Making Better Networks for Humans, with Erin Kissane and Darius Kazemi

Unlike traditional social media, the fediverse operates without a central authority. This creates a unique set of challenges and opportunities for how it's governed.

Luckily, there are thoughtful stewards who want to see decentralized social media succeed in the most human - and humane - fashion. Two of the most prominent are Erin Kissane, a writer and researcher working on new networks, and Darius Kazemi, a senior engineer at the Applied Social Media Lab at Harvard University.

Earlier in 2024, the pair researched and wrote a 40,000-word report on governance in the fediverse. Now they are deep in other projects designed to move the fediverse forward, including Erin's new studio devoted to network work and Darius' Fediverse Schema Observatory (software built to enhance the ecosystem's interoperability while being sensitive to user data). You'll hear about these projects and more in the latest episode of our Dot Social podcast.

Highlights of the conversation include:

• The impact of the 2024 U.S. Presidential election on fediverse work
• Thoughts on the "Xodus" migration to Bluesky
• A model for how to socialize software in the fediverse
• What needs to be done next: a prioritized list
• Finding a home in the fediverse and constituting place
• Funding and sustaining better networks for humans
• Bridging protocols and avoiding fragmentation

We invite you to watch the podcast on Flipboard's PeerTube instance at flipboard.video:

Please follow us on PeerTube if you aren't already. When you do, the videos become available via any other platform connected by ActivityPub. (It's basically like having your YouTube, X and Instagram feeds and comments in one central, interoperable home feed. This is the beauty and the power of decentralized social media!)

You can find Dot Social on Flipboard, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, anywhere else you might listen to podcasts.

We will continue to bring you new episodes with fascinating fediverse leaders as we record them. The best way to never miss an episode is to subscribe to the show. Please also rate, review, comment and share, especially if you like what you hear.

See you in the fediverse!

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