A social tech path out of the current mess

A look at the paths we need to take to balance the current #mainstreaming. Mess begets more mess, embrace It, but Strategically is the starting point of the #OGB project, recognising that solving our crises will inevitably create new complications. This isn’t defeatist but pragmatic. Understanding that “messy consensus” is a natural state of grassroots activism both online and offline allows us to embrace imperfection while striving for progress. How can we build tools to push this balance, we need paths that don’t eliminate mess but help us navigate it constructively.

Messy consensus vs. formal consensus, is basic, that “almost nothing that works, works with formal consensus” is both an indictment of rigidity and a call to trust human intuition and collective messiness. Formal consensus processes prioritise idealised decision-making frameworks over functional, timely action. Messy consensus in practice, decisions that evolve through ongoing dialogue, negotiation, and iterative adjustments. A focus on getting things done rather than endlessly perfecting processes.

The #OGB Project approach is based on #KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) by documenting messy consensus in action rather than try to force-fit solutions into rigid structures. The wider #OMN is about building software tools that reflect this dynamic, fluid, adaptive, and capable of handling the inherent unpredictability of real world grassroots organising.

Grassroots movements need patience and realism, activism is hard work, rife with delays, frustrations, and the risk of spiralling into unproductive behaviours. The example of delays being full of “shittiness all round” is all too common. The solution is to focus, implement basic accountability and communication tools to reduce friction (e.g., clear timelines, transparent updates). Design paths where delays can’t derail core progress (e.g., smaller, autonomous working groups with clear boundaries).

The #geekproblem and governance failures, technologists operate under the illusion that technology is apolitical, seeing themselves as neutral actors. This leads to tools and systems that perpetuate power imbalances rather than address them, then governance struggles inside this #techshit. Our more #NGO paths, governments and corporations alike fail because they attempt to apply dated paradigms (territorial governance, Soviet-style technocracy, and unchecked market competition) to globally networked paths.

#OGB and the #openweb native paths are about building politically aware technologies that understand their social impact and are actively shaped by the communities they serve. This is about moving beyond individualistic thinking to balance paths where decisions are made collectively and equitably, guided by progressive shared values and principles.

Metadata isn’t trivial, it’s often more revealing than the data itself. Governments and corporations weaponise it for control. However, this control relies on perpetuating individual isolation and the illusion that society doesn’t exist. A core path is challenging the #deathcult mentality and this death spiral of isolationism. The idea that individuals are isolated entities, disconnected from society, aligns with the deeply reactionary mindset of the #deathcult. It’s this ideology that drives surveillance capitalism, authoritarian governance, and ecological collapse.

The #OMN is about countering the death spiral by build networks and technologies that foster solidarity, collective agency, and a sense of shared purpose. To make this happen, we need to call out reactionary ideologies wherever they manifest, but with patience and a focus on education. The Internet is a commons, not an empire. The internet’s potential is currently squandered by treating it as a platform for profit-driven empires. With the #OMN instead, we can cultivate as shared commons, reflecting the principles of the #openweb. With commons-based governance, we move away from corporate models and toward federated, community-led governance structures. Interoperable ecosystems, prioritise open standards that allow diverse communities to connect without being locked into monopolistic platforms.

The #OMN contribution, is about documenting the failures of current systems and demonstrate the viability of federated, grassroots alternative paths. And from this building the cultural and technical infrastructure necessary to support an internet that is truly by and for the people. Practical steps acknowledge the mess, they start with the reality of our messy pats and systems rather than pretending they don’t exist. Then use this understanding as the foundation for solutions. Promote realistic timelines, by accepting that grassroots organising moves slower than we’d like, but ensure delays are constructive rather than paralysing. Focus on education, misunderstandings stem from a lack of digital literacy and political awareness, we need patience and persistence to mediate this these messy processes through practice.

