Erika Randall

I’ve always believed values aren’t proven when things are easy. They’re proven when pressure shows up, when clarity fades, and when accountability is the only thing holding the center.

What keeps you steady when walking your values gets hard?

really appreciated this - your framing and care really stood out.
would love to keep the convo going if you’re up for it!

You get it!! Digital sovereignty matters more than ever. Thanks for lifting us up @scpartners.bsky.social 🇨🇦

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.

UN Secretary-General's message for the International Day for Countering Hate Speech | 18 June 2025 Hate speech is poison in the well of society. It has paved the way for violence and atrocity during the darkest chapters of human history. Ethnic and religious minorities often bear the brunt - facing...

This is exactly why we’re intentionally designing Gander to align with the Canadian Charter.

Not because the law says we have to but because being free from hate speech is a universal human right.

Tackling hate speech is a process. One we hope you'll be part of.

#CharterInspired #CanadianTech

A stack of five books on a white shelf, partially surrounded by trailing green leaves. Titles include Finding the Mother Tree by Suzanne Simard, Eleven Minutes by Paulo Coelho, The Rise of Wolf 8 by Rick McIntyre, The Next Economy MBA, and Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez. A colorful bookshelf is blurred in the background.

Five books arranged vertically on a wooden floor. Titles include Bad Gays by Huw Lemmey and Ben Miller, Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino, The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice, Play It As It Lays by Joan Didion, and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid.

Three books leaning against a light grey couch cushion. Titles include Value(s) by Mark Carney, Nasty Women Poets, an anthology by Grace Bauer and Julie Kane, and a clothbound edition of 1984 by George Orwell.

Three books stacked on a green cutting mat in front of a pastel mechanical keyboard. Titles include Internet for the People by Ben Tarnoff, Not Wanted on the Voyage by Timothy Findley, and 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles C. Mann.

Being online is cool. So is logging off to read some books.

Here’s what some of us at Gander are reading this weekend: data gaps in everyday life, smart forests, radical queer history, the future of the internet, and the enduring appeal of fancy vampires.

Just a girl… standing in front of a social platform… asking it to be ethical.

And lucky enough to be building it with a team that actually means it. ↓ #ethicaltech

A visual map titled “Trust at Gander (2025),” showing five interconnected zones: Tensions & Risks, Decision Rights, Policies & Principles, Feedback Loops, and Signals of Integrity. Arrows indicate relationships and feedback between zones. Labels like “clarifies authority under pressure” and “misalignment creates friction” are placed along paths to show how trust functions as a system.

been sketching how trust works inside a system.
not the aspirational stuff - what happens when things get messy.

who decides, what breaks down, where signals disappear.

still messy, but it’s helping.

if you’re thinking about this too, would love to hear what’s landing for you.

Trust Isn't a Brand. It's a System. How early-stage decisions shape whether your product actually holds. When the pressure hits, trust isn’t built through messaging - it’s revealed by your mechanics. This piece unpacks how to design for trust early, before anything ships. For founders, operators, and sys...

trust isn’t something you say - it’s something you design.

it’s in the quiet layers: who gets looped in, how tradeoffs are made, what happens when values clash.

you can’t slap it on later.

wrote more here if you're into this: tinyurl.com/nys4w2cu

#trustbydesign

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

Gander Social Creator Jam · Luma Gander Social invites creators, builders, and open source enthusiasts of all kinds to join us as we co-create our tools and platform features. Got some ideas…

Creators build community online but rarely get a say in how the platforms they use work.

Let’s change that.

Join us June 25 @ Beauchamp Art Gallery for a free Creator Jam as part of Toronto Tech Week.

RSVP and shape the tools you need to reach your people. Space is limited. lu.ma/9ibyo92a

Mission Lock: How Purpose-Driven Orgs Stay Aligned Under Pressure When care slips through the cracks, structure is what holds it.This post explores how mission lock helps values stay intact - especially when growth, funding, or momentum test your integrity.

Care doesn’t always get cut on purpose.
Sometimes it just gets optimized out.

This one’s about mission lock - the structure that keeps your purpose from getting edged out under pressure.👇

erikarandall.substack.com/p/designing-...

#MissionLock #EthicalBusiness #PurposeDriven

Canada is building its own social network - The Logic Gander Social aims to be a social network where users, not algorithms, set the tone—and where content moderation is based on Canadian laws.

Nice way to wake up today. Thanks @nadrescher.bsky.social @thelogic.co for the article.

