Musk’s main concern will be whether he can align his philosophical sentiments toward decentralization with the need to turn Twitter into a profitable business. He has expressed his wish before Twitter algorithm open source in the name of transparency, but giving in to algorithmic control (the mechanism by which people are kept on the platform) would be an entirely different step and certainly a disaster for ad revenue.
Musk can use Bluesky technology to partially realize ambitious to turn Twitter into “X, the everything app”—a kind of super app that combines social media with payments and other conveniences, similar to WeChat. Although the AT Protocol does not use blockchain, it can “integrate with cryptocurrency”, Graber has previously said, which means Bluesky can help support the payments side of the vision. But again, it’s all hypothetical.
While there are many questions about implementation, Bluesky is not alone in thinking that society will benefit from a more decentralized social media ecosystem, with less power in the hands of a single person. minority prefer cash.
Evan Henshaw-Plath, the first employee of Odeo (which created Twitter), runs a “peer-to-peer social network” called Planetary that shares much in common with Bluesky; both are trying to increase the transparency of algorithms and allow people to control their personal data.
Henshaw-Plath predicts that Twitter will experiment heavily with Web3 and crypto-related projects under Musk, regardless of whether Bluesky plays the lead or not. “I’m not sure that’s a good thing,” he said, “but that’s certainly where most of the big changes will happen.”
Henshaw-Plath also said the acquisition could increase Bluesky’s chances of securing additional funding as Twitter is no longer “constrained by Wall Street,” and doubts that Dorsey could return to Twitter with some capacity. capabilities under Musk.
Henshaw-Plath said: “Once the AT Protocol is up and running, the aim is to enable a degree of interoperability between the Planetary and Bluesky networks, creating a kind of alliance driven by a desire to share that lifts the balance of power force beneficial to the user.
This is also the ambition of Stani Kulechov, the creator of Lens Protocol, a similar project that relies on users to store their own profiles to create decentralization — an alternative to the cloud-based model. by Bluesky. This approach, he said, “allows people to own their social capital” in terms of both their content and audience, and ensures social profiles “remain under the supervision and control of the public at all times. friend”.
But while efforts to reduce companies’ control over how people communicate should be celebrated, there are short-term dangers that need to be taken into account, said Brewster Kahle, creator of the Internet Archive and Internet Hall of Fame. “If decentralization gives more people local control over how they build their communities, that would be a good thing,” says Kahle. But the concern is that this lack of clarity on regulatory mechanisms under this new paradigm could lead to a sort of “freedom for all” Musk. speak he was determined to avoid. “In the short term, decentralization could mean no content moderation or spam controls at all, creating a louder megaphone for some,” Kahle added.
For this reason, Kahle says that using the right technology is paramount, but there are “warning signs of simple, tyrannical thinking” among those trying to innovate in the space. Social media can jeopardize the entire endeavor.
The realization of his vision of a fairer, more private, less adversarial social media experience is up to Musk, the “liberalist” and the world’s richest individual. If he decides not to, Bluesky will have to fly back to the nest to seek support elsewhere.
