Alison

A hand holds a smartphone showing the Gander app’s welcome screen. The screen displays the Gander logo over a photo of two smiling people looking at a phone together, with drinks on the table. Text on the screen reads: “Better social media, from post to post to post” with options to “Join Gander” or “Sign in.”

Ahem.

We give you Gander. The app. On a phone.

Not public yet… but it’s real, in our hands, and soon in beta.

The timing is a bit nuts… given we just opened investment to all Canadians (at frontfundr.com/gandersocial) but we’re over the moon.

Amazing what can get done with community.

Can Canada build its own social network? | BetaKit Gander CEO Ben Waldman explains his vision for sovereign social media.

“It’s one thing to say ‘let’s do this in a sovereign way.’ It’s another to actually do it.”

^Ben spoke to @trondizzle.bsky.social from @betakit.com about being children of CanCon, giving people control of their feeds, and why sovereignty doesn’t mean isolation.

More👉 betakit.com/canada-gande...

Honk if you like sovereignty! How Gander is building a Canada Strong social media platform CEO Ben Waldman explains why making a homegrown social network is crucial to safeguarding the country’s values, economy and democracy.

Have you heard of @gandersocial.bsky.social? Founder Ben Waldman explains how the homegrown social media platform is built to promote our country's values, economy and democracy.

Check out his session at Elevate. Use our promo code MARSELEVATE.

Thanks for sharing, and stay tuned for more opportunities to have your say!

Hi! We’ll be launching our closed beta soon and bringing users on in batches so we can make sure everything is running as smoothly as possible! If you signed up for early access, you’ll get follow-up email about the closed beta. Stay tuned!

As we learned when we first launched Gander, "Canadian values" can be a pretty nebulous concept. As part of our commitment to participatory design, we surveyed the community and found some key themes are emerging. Check out our blog post, and keep the feedback coming! gandersocial.ca/blog/highlig...

Schedule - Elevate Festival

See you at Elevate in October!

Jennifer and Alison (our COO and Head of Community respectively) will be running a workshop on building a tech stack that runs on Canadian values (and servers).

They'll be joined by @vassb.bsky.social from the The Canadian SHIELD Institute.

Canadians log on to platforms built under American rules where hate speech is protected.

In the wake of the assassination of Charlie Kirk and another school shooting in Colorado, days before a nationalist 'Canada First' rally in Toronto, it’s time to enforce our Charter and laws online.

We can learn so much from the indigenous people. They were stewards of this land for millennia and didn't destroy it in less than 2 centuries, as we are on pace to do.

Canada map outline with colourful dot stickers sprinkled on it

At the @gandersocial.bsky.social Creator Jam, we asked participants: which part of Canada most shapes your perspective?

Canada can feel so divided, in so many ways. I’m excited to build tools that break down barriers, and connect over shared experiences.

#canadiantech #techforgood #buildinpublic

Tech leaders ready launch of Canadian social-media platform Gander to buck U.S. dominance Founders aim to create alternative that addresses content, data sovereignty concerns

It’s not lost on us that a new social platform isn’t exactly top of mind. Tech execs joining the U.S. military. More war.

And here we are, grateful for everyone with us in this moment. A social platform isn’t all that social without good people supporting it.

92% of the time, if somebody says “we’re too in the weeds” in a meeting, it’s me. I’m in the weeds. It’s cozy here. I AM ONE with the weeds.

Hear from Jennifer, our COO, about crying through Come From Away (as you do), finding kinship in Canada and why she joined the Gander team.

#GetToKnowGander #HinterlandWhosWho

Loved hearing from excited Canadians at Web Summit! Let’s do this!!

Big moment for Canada.

There’s energy behind us to create new and exciting things: AI, space infra—and yes, social platforms too. If you’ve got a bold idea go for it.

Hear from Ben on Canadian resilience and responsibility: https://startupcan.pulse.ly/olymjcqedy

Alison here from the Gander team! We will send a last call/reminder to those who signed up to join as a beta tester. Stay tuned! And thanks for your enthusiasm!! 🙌