What social networks can learn from public spaces

The feed is such a familiar, dominant organizing structure for social platforms I feel silly describing it to you. But is it inevitable? Are there other ways we could build platforms that might welcome users, engender connection and understanding, and facilitate action? What other styles of platform navigation might allow us to feel safe and flouri... See more

The Internet’s Lonely Urban Design

The Information Superhighway paved over Virtual Villages; can we bring them back?

Keaton Brandt

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12 min read

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Jan 28, 2024

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In the beginning, the internet resembled a quaint village where everybody knew your name. It was largely self-governing and self-policing, with its own norms and customs. Like many i... See more

Because the mainstream social networks have been designed by a tiny number of people, we have been prevented from experimenting and creating new knowledge about what sustainable community management online looks like. Start erasing the line between operators, customers, and community members disappears, and squint; you begin make out the shape of a... See more

Success here will come down to implementation details. The incentive structure, funding sources, size, goals, moderation approach, and community management philosophy of these networks will determine their long term viability as both businesses and communities.

Here, design, development, and content creation are no longer merely tools for generating revenue; they are also tools of community organizing. Here, design and engineering take on the valence of care, and the emotional involvement of being a contributor, moderator, and member. Where does “design” end and “moderation” begin? Because the mainstream ... See more