In conclusion, how can we shape the world without being covered in shit. Yes, the path forward is messy, imperfect, and filled with hard work, but that’s no reason to despair. The #OMN projects offers a grounded approach that prioritises doing over theorising, embracing messy consensus as a strength rather than a weakness. By rejecting the #deathcult of individualism and building on the principles of the #openweb, we create paths that reflect the reality of grassroots organising: chaotic, collaborative, and, ultimately, transformative.

The wider #OMN project from a more #mainstreaming prospective

Sifting the wheat from the chaff in our technological and social mess is an important challenge. This is why the #OMN approach of leveraging work across communities and utilising multi-tag aggregation is an elegant and powerful solution. It would be useful to look at this from a more #mainstreaming prospective.

Aggregated work across communities of subjects, the first step in the #OMN path involves gathering and organising work created by various communities around specific subjects or interests. Subject-centric hubs, decentralised indexing, curating content based on subjects (e.g., #ClimateChange, #TechEthics). These hubs wouldn’t rely on centralised algorithms, but instead draw from a network of community-curated sources. Community moderation by trusted communities who moderate and curate content within their subject interested. This ensures quality and reduces noise while resisting gatekeeping tendencies of centralised control.
Reputation by contribution by encourage subject-focused communities to reward contributions, promoting collaboration and surfacing valuable work naturally.

Dynamic and live updates, newsfeeds, can be feed by aggregating real-time updates from communities working on the same subjects using open protocols like ActivityPub. This would provide a live pulse of discussions, innovations, and trends across diverse groups and subjects.

Multi-tag aggregation, the next step is to create a system that enables the mash-up of multiple tags to filter and organise the aggregated content dynamically. Advanced multi-tagging allow people to filter aggregated work using combinations of tags, e.g., #ClimateChange + #IndigenousRights + #CommunityProjects.

Visualisation of tag relationships, tag webs, implement visual tools that map relationships between tags, communities, and subjects. People can explore how different concepts connect and navigate the network intuitively. Trend overview, within tag intersections to help people identify emerging areas of focus and overlooked intersections.

Tools for aggregation and mashing, to make this work practically, we need powerful, accessible tools that build on the #OMN ethos. Open aggregators, open-source aggregators that collect data, metadata, and content flows from diverse platforms and formats, such as blogs, Fediverse instances, wikis, and video platforms that can be made compatible with the #openweb, we simply ignore the #dotcons which are to #closedweb to be worth plugging in to these flows, they will wither in the self-sustaining destruction of their own #techshit, sadly taking a part of our communities with them, we do not have the focus to rescue everyone as we push this shift.

Community buy-In and participation, To build the #OMN path in an effective and relevant direction, it must gain support and participation from the communities that create it. This needs: Simple, intuitive interfaces for tagging, curating, and contributing to subject hubs. Guides and incentives to help non-technical people engage with the paths. Decentralised decision-making, with democratic governance paths like the #OGB. Education and outreach, with educational campaigns to teach people how to use multi-tag aggregation and curated subject hubs that work.

Guarding against pitfalls, while the #OMN approach is promising, it’s essential to mitigate potential risks. We need to keep vigilance on balancing noise and redundancy. Centralisation risks, by keeping to decentralised and open paths to avoid reliance on any single platform, database, or organisation. Bias in curation is kept in check by the networks being inherently leaky, people will see other points of view – we do not subscribe to the #blocking inherent in #fashernista safety culture.

What would this look like, the end goal: Collaborative Knowledge Commons. The aim of the #OMN path is to create a living, breathing commons of human knowledge and action. By aggregating community work and enabling meaningful mash-ups through multi-tag aggregation, we create a powerful tool to cut through the noise, enabling better collaboration between communities, richer understanding of complex, intersectional issues, stronger foundations for the native #openweb.

