A group of committed libertarian cats and the EU

The Fediverse community, a group of committed libertarian cats, took direct action to promote decentralized and #openweb models to the European Union (EU). They engaged with policymakers, participated in EU events and conferences, and explained the benefits of decentralized platforms like Mastodon, which is part of the Fediverse and uses the ActivityPub protocol. This grassroots…

Libertarian #Fediverse “cats”

This story is about a group of libertarian #Fediverse “cats” who convinced one of the largest and most bureaucratic institutions, the European Union, to embrace decentralized and #openweb technologies. Through outreach efforts, EU-sponsored events and advocating to policy-makers, they raised awareness of the benefits of decentralized models of the internet and the positive impact this…

Let’s Try a Right-Wing Metaphor

On the #SWF thread, https://socialhub.activitypub.rocks/t/socialwebfoundation-what-do-people-think/4564/85 Let’s try a Right-Wing Metaphor: Well, this playground is full of noise In this noise, there is much sense, but no grown-up action. In a children’s playground, it is the adults who are in control, the ones who bind everything together, the ones who make the decisions. The children play,…

The metaphor of cat herding

The metaphor of cat herding is a useful and fitting when working with decentralized, independent actors who are resistant to collective action, especially in grassroots tech and activist communities. It reflects the challenge of getting people to focus, organize, and work toward common goals without losing their autonomy or devolving into chaos. With projects like…

Understanding Current Tech Paths

The accidental #openweb reboot of the #fediverse was created and popularized by a diverse and disorganized group of progressives with meany #fashernistas, this is a #4opens “native” path and reflects the decentralized and chaotic nature of grassroots movements. This “herding cats” means that achieving consensus or coordinated action is challenging. The last 40 years have…

The Open Governance Body: Revolutionizing Governance with Grassroots Tech

In our ever-evolving digital world, governance is often left behind, struggling to catch up with the pace of technology and social change. Among the myriad of attempts to tackle this problem, there’s one that stands out for its innovative and participatory approach: the Open Governance Body (#OGB). This grassroots, federated project is more than just…

Can This Platform Survive? Governance Challenges

papers.ssrn.com Can This Platform Survive? Governance Challenges for the Fediverse 8 A paper on the Fediverse by Thomas Struett, American University – School of Communication, Aram Sinnreich, American University – School of Communication, Patricia Aufderheide, American University – School of Communication, Rob Gehl, York University. Interesting #mainstreaming look, that bypasses the grassroots it’s actually talking…

A scrypt for the #OGB video

[Background music playing] Narrator: In a world dominated by #mainstreaming narratives and centralized control, there is a project that dares to think differently. Introducing the #OGB project, an initiative focused on developing trust-based conversations and governance in the #openweb. [Visual of people engaging in conversations and collaborating] Narrator: The OGB project is built upon years…

#ActivityPub is an accidental reboot of the #openweb

#ActivityPub is an accidental reboot of the #openweb. It came into existence because the #dotcons (#mainstreaming platforms) attended a #wc3 meeting but did not find anything useful for themselves. As a result, they left the “weirdos” to build an approach based on the #4opens principles. The “weirdos” managed to keep things together long enough to…