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The fediverse

Originally published 19 Jan 2022.

TLDR: I think the Fediverse - a group of community-owned, open-source, self-hosted, decentralized and interconnected social media platforms - is a cool and promising alternative to the absolute mess that we have let ourselves be trapped in. For more info on the Fediverse, see for instance this.

In short: I don't like how large corporate social media platforms 1) collect our data, aggregate it and keep it to themselves, 2) use that data to influence us in a way that makes them and others exorbitant amounts of money (and also happens to undermine the foundations of our democracy by drawing people into fascist filter bubbles), and 3) make it artificially hard to leave them.

Actually I think it is completely ridiculous (and very irresponsible) that we have let such platforms control such a huge part of our lives; we leave critical decisions - about whose voices we want to amplify, what stories we want to tell and hear, and how we want to be shaped - to some random, unelected corporate group of techies.

Should the state step in? Break up and nationalize Facebook? Twitter? Ban TikTok? Ridiculous situations might require ridiculous solutions?

I don't know..

But what I do know is that if the Fediverse properly takes off, that might not even be necessary. We might be able to take back the digital streets ourselves.