“Solutions” being pushed for the future of the #Fediverse are starkly #stupidindividualism which comes from #deathcult worship

The is real frustration with “solutions” for the #Fediverse leaning toward #stupidindividualism and the normal #deathcult path, especially as these approaches undermine the foundational ethos of the “native” #openweb. What different paths do we need to take:

Re-centre on cooperation and interdependence. This should be obverse, instead of treating the #Fediverse as a platform for fragmented individualism, we need to foster a commons-first approach. Mutual Aid Networks are a path by to encourage instances to form federated clusters based on solidarity, shared values, and collaborative governance. Instance Interdependence needs tools that make cooperation between instances smoother and beneficial, such as shared moderation practices, resource sharing, or even federated funding paths.

Reject platformification, one of the Fediverse’s strengths is that it doesn’t need to mimic the dynamics of corporate platforms. To ensure its future path is native, not corporate we need to stick to the alt path of protocols over platforms, to stay on this path and not get distracted by new shiny #techshit For this we need to prioritise the development of open, robust protocols like ActivityPub that support interoperability over creating “Fediverse apps” that compete to centralise users. Standardised tools for moderation and discovery, create federated discovery and moderation tools that don’t funnel people into centralised algorithms or trending feeds but support meaningful and self-determined connections.

Community-driven innovation instead of for profit and status, communities need to be more involved in defining what needs to be built. We need to mediate the power of tech communities and non-technical people. This ensures the solutions reflect diverse realities, not just the #geekproblem technocratic priorities. Public-good funding paths, to build sustainable funding for open-source tools without relying on venture capital or individual donations. Cooperative crowdfunding, grants from public institutions, or taxation-based paths could work.

Reframe individualism as collective empowerment, the problem isn’t individual creativity; it’s when it becomes detached from collective good. Some ideas to balance this is by highlighting and rewarding people who contribution to the wider social enhance of the #Fediverse e.g., not just code contributions, but admins, moderation etc. One path could be to develop ways to celebrate shared milestones across the network, rather than competitive “likes” or algorithmic trends.

Education and advocacy are a core part of the #openweb to building awareness of the stakes and educating people about the principles of the #Fediverse and the #openweb. Some paths might be: Digital literacy campaigns to educate people about how the #Fediverse operates, its native values, and why it must avoid the #dotcons #closedweb’s pitfalls. Highlight success stories by amplify case studies of community-owned and commons-driven Fediverse instances to inspire others.

Design for long-term sustainability, any system that focuses on short-term growth or clout is doomed to fail. To build something durable, we need resilient federation models to address the scaling challenges that come with growing instances without resorting to centralised solutions. Decentralised governance is core, we need to explore and adopt models like the #OGB for instance and network governance.

Resist the #deathcult narratives, which thrives on competition, exploitation, and the idea that scarcity is inevitable. This needs constant push back, with abundance-oriented design to build paths centred on care, trust, and generosity – rejecting the zero-sum thinking of extractive systems. Radical openness is a good native path for, tools like the #4opens are core.

This “native” thinking are based on ideas to anchor the #Fediverse in the principles of mutuality, solidarity, and the commons while resisting the pull of #stupidindividualism and centralisation.

This is about the failed liberal class, with their heads bowed in worship of the #deathcult for the last 40 years, have abandoned critical thought. Their unacknowledged postmodernist complacency has pushed us away from class struggle, leaving us isolated and alone. Meanwhile, the last two decades of left identity politics have allowed the right wing to co-opt and weaponise progressive narratives, filling them with fear and hate.

Yet, amidst this bleak shift towards fascism, there is a potential positive: a return to #KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) class-based left-wing movements. These movements need to reclaim the ground from the current #mainstreaming crew, who continue to blindly worship neo-liberal “common sense,” while #blocking out and refusing to acknowledge its failures. It’s well past time to consign these dead ideologies to the compost heap of history.

What comes next is up to us. As a community, we face the real challenge of surviving the next generation of #climatechaos pushing social breakdown while driving forward the systemic changes these crises demand. It’s not as if we have a choice—change is no longer optional, and action is overdue.

