If Google only cares about a faster, more semantic web, then why not just give an even bigger ranking boost to faster, more semantic websites? Where does the need for a new standard come in, other than to gain more control?"
The above is a comment found in the OP.
Is there a requirement that AMP sites host resources with Google?
If there is, then Google has hijacked the purported goal of of promoting websites that consume fewer client resources (and are therefore faster) -- arguably a worthy cause -- in order to promote the use of Google's own web servers,[1] thereby increasing Google's data gathering potential.
If there is no such requirement, then is it practical for any website to host an AMP-compliant site, without using Google web servers?
If not, then AMP sure looks a lot like an effort to get websites to host more resources on Google web servers and help generate more data for Google.
1. When I use the term "web servers" in this comment I mean servers that host any resource, e.g., images, scripts, etc., that is linked to from within a web page (and thus automatically accessed by popular graphical web browsers such as Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge, etc.)
AMP is an open ecosystem and the AMP Project actively encourages the development of more AMP Caches. To learn about creating AMP Caches, see the AMP Cache Guidelines.
How do I choose an AMP Cache?
As a publisher, you don't choose an AMP Cache, it's actually the platform that links to your content that chooses the AMP Cache (if any) to use."
The above is from amp.dev, formerly ampproject.org
As the dominant search engine/web portal (excuse me, "platform"), already having the largest web cache and the infrastructure to maintain it, it looks like Google therefore becomes the dominant AMP cache as well.
There is also the Cloudflare AMP cache that can be hosted on any domain, so it is easy to implement a link aggregator that gets instant article loading just like Google and Bing. Compare to the situation prior to AMP where if you wanted instant article loading, you would have to convince publishers to integrate directly with you like Apple News or Facebook Instant Articles.
Dominant AMP cache is a meaningless concept. You as the link aggregator have to have your own AMP cache to implement instant loading.
Yes. If you're a search engine, a Reddit, a Twitter, or some other site that presents links to other pages expecting the user to click through to multiple pages, you can safely prerender AMP pages by implementing your own AMP cache but not by using Google's AMP cache.
If Google only cares about a faster, more semantic web, then why not just give an even bigger ranking boost to faster, more semantic websites? Where does the need for a new standard come in, other than to gain more control?"
The above is a comment found in the OP.
Is there a requirement that AMP sites host resources with Google?
If there is, then Google has hijacked the purported goal of of promoting websites that consume fewer client resources (and are therefore faster) -- arguably a worthy cause -- in order to promote the use of Google's own web servers,[1] thereby increasing Google's data gathering potential.
If there is no such requirement, then is it practical for any website to host an AMP-compliant site, without using Google web servers?
If not, then AMP sure looks a lot like an effort to get websites to host more resources on Google web servers and help generate more data for Google.
1. When I use the term "web servers" in this comment I mean servers that host any resource, e.g., images, scripts, etc., that is linked to from within a web page (and thus automatically accessed by popular graphical web browsers such as Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge, etc.)