Open Social Media

MEDLab Partners with Mask Network Academy to Launch Open Social Incubator

Nathan Schneider — Tue, 17 Sep 2024 14:00:00 +0000

MEDLab Partners with Mask Network Academy to Launch Open Social Incubator Nathan Schneider Tue, 09/17/2024 - 08:00

The Media Economies Design Lab (MEDLab) at ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ has teamed up with Mask Network to launch the Open Social Incubator. This exciting new venture, made possible by a $50,000 gift from Mask Network, will be housed within ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ's College of Media, Communication, and Information (CMCI) and aims to nurture the next generation of decentralized social media communities and drive innovation in the online economy.

A Meeting of Minds

At the helm of this initiative is Nathan Schneider, a prominent scholar and passionate advocate for economic justice in the digital realm. Schneider's work at MEDLab focuses on democratic ownership and governance in the online economy. He co-led a 2017 effort to pass a shareholder proposal at Twitter that would change the company’s ownership structure, and subsequently co-founded Social.coop, a democratic community on Mastodon, a popular open social media platform. Since Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, interest in alternative social networks has continued to grow. Now, with Mask Network's support, Schneider and MEDLab are ready to embrace a deeper focus on open social media.

"I'm looking forward to what this gift will enable us to do," Schneider said. "We'll be supporting new online communities, exploring new social media possibilities and cultivating international collaborations."

Enter Mask Network

Mask Network, the force behind this collaboration, is no stranger to pushing the boundaries of what's possible online. Its browser extension allows users to experience the benefits of Web 3.0—secure messaging, decentralized payment networks and true data ownership—within the familiarity of mainstream social media platforms.

Mask Network Academy, the non-profit arm of Mask Network, has made a significant donation to bring the Open Social Incubator to life. Established in 2023, the Academy has been making waves by funding Web3 research and storytelling at top universities and journalism programs worldwide. The gift to MEDLab was made in an unusual way—through a transfer of Mask Network’s own digital token, $MASK.

"It will take a journey to achieve the free and open internet,” said Suji Yan, founder of Mask Network and the Academy. “Decentralized social networks play a vital role in the process. We are excited to back like-minded scholars and institutions to build a bright future together."

The Open Social Incubator

By bringing together researchers, developers and innovators, the incubator aims to create and scale decentralized social media solutions that put users in control of their online experiences. Combining Mask Network Academy's expertise in decentralized applications with MEDLab’s research and design capabilities, this collaboration aims to build a more democratic, equitable, and resilient digital future.

This partnership represents a shared commitment to advancing the ownership economy, where individuals have control over their data, attention, and digital contributions. It's a bold step toward reclaiming our digital lives from centralized platforms and building online spaces that prioritize user autonomy and community governance.

Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a social scientist, or simply someone who believes in a fairer digital world, MEDLab and Mask Network invite you to join this journey toward a more empowering online future. For updates, subscribe to MEDLab’s newsletter.

The Media Economies Design Lab (MEDLab) at ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ has teamed up with Mask Network to launch the Open Social Incubator. This new venture, made possible by a $50,000 gift from Mask Network, will be housed within ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ's College of Media, Communication, and Information (CMCI) and aims to nurture the next generation of decentralized social media communities and drive innovation in the online economy.

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Open Call: Join the Open Social Incubator

Nathan Schneider — Wed, 11 Sep 2024 16:53:38 +0000

Open Call: Join the Open Social Incubator Nathan Schneider Wed, 09/11/2024 - 10:53

Applications are now closed

Do the online communities and groups that you participate in use digital tools that truly serve your values? Do you want to break free from the confines of corporate platforms, but feel stuck by the limits of your own technical know-how? Social media has long been dominated by companies that operate through surveillance, censorship, and the whims of a few people in charge. Yet different possibilities are emerging: in recent years, a new crop of social networks has emerged, based on open-source software and open protocols—including Mastodon, Matrix, Bluesky and Nostr.