We Need to Live Differently – And This Time, It Needs to Work

On this site I have been reflecting deeply on the way we live – not merely as individuals but as communities and as a species. It is difficult not to feel overwhelmed by the numerous challenges we face: #ClimateChange, #Inequality, and #Loneliness, the last 20 years of #techshit to name a few. Yet, a simple but profound idea continues to resurface: What if we chose to live differently? What if we focused on building paths, like the #OMN project, that works harmoniously for people and the planet, rather than the normal path of attempting to repair what is broken?

This is not a new, humanity has long dreamed of utopias and alternative ways of living. Numerous communities have attempted to bring these visions to life, and admittedly, many have failed or faded away. However, these past efforts have left us with invaluable lessons, which is why, with the current #openweb reboot, I believe this time can be different.

The key lies in the technological and social path we collectively take. We are not striving for perfection because perfection is unattainable. Instead, we aim to create something real and adaptable. This is not about rejecting modernity or pretending the world’s issues will vanish if everyone adopts ethical consumption or #DIY self-sufficiency. It is about establishing spaces where people can collaboratively create, grow and adapt—striking a balance between #Innovation and #Simplicity, as well as between #IndividualFreedom and #CommunityCare.

This path is not simply my own. It is shaped by countless conversations with people from diverse backgrounds: #Developers, #Activists, #Educators, both online and offline. What stands out is the shared sentiment that our current way of life no longer makes sense. There is a collective yearning for something better—not to escape the world, but to build a way of living that reconnects us with each other, with nature, and with ourselves.

The path we can take, what makes this feel achievable, is that it does not require starting from scratch. It involves building on existing foundations—acknowledging both successes and failures—and asking critical questions: “What has worked in the past, what is currently working? What is not? How can we approach this differently?” This willingness to experiment, learn, and grow together is what sets this path apart from the normal #deathcult worshipping mess.

Yes, this might sound idealistic, and in some ways, it is. However, bold ideas are often the catalyst for meaningful change. If this resonates with you, I encourage you to share your thoughts. What changes would you like to see in how we live? What would it take for you to feel like you are contributing to something greater than yourself? These questions hold potential—not necessarily in the answers, but in the act of asking them. If you feel inspired to engage with this path, feel free to add to this thread. #openweb #4opens #collectivechange

#OMN a practical response to the failures of greed-based paths

The #OMN (Open Media Network) introduces a transformative model that replaces the traditional free-market system driven by greed with an open/gift/use market grounded in cooperation and shared values. This experimental social tech path reimagines the digital commons by prioritizing the free flow of digital “objects,” which can encompass a wide range of resources—media, tools, data, or creative works.

The OMN’s open/gift/use market: Resources and information flow freely, breaking down barriers created by proprietary systems and monetized exchanges. Collaboration thrives on transparency and inclusivity, embodying the values of the #4opens.

Gift economy with digital “objects” shared without the expectation of direct compensation, fostering a culture of generosity and mutual aid. The value lies not in profit, but in the collective benefit derived from shared resources. With the shift to use-oriented distribution, the focus shifts from ownership to utility, emphasizing the practical application and communal use of resources. This aligns with sustainable practices, reducing waste and promoting reusability.

Advantages of the OMN path are decentralized control, grassroots participation and reduces reliance on centralized, profit-driven entities. Community empowerment prioritizes collective decision-making and strengthens local and global networks. Sustainability moves away from extractive economic practices, supporting an equitable and ecological path.

Challenges, transitioning mindsets from profit-driven to cooperative models requires hard and dangurus cultural shifts. Navigating the balance between openness and exploitation in a “native” digital common’s path will be challenging, as most people worship the #deathcult

Opportunities, establishing a resilient digital common, will inspire similar transformations in wider social paths. Leveraging #openweb technology to scale and optimize the flow of digital “objects,” is a new and to an extent “proven” path with the last 5 years of the Fediverse.

The #OMN experiment is more than a theoretical framework; it’s a practical response to the failures of greed-based paths. By growing cooperation through an open/gift/use market, it offers a hopeful and actionable pathway for a real, sustainable future.

