Ep 286 Evan Henshaw Plath on Social Media, Digital Identities, and People's Platforms

RevolutionZ

Ep 286 of RevolutionZ has Evan Henshaw Plath, also known as Rabble, a visionary technologist with personal roots in developing Indymedia and even Twitter. He replays the history, logic, and implications of social media from its root democratic and participatory intentions to its corporatization and erosion of privacy and meaningful engagement. Plath takes us, as I suspect few if any others could, from the shift from social media's early, open protocols to the centralized corporations like Twitter and Facebook that came to dominate. He then explains his ongoing quest to reclaim the decentralized spirit of the web including working on modern advancements like Nostr, and his current adaptation called Nos.social. Reflecting on historical movements like Indymedia and Occupy Wall Street, Plath emphasizes the need for autonomous spaces that support radical change and envisages the potential of independent, decentralized, privacy-focused platforms. He also discusses possible sustainable funding of these independent platforms, underscoring a needed shift from owners and consumers to co-creators and the vital role of community collaboration. RevolutionZ listeners will likely know the depth of my antipathy for social media as usually encountered. So I hope you will listen and wind up feeling as I do, that Plath's new project, Nos.social, is well worth our attention and support.

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Chapters

1. Evolving Social Media and Cultural Impact (00:00:00)

2. Reclaiming the Open Internet (00:18:59)

3. Building Better Social Media Protocols (00:25:49)

4. Impact of Social Media Platforms (00:37:05)

5. Decentralized Social Media and Technology (00:55:30)

6. Building Sustainable Funding for Independent Platforms (01:00:52)

7. Building Alternative Social Media Platforms (01:16:51)

8. Impact of Hashtags on Social Justice (01:32:44)