What's a protocol?

In software, protocols are the exact instructions on how to exchange data between 2 parties. They are implemented on both sides.

A computer needs to know how exactly to send data and how to correctly receive it on the other side.

Open protocols

A protocol is "open" if the information on how it works is public and it has a permissive license, allowing everybody to freely use & implement it. If you want to use an open protocol in your project you can just do it. No gate-keeping, no legal trouble. An app can talk to any other app using the same protocol.

A popular open protocol is email.

Social Protocols

Email is a very old & basic messaging protocol. Modern social protocols are way more advanced, focus on social media use cases instead of "just sending messages" and allow networks to form.

They support features like:

  • Public/Private Posts

  • Re-posts

  • Likes

  • Follows

  • Blocks

Why should I care?

Using social media with a closed protocol locks you into a platform - and puts you at the mercy of whoever owns that platform.

The platform owner has control over your data, your algorithm, & everything else. In practice, this translates to privacy violations and algorithms which hijack your dopamine receptors and actively damage our society.

Freedom of Choice

With open social, you are in control!

  • Which app do you want to use to interact with the social network?

  • How do you want your algorithm to work?

  • Where do you want your data to be stored?

Open social media protects you from companies holding you hostage with the network-effect while selling your data and milking you for your time and attention with harmful algorithms.

If you don't like how a platform does things, you can just switch without losing the network you built.

Why I think this is important

Social media should be a way to connect people better. And you should get to decide how you want to connect and what works for you! Not a billion dollar corporation who is only concerned with their bottom line and not your well-being.

More importantly, open social has the potential to protect our society from the same companies and algorithms which divide us and manufacture hate for monetary or political gain. We've seen it happen with Twitter and the MAGA-Movement.

Where do I start?

There are 2 popular social protocols right now.

  • AT Protocol (Bluesky, wsocial)

  • ActivityPub (Mastodon, Pixelfed)

I personally recommend the newer AT protocol (atproto), as I believe it learned from the design mistakes ActivityPub made before it. It has a larger user base, better quality of life features, account portability and interoperability between platforms in the network.

Getting started with atproto

The vanilla atproto experience is Bluesky, which is the company that developed the AT Protocol. It is what most people in the network use.

It has user-created starter packs and a good on-boarding experience. Just make an account, follow some creators you like and check out their starter packs.

If you don't like Bluesky's user experience, you can check out atstore.fyi for over 230+ projects. You can just log into any of them with your existing account.

If you value your data being hosted in Europe, you can create your account on Eurosky instead. Or create your account somewhere else and move it over to another hosting provider later (which is the whole point).

A better world is possible through modern computer wizardry. We just have to use it.

Hope to see you over on the open social web. Lets make some meaningful connections :)

Further Reading

Sources