Branding keeps coming up as an issue

The #fediverse is a glimpse of a radically new kind of society through decentralized and community-driven models of governance and organization. This could be used to challenge traditional hierarchies and power structures, making it possible to resist imposing liberal “common sense” solutions that align with existing paradigms of control. On this different path we should use tools like #OGB (Open Governance Bodies) to grow native systems that are transparent, participatory, and empowering.

Branding and its role in the #fediverse, branding, while seen as a unifying force, actually to often just imposes barriers to community ownership and agency. When centralized branding dictates the identity of a project, it stifles participation and creativity. To counteract this negative default path, we can:

Shift to Community Branding, with communities running instances to create their own visual and cultural identities. This empowers localized expressions while fostering ownership and pride.
Standardize for collaboration, develop shared guidelines for a cohesive experience, while maintaining flexibility for local adaptation.
Minimize branding barriers, by avoiding overly strong branding in open-source codebases to make technology easier for people and communities to adopt and customize.

This focus leads to a decentralized and inclusive ecosystem, where control is balanced with the communities rather than only developers and funders. Core to this is the path of challenging #StupidIndividualism, in this context the hashtag critiques the focus on individualistic thinking and self-serving branding in #openweb projects. To challenge this, we need to hold in place open dialogue on the power dynamics of branding and its impact on participation.

To flourish, we need to focus on decentralized trust-based networks like the #fediverse that amplify grassroots voices. Encourage messy, iterative approaches to activism that embrace the complexity of social change. Build #FOSS tools that empower communities to take control of their narratives, reclaiming native paths from centralized systems and corporate algorithms.

We need to counteract the entrenched despair of #mainstreaming paths to compost the mess for real, impactful change.

A call to action, clear diagnosis

What a waste of public money, this #fashernista career-building projects.

When you think using social media is “natural,” remember you’re feeding #dotcons—platforms built on the worst parts of human nature. If you want civilization and society to have a future, you cannot keep supporting this. The #encryptionists sit at the heart of our current grassroots media tech disaster, while careerist #mainstreaming pisses from the other side. But shit makes good compost—and we have the shovels.

OMN is a path forward. Pessimism may travel faster than optimism, but only optimism holds the potential for real change. Feed the problem or solve the problem. There is no mythical “third way” out of this mess. What we have are shovels, #OMN, and shit for compost. Work hard enough, and you’ll get flowers and tasty vegetables. 🌸🥕

It’s well past time for composting. Let’s grow flowers. 🌱

Meany of our old friends in activism took the healthy internal stresses that once challenged projects like #indymedia and fed them to a #fashernista vampire class, building careers by draining the grassroots for 20 years. This is not a good look, and these are likely the people you have to talk through when you talk to “power.”

First step, clearly #stepaway from the #dotcons and return to the #openweb for our communication and news. #indymediaback and #OMN are solutions worth posting about, worth sharing, and worth doing. The #openweb lacks addiction algorithms. It will only thrive if you make it work. Gather like-minded people outside the #dotcons—it’s a solid first step.

We must stop pouring energy into pointless #techshit if we want a chance of surviving #climatechaos and escaping the grip of the #deathcult. Basic #KISS statement: What are you doing today that isn’t pointless?

On this, #indymediaback, #OMN, and the #4opens need more crew to make the rollout work. For decades, we’ve allowed the #dotcons to dominate our communication. Trump and Brexit aren’t the causes—they’re symptoms. We made this mess together, fuelled by unhealthy digital feedback loops.

Let’s compost this mess and seed real change. 🌱

Fuck Off to the #Bitcoin Bros and Their Cult of Scarcity

Let me say it loud and clear—again—for the ones in the back: P2P systems that tether their tech to encryptionsist/blockchain coin economy are a dead end. Full stop. Tying this native #openweb path of distributed technology to the idea of selling “resources” doesn’t just miss the point; it’s like engineering a system that’s designed to fail from the start. It’s self-sabotage on a systemic level, shooting yourself in the foot while you’re still lacing up your boots.

