How to Save the Internet

Jonah Peretti, co-founder and CEO of Buzzfeed, sent this memo in 2019 to his employees and other close friends and associates to share his vision on how to save the internet.

Jonah's goal in this memo is to spread the message to his staff to put out the dumpster fire and fill the dumpster with fertile soil, plant seedlings and saplings, and in a couple of years people will say:“wait, was that a dumpster before? It looks like a giant pot filled with beautiful trees, blooming flowers, a few dank memes, and aromatic herbs ... See more

Some of the solutions suggested by Jonah are: -Platforms need to build sustainable models for good content to thrive.

Opportunistic bad actors — anti-vaxxers, flat-earthers,conspiracy theorists, misogynists, racists, xenophobes, trolls, partisan extremists, scammers, and pedophiles — have taken advantage. Facebook and YouTube continually tweak their algorithms, use machine learning to detect spam and abuse, and spend billions of dollars hiring tens of thousands of... See more

-M ake good internet, spread joy and truth.

-F ill the void on the platforms with quality content. -Deploy algorithms that reward  high-quality content. -Create ecosystems where creating good content is sustainable. If tech and media work together, everyone will benefit. -Invest in the creation and attraction of good content.

He shared that "I n one direction, the internet has become a flaming dumpster fire, pushing people apart. On the other, the internet is a source of joy and truth, connecting people together. We have the chance right now to work together to build a better future. BuzzFeed has a big role to play."

He proceeds to share some of the strategies that Buzzfeed has taken to improve the internet and foment good content. Some of these strategies are: -"We listen as much as we speak."

-Poll the audiences to find what matters to them.-They r olled out their own brand-safe video network, so marketers can buy across trusted content. -Hold Powerful People Accountable and Expose the Truth.