However, too often, would-be users of these tools are turned off by the apparent requirement of specialized technical skills. We want to help lower the barrier for skilled community-builders to take advantage of open social media. We’re looking for people with an existing track record of building community (online or off!) who want to learn about social media tools that are truly user owned and governed.

The Media Economies Design Lab at the University of Colorado Boulder is launching a 5-month process of mentorship and peer-to-peer learning, empowering veteran community builders to adopt emerging open social networks.

We’ll help participants better understand the opportunities and challenges unique to these new kinds of networks. Together, we will strive to create a space where community builders can deepen their technical knowledge and better understand how to utilize technologies that align with their values.

Participants will meet as a full group monthly and receive ongoing, 1:1 project-specific technical support as they seed and grow new communities using open social media tools of their choosing. Participation is fully remote and all sessions will be conducted in English. All participants should commit to making strides toward community-building in open social media by the end of the program. Completion of the full program, from November 2024 to April 2025, will be compensated with a stipend of $3,500 USD.

We encourage applications from individuals or teams who wish to build or are presently embedded in communities that could benefit from improved access to open-source, self-owned tech tools, especially:

Solidarity economy and bio-regional sustainability projects
Journalists, newsrooms, and public-interest media
Activist and social-change communities
Cross-border networks
Artists and arts organizations
Communities at risk of being shut out of proprietary infrastructure

Anyone can apply, regardless of institutional affiliation. No prior technical experience is expected or required—just a desire to learn. Apply via this form by October 4, 2024.

The Open Social Incubator is organized by the Media Economies Design Lab at the University of Colorado Boulder, made possible by generous gifts from Colorado ReWild and Mask Network Academy. The illustration, "Network of Friends" by kkgas, is licensed through Stocksy, a cooperative stock platform.

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Recap: Local Tech Ecologies Conference

Anonymous — Mon, 28 Aug 2023 06:00:00 +0000

Recap: Local Tech Ecologies Conference Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 08/28/2023 - 00:00

Reily McGee

Photo gallery

On August 8, 2023, approximately fifty people from across the Rocky Mountain Front Range convened at the University Memorial Center at the University of Colorado in Boulder. They came for “Local Tech Ecologies,” a regional conference celebrating technology designed to empower local communities. After MEDLab director Nathan Schneider opened up the conference, Mayor Aaron Brockett of Boulder gave a brief talk about the work happening in local tech and community building across Boulder and the surrounding communities.

Following Mayor Brockett was Dr. Fernanda R. Rosa from Virginia Tech. She gave the first keynote address, which raised critical questions about the “local,” including its colonial implications and its relationship to the “global.” In the process, she shared the voices of various projects around the world attempting to build local tech ecologies. There were some technical issues during Dr. Rosa’s talk, which led to more discussion with the audience while the tech crew worked. Unfortunately, due to these issues, we were unable to capture recordings of the mayor's introduction or Dr. Rosa's outstanding lecture.

Dr. Rosa offered a powerful reminder to think critically about what we mean when we discuss the local, who is left out of those conversations, and how to bring those people to the forefront when discussing technological solutions. For instance, her talk included a video, "Indigenous People Run Their Own Cellphone Network," an important opportunity to hear about a local tech project in the participants' own voices.

With that, we moved into the lightning talks. The goal of this session was to showcase a diverse range of locally focused tech projects underway in Colorado. Each project had seven minutes to present. During the session we had folks share all sorts of projects, startups, and community-building ventures including Nigh, Bloom Network, the Colorado Venture Capital Authority, Rootable, Colorado ReWild, the Media Archeology Lab, Slay The Runway, the Rocky Mountain Employee Ownership Center, and Nosh. LeeLee James of Slay the Runway also had difficulties with multimedia; see her materials at NPR and PBS.

Video: Lightning talks and reflection by Ted Striphas

What came from the lightning talks was more than just sharing what is going on across Colorado. Technology can become a very tiring and dark subject to explore. Many global solutions and tech communities have done a great deal of harm across the world. The lightning talks inspired many in the room, offering a reminder that more community-based technologies really are possible.