Why? Because these systems, heralded by the #Bitcoinbros and their ilk, are about enforcing artificial scarcity into spaces that could—and should—be models of abundance. Instead of embracing the revolutionary potential of #P2P networks to unlock and distribute resources equitably, they double down on the same tired “deathcult” economics of scarcity that brought us to the current mess in the first place.

Coding scarcity into abundance, is the fatal flaw, the beauty of distributed systems lies in their ability to facilitate abundance, bypassing the bottlenecks and hoarding inherent in centralized paths. Yet, what do these “geniuses” do? They take this fertile ground for innovation and graft onto it the same broken logic of capitalism that created the problem. Artificial Scarcity, instead of using resources efficiently and equitably, they introduce a transactional economy that prioritizes profit and competition over collaboration and sharing. Death by design paths embed scarcity into their structure, ensuring they will eventually choke out their own potential. What could and needs to be a fertile cooperative garden becomes a battlefield of extraction and exploitation.

The Bitcoin and crypto crew, with their get-rich-quick schemes, aren’t building the future—they’re pushing us all back into the past, rehashing old hierarchies in a new digital wrapper. Their vision of the world isn’t radical or liberating; it’s just #techshit wearing a suit made of gold leaf and bad ideas.

Then we have the #encryptionistas and their “Common Sense” cult, with the mantra of 90% closed, 10% open might sound like “common sense” to those steeped in fear and control, but what they’re really peddling is the same #deathcult ideology to lock down innovation, stifle collaboration, and strangles the potential of the #openweb path.

Both are enforcing scarcity as though it’s inevitable, despite all evidence to the contrary.
They frame their closed systems as “security,” but what they’re really doing is hoarding power and excluding voices. This isn’t progress; it’s regression. It’s the equivalent of building a massive wall in the middle of the commons and selling tickets to access what was already there for everyone.

The radical alternative is abundance by design, where we don’t need scarcity baked into our systems, we need abundance. We need tools and networks designed to share resources, knowledge, and opportunities without the artificial barriers of token economies and closed ecosystems.

P2P systems should empower cooperation, not competition
Decentralization should facilitate access, not introduce new forms of gatekeeping.
Abundance is the point: The beauty of distributed networks lies in their ability to amplify sharing, not enforce scarcity.

This is where the Open Media Network (#OMN) comes in—a vision rooted in the values of the #4opens: Open Data, Open Source, Open Process, and Open Standards. This isn’t about creating a new “elite” made up of the nasty few or another #dotcons “marketplace” policed by the #geekproblem. It’s about building #DIY networks, radically inclusive and genuinely liberatory.

What are we to do with the Bitcoin bros, the #encryptionistas, and their #deathcult economics? Compost them. Take their #techshit, strip it of its toxic scarcity mindset, and use it to fertilize better systems. Systems that prioritize people over profit, collaboration over competition, and abundance over fear.

To those still clinging to the Bitcoin fantasy: Grab a shovel. You’re going to need it—not to mine more tokens, but to bury the bloated corpse of your scarcity-driven ideology. It’s dead weight, and it’s holding us all back. The future belongs to those who can imagine abundance, build it, and share it. Let’s stop walking down the “common sense” dead-end paths and start digging our way out of this mess, composting matters, you likely need a shovel #OMN

Challenging “liberal trolls” and #encryptionist blindness

Addressing liberal trolls and the #openweb tensions, the influx of users following the #X (#TwitterMigration) has illuminated tensions on the #openweb, particularly the behaviour of “liberal trolls.” Who often advocate for performative inclusivity and impose hierarchical thinking, creating friction in existing decentralized paths. Their presence derails conversations, inhibit grassroots growth, and introduce mainstream patterns of control. What can we do with this mess making:

Reframing the debate: 90% Open, 10% Closed offers a balanced vision. It contrasts sharply with the #encryptionists’ push for 90% closed systems that prioritize secrecy over collaboration. To mediate this, we need to promote openness as resilience to foster diversity, adaptability, and innovation. This “native” path resists co-optation by authoritarian forces, a core concern of #encryptionists. Highlight success stories, examples where openness has thrived, such as Mastodon’s ability to scale post-Twitter Migration without compromising its ethos. Build Bridges to encourage conversations between open and closed proponents. Identify shared values, while challenging “common sense” that hinder collaboration.

