We’re headed towards a set of Trump speech regulations where big centralized platforms only get to exist if they tweak their algos to favor those in power - which makes the overall success of federated networks like Bluesky, Threads, and Mastodon very important. Don’t miss the forest for the trees! - ThreadSky

reckless.bsky.social • 97 days ago

We’re headed towards a set of Trump speech regulations where big centralized platforms only get to exist if they tweak their algos to favor those in power - which makes the overall success of federated networks like Bluesky, Threads, and Mastodon very important. Don’t miss the forest for the trees!

Comments

arcane.style•97 days ago

I still don’t quite know how this is going to work practically. The old Internet with agnostic hosting platforms all over the place doesn’t seem to be able to translate directly to social identity or media in the federated platforms. I think there is something fundamental still missing.

cazzulino.com•97 days ago

Pretty silly prediction. I think the "regulation" will likely be "there can be no regulation that goes against the 1st amendment".

danib62.bsky.social•97 days ago

Since when is Bluesky actually federated with anything?

8bitdave.bsky.social•97 days ago

Now playing The Cure - A Forest

capitanlorenzo.bsky.social•96 days ago

Hello/Welcome Nilay! Looking forward for the best content :)

wanderingbort.bsky.social•97 days ago

It’s only a safeguard if the user behavior on a platform doesn’t favor a centralized provider of accounts and feeds.

If the users aren’t spread out then there is no natural immunity to unjust regulations.

iloganrussell.bsky.social•97 days ago

Threads falls short. I really wanted it to work but that algorithm is heavy and the echo chamber is inescapable. Bluesky seems better so far

eshumarneedi.com•97 days ago

Specifically Bluesky and Mastodon. Unsure about Threads — Zuckerberg would switch federation off instantly to curry favor with Trump.

reckless.bsky.social•97 days ago

Maybe! But that’s kind of why you do it - an escape valve from that kind of pressure

c64.bsky.social•97 days ago

yep, very dicey times ahead for EIC algorithm-tending types, would be a relief if bluesky slips the net

love your work btw

courtneyr.bsky.social•96 days ago

It also underscores why it would be better if dominant platforms, as key information intermediaries, were regulated more akin to public utilities and subject to anti-discrimination requirements

realbigbluecricket.bsky.social•97 days ago

Eyes on

michael.singletary.org•97 days ago

I really hope that Threads opens up like it says it will and that BlueSky is actually scalable as a decentralized service. Running BlueSky is complicated, increasingly expensive, and surprisingly similar to a blockchain (did crypto fix Twitter?).

Interesting read: https://anderegg.ca/2024/11/15/maybe-bluesky-has-won

bholl7510.bsky.social•97 days ago

I don’t have much technical knowledge, but this post was easy to read and informative. I think unless you’re in the 1% of creators that build significant followings, decentralization doesn’t matter much. Even for them, people seemed to build their followings quick when there is a mass exedus.

bholl7510.bsky.social•97 days ago

There almost seems to be a benefit to the refresh that happened. Allows new creators a chance to be noticed. It’s like burning the brush away to prevent forest fires. Maybe we need a new platform every 5 years.

michael.singletary.org•97 days ago

And yeah I left Mastodon out because even though the tech is cool the implementation sucks. It’s not fun to use while both Threads and BlueSky are not only easier to use but are also more fun.

bliterally.bsky.social•96 days ago

threads is opened (at least as much as they are going to) - I follow a bunch of ppl on threads from my mastodon account

michael.singletary.org•96 days ago

It’s not really very open. You can’t use other clients or interact much with others on the Fediverse yet. It may get there. I’m not sure there’s incentive for Meta to make sure it gets there though.

sirdigalot.com•97 days ago

We'll also need a layman-friendly explanation of what federated platforms are. It won't succeed if only hardcore techies understand it.

In fact, Threads and BSKY might even need to set up an interoperability demo to show how it works in action.

sirdigalot.com•97 days ago

Smthng like, "You own your data. You are the publisher. Your 'feeds' can be shared across many platforms. Those individual platforms may apply different algorithms to your feed, based on their and their users' preferences, but your feeds are yours, and they are 'out there' for platforms to display

casonasher.bsky.social•97 days ago

Don’t Bluesky and Threads use different protocols though?

I’m not super familiar with it, but seems like you can see federated Threads posts on Mastadon (ActivityPub) but not Bluesky (AT Protocol)?

~ again with all the confusing things typical users will not care about ~

benhayes.bsky.social•96 days ago

marcosporte.bsky.social•97 days ago

Agree, but I don’t think “Mastodon” and “success” can be in the same sentence Nilay…

philcrone.bsky.social•97 days ago

“Bluesky, Threads, and Mastodon”

One of these is not like the others

bartdecrem.social•97 days ago

Yah, I don’t think threads really belongs in this set right now. Here’s hoping that changes.

reckless.bsky.social•97 days ago

The world is going to need Meta’s money and influence defending federation from a bunch of governments

ryndshn.bsky.social•97 days ago

yuuuuuup. the uncomfy truth

rudefuck.bsky.social•97 days ago

It kinda feels like Threads is following an embrace, extend, and extinguish strategy. Albeit poorly.

philcrone.bsky.social•97 days ago

I’m very skeptical of Meta’s commitment to federation. (I’ll admit that I don’t have a good explanation for why they have embraced federation to the extent that they have so far.)

reckless.bsky.social•97 days ago

To stave off EU interop requirements and also because that team legitimately thinks it’s neat

daniel12345.bsky.social•97 days ago

The EU is the only area where Threads users can't share their posts with Mastodon

Makes your theory not very plausible, imo

bartdecrem.social•97 days ago

Meta built Threads in 5 months. It’s been 18 mos now and federation is running at a tiny little trickle (I’d be shocked if 1m users have turned on federation). I get that there’s hard technical and policy (trust & safety etc) issues involved, but I just don’t think this stuff is a high priority.

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