There was a break following the lightning talks where much of this excitement was shared throughout the conference. As people settled back down for the lunch keynote, Dr. Ted Striphas of the University of Colorado Boulder gave a reflection on the lightning talks that, among other things, called into question the intrinsic value of the local.

Our lunch keynote speaker was Ethan Zuckerman of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. His talk examined the relationship between misinformation and democracy, going back to the founding of the United States, while drawing lessons from that history for today. By the time of his talk, he had already posted to his blog about Dr. Rosa's keynote and the lightning talks.

Video: Ethan Zuckerman's talk

After Dr. Zuckerman’s charismatic analysis, we moved onto the final planned session of the day, the panels. These divided the conference into breakout rooms to discuss three topics: gaming, journalism, and crisis.

Audio: Breakout panels

The gaming panel hosted Anne Marie and Taylor Clark from CU Gaming and Griffin Opp from CSU gaming to discuss the difficulties in cultivating local communities in the vast and global world of online gaming and esports.

The journalism panel heard from three local journalists Stacey Feldman from the Boulder Reporting Lab, Rossana Longo from the Colorado News Collaborative, and Linda Shapley from Colorado Community Media. All three of them discussed the importance of local tech and community in both reporting and news entrepreneurship.

The crisis panel focused on how technologies could better serve local communities in the context of crises such as natural disasters. Dr. Nabil Echchaibi of ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ opened the panel, followed by talks from Dr. Leysia Palen of ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ and independent documentary filmmaker Saleh Khaled Ibrahim.

The conference concluded with a reception where participants discussed their projects with individuals, shared laughs, and enjoyed the warm Colorado sun beaming in through the windows of the conference room.

The Local Tech Ecologies conference did more than just showcase ideas on what it means to build community and local technology networks, it was a living embodiment of its goals. People who may have never engaged with one another otherwise were able to come together in one space to discuss the trials and promise of what a local tech future could bring. Importantly, something that touched me was the openness of the space, the warm inviting wonder many had in sharing their ideas. We seek to build a brighter and more hopeful idea of technology than the dominant narrative of global tech companies today.

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Conference: Local Tech Ecologies

Anonymous — Mon, 26 Jun 2023 17:19:21 +0000

Conference: Local Tech Ecologies Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 06/26/2023 - 11:19

August 8, 2023
9 a.m. - 5 p.m. (in-person)
9 a.m. - 1 p.m. (live-streamed)
University Memorial Center room 235
University of Colorado Boulder

When the devastating Marshall Fire spread across Boulder County in on December 30, 2021, many of us turned to our phones and our networks. They helped us make sense of the crisis and keep each other safe. We relied on information from local organizations and governments, as well as global platforms not designed for a moment like that, and not designed for our community.

What if we valued local technology the way we value local food and local businesses?

This event explores opportunities and challenges for building healthy tech ecosystems that are focused on the needs of local communities—with a focus on projects active across Colorado's Front Range. What kinds of social media could bring people together rather than driving them apart? What kinds of gig platforms could put workers and small businesses above global monopolies? How can regional journalists develop tools truly suited to their needs? The event will make space to introduce projects already cultivating local tech ecologies in Colorado and beyond, and we will discuss strategies for more intentionally developing those ecologies in the future.

Schedule

9:00-10:00am
Room 235

Welcome
Aaron Brockett (Mayor of Boulder)
Nathan Schneider, Assistant Professor at ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ and MEDLab Director

Morning Keynote
Fernanda R. Rosa (Virginia Tech)

10:15-11:45am
Room 235

Lightning Talks
Josh Ritzer (Nigh)
Caroline Savery (Bloom Network)
Nikhil Mankekar (Colorado Venture Capital Authority)
Becks Boone and Jamie Anderson (Rootable)
Pat Kelly (Colorado ReWild)
libi striegl (Media Archaeology Lab)
LeeLee James (Slay The Runway)
Erika Ianco and Trish Uvenferth (Rocky Mountain Employee Ownership Center)
Mike Perhats (Nosh)

