the operational side of things and never shared what our name is all about.

1968 & Lemons

All these discussions and debates about the technical and operational workings were important, but we knew from day one what was simple to agree upon: prioritizing our values before financial gains.

Our commitment to this didn’t come overnight. It’s something we have established even before working on C68. Inspired by social movements that have brought progress for the many we had to reflect this also in our name. What better way of focusing in what we have learned from the past to look into the future? Talking about the past, wondering what where the events in recent history that changed the status quo in the same way we are trying to change what is happening in the tech industry today?

One key moment in history when the focus switched from convenience to social change for the rest of us and not the elites were the events during 1968 in Europe and the US. This was a moment in time we took inspiration from. In May 1968, the Paris protests started with students demanding educational reforms and quickly turned into a nationwide wave of strikes and demonstrations. Youngsters occupied universities and clashed with authorities, and workers joined in with massive strikes, shutting down the French economy. The slogans of the protesters, like “Soyez réalistes, demandez l’impossible” (be realistic, demand the impossible), captured the spirit of wanting to completely change society for the better.

“Ian (Brown) had met this French man when he was hitching around Europe. This bloke had been in the riots, and he told Ian how lemons had been used as an antidote to tear gas.” John Squire - Q magazine, 2001.

At the same time, the United States was experiencing its own big changes. The civil rights movement hit a critical point with the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., sparking nationwide protests and stronger demands for racial equality. The anti-Vietnam War movement also gained momentum, bringing together diverse groups in opposition to the war and leading to significant protests like those during the Tet Offensive. These movements showed how unhappy people were with the way things were and the need for big social and political changes.

The results of 1968 were a mix of successes and unfinished goals. In France, the protests led to important concessions from the government, like wage increases and better working conditions, and sparked a cultural revolution challenging traditional values. In the US, the civil rights movement achieved critical legislative victories like the Fair Housing Act, and the anti-war protests eventually helped end the Vietnam War. However, both movements faced violent pushback and struggled to keep their momentum in the face of political realities.

Despite these challenges, the spirit of 1968 remains a powerful symbol of resistance, solidarity, and the ongoing fight for a fairer world. At Cloud68, we’re inspired by this legacy, trying to harness the energy and ideals of that pivotal year to promote collaboration, solidarity and positive social change today. In a word were Big Tech is the establishment, we want to have a similar approach with the youngsters that wanted to do the right thing. We want to be realistic, but also demand the impossible: Rising Against Big Tech.

Big Tech = the Establishment

There is an unspoken rule that companies that sell goods & services should not engage in politics. Is this the case though? and recently we have seen with the Sticker Mule saga why this is might not be a good idea in some cases. A company should make sure to add shareholders value and only engage in politics if it is good for company shareholders pockets. This is reflected also in the industry that is the most influential one in this day and age: technology. An industry that has too much power in its hands and can influence the public perception, misstreat our data in the same way that the establishment was using techniques firstly established by the likes of Edward Bernays in the post WW2 world. We would love not to get involved in this rhetoric, but in similar fashion with what was happening in the late 60s in some westerns countries, we need to believe that the only way moving forward is to Rise Against the Establishment. And the Establishmet today is Big Tech corporations. The least we can do is to reflect this situation in our name and rise our voice. The ideal scenario is to help as many small and medium teams to migrate from big tech corporations, while making things sustainable for everyone. And we want to do this with a collective spirit, collabs with likeminded teams and always in solidarity! In a world with raising fascism tendencies, you can either be a compliant entity (to put it politely) or just talk about the elephant in the room. Is this political? We have no idea, but it is something that reflects the way we do things.

Open Source Infrastructure Like It Is 1968

Inspired by the spirit of 1968, we believe in challenging the status quo, promoting transparency, and building a decentralized web where everyone collaborates and supports each other. The events of ‘68, from the Paris protests to the civil rights and anti-war movements in the US, showed us the power of solidarity and collective action. These lessons are at the heart of our mission to create open source infrastructure that empowers people rather than exploits them. In solidarity!

To reflect this approach we are starting to develop Project ‘Besa’, alongside our ‘Rise Against Big Tech Campaign’. Besa aims to help open source maintainers and developers with the less glamorous parts of their work. By taking some of these operational tasks off their plates, we hope to make their lives a bit easier and let them focus more on what they love doing.

We’ll share more details in a follow up blog post. For now, join us in building a fairer, more collaborative tech environment, full of collectives just like they did it in 1968.