Combatting liberal troll dynamics, liberal trolls to often wield performative outrage and self-righteousness as tools for control, sidelining radical ideas. To mitigate their impact: Community moderation with clear values, with moderation policies rooted in grassroots principles—collaboration, inclusion, and respect for dissent. Make these values explicit and widely understood. Empower the margins by supporting voices from underrepresented radical communities to counterbalance dominant narratives. Ignore the noise, trolls thrive on attention. Strategic non-engagement, combined with clear policies, reduce their disruptive influence.

Addressing the #geekproblem and blocking energy, the #geekproblem is characterized by a resistance to radical ideas and community-focused solutions, creating unspoken barriers to progress in tech spaces. We need strategies to overcome this by making tech accessible to non-geeks with user-friendly designs and intuitive experiences. This diminishes the gatekeeping power of overly technical communities. Distributed Leadership encourages non-hierarchical, collective decision-making. This prevents a few individuals from exerting outsized influence over grassroots tech projects. Education and outreach, equip newcomers with the tools and knowledge to navigate #openweb spaces, reducing reliance on geek-centric paths.

Resisting destructive cult paths, #NGO-driven power grabs and for “cult-like” behaviour needs to safeguard against by fostering decentralized power structures. Encourage healthy conflict by normalize constructive disagreements as part of openweb culture. This reduces the potential for groupthink and authoritarian tendencies. Recognize and resist co-optation by staying vigilant against efforts to co-opt grassroots movements for institutional and corporate interests.

Building radical resilience, to mediate the blocking energy and empower radical tech, we need proactive strategies. Create paths for experimentation, this might include enclaves where radical ideas can be tested without suppression and co-optation. Foster allyship by building alliances between radical movements and pragmatic reformers to amplify shared goals. Challenge “Common Sense” imposition of “practical” solutions that dilute grassroots paths and values. Embrace creative, “mad and bad” ideas to disrupt this status quo blocking.

In conclusion, the path of the #openweb depends on striking a balance between openness and security, grassroots experimentation and mainstream scalability, and decentralization and coordination. By mediating the mess brought into our spaces by liberal trolls, encryptionist ideologies, and the #geekproblem, we can create a more resilient digital ecosystem that is a path of radical innovation and community-driven change and challenge we need in the era of #climatechaos and social brack down. On this path, radical ideas are not only welcomed but celebrated #KISS

#Mainstreaming Social Media: Digital Drugs, Not Social Connection

The essence of #mainstreaming social media isn’t about fostering genuine communication or community—it’s about delivering digital drugs. Platforms like #Facebook, #Instagram, and #TikTok thrive by exploiting addictive design patterns, keeping users hooked with endless dopamine hits.

This addiction is why many people struggle to stay on native #openweb social media platforms. These alternatives, built with #4opens at their core, lack the engineered highs of the #dotcons. Without the “fix” of notifications, likes, and algorithmically curated content, people feel withdrawal and gravitate back to the platforms designed to exploit learned their impulses.

The challenge of real meaningful outreach on the #openweb, is to address this addiction cycle. It’s not enough to offer better tools or ethical platforms; we need to actively incorporate digital drug detox into the user experience (#UX). This means, designing for intentional use, replacing infinite scrolling, endless notifications with features that encourage mindful engagement.
Rebuilding reward systems on genuine connections, creativity, and learning instead of shallow metrics like likes and shares. Educating people to recognize and break free from the addictive patterns perpetuated by #dotcons.

A detox-focused UX for the #openweb is shifting focus from passive content consumption to active participation in meaningful communities. This path to breaking free from digital addiction is no small task, but it’s needed for building any sustainable future. The #openweb can lead to this shift, offering not just an alternative, but a detox from the digital drug cycle that defines #mainstreaming social media mess.

