It’s tough being a media outlet these days. Audiences are fractured, referrals from search engines are dropping, and publishers are at the mercy of algorithms they don’t control.Savvy journalists at forward-thinking newsrooms are not letting this happen to them. Instead, they’re doing the work that arguably has been most critical all along: building direct connections with their audiences. It’s common to do this through email lists and subscription models, but the open social web offers a new, more equitable ecosystem for quality journalism to thrive.  Two people on the frontlines of this movement are Jason Koebler, a journalist and co-founder at 404 Media, and Ben Werdmuller, the senior director of technology at ProPublica. In this episode of Dot Social, the two talk about their fediverse experiences so far and why they’re hopeful for publishing in the future.• Addressing online media’s biggest challenge  • Solving problems around discovery  • Core selling points of decentralized social media • Will Threads become the whale in this pond? • Ghost vs Substack • The threat of AI-generated content and how it plays algorithmically  Mentioned in this episode:<ul><li><a href="https://www.404media.co/what-we-learned-in-our-first-year-of-404-media/">“What We Learned in Our First Year of 404 Media”</a></li><li><a href="https://www.anildash.com//2024/02/06/wherever-you-get-podcasts/">“Wherever you get your podcasts” is a radical statement</a></li><li><a href="https://flipboard.video/w/sQCNmXx332xi3Y3dVVjd37">John O’Nolan’s Dot Social episode</a></li><li><a href="https://www.threads.net/@threads/post/C_OEkXfO4eO?hl=en">Threads announcement from 8/28</a></li><li>“<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-R9CWq5CBlk">Protocol Wars - The Fediverse Explained!</a>”(WVFRM podcast)</li></ul>🔎 You can find  Ben at <a href="https://werd.io/">https://werd.io/</a> and @<a href="mailto:ben@werd.social">ben@werd.social</a>. You can find Jason @<a href="mailto:jasonkoebler@mastodon.social">jasonkoebler@mastodon.social</a> and 404 Media at @404media@flipboard.com ✚ You can follow Mike at @<a href="mailto:mike@flipboard.social">mike@flipboard.social</a> and @<a href="mailto:mike@flipboard.com">mike@flipboard.com</a> 💡 To learn more about what Flipboard's doing in the fediverse, sign up here:  <a href="https://about.flipboard.com/a-new-wave/">https://about.flipboard.com/a-new-wave/</a>

<description>&lt;p&gt;It’s tough being a media outlet these days. Audiences are fractured, referrals from search engines are dropping, and publishers are at the mercy of algorithms they don’t control.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Savvy journalists at forward-thinking newsrooms are not letting this happen &lt;i&gt;to&lt;/i&gt; them. Instead, they’re doing the work that arguably has been most critical all along: building direct connections with their audiences. It’s common to do this through email lists and subscription models, but the open social web offers a new, more equitable ecosystem for quality journalism to thrive.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Two people on the frontlines of this movement are Jason Koebler, a journalist and co-founder at 404 Media, and Ben Werdmuller, the senior director of technology at ProPublica. In this episode of Dot Social, the two talk about their fediverse experiences so far and why they’re hopeful for publishing in the future.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;• Addressing online media’s biggest challenge &lt;br /&gt;• Solving problems around discovery &lt;br /&gt;• Core selling points of decentralized social media&lt;br /&gt;• Will Threads become the whale in this pond?&lt;br /&gt;• Ghost vs Substack&lt;br /&gt;• The threat of AI-generated content and how it plays algorithmically &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Mentioned in this episode:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.404media.co/what-we-learned-in-our-first-year-of-404-media/"&gt;“What We Learned in Our First Year of 404 Media”&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.anildash.com//2024/02/06/wherever-you-get-podcasts/"&gt;“Wherever you get your podcasts” is a radical statement&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://flipboard.video/w/sQCNmXx332xi3Y3dVVjd37"&gt;John O’Nolan’s Dot Social episode&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.threads.net/@threads/post/C_OEkXfO4eO?hl=en"&gt;Threads announcement from 8/28&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;“&lt;a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-R9CWq5CBlk"&gt;Protocol Wars - The Fediverse Explained!&lt;/a&gt;”(WVFRM podcast)&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;🔎 You can find  Ben at &lt;a href="https://werd.io/"&gt;https://werd.io/&lt;/a&gt; and @&lt;a href="mailto:ben@werd.social"&gt;ben@werd.social&lt;/a&gt;. You can find Jason @&lt;a href="mailto:jasonkoebler@mastodon.social"&gt;jasonkoebler@mastodon.social&lt;/a&gt; and 404 Media at @404media@flipboard.com &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;✚ You can follow Mike at @&lt;a href="mailto:mike@flipboard.social"&gt;mike@flipboard.social&lt;/a&gt; and @&lt;a href="mailto:mike@flipboard.com"&gt;mike@flipboard.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;💡 To learn more about what Flipboard's doing in the fediverse, sign up here:  &lt;a href="https://about.flipboard.com/a-new-wave/"&gt;https://about.flipboard.com/a-new-wave/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
</description>

