Bart Decrem

Karen Herman introduces the interview with Bart Decrem for the Free and Open Source Stories Digital Archive Foundation. Bart jokes about the date and reminisces about his birth in Belgium in 1967. He describes his childhood as a tinkerer, drawn to pirate radio at age 13.

Bart explains his early involvement in underground radio, where independent stations defied government regulations. He describes making a magazine for a radio station and eventually becoming an on-air personality at 13.

Bart discusses his middle-class upbringing and how his father's conventional career path influenced him to seek an alternative route. He attended an international school, which opened his eyes to global perspectives.

After being expelled from Catholic school, Bart attended a French university in Brussels and studied political science. A trip to California sparked his interest in Silicon Valley, leading him to Stanford Law School.

Bart describes his first experiences with Macintosh computers in Brussels and later in East Palo Alto, where Andy Hertzfeld provided early Mac models for a community initiative.

While considering a career in diplomacy, Bart interned at McKinsey but found his calling in social impact work. He received a fellowship from the Echoing Green Foundation to bridge the digital divide in East Palo Alto.

Bart co-founded Plugged In, a project providing technology access to underserved communities. The initiative included teaching kids storytelling tools, launching a teen-run web design business, and creating job-search resources.

Bart reflects on how Plugged In shaped his belief in technology's power to improve lives. He emphasizes the importance of taking action rather than passively discussing issues.

With support from Andy Hertzfeld, Bart co-founded Eazel to make Linux more user-friendly. He describes the team, their goal of creating an alternative to Microsoft, and the broader vision of open-source software.

Eazel struggled to create a profitable business model. Bart discusses the initial ideas of subscriptions and web browser monetization, which later inspired Firefox’s revenue model.

Eazel collapsed during the dot-com crash of 2000. Bart explains the difficulty of making Linux truly user-friendly and how the last mile of usability often defines success.

Bart helped establish the GNOME Foundation, structuring it as one of the early open-source governance models. He reflects on his role in organizing the foundation’s leadership.

Mitch Kapor invited Bart to help launch the Mozilla Foundation. He worked on press releases, early fundraising, and ultimately became involved in the launch of Firefox.

Bart played a major role in branding and marketing Firefox. He explains how the name "Firefox" was chosen and how the community-driven marketing campaign propelled its adoption.

Firefox gained traction as a secure alternative to Internet Explorer, solving real user problems like spyware and pop-ups. Bart describes how word-of-mouth marketing played a crucial role.

Bart helped negotiate Firefox’s search monetization deal with Google, which became a major revenue source. He also worked on other corporate partnerships.

Bart left Mozilla shortly after Firefox 1.0 to start Flock, a social web browser based on Firefox’s codebase. He reflects on his entrepreneurial drive and impatience with large organizations.

Despite innovative ideas, Flock failed to gain traction. Bart was eventually fired by investors and learned key lessons about product market fit and execution.

Inspired by the iPhone’s potential, Bart co-founded Tapulous and acquired a jailbreak game called Tap Tap Revolution. It became the first big hit on the App Store.

Tapulous refined Tap Tap Revenge and introduced licensed music, creating one of the most successful mobile games. Bart discusses adapting the game for the App Store.

Disney acquired Tapulous, and Bart led mobile gaming at the company. He helped launch "Where’s My Water," a massive success with a billion users.

Bart left Disney as free-to-play gaming took over. He started The Hobby, an experimental app incubator, but struggled to replicate his previous successes.

Bart rejoined Mozilla to launch Mozilla Builders, an incubator for open-source projects aimed at "fixing the internet." He sought out mission-driven entrepreneurs.

Bart entered the blockchain space with Block Block, working on digital art collectives and NFT projects. However, he grew disillusioned with crypto’s speculative nature.

Bart pivoted to working on Mastodon and ActivityPub, advocating for decentralized social networks. He discusses their strengths and weaknesses.

Bart reflects on his journey from pirate radio to Mastodon, seeing it as a continuation of his lifelong passion for independent media and open technology.

Bart discusses the threats to the open web from monopolies and AI. He is now focused on Sub Club, a project bringing monetization to decentralized platforms.

Bart shares his hope that the ethos of open-source and independent technology will persist for future generations, just as punk and pirate radio have endured.