#dotcons fail human connection

We do need a critique of the trajectory of social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, to highlight how their growing reliance on AI-generated profiles and diminishing organic engagement undermines the little trust, satisfaction, and the purpose of social connection that people have left in them.

This started with the death of organic engagement, Facebook and Instagram’s shift around 2013 to force content creators and businesses to pay for visibility, marked the end of organic engagement for the majority of people. This created a reliance on paid boosts, alienating real people and the army of small creators who pushed the platforms into prominence. Without organic engagement, people feel unseen, leading to declining satisfaction. The current shift to AI-generated profiles and bots are an attempt to simulate “engagement”, the illusion of interaction.

It should be simple to see that #dotcons fail to fulfill the human need for connection and actually alienate people and communities, even if this shift manages to build short-term engagement with profiles and “interactions” to create “likable” fictional characters for product placement. Replace human influencers with bots is cost efficiency. Feeding artificially inflate metrics to attract advertisers. But as people become more aware of bots replacing humans, the sense of authenticity diminishes, particularly among those who value any real social connections.

As I have been arguing for 20 years there is a real need for alternatives, #DIY and grassroots movements, platforms like the #Fediverse and open-source projects demonstrate that decentralized networks prioritize human connection and transparency over profit. These alternative resist capture by corporate interests and maintain authenticity, creating #openweb ecosystems where trust and interaction thrive.

The #Fediverse is native to anti-common-sense governance

My view of this is passionate and grounded in years of experience, weaving together themes of grassroots activism, technology, governance, and the mounting challenges of #climatechaos leading to social collapse.

On this Alt path, the two often pushed liberal #foundation models, with their failures, can lead grassroots, community-driven projects to become corporate tools, diverting resources toward maintaining the status quo rather than fostering innovation and social change. Examples of open source capture, projects like OpenAI initially emphasized openness but became increasingly closed and profit-driven once corporate interests got involved. The highlights the ease of capture by “#fashionista agendas.”

These failures underscore the need for governance models that resist centralization and co-option. The DIY, bottom-up approach is a powerful counter to these trends. #OGB and #DIY as tools for resistance and grassroots empowerment. Why #OGB Matters, the path aligns with the fediverse’s ethos by emphasizing non-elitism, democracy, and simplicity. By prioritizing KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) principles, it remains accessible and adaptable, ensuring that governance grows organically rather than being imposed.

The #Fediverse is native to anti-common-sense governance, centralized platforms like Facebook and Twitter impose governance that aligns with corporate agendas, prioritizing profit over social good. Decentralized networks like the Fediverse allow for experimentation with governance paths that are participatory and community-driven.

This is an opening and opportunities for anti-“common sense” tools, reputation networks, build trust through reputation rather than encryption aligns with human-centric approaches. This moves away from paranoia-driven models (“trust nobody”) to systems that foster community bonds. The Fediverse can be a template, with the decentralized, anarchistic roots of the fediverse providing a sandbox for developing governance models to influence broader #openweb paths.

Combating the #deathcult mentality, social collapse and climatechaos, the persistence of policies and behaviours that prioritize short-term gains over long-term survival, is a defining feature of the “deathcult” we keep talking about. Examples, governments doubling down on fossil fuels despite clear evidence of climate catastrophe. Corporate greenwashing that markets unsustainable practices as solutions.

In the #OMN and #4opens philosophy, simplicity matters, complexity often alienates the very communities that systems aim to empower. The OMN’s emphasis on simplicity ensures accessibility, fostering broader participation. The #4opens, Open Data, Open Code, Open Access, and Open Process form a foundation for transparency and trust, essential for building resilience against co-option.

Practical applications are reputation paths, tools that prioritize human connections over algorithms, to strengthen communities. Human-readable systems avoiding jargon-heavy and technical solutions ensures the governance model remains inclusive. Let’s keep this #KISS