Newsrooms need to build direct relationships with their communities, and the fediverse is one way to do this. Hear from two men at the forefront of the future of publishing.  


How Decentralization Benefits Publishers, with 404 Media’s Jason Koebler and ProPublica’s Ben Werdmuller

There’s a reason journalist and Bluesky board member Mike Masnick calls the platform “the most interesting experiment going in social media.” Originally launched as a project within Twitter in 2019, Bluesky has since become an independent company intent on making social more like the web. What does that mean, exactly, and why does it matter? Bluesky founder and CEO Jay Graber says social media is stagnating because “we're in this trap where users are locked in and developers are locked out.” It’s time to open things up again, she states, like in the innovative early days of the internet. Highlights of this conversation: • Bluesky’s origin story  • The case for decentralization — and Bluesky • Developer activity and other “wacky experimentation”  • Workings of identity online and DIDs (decentralized identifiers) • Bridging AT Protocol and ActivityPub •  Bluesky’s exciting cultural momentsMentioned in this episode:<ul><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/09/podcasts/hard-fork-bluesky-figma.html">Hard Fork podcast episode</a> featuring Jay Graber</li></ul>🔎 You can find Jay at @jay.bsky.team✚ You can connect with Mike McCue at @mmccue.bsky.social and at @mike@flipboard.social💡 To learn more about what Flipboard's doing in the fediverse, sign up here:  <a href="https://about.flipboard.com/a-new-wave/">https://about.flipboard.com/a-new-wave/</a>

<description>&lt;p&gt;There’s a reason journalist and Bluesky board member Mike Masnick calls the platform “the most interesting experiment going in social media.” Originally launched as a project within Twitter in 2019, Bluesky has since become an independent company intent on making social more like the web. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;What does that mean, exactly, and why does it matter? Bluesky founder and CEO Jay Graber says social media is stagnating because “we're in this trap where users are locked in and developers are locked out.” It’s time to open things up again, she states, like in the innovative early days of the internet. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Highlights of this conversation:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;• Bluesky’s origin story &lt;br /&gt;• The case for decentralization — and Bluesky&lt;br /&gt;• Developer activity and other “wacky experimentation” &lt;br /&gt;• Workings of identity online and DIDs (decentralized identifiers)&lt;br /&gt;• Bridging AT Protocol and ActivityPub&lt;br /&gt;•  Bluesky’s exciting cultural moments&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Mentioned in this episode:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/09/podcasts/hard-fork-bluesky-figma.html"&gt;Hard Fork podcast episode&lt;/a&gt; featuring Jay Graber&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;🔎 You can find Jay at @jay.bsky.team&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;✚ You can connect with Mike McCue at @mmccue.bsky.social and at @mike@flipboard.social&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;💡 To learn more about what Flipboard's doing in the fediverse, sign up here:  &lt;a href="https://about.flipboard.com/a-new-wave/"&gt;https://about.flipboard.com/a-new-wave/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
</description>

Bluesky founder and CEO Jay Graber illustrates what it looks like to free our social identities from large walled gardens and leverage open source software for a better internet. 

