It’s here! Honored to contribute to this important anthology from The All American and present a vision for the future that makes people feel hopeful and less alone.
16.07.2025 17:44 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Like me, @blaine.bsky.social wants to build a platform for local digital spaces because HE wants it to exist. We’re thrilled to have him, and it makes me even more confident that we’re going to get this right!
14.07.2025 16:29 — 👍 3 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
Social media graphic with dark blue background featuring decorative icons including a thumbs up, speech bubble, and exclamation mark. Main text reads 'LA fire survivors spoke.' in large white letters, followed by 'Engaged California helped amplify their voices.' Below that is 'Here are the next steps.' with a call-to-action button reading 'engaged.ca.gov'. The Engaged California logo appears in the bottom right corner.
We love to see digital civic experimentation at every level of government.
After the LA fires, impacted community members submitted over 1,300 comments through @engaged-california.bsky.social, a new platform to help people directly communicate with their neighbors and elected officials.
07.07.2025 15:14 — 👍 4 🔁 4 💬 1 📌 0
🇺🇸🗽🎆 Real freedom starts with community
New_ Public Co-Director Deepti Doshi says our rights must be lived out in our neighborhoods, communities, and shared digital spaces
Our Co-Director @deeptidoshi.bsky.social draws on her parents' journey to the U.S. to argue that American ideals only become real through local community action.
To Deepti, our neighborhoods, schools, and digital spaces are where we actually practice freedom together — not just defend it from afar.
30.06.2025 15:25 — 👍 5 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 1
zz z
29.06.2025 00:01 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
For almost the entire 30 years I’ve spent making things on the internet, I’ve helped build and grow strong online communities. But the internet kinda feels broken. Everyone feels disconnected and overwhelmed.
So I’m joining @wearenewpublic.bsky.social to imagine something different and build it
31.03.2025 16:44 — 👍 30 🔁 5 💬 4 📌 1
"If we don’t act soon, our online world will continue to be run at the whim of capricious billionaires." @eli.bsky.social & @deeptidoshi.bsky.social in MIT Technology Review this morning, with more information about @freeourfeeds.com
www.technologyreview.com/2025/01/17/1...
17.01.2025 16:44 — 👍 24 🔁 10 💬 0 📌 1
We need to protect the protocol that runs Bluesky
If we don’t act soon, our online world will continue to be run at the whim of capricious billionaires.
@eli.bsky.social and I wrote an op-ed about why we are supporting #FreeourFeeds in this moment!
"...we need to act, because the future of the internet can’t depend on whether one of the richest men on Earth wakes up on the wrong side of the bed."
www.technologyreview.com/2025/01/17/1...
17.01.2025 20:04 — 👍 9 🔁 4 💬 0 📌 0
At the top, a chat bubble with the question "Does downtown have free parking on the weekend?"
Below:
Neighborly Exchanges
Recommendations
Local Logistics
Buying and Selling
Freecycle, Borrow
At the top, a chat bubble with the question, "What's going on with all the police cars at the shopping center?"
Below:
Get & Share Info. Updates
Public Safety & Crime
Hyperlocal News
Volunteer Opportunities
Local Business Info
At the top: Chat bubble with the question, "Who keeps letting their dog poop everywhere?? What is wrong with people!?"
Below:
Connection & Discussion
Local Histories
Gossip & Drama
Political Discussions
Solving Local Problems
At the top, a chat bubble with the announcement,"Community home run derby @ community center, Sunday 5 PM"
Below:
Plan or Promote Local Events
Event Planning & Logistics
Event Flyers
We’re fascinated by local digital spaces like neighborhood Nextdoor and Facebook groups. When they’re good, they’re super useful, fun, and interesting.
Here’s some of the ways people use them, according to our research.
15.01.2025 17:40 — 👍 14 🔁 4 💬 1 📌 0
🙋🏾♂️🤳 Exploring new concepts for a people-powered internet
An excerpt of Nick Couldry’s new book, The Space of the World
In @couldrynick.bsky.social’s latest book “The Space of the World”, he makes a powerful argument that social media companies have been able to do something no king, emperor or dictator has ever been able to do in human history: design the complete social spaces where we live our lives.
16.01.2025 16:07 — 👍 13 🔁 4 💬 1 📌 1
My New_ Public Co-Director Deepti Doshi and I wrote about #FreeOurFeeds for @technologyreview.com:
“This is an opportunity to bring much more independence, innovation, and local control to our online conversations.”
17.01.2025 16:10 — 👍 9 🔁 4 💬 1 📌 1
Analysis | The push to ‘billionaire-proof’ social media
Nonprofits are spinning up to oversee the tech behind Bluesky and Mastodon.
