Social fabric: The Price of What Survives

Some reflections on the social fabric (which we've taken to calling 'social capital')

Media and Social Capital

We survey the empirical literature in economics on the impact of media technologies on social capital. Guided by a simple model of information and collective action, we cover a range of different outcomes related to social capital—from social and political participation to interpersonal trust—in its benign and destructive manifestations. The impact of media technologies hinges on their content (information versus entertainment), their effectiveness in fostering coordination, and the networks they create as well as on individual characteristics and media consumption choices.

Media and Social Capital

We survey the empirical literature in economics on the impact of media technologies on social capital. Guided by a simple model of information and collective action, we cover a range of different outcomes related to social capital—from social and political participation to interpersonal trust—in its benign and destructive manifestations. The impact of media technologies hinges on their content (information versus entertainment), their effectiveness in fostering coordination, and the networks they create as well as on individual characteristics and media consumption choices.

Why Your Social Capital is Probably Worthless

In 1973, sociologist Mark Granovetter published one of the most influential papers in social network theory. "The Strength of Weak Ties" demonstrated something counterintuitive: when it comes to finding jobs and opportunities, your casual acquaintances are often more valuable than your close friends. This makes perfect sense when you think

Social Capital - Hitchhiker's Guide to the Atmosphere

The problem Atproto is solving

Social Capital - Hitchhiker's Guide to the Atmosphere

The problem Atproto is solving

W Social: Kurznachrichtendienst für per Ausweis verifizierte User vor Öffnung

Blueskys AT-Protokoll bietet die Basis für immer mehr soziale Dienste. Nun schickt sich W Social an, ein europäisches Netz für verifizierte User zu etablieren.

Status Traps: Learning from Web2 Social Networks - a16z crypto

Countering social networks’ tendency toward “social capital” inequality requires thinking like an economist and learning from the web2 days.

Pluralistic: Social media without socializing (19 Jan 2026) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow

From the earliest days of social media, social media bosses have been at war with sociability. To create a social media service is to demarcate legitimate and illegitimate forms of sociability. It's a monumental act of hubris, really.

Graze Social Status

Graze Social Status

How social norms emerge: The interindividual actor–critic.

W Don't Have Time (@wdonthavetime.selfhosted.social)

"Trust community, not wealth" Holding power accountable on the open social web. https://woosh.link/wdonthavetime.selfhosted.social

Building A Prosocial Media Ecosystem | NOEMA

There’s never been a better time to make social media what it always should have been: a tool to strengthen rather than strip-mine the social fabric.

Pluralistic: Enshittification isn’t caused by venture capital (20 Jan 2025) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow

Many of us have left the big social media platforms; far more of us wish we could leave them; and even those of us who've escaped from Facebook/Insta and Twitter still spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to get the people we care about off of them, too.

Capital Must Seek Delight

Too few people are experiencing the delights and serendipity of AI, causing capital misallocation