







We’re in an exciting moment for the open social web. As Elon makes one bad decision after another on X, we’ve seen waves of users leave the platform for alte…

Bridges & The Last Network Effect - augment
A New Social
Our mission is to liberate people's networks from their platforms, enabling The Last Network Effect and leveling the playing field across the open social web.
A New Social
Our mission is to liberate people's networks from their platforms, enabling The Last Network Effect and leveling the playing field across the open social web.
The Atmosphere . Building the open social web
FediForum | Growing the Open Social Web:<br>An Online Un-Workshop
Since the Twitter takeover by Elon Musk over three years ago, the Open Social Web has been adopted by an enthusiastic community. People world-wide are building and using open social platforms and open social protocols to better interact with others online.

Moats & Drawbridges - augment
In a world obsessed with moats, the open social web drops drawbridges
Bluesky & Open Social Media Tech
Shifts in U.S. Social Media Use, 2020–2024: Decline, Fragmentation, and Enduring Polarization
The social media ecosystem appears to be in flux. Twitter’s rebranding to X has come to symbolize a broader reorganization of online publics – political reshuffling, user attrition, and uncertainty over the role of legacy platforms. Simultaneously, the shift from text-based, networked feeds toward algorithmically curated, short-form video has accelerated, with TikTok setting the pace for the wider ecosystem [18, 14, 16]. At the same time, everyday communication increasingly migrates from large, open networks to semi-private spaces such as group chats and messaging apps. Commentators describe a digital public sphere in transition: smaller, more fragmented, less dominated by traditional social networking sites, and rise of more broadcast-oriented forms of media – with some even suggesting that we are seeing the beginning of the end of the social media era.
Social media algorithms can be redesigned to bridge divides — here’s how
"It falls to both the tech companies that built these systems and an engaged public to create technologies designed for social cohesion."

How Bluesky, Alternative to X and Facebook, Is Handling Explosive Growth
<blockquote><br /><strong><em>The fledgling social media site has been flooded with new users since the election. It hasn’t all been easy.</em></strong></b...

New from me, on the decision by the @ec.europa.eu to not extend the DMA interoperability requirements to social media, and how this closes off a pathway for mass adoption of open social networks. connectedplaces.online/reports/fr162-eu-regulation-w…
FR#162 – EU Regulation Won’t Save Open Social Networks
connectedplaces.onlineMaybe 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.inkthis week's news is about how @tangled.org @npmx.dev and @alt.store are using open social networking protocols to build, distribute, and discover software, and how the most important part is not the code but the community building part connectedplaces.online/reports/fr157-social-software…
FR#157 – Social Software Distribution
connectedplaces.onlineThe open social web is vibrant, dynamic, and full of amazing apps and websites! At the PublicSpaces Conference in Amsterdam, we just gave out the #OpenSocialAwards. We’re excited to introduce you to these impressive, inventive winners. 🧵
Open Social Awards | New_ Public
newpublic.orgTynan Purdy (@tynanpurdy.com)
Jasper — Import Instagram photos to Grain
The Garden (by Paul Stephenson) — Semble

Sill
Ditch Platforms (by Tynan Purdy) — Semble
Lqm1/X-ActivityPub-Bridge