Make Identity Central Again, with Bluesky’s Jay Graber

The fediverse offers an opportunity to rethink how trust and safety works in social media. In a decentralized environment, creating safe and welcoming places relies on community moderation, transparent governance, and innovation in tooling. No longer is one company making — and enforcing — its own rules. It’s a collective responsibility.Samantha Lai, senior research analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Jaz-Michael King, the executive director of IFTAS, are here to explain how. Samantha co-authored a seminal paper, “<a href="https://www.tsjournal.org/index.php/jots/article/view/171">Securing Federated Platforms: Collective Risks and Responses</a>,” along with Twitter’s former head of trust and safety, Yoel Roth. Jaz runs IFTAS, which offers trust and safety support for volunteer content moderators, community managers, admins and more. The two often collaborate and bring perspectives from the policy and operational sides. Highlights of this conversation:<ul><li>Moderation approaches in the fediverse</li><li>Role of IFTAS</li><li>Is moderation better in the fediverse?</li><li>Collective intel and resources</li><li>Scaling with AI tools and tooling overall</li></ul>Mentioned in this episode:<ul><li>IFTAS Connect - <a href="https://connect.iftas.org/">https://connect.iftas.org/</a></li><li>Samantha and Yoel Roth’s paper for Journal of Online Trust and Safety - <a href="https://www.tsjournal.org/index.php/jots/article/view/171">https://www.tsjournal.org/index.php/jots/article/view/171</a></li><li>Bluesky composable moderation <a href="https://bsky.social/about/blog/4-13-2023-moderation">https://bsky.social/about/blog/4-13-2023-moderation</a></li></ul>🔎 You can find Samantha at @samlai.bsky.social and Jaz at @jaz@mastodon.iftas.org ✚ You can connect with Mike McCue on Mastodon at @mike@flipboard.social or via his Flipboard federated account, where you can see what he’s curating on Flipboard in the fediverse, at @mike@flipboard.com 💡 To learn more about what Flipboard's doing in the fediverse, sign up here:  <a href="https://about.flipboard.com/a-new-wave/">https://about.flipboard.com/a-new-wave/</a>

<description>&lt;p&gt;The fediverse offers an opportunity to rethink how trust and safety works in social media. In a decentralized environment, creating safe and welcoming places relies on community moderation, transparent governance, and innovation in tooling. No longer is one company making — and enforcing — its own rules. It’s a collective responsibility.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Samantha Lai, senior research analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Jaz-Michael King, the executive director of IFTAS, are here to explain how. Samantha co-authored a seminal paper, “&lt;a href="https://www.tsjournal.org/index.php/jots/article/view/171"&gt;Securing Federated Platforms: Collective Risks and Responses&lt;/a&gt;,” along with Twitter’s former head of trust and safety, Yoel Roth. Jaz runs IFTAS, which offers trust and safety support for volunteer content moderators, community managers, admins and more. The two often collaborate and bring perspectives from the policy and operational sides. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Highlights of this conversation:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Moderation approaches in the fediverse&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Role of IFTAS&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Is moderation better in the fediverse?&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Collective intel and resources&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Scaling with AI tools and tooling overall&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;Mentioned in this episode:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;IFTAS Connect - &lt;a href="https://connect.iftas.org/"&gt;https://connect.iftas.org/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Samantha and Yoel Roth’s paper for Journal of Online Trust and Safety - &lt;a href="https://www.tsjournal.org/index.php/jots/article/view/171"&gt;https://www.tsjournal.org/index.php/jots/article/view/171&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Bluesky composable moderation &lt;a href="https://bsky.social/about/blog/4-13-2023-moderation"&gt;https://bsky.social/about/blog/4-13-2023-moderation&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;🔎 You can find Samantha at @samlai.bsky.social and Jaz at @jaz@mastodon.iftas.org &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;✚ You can connect with Mike McCue on Mastodon at @mike@flipboard.social or via his Flipboard federated account, where you can see what he’s curating on Flipboard in the fediverse, at @mike@flipboard.com&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;💡 To learn more about what Flipboard's doing in the fediverse, sign up here:  &lt;a href="https://about.flipboard.com/a-new-wave/"&gt;https://about.flipboard.com/a-new-wave/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
</description>

The fediverse represents an opportunity to rethink how trust and safety works in social media. But how, and what should we still be worried about? Two experts — the Executive Director of IFTAS and a co-author of a seminal paper — explain.

