Ben Werdmuller with another truly great take. Why the open social web matters now, which was a keynote he gave at this year’s Fediforum.
Werdmuller traces something that I think is often overlooked, the actual utility of a decentralized social web. Tangible outputs which he breaks into two different categories, social media (for broadcasting signals to larger groups and audiences) and social networks (for coordinating and disseminating information through smaller groups).
That’s the distinction: networking builds trust and enables coordination within and across communities. Media scales that message to everyone.
And the fediverse can do both
For Werdmuller, that’s where things get interesting. Because decentralized tools provide a viable alternative to the limitations of centralized platforms. There actually are drivers of this technology beyond purely ideological techno-optimism. There are real use cases that can be solved when we focus on slimmer, scaleable, encryptable federated networks.
There are a lot of problems in social media right now. And as government regulators descend on these problems which are increasingly affecting our youth, they won’t make nuanced decisions. They will seek to obliterate social media. And with that may go the openness as well. We need that openness.
Twitter, but on ActivityPub, isn’t actually all that interesting. Far more interesting are decentralized networks that cut through the bullshit. No algorithm, no warped incentives. Technologies that connect and empower in small and immesaurable ways. Sort of like what the web was when it all started.
Werdmuller is trying to ignite a spark here. So that we can all build something new together.
And whether you like it or not, sitting in this virtual room, you’re the counterculture. All of you are building platforms, communities, and relationships, with the potential to create an alternative to this centralization of power and influenc