I wrote about the push to "billionaire-proof" social media, including plans for a new nonprofit to build out "an entire ecosystem of interconnected apps" running on Bluesky's protocol. Gift link to today's Tech Brief: wapo.st/40fTk4X
14.01.2025 15:03 — 👍 1191 🔁 270 💬 37 📌 24
HULK SMASH PUNY TECH OLIGARCHS
14.01.2025 18:24 — 👍 7 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0
Today’s one for the history books: Mastodon is becoming an independent non-profit, and Bluesky is supporting #FreeOurFeeds taking their AT Protocol in the same direction.
13.01.2025 16:20 — 👍 825 🔁 220 💬 7 📌 13
Tell me the last time a social network CEO understood the importance of their protocol being governed by an independent foundation.
History in the making. Join us. And thank you, @jay.bsky.team for your inspired leadership.
13.01.2025 22:00 — 👍 8 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 1
Exciting to see new, independent projects spin up to decentralize the atproto ecosystem! Building alternative infrastructure is a big step towards giving users more choice and making the network billionaire-proof.
13.01.2025 20:28 — 👍 3133 🔁 627 💬 61 📌 49
So thrilled to be working with folks like
@audreyt.org , @markruffalo.bsky.social , @moonalice.com ,
@alexwinter.com on #FreeOurFeeds
We’ve got a chance here: Bluesky’s open protocol is an incredible opportunity to reimagine social media and take back the internet from fickle billionaires.
13.01.2025 21:57 — 👍 80 🔁 10 💬 1 📌 2
This was a fun one!
17.12.2024 13:00 — 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
This platform is already bubbling with people who care about reimagining the social internet into something better.
Here's a starter pack. Reply with more folks we should add!
13.11.2024 21:14 — 👍 42 🔁 17 💬 9 📌 4
Social Impact. Public Spaces. Currently writing about public libraries in the U.S.
Here’s a look at all of the interesting things I’m reading, listening to, and thinking.
A nonpartisan, nonprofit coalition developing and advancing public policies designed to strengthen community news and information.
Learn more at www.rebuildlocalnews.org.
Founder and CEO of DemocracyNext (www.demnext.org)
The Journal of Democracy: The smartest analysis on democracy and authoritarianism around the world. Reposts ≠ Endorsement. https://linkin.bio/jodemocracy
We work to build a United States that is democratic, just, and free — for all. Visit BrennanCenter.org.
The American Journalism Project is the first-ever venture philanthropy dedicated to supporting a thriving local news ecosystem. We invest in and build nonprofit newsrooms that are sustained by and look like the people they serve.
I run a foundation and work to create a more inclusive democracy. You can learn about what I do at work at www.democracyfund.org, but my posts here only reflect my personal views.
Political scientist. Thinking about democracy, rural-urban divide, inequality.
We're an academic community for Plurality research & technology | Cooperate across differences | DM us your news, research, jobs, grants & fellowships.
plurality.institute
Life long strategist and activist. Author, mom and rescue dog nut. Here for the social and political commentary. Formerly batgirl. Bees are magic. Live every week like it’s Shark Week. Defy Tyranny.
Author of a growing pile of books (Solidarity; The Age of Insecurity; Remake the World; Democracy May Not Exist, but We'll Miss it When It's Gone; The People's Platform), maker of documentaries, schemer with the Debt Collective, editing at Hammer & Hope.
Berkeley professor, former Secretary of Labor. Co-founder of @inequalitymedia.bsky.social and @imcivicaction.bsky.social.
Substack: http://robertreich.substack.com
Buy my new book: https://sites.prh.com/reich
Visit my website: https://rbreich.com/
Associate Professor, Dept of Communication, Cornell University. Bit partial to information ecosystems.
Research Director, Citizens and Technology Lab, Cornell University, r/AskHistorians moderator
I study how to make the internet freer and safer— and how to help the helpers on the ground making that possible. She/her
https://citizensandtech.org/
Climber, biker, cocktailer, polyglot, vagabond. Ex EIC WIRED & MIT Technology Review, now writing about the future of democracy at https://futurepolis.substack.com. NYC/SF. He/him/Sir.
Executive Director, CommsHub, Meliore Foundation. @avaaz (trustee), @prospectmagazine.co.uk (editorial board). Formerly @open-society, @opendemocracy.net. ‘Does the woman reviewing the newspapers own a hairbrush?'
Author of Marketcrafters: The 100-Year Struggle to Shape the American Economy. Co-founder and Chair, Economic Security Project. https://chrishughes749530.substack.com/
Co-Exec Director of Indivisible along with Leah.
Organizing with local Indivisible groups against this fascistic clown show of an administration and congress.
