The paradox of social media is that most applications and services gravitate towards centralization even though they know that this pushes them away from their original mission to give users more control and more options.

You don't generally see new applications launch stating that they're going to offer more control and a more dystopian future. They normally tout new features and additional user options. But at the end of the day, platform lock-in yields more money for shareholders.

There has to be a better way forward.

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The only way forward, in my opinion, is for users to fund the software. Otherwise, the one with the money will be making the decisions. Advertisers, shareholders, VCs...

And this would probably require some founding agreement that makes paying users part owners so they can't just be rugged down the road. It would be cool if they could vote on certain matters too.

The problem I see that prevents all of that nice sounding shit is initial funding. Users don't tend to become users until there's something to use. So that basically leaves VCs. Users have no say from the start. And since the VCs want the quickest returns, enter free user signup with ads. Now the advertisers have a say. Users are conditioned to get something for "free" with little economic power. They could just stop using the service, but the major ones are pretty hard for many people to totally leave. Especially when the services are designed to keep them on the platform.

It's a tough problem lol

I may be a bit idealistic at times but there is a place in the world for "you can just do things" without the expectation of monetary return. We often place the value of things of monetary terms but the value to the society is historically and evolutionarily more important.

I think this attitude is what powers Nostr developers: you can just do things.

You can just do things!

But, Imagine taking all the risk, spending the time, doing the work, to build a business or app that helps humanity, and just getting a pat on the back in today's world.

Monetary value is what makes the world spin.

Aka: Zap nostr:nprofile1qqsrhuxx8l9ex335q7he0f09aej04zpazpl0ne2cgukyawd24mayt8gprfmhxue69uhhq7tjv9kkjepwve5kzar2v9nzucm0d5hszxmhwden5te0wfjkccte9emk2um5v4exucn5vvhxxmmd9us2xuyp today, like right now.

๐Ÿคฃ๐Ÿค

where #derek algo ? nevent1qvzqqqqqqypzqhjlc9p5ey5teh96d7qpskw4ywp5zzfjjxvql5mwxwm5zcun6k3vqyg8wumn8ghj7mn0wd68ytnddakj7qgjwaehxw309ahx7um5wgerztnrdakj7qpqqqqz2p2kz2ey0vfjyhcgl62j99d6dckpeajt0kpduc5gje9c0vgs6c722t

The Derek Algorithm is actively being memed by nostr:nprofile1qqs2vg3auduw5hd26p2h0wrunsr7mfqmzudsy3j6dej0nap4darqykcpr9mhxue69uhkc6t8dp6xu6twvaex2mrp0yhxxmmd9uq3wamnwvaz7tmjv4kxz7fwwpexjmtpdshxuet59uq32amnwvaz7tmjv4kxz7fwv3sk6atn9e5k7tcnm72xn.

am so scared jack sponsored spyware on my android LOL

I mean, I assume the implicit conclusion here is that Nostr is the obvious better way forward (which I agree with)...

But it's interesting to see how the Bluesky experiment is working out, as the only recent "new application" in the space.... Algorithmic control is a big part of their pitch, although they clearly still feel the pressures of centralization in terms of their response to censorship demands.

Life tends to fight entropy, increasing centralization.

Decentralization is, for us, a continuous conscious process

It is difficult to see hopeful ways forward but here they can at least expressed or proposed and people see if they want to support them.

Micro loans and shared aims fund