@newpublic.org.bsky.social
We’re a nonprofit R&D lab that’s reimagining social media. Join us in building digital public spaces that connect people, embrace pluralism, and build community. newpublic.org
jeez, we thought it was interesting.
01.08.2025 20:53 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
If Bluesky collapsed tomorrow, where would you go? How would you pack up your digital life and take it with you?
Check out this very useful and thought-provoking “digital go bag” from friend of New_ Public Sijal Nasralla.
Read more about how these language-learning platforms are investing in connection from superuser Madison Karas in our latest newsletter:
01.08.2025 13:33 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Two HelloTalk app screenshots on a purple background. Left screen shows a post about Durango, comparing images of Durango, Spain and Durango, Mexico, with detailed historical information about the city's name origin. Right screen displays a language learning interaction where a user asks for help pronouncing the words "of" and "off", with a response explaining the pronunciation. The HelloTalk name is prominently displayed. Both screens feature dark mode interface with multilingual flags and language exchange tags.
Want to see some of the best prosocial design anywhere? You might want to look at peer-driven language-learning apps.
These digital spaces are connecting people across cultures and leaning into the long-term, collaborative effort it takes to actually learn a language.
Congrats to @jasmine.bsky.social and all our friends at Reboot for 5 years of bold, optimistic thinking!
We applaud this renewed manifesto, centering human agency in how technology is created and developed.
Here’s to 5 more!
New_ Public is building a new local platform, but without growth and engagement as our north star.
We’re hoping it will combine the best of a small-town newspaper with the best of a well-run local Facebook Group.
You can learn more, and sign up to help us, here: localstewards.newpublic.org
As New_ Public Co-Director @deeptidoshi.bsky.social writes, “Nextdoor is in the business of fear.”
If you want to see the real Nextdoor, check your emails and push notifications and you’ll see the terrifying crime and safety posts that are a huge source of engagement for Nextdoor.
Screenshot of text that reads 'There's a pretty straightforward lesson here, though. If you like to watch these little videos, by all means: Enjoy. But know that, like most free things big tech companies make today, these products are designed to keep you engaged, to steal as much of your attention as possible as they collect data about you and serve ads to you based on what that data reveals. TikTok and its many little siblings are free because you're the product.'
Chasing TikTok's addictive success, social media platforms are going all in on short form video.
@adamclarkestes.com outlines the impact these videos are having on the internet and our brains, from our abbreviated attention spans to their AI slop potential.
archive.is/7dxdo
Comparative forest plot showing effect sizes for different communication attributes across two outcomes: High-quality response and Quality response. The plot compares data from the United Kingdom and United States, with colored dots representing different categories: Evidence-based argument (green), Compromise (purple), Disrespectful tone (green), Out-party interaction (red), and Non-partisan interaction (red). Each category has a central dot and error bars showing the range of effect sizes, with a vertical dashed line at zero representing no effect. The x-axis shows effect size in percentage points, ranging from approximately -0.15 to 0.15.
📄 RESEARCH: Justification, tone, and willingness to compromise can make a real difference in the quality of a conversation.
Adjusting these factors can help foster healthy democratic interactions in online debate, but not necessarily change minds.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Very smart: adapting “The Anxious Generation” for younger readers! We appreciate the optimistic, empowered re-framing as “The Amazing Generation.”
Social media must be totally re-imagined from the ground up, and users of all ages have agency in how they show up and choose to use this technology.
Or maybe you want to learn something. Many of the internet’s best resources for getting everyday answers are quickly being inundated with the dubious wisdom of AI. YouTube, long a destination for real people who know how to repair toilets, make omelets, or deliver engaging cultural criticism, is getting less human by the day: The newsletter Garbage Day reports that four of May’s top 10 YouTube channels were devoted to AI-generated content. Recently, the fastest-growing channel featured AI babies in dangerous situations, for some reason. Reddit is currently overrun with AI-generated posts. Even if you never use ChatGPT or other large language models directly, the rest of the internet is sodden with their output and with real people parroting their hallucinations. Remember: LLMs are still often wrong about basic facts. It is enough to make a person crack a book.
We’ve entered the next stage of the social internet’s AI-sloppification:
www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
Not our product, we're just fans! 😅
29.07.2025 15:31 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
New platform incoming: @cabildoabierto.ar (translation: "Open Town Hall")
This Argentinian platform is currently invite-only and it’s…
⚒️ Built on ATProto, the tech underneath Bluesky
🧰 Equipped with tools for wiki-style posts and longer articles
💰 Funded by donations
h/t @fediversereport.com
Sign up for Spanish lessons, make a new best friend? It’s more likely than you might think, thanks to collaborative language-learning apps.
In our newsletter, writer Madison Karas explains how these digital spaces are built for connection, often resulting in stronger skills and lasting friendships.
Graphic design featuring a humorous quote: "If a zombie apocalypse broke out where I lived, I'd probably be late to knowing about it." Attributed to a Fort Wayne, Indiana resident from an SMS survey. The design uses a red and cream color palette with a stylized black and white hand reaching for a black rectangular object. The background features a halftone dot pattern, creating a vintage poster-like aesthetic. The typography is bold and centered, with a playful, irreverent tone.
Does your community have enough local news and information to survive “the zombie test”?
Courtesy of an @theajp.bsky.social megastudy on local news:
www.theajp.org/news-insight...
