







Moats & Drawbridges - augment
In a world obsessed with moats, the open social web drops drawbridges
The future of the internet is likely smaller communities, with a focus on curated experiences
As brands look to hold onto the internet of the past, the term “community” will become a loaded word.

Composable Trust, Part 3: 1 Community, 3 Sovereigns, No Landlords - Eclectic Corvine Muses
An architectural model to yield members, Rosters, and Venues sovereignty over their own domains, and none over each other’s.
Composable Trust, Part 3: 1 Community, 3 Sovereigns, No Landlords - Eclectic Corvine Muses
An architectural model to yield members, Rosters, and Venues sovereignty over their own domains, and none over each other’s.

Communities are not fungible
There's a default assumption baked into how Silicon Valley builds products, and it tracks against how urban planners redesign neighbourhoods: that communities are interchangeable, and if you "lose" one, you can manufacture a replacement; that the value of a group of people who share space and history can be captured

Composable Trust, Part 1: Communities Without Credible Exit - Eclectic Corvine Muses
We guarantee that users aren’t subject to platforms. Yet communities are still subject to their stewards. Can we fix this?
Maybe the real moats are the drawbridges we'll build along the way? In my latest augment piece, I re-think "moats" for the open social web by seeing what @standard.site, @blackskyweb.xyz's Acorn, and bridges like @ap.brid.gy + @wafrn.net have done for the ecosystem.
Moats & Drawbridges
www.augment.inkI’m not sure aptroto and funding quite mix Traditional apps have easy moats (data/users), atproto apps don’t have moat unless it’s via features Vc funding pushes us towards are current world (few huge players that have “won”) A world where atproto has won is one of many small businesses
dietrich
🚨 the ecosystem is delicate #atmosphereconf there's a LOT of enthusiasm + talent, but: - no magical investor monies - grant options are THIN - many first time founders - many don't want investment - few other options - scary macro env it's a collective challenge we can just pay for things?
"we're building rainforests, not skyscrapers" diverse ecosystems with lots of different life forms and symbiotic relationships and growth! @schlage.town got me feeling hopeful, talking about building an Atmospheric (sub) stack
code and tests aren't the moat. they never were. no need for agents to copy a project. forking was always an option. the moat of an oss project is its community, its governance, and its ecosystem connections. agents will never be able to replicate that. don't hide. let's build in the open, together
Custom feeds are not communities. But they can become commons.
Custom Feeds Are Not Communities — A Design Theory of Feeds and Commons
plurality.leaflet.pub