[liberationtech] Wealthy entrepreneurs ask whether you would use a Liberationtech-friendly Twitter clone?

[Chris Riley]

Network effects are beyond hard to replicate, I'd call them impossible,
FWIW. While I've also revived my dormant Mastodon account and echo those
calling for it to be the hub around which we all rally - which means not
adopting private alternatives, no matter how well-intentioned - to me
success at building a better future here means 1) putting resources into
Mastodon code and infrastructure, including making it even easier for non
technical people to identify a server that aligns with their values and
make an account, and 2) interoperability, interoperability,
interoperability. We've been making a fair bit of progress (we being the
community pushing for this in various ways); it takes on a number of forms
and flavors depending on the advocate, but ultimately the bridge to a
better internet means staying in touch with your Twitter et al networks
from an independent home base (software/server stack).

Just my $0.02...

C

On Thu, Apr 28, 2022, 6:40 AM Yosem Companys <ycompanys at gmail.com> wrote:

> I helped develop Diaspora, the once exciting FLOSS alternative to
> Facebook. It seems in 2010 Diaspora was to Facebook what today Mastodon is
> to Twitter.
>
> But, what good is a "good" Twitter, if no one uses it?
>
> As a Wired article notes about Mastodon, "Mastodon has never grown quite
> as big as social networks like Twitter or Reddit. Rochko says that’s
> because network effects are hard to replicate. People go where their
> friends are, and most people’s friends are still on Facebook and Twitter."
>
> Diaspora was private, secure, and distributed, which the Liberationtech
> community loved. But, most Diaspora users simply asked, "Why are our
> friends not here?" Others asked, "What is your killer app?"
>
> UX research at Diaspora revealed that users were just as or more motivated
> to meet new and interesting people as they were in connecting with people
> they knew.  Meanwhile, Twitter's history shows it gained critical mass when
> it entered the news/journalism space.
>
> So, I ask: What must Mastodon do to overcome Twitter's network effect?
> What would make it go mainstream? Ideas?
>
> Thank you,
> Yosem
>
> On Thu, Apr 28, 2022 at 6:12 AM Yosem Companys <ycompanys at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> One thing I will note because it has come up a few times in the
>> discussion already is the following: The founders of the Twitter clone in
>> question did NOT build it for commercial gain. In fact, they are
>> specifically offering to provide it as private, secure, and decentralized
>> FLOSS software run by a nonprofit foundation, if that's what people want.
>>
>> On Thu, Apr 28, 2022 at 2:43 AM Petter Ericson <pettter at acc.umu.se>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> I would agree insofar as to say that any particular social media
>>> _platform_ is
>>> unlikely to be "liberation" technology, but federated _protocols_ as
>>> well as
>>> specific online/digital places to be and ways to organise can be (and
>>> are,
>>> sometimes) liberatory.
>>>
>>> In particular, if it's hard to monetize, it's more likely to be
>>> liberatory.
>>>
>>> And if it is built by "wealthy serial entrepreneurs" it is decidedly
>>> less likely to be.
>>>
>>> Best
>>>
>>> /P
>>>
>>> On 28 april, 2022 - Jillian C. York wrote:
>>>
>>> > While I would certainly welcome a Twitter clone, I'd be really hesitant
>>> > about calling any social media platform "liberation" technology at this
>>> > point. I think we've all witnessed that this tech is/can be/will be
>>> > utilized just as much by malicious actors as by liberatory ones,
>>> regardless
>>> > of the policies implemented or content moderation strategies employed.
>>> >
>>> > On Thu, Apr 28, 2022 at 12:35 AM Yosem Companys <ycompanys at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>> >
>>> > > Dear Liberation Technology community,
>>> > >
>>> > > A group of wealthy serial entrepreneurs who built a Twitter clone to
>>> > > foster civic democracy in the 2020 elections just reached out to me
>>> to ask
>>> > > whether you would be interested in using a Liberationtech-friendly
>>> Twitter
>>> > > clone now that Elon Musk has bought Twitter. They want to know the
>>> > > following:
>>> > >
>>> > >    - Would you use a Liberationtech-friendly Twitter clone?
>>> > >    - What would make you want to use it? Conversely, what would make
>>> you
>>> > >    NOT want to use it?
>>> > >    - What would you name it? They said they might even be open to
>>> calling
>>> > >    it Liberationtech, if there were enough interest.
>>> > >
>>> > > Thank you,
>>> > > Yosem
>>> > > --
>>> > > Liberationtech is public & archives are searchable from any major
>>> > > commercial search engine. Violations of list guidelines will get you
>>> > > moderated: https://lists.ghserv.net/mailman/listinfo/lt.
>>> Unsubscribe,
>>> > > change to digest mode, or change password by emailing
>>> > > lt-owner at lists.liberationtech.org.
>>> > >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > --
>>> > +1-JILLIAN
>>> >
>>> > "To act is to be committed, and to be committed is to be in danger" -
>>> James
>>> > Baldwin
>>> >
>>> > "We must not be afraid of dreaming the seemingly impossible if we want
>>> the
>>> > seemingly impossible to become a reality" - *Vaclav Havel*
>>>
>>> > --
>>> > Liberationtech is public & archives are searchable from any major
>>> commercial search engine. Violations of list guidelines will get you
>>> moderated: https://lists.ghserv.net/mailman/listinfo/lt. Unsubscribe,
>>> change to digest mode, or change password by emailing
>>> lt-owner at lists.liberationtech.org.
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Petter Ericson (pettter at acc.umu.se)
>>>
>> --
> Liberationtech is public & archives are searchable from any major
> commercial search engine. Violations of list guidelines will get you
> moderated: https://lists.ghserv.net/mailman/listinfo/lt. Unsubscribe,
> change to digest mode, or change password by emailing
> lt-owner at lists.liberationtech.org.
>
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