I appreciate the questions about #FreeOurFeeds, so let me lay out my thinking a bit.
-
I appreciate the questions about #FreeOurFeeds, so let me lay out my thinking a bit. We may disagree, but here’s where I’m coming from:
To say we’re impressed with Mastodon would be an understatement: Mastodon and ActivityPub lit a fire that is still growing. And it’s awesome that they are heading towards becoming a non-profit.
1/
-
I appreciate the questions about #FreeOurFeeds, so let me lay out my thinking a bit. We may disagree, but here’s where I’m coming from:
To say we’re impressed with Mastodon would be an understatement: Mastodon and ActivityPub lit a fire that is still growing. And it’s awesome that they are heading towards becoming a non-profit.
1/
But there’s also so much energy and momentum on Bluesky, and now is the moment to leverage it. We want to help secure the AT Protocol’s future, make it truly decentralized and interoperable, and follow in Mastodon’s example.
To be clear: Free Our Feeds is not about picking winners between “competitors.” This is not zero-sum. Both protocols, and indeed both platforms, can flourish and succeed together.
2/
-
But there’s also so much energy and momentum on Bluesky, and now is the moment to leverage it. We want to help secure the AT Protocol’s future, make it truly decentralized and interoperable, and follow in Mastodon’s example.
To be clear: Free Our Feeds is not about picking winners between “competitors.” This is not zero-sum. Both protocols, and indeed both platforms, can flourish and succeed together.
2/
There’s no doubt in my mind that Mastodon benefits from a stronger, more independent AT Protocol, even as Bluesky also benefits in the process.
Big picture, from my perspective, Mastodon and Bluesky (and AT and AP) should be on the same team.
3/
-
There’s no doubt in my mind that Mastodon benefits from a stronger, more independent AT Protocol, even as Bluesky also benefits in the process.
Big picture, from my perspective, Mastodon and Bluesky (and AT and AP) should be on the same team.
3/
I know some folks see the company Bluesky alongside the dominant platforms with billions of users. I just don’t see it that way.
It’s one possible outcome, sure, but if we step in now and do this work, we can break the cycle and build something really exciting.
4/
-
I know some folks see the company Bluesky alongside the dominant platforms with billions of users. I just don’t see it that way.
It’s one possible outcome, sure, but if we step in now and do this work, we can break the cycle and build something really exciting.
4/
And I wanted to say a little more about what the money is actually for:
Just to be clear, it’s not for us – it’s to build an ecosystem. This is a large project, and we’re not quite at the stage where we are sharing budgets and timelines.
This effort will require a lot of engineering and technical expertise, in addition to complex institutional planning and organization-building.
5/
-
And I wanted to say a little more about what the money is actually for:
Just to be clear, it’s not for us – it’s to build an ecosystem. This is a large project, and we’re not quite at the stage where we are sharing budgets and timelines.
This effort will require a lot of engineering and technical expertise, in addition to complex institutional planning and organization-building.
5/
If we want to do this right, and build a foundation that will last and grow, as well as relay infrastructure for tens of millions of users, it’s going to take serious capital. As far as the various line-items and dollar amounts — that info is coming.
6/6
-
If we want to do this right, and build a foundation that will last and grow, as well as relay infrastructure for tens of millions of users, it’s going to take serious capital. As far as the various line-items and dollar amounts — that info is coming.
6/6
@elipariser I think this post is quite telling, so you need massive financial backing in order to set up a relay for a 2nd Bluesky instance. With great money comes great incentives to do bad things. The point here is, why should a user potentially go through the same busted experience they had with Twitter on a potentially busted 2nd Bluesky instance? With #ActivityPub, you can simply find another instance, #Mastodon doesn't disappear when one instance goes busted.
-
B beaware@social.beaware.live shared this topic