12:00-1:30pm
Room 235

Lunch and Lunch Keynote
Ted Striphas (��ý�Ļ��Ʒ)
Ethan Zuckerman (UMass Amherst)

1:30-2:30pm

Room 235
Panel: Crisis
Nabil Echchaibi (��ý�Ļ��Ʒ)
Saleh Khaled Ibrahim
Leysia Palen (��ý�Ļ��Ʒ)

Room 245
Panel: Journalism
Stacy Feldman (Boulder Reporting Lab)
Rossana Longo (Colorado News Collaborative)
Linda Shapley (Colorado Community Media)

Room 247
Panel: Gaming
Ann Marie (RemainNA) (CU Gaming)
Taylor (MustardSauce) Clark (CU Gaming)
Griffin Opp (CSU Gaming)

3:30-4:30pm
Room 235

Unconference

4:30-5:30pm
Room 235

Reception

Lunch will be served, along with snacks and a reception at the end. This is a free event, but please consider making a donation to MEDLab to support our work.

Organized by the Media Economies Design Lab at the University of Colorado Boulder and made possible by a generous gift from Colorado ReWild.

August 8, 2023, University of Colorado Boulder. What if we valued local technology the way we value local food and local businesses?

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Open Social Media: Nonprofits FTW

Anonymous — Thu, 22 Jun 2023 17:02:28 +0000

Open Social Media: Nonprofits FTW Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 06/22/2023 - 11:02

July 5, 2023
9-10:30 a.m. Mountain Time
Free webinar

Watch

Nonprofits perform essential work in our contemporary world, whether fighting for human rights or defending the ecosystems we rely on. Now, with the rise of open social media platforms like Mastodon and Bluesky, nonprofits have new opportunities to develop close conversations with the communities they seek to support. Many of these open social media platforms are also better aligned with nonprofits' values than major tech companies have been.

What are the best ways for non-profits to get involved? How do nonprofits navigate this emerging space in an already dense social media landscape? In this webinar, we will hear from nonprofit leaders and technologies on how the emerging social networks related to their organizations' goals.

Speakers:

Sara Lonegard (Founder and Director, Distribute Aid)
Evan Prodromou (Director of Open Technology, Open Earth Foundation)
Ravon Ruffin (Head of Community Initiatives, New_ Public)

Facilitated by Nathan Schneider, Skylar Hew, and Reily McGee.

The Open Social Media event series is organized by the Media Economies Design Lab at the University of Colorado Boulder, made possible by a generous gift from Colorado ReWild. The illustration above, "Network of Friends" by kkgas, is licensed through Stocksy, a cooperative stock platform.

July 5, 2023
9-10:30 a.m. Mountain Time
Free webinar
In this webinar, we will hear from nonprofit leaders and technologies on how the emerging social networks related to their organizations' goals.

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Open Social Media: Origin Stories

Anonymous — Tue, 06 Jun 2023 16:54:54 +0000

Open Social Media: Origin Stories Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 06/06/2023 - 10:54

June 13, 2023
3-4:30 p.m. Mountain Time
Free webinar

Watch

In the aftermath of a chaotic Twitter takeover, many people have moved away from centralized social media platforms to a new set of social platforms that are open-source, decentralized, and user-centered—like Bluesky, Mastodon, and Nostr. This shift highlights a pressing need for more trustworthy civic spaces. But civic-minded social platforms are nothing new. The advent of Open Social Media has been many years in the making.

This webinar presents some of Open Social Media's origin stories from speakers who have been involved in the development, culture, and communities of their platforms. We will explore how queer experiences and activist movements, for instance, have played a vital role in shaping the design and direction of emerging platforms.

Speakers:

Christine Lemmer-Webber (co-editor, ActivityPub)
Evan Henshaw-Plath (founder, Nos)
Golda Velez (early participant, Bluesky)

Facilitated by Nathan Schneider, Skylar Hew, and Reily McGee.

June 13, 2023
3-4:30 p.m. Mountain Time
Free webinar
This webinar presents some of Open Social Media's origin stories from speakers who have been involved in the development, culture, and communities of their platforms.

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