The Fediverse’s Trust and Safety Warriors, with Samantha Lai and Jaz-Michael King

John O’Nolan, the founder and CEO of Ghost, calls himself “the inverse Peter Thiel.” That’s because he wants to build a tech company that bucks the usual narratives, with as few monopolies as possible. His open-source publishing platform is structured as a nonprofit and is integrating with the ActivityPub protocol, giving creators digital sovereignty. No longer do writers have to perform for an algorithm to succeed or get stuck inside closed systems that monetize off their backs.Does this scenario seem too good to be true? As you’ll hear in this conversation with Flipboard CEO Mike McCue, John doesn’t think so. There’s still a lot to be figured out, but both entrepreneurs are here for whatever this next phase of the internet brings. Highlights of this conversation:<ul><li>Why John believes in ActivityPub</li><li>Ghost’s ActivityPub integration</li><li>Parallels with the early internet</li><li>Being at a grassroots stage</li><li>Decentralizing human connection</li><li>Impact of catering to algorithms</li><li>Micropayments and other models</li></ul>🔎 You can find John at https://john.onolan.org/✚ You can connect with Mike McCue on Mastodon at @mike@flipboard.social or via his Flipboard federated account, where you can see what he’s curating on Flipboard in the fediverse, at @mike@flipboard.com 💡 To learn more about what Flipboard's doing in the fediverse, sign up here:  <a href="https://about.flipboard.com/a-new-wave/">https://about.flipboard.com/a-new-wave/</a>

<description>&lt;p&gt;John O’Nolan, the founder and CEO of Ghost, calls himself “the inverse Peter Thiel.” That’s because he wants to build a tech company that bucks the usual narratives, with as few monopolies as possible. His open-source publishing platform is structured as a nonprofit and is integrating with the ActivityPub protocol, giving creators digital sovereignty. No longer do writers have to perform for an algorithm to succeed or get stuck inside closed systems that monetize off their backs.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Does this scenario seem too good to be true? As you’ll hear in this conversation with Flipboard CEO Mike McCue, John doesn’t think so. There’s still a lot to be figured out, but both entrepreneurs are here for whatever this next phase of the internet brings. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Highlights of this conversation:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Why John believes in ActivityPub&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Ghost’s ActivityPub integration&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Parallels with the early internet&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Being at a grassroots stage&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Decentralizing human connection&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Impact of catering to algorithms&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Micropayments and other models&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;🔎 You can find John at https://john.onolan.org/&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;✚ You can connect with Mike McCue on Mastodon at @mike@flipboard.social or via his Flipboard federated account, where you can see what he’s curating on Flipboard in the fediverse, at @mike@flipboard.com&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;💡 To learn more about what Flipboard's doing in the fediverse, sign up here:  &lt;a href="https://about.flipboard.com/a-new-wave/"&gt;https://about.flipboard.com/a-new-wave/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
</description>

Ghost founder and CEO John O’Nolan wants to build a tech company that plays by different rules. Learn how ActivityPub is enabling a publishing platform with sustainability at its core.