It’s paywalled (but free with a trial). Happy to answer questions.

Thanks @bmann.ca @blaine.bsky.social @walkah.social @bad-example.com for the support!

thelogic.co/news/gander-...

What Ethical Tech Can Still Learn From Careless People What a memoir from inside Facebook reveals about how care erodes in systems, and what we can still design to protect.

Sarah Wynn-Williams’ Careless People shows care is never an afterthought. We build stories faster than systems. Systems crack when care is bolted on later.

Embed care as infrastructure from day one. How will you embed it?

Read more: medium.com/@erikarandal...
#CareAsInfrastructure #EthicalTech

OpenAI says nonprofit will retain control of company, bowing to outside pressure OpenAI will continue to be controlled by a nonprofit as it restructures into a commercial entity, the AI startup said on Monday.

OpenAI’s for-profit arm is now a Public Benefit Corporation.

Not just restructuring - this is a case study in how power, purpose & profit collide.

Mission without structure is marketing.
Structure without accountability is theatre.
Let’s see what this becomes.

tinyurl.com/yw5ad5wa #OpenAI #Tech

Now this is what I call Canadian content 🇨🇦

Every Canadian Election I approach all the different party leaders and see if they will do an interview / Hip Flip. Here's a clip of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. Check out the *FULL* interview at youtu.be/TZmh_PNMImE Doot doo !

What Are We Actually Building? On B Corps, tariffs, and a different vision for Canada’s economy

“Build Canadian” shouldn’t just mean protect what exists. It should mean invest in what’s next.

But what are we actually building?

On B Corps, resilience, and a better blueprint for Canada’s economy.

tinyurl.com/mwdywm4k

#cdnecon #BCorp #economicresilience #cdnbiz

B Corp Month 🤝 Women's History Month: Why the Intersection Matters What happens when B Corp Month meets Women's History Month? We're exploring why intersectionality isn't theoretical - it's a practical business imperative.

B Corp Month 🤝 Women’s History Month

Economic decisions don’t exist in a vacuum. Tariffs, job cuts, sustainability policies—each one ripples outward shaping caregiving, community stability, & whose work gets valued.

These aren’t separate conversations.

tiny.cc/cqxc001

#BCorp #WomensHistoryMonth

This moment will define us.

Will we hold a grudge against our largest trading partner, or use this as a chance to rebuild and future-proof our economy?

One path leads to short bursts of anger; the other leads to a deeper rethink of how we do business.

#cdnpoli #tariffs #betterbusiness

Hello from 🇨🇦 !

So glad to have you.

Elbows up! 'Seriously angry grannies' and 'menopause mafia' protest Trump in Ottawa | CBC News Heavy snow did not deter several dozen protesters from demonstrating outside the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa on Tuesday to voice their opposition to President Donald Trump's policies towards Canada, Ukrain...

“Seriously angry grannies” = aging goals

From Reckoning to Action: Canada’s Response Now That Tariffs Are in Effect Canadians have already started shifting — from grocery aisles to supply chains. The question now is: what comes next?

🇨🇦 Canada’s Tariff Reckoning Is Here. Will We Waste It?

The U.S. thought we’d absorb the hit. Instead, we’re pushing back. This isn’t just about tariffs. It’s about who controls our economy, our industries & our future.

➡️ Read the full breakdown: tinyurl.com/3dca49au
#cdnpoli #tariffs #BuyCanadian

What happens next? Will this shift stick, or will we lose momentum?

#BuyCanadian

🧵 6/6

If we want real resilience, it’s about more than slapping tariffs on American goods. It’s about rethinking how we produce, source, and spend right here at home.

#cdnpoli

🧵 5/6

From Reckoning to Action: Canada’s Response Now That Tariffs Are in Effect Canadians have already started shifting — from grocery aisles to supply chains. The question now is: what comes next?

Just published a deep dive on why #BuyCanadian is no longer just a slogan - and what this reckoning means for Canada’s economy.

➡️ medium.com/@erikarandal...

🧵 4/6

Will this be a short burst of outrage that fades, or the beginning of a lasting shift that redefines who we are as a country?

🧵3/6

The #tariffs are in effect. Prices are rising, businesses are recalculating, and Canadians are mobilizing in ways we haven’t seen in years.

🧵2/6

The shift keeps shifting.

#BuyCanadian #Tariffs #CanadianEconomy #cdnpoli