Agree.

It's pretty similar to the pitch for bitcoin in that I think the fundamental selling point requires your to come off as a bit paranoid and conspiratorial, but for me the core selling point is ownership and control of one's own digital identity.

Freedom as a principle, not as a political buzzword or a moral cudgel. People are so quick to react negatively when you frame things like a kind of moral crusade or a political movement, but freedom tech is fundamentally amoral and alignment agnostic, if only people understand why that is so important.

The current rift between left and right in social media could be a good way to illustrate the issue: the left wants to have control over their feeds and not be harassed by trolls and chuds, but the only way they can achieve that is by massive censorship and active moderation, meanwhile the right is reveling in their platform designed to allow them to spew out every hateful thing festering inside them while amplifying the juvenile delusions of their brain-rotted nerd emperor, but the heavy-handed algorithmic manipulation and exodus of people to be trolled has killed the vibe.

Imagining a person who wants to control their feed and honestly speak their mind, it could be pitched as simply: "Hey, wouldn't it be great if there was a platform where you have total control of your feed but no one could ever be banned, and user-generated value could be rewarded directly without having to rely on corporate money which unduly influences moderation decisions? Oh it would? Yeah lemme tell you about..."

I think the vast majority of people would still think you're pitching a delusional paranoid fantasy, but as people increasingly understand the control-based economy and its wide-reaching effects, its appeal might catch on more. Like Bitcoin, I think the mass adoption will happen when people feel forced to do something to protect themselves.