This Publishing Platform Sees the Future, with Ghost’s John O’Nolan

<a href="https://www.mollywhite.net/">Molly White</a> is a leading cryptocurrency critic, but get to know her and you’ll see she’s anything but cynical. In fact, this researcher, writer and software engineer cares so deeply about free and open access to high-quality information that she’s been a Wikipedia editor since she was a teenager. Now Molly is the force behind the <a href="https://www.citationneeded.news/">Citation Needed</a> newsletter and the <a href="https://www.web3isgoinggreat.com/">Web3IsGoingGreat</a> site, and frequently speaks to journalists and makes media appearances. Despite tracking and writing about crypto’s shames, she is actually hopeful about how the internet is evolving in ways that are more open, collaborative, and in the user’s control. In this interview, Molly shares her thoughts on how the social web is transforming our lives, why everyone should be a blogger, and how the concept of digital ownership is changing before our eyes. She also explains the POSSE model — Publish [on your] Own Site, Syndicate Elsewhere — which has the potential to revolutionize how we share digital content and think about our online identities. Highlights of this conversation include:<ul><li>Why Molly is optimistic about the future of the web</li><li>“Everyone is a blogger”</li><li>POSSE — Post on Own Site, Syndicate Elsewhere</li><li>New framework for identity on the web</li><li>Digital ownership and sovereignty</li><li>Enabling creators to build relationships that transcend platforms</li><li>Business models and public funding</li></ul>🔎  You can find everything Molly’s posting via the POSSE implementation on her website at <a href="https://www.mollywhite.net/feed">https://www.mollywhite.net/feed</a>. She’s also on Mastodon at @molly0xfff@hachyderm.io.✚ You can connect with Mike McCue on Mastodon at <a href="https://flipboard.social/@mike">@mike</a>@flipboard.social or via his Flipboard federated account, where you can see what he’s curating on Flipboard in the Fediverse, at <a href="https://flipboard.social/@mike@flipboard.com">@mike@flipboard.com</a>💰 Mastodon is a non-profit that runs on donations from the community. You can help Mastodon succeed by supporting the organization via Patreon: <a href="https://www.patreon.com/mastodon">https://www.patreon.com/mastodon</a> 💡 To learn more about what Flipboard's doing in the fediverse, sign up here:  <a href="https://about.flipboard.com/a-new-wave/">https://about.flipboard.com/a-new-wave/</a>

<description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.mollywhite.net/"&gt;Molly White&lt;/a&gt; is a leading cryptocurrency critic, but get to know her and you’ll see she’s anything but cynical. In fact, this researcher, writer and software engineer cares so deeply about free and open access to high-quality information that she’s been a Wikipedia editor since she was a teenager. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Now Molly is the force behind the &lt;a href="https://www.citationneeded.news/"&gt;Citation Needed&lt;/a&gt; newsletter and the &lt;a href="https://www.web3isgoinggreat.com/"&gt;Web3IsGoingGreat&lt;/a&gt; site, and frequently speaks to journalists and makes media appearances. Despite tracking and writing about crypto’s shames, she is actually hopeful about how the internet is evolving in ways that are more open, collaborative, and in the user’s control. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In this interview, Molly shares her thoughts on how the social web is transforming our lives, why everyone should be a blogger, and how the concept of digital ownership is changing before our eyes. She also explains the POSSE model — Publish [on your] Own Site, Syndicate Elsewhere — which has the potential to revolutionize how we share digital content and think about our online identities. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Highlights of this conversation include:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Why Molly is optimistic about the future of the web&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;“Everyone is a blogger”&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;POSSE — Post on Own Site, Syndicate Elsewhere&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;New framework for identity on the web&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Digital ownership and sovereignty&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Enabling creators to build relationships that transcend platforms&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Business models and public funding&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;🔎  You can find everything Molly’s posting via the POSSE implementation on her website at &lt;a href="https://www.mollywhite.net/feed"&gt;https://www.mollywhite.net/feed&lt;/a&gt;. She’s also on Mastodon at @molly0xfff@hachyderm.io.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;✚ You can connect with Mike McCue on Mastodon at &lt;a href="https://flipboard.social/@mike"&gt;@mike&lt;/a&gt;@flipboard.social or via his Flipboard federated account, where you can see what he’s curating on Flipboard in the Fediverse, at &lt;a href="https://flipboard.social/@mike@flipboard.com"&gt;@mike@flipboard.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;💰 Mastodon is a non-profit that runs on donations from the community. You can help Mastodon succeed by supporting the organization via Patreon: &lt;a href="https://www.patreon.com/mastodon"&gt;https://www.patreon.com/mastodon&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;💡 To learn more about what Flipboard's doing in the fediverse, sign up here:  &lt;a href="https://about.flipboard.com/a-new-wave/"&gt;https://about.flipboard.com/a-new-wave/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
</description>

Molly White is a leading cryptocurrency critic, but she’s anything but cynical. The force behind the Citation Needed newsletter and Web3IsGoingGreat shares her thoughts on how the social web is transforming our lives, why everyone should be a blogger, and how the concept of digital ownership is changing before our eyes. 

Entering a New Phase of the Web, with Citation Needed’s Molly White

Learn about the Internet’s next wave on the open social web and what it will unlock for how we connect, communicate, and innovate online. Hosted by Flipboard CEO Mike McCue.

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