I think it’s safe to say that most humans on this planet are growing, how can I put this lightly, weary of the current billionaire stewards of our social media ecosystem. X is a hateful mess. Meta is trying to become a hateful mess. TikTok is likely on its way out. Social media is just not that fun or useful anymore.
However, a cadre of celebrities and notable ex-Twitter users are trying to “save social media from billionaire capture” by creating something called FreeOurFeeds. These folks want to build a new social media ecosystem, one that is focused on the public good instead of profit-driven incentives, as reported by User Mag.
Some of the big names behind this project include actor Mark Ruffalo, actor/director Alex Winter and sci-fi writer/journalist Cory Doctorow. Brian Eno is involved, as is Jimmy Wales (the founder of Wikipedia.) The plan involves building new social media apps on top of the pre-existing AT Protocol, which is a decentralized framework that Bluesky runs on. This would ostensibly give users significant control over their data, algorithms and the entire online experience.
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“The last two decades have seen the world sleepwalk into a situation where a handful of companies dictate our entire social media experience. Now, for the first time we have an opportunity to rewrite the rules. Bluesky’s underlying technology, the AT protocol, could offer a new pathway for the social web.” said Sherif Elsayed-Ali, Executive Director of the Future of Technology Institute.
There are a couple of major hurdles here. Bluesky is still backed by venture capital, so the team has to raise money to ensure the underlying technology is put “on an independent pathway, so that the future of social media can be freed from the whims of any one company or group of billionaires.”
The foundation also requires money to start building critical infrastructure. All told, the organization hopes to raise $30 million over the next three years. There’s a GoFundMe right now, with the intent to raise an initial $4 million. Initial funds will be spent to launch a public interest foundation that will attempt to make “Bluesky’s underlying tech fully resistant to billionaire capture.”
Before you dismiss this notion as a bunch of rich celebrities holding out a donation can, let’s remember that even the wealthiest celebrity doesn’t hold a handle to the billionaires that control the levers of power. Mark Ruffalo, likely the most notable member of the group, is worth around $30 million and Alex Winter is worth $4 million.
Elon Musk is worth $416 billion and Mark Zuckerberg’s worth is creeping up on $220 billion. Musk is worth, wait for it, around 14,000 times more than Ruffalo. The difference between million and billion is pretty serious.
