Cover for The Content Layer

The Content Layer

A Constitutional Upgrade to the Browser Start Page

Browsers are the world's most universal software, yet their first mile remains blank. The Content Layer proposes a constitutional upgrade: replacing the empty browser start page with user-chosen premium dashboards like Netflix, Xbox, Disney, Civics and routing a small, ring-fenced revenue skim into a Defense Fund for the Open Web. The model converts wasted real estate into a recurring civic dividend, establishing predictable funding for digital infrastructure while preserving market competition and user choice.

GovernanceDigital InfrastructurePublic Utility DesignCivic Technology
Published: October 13, 2025
Read Whitepaper

The Approach

Scott Jellen is an independent researcher working at the intersection of protocol design, rights modeling, and interoperability. He is the creator of the Universal Sports Graph (USG), a standards-grade framework for sports rights and access, spanning RFC-style specifications and a versioned registry. His ongoing work includes whitepapers, briefs, and standards-oriented models that clarify incentives and modernize institutional systems.

© 2025 Scott Jellen. All rights reserved.