Algorithm-driven social media has made it easier than ever to avoid the conflict and challenges of the real world.
On @ezraklein.bsky.social’s podcast, economist @kyla.bsky.social explains why this fear of friction is corroding our ability to find meaning.
Moderators have long been Reddit’s volunteer gatekeepers, ambassadors, and (at times) antagonists.
Now, as Google's search deteriorates and AI spam bots gain ground, their stewardship is more vital than ever.
@jwherrman.bsky.social at @nymag.com on the present and future of Reddit.
This investment is an encouraging sign of the growing momentum behind open source, decentralized social media and digital platforms.
Excited to see what friend of New_ Public @rabble.nz will be able to build!
Public service announcement graphic from Engaged California about community recovery after fires. The design features a dark navy blue background with large white text reading: "Know someone affected by the fires? Now's their chance to shape the future of their community." An orange button prompts viewers to "Tell them to sign up at engaged.ca.gov". The Engaged California logo is at the bottom left, and the right side of the image features overlapping circular design elements with icons of a first aid kit, a road sign, and what appears to be a fire-related symbol in orange, white, and blue colors.
Californians affected by the LA fires can now sign up to share their opinions with the state government and @governor.ca.gov on what’s needed most as the state rebuilds.
It’s a great opportunity to help shape the future, together.
engaged.ca.gov
Bar graph showing trust levels across different groups, ranging from local to broader societal contexts. The percentages of trust are: 62% for parents of children who go to the same school, 59% for next-door neighbors, 57% for local law enforcement, 54% for people who share political beliefs, 53% for local community, 50% for other nearby neighbors, and 41% for people in the U.S. overall. The graph demonstrates a gradient from darker blue (more local/intimate connections) to lighter blue (broader societal connections), illustrating how trust decreases as the social circle widens.
While trust has been falling nationwide in the US for a half century, there is good news: we tend to trust our neighbors more.
That’s a starting point in forging connection and building local resilience, pride, and fun.
www.allstatenewsroom.com/news/allstat...
Yes! Haven't seen a lot of pickup by US podcasts/users yet but seems like an interesting niche.
23.07.2025 13:09 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
We’ve been collecting all sorts of different, exploratory digital spaces and tools in our Digital Spaces Directory: newpublic.org/study/3375/d...
Have we missed your favorite? Let us know.
Niche communities forming around common interests and hobbies, like gaming Discords or #knittok. newpublic.substack.com/p/fortnite-s...
22.07.2025 19:55 — 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
Screenshot of a Reddit post from r/RandomThoughts by user amanj203, posted 9 months ago. The post title reads 'Imagine if social media closed every day at 6pm like a shop.' Below is a 'Random Thought' tag, followed by the post text: 'Imagine if social media closed every day at 6pm like a shop. We would all be forced to meet up and speak to each other in real life, to be present with our families, to go outside, to read, to make art, music.
Time-bound, synchronous conversation in a digital space like Clubhouse or seven39, a new social platform only open for 3 hours a day: www.theverge.com/news/641825/...
22.07.2025 19:55 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0People using physical mediums—like zines!—to resist algorithmic dominance and bring communities together. archive.is/EUMqv
22.07.2025 19:55 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
Small scale, local digital forums that are designed to foster genuine connections within communities.
Our friends at @frontporchforum.bsky.social are a great example of this model in action. www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...
“Touch grass.” “Detoxing.” So many ways to say you’re taking a break from social media.
It’s not you, it's the platform.
We’re obsessed with finding alternatives to the engagement-focused, profit-driven status quo. Here are some of our recent favorites to explore, outside of the doom scroll. 👇
Screenshot of text discussing what makes people stop using words. The text reads: What makes people stop saying a word? I talk about that in one of my book chapters. It's an important question to think about right now. There's a few things: How much a word is sticking out, it's called obtrusivity. If a word's in your face. I don't know if you've seen Mean Girls, it's why Gretchen couldn't make fetch happen. It was sticking out too much. Versus if a word's flying under the radar, you're less likely to notice it. So here's an example. In 2013, right when the word "yeet" started going, so did the word "selfie," right? We never thought about selfie as slang, it didn't stick out. And also it more intuitively maybe fit the context, although I would argue that yeet is pretty intuitive. There's a lot of things, it's hard to make a prediction. You gotta listen to what the middle schoolers are saying, I think.
Wait, do the kids not say “yeet” anymore?
In conversation with Kate Lindsay of Embedded, linguist @etymology.substack.com.web.brid.gy explains why some internet slang terms stick around while others die away.
embedded.substack.com/p/algospeak-...
As the social-media ecosystem has become more fragmented and complex during the past several years, with new platforms continually emerging and decaying, there’s been some user attrition. As one person put it, “I don’t have the patience to keep teaching myself Discord or Bluesky or whatever.” Many people complained about feeling that they were constantly fighting against technology. The design of social media has discouraged casual posting, with metrics that make users feel inadequate for not getting enough attention, and with algorithmic feeds that prioritize popular accounts that post constantly—not mundane moments but punditry, provocation, and self-promotion.
In all seriousness, h/t to @chaykak.bsky.social for calling it how it is.
Meanwhile, we're working on breaking the status quo and building digital spaces that feel useful and actually connect you with your friends, family, and neighbors. Check it out: newpublic.org/local
