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Explainer

Ideas and concepts to help you understand how we got here and where we're going next.

How is your Instagram account like a hotel room?

Mar 27, 2026

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8 min read

How is your Instagram account like a hotel room?

Data in our online accounts should be protected from unreasonable search and seizure just like luggage in a hotel room, according to a new US Supreme Court amicus brief from Harvard’s Cyberlaw Clinic and an old Google colleague. This could be extended to expand ownership and data portability rights.

Explainer #6: How population growth forced democracy to evolve

Mar 6, 2026

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9 min read

Explainer #6: How population growth forced democracy to evolve

Democracies worldwide are struggling with the scale and velocity of the modern world, and online platforms are bigger than most countries. Looking at history shows that the size of a community changes democracy, but doesn't mean we need to abandon it.

Magna Carta proves we deserve the rule of law online. No, really.

Feb 27, 2026

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9 min read

Magna Carta proves we deserve the rule of law online. No, really.

Rabble’s Social Media Bill of Rights sent me down a rabbit hole to the grand-daddy of declarations – Magna Carta, issued in England by King John in 1215. Its most radical turn of phrase points the way to online democracy today.

Explainer #5: Is the Social Media Bill of Rights our new founding document?

Jan 16, 2026

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10 min read

Explainer #5: Is the Social Media Bill of Rights our new founding document?

Twitter’s first employee has written an inspiring manifesto for the social media we deserve. I run you through the basics: who Rabble is, what he’s up to, and what the Nostr social media protocol has to do with it.

Explainer #4: “Exit, Voice, and Loyalty” is why big tech platforms want you to leave

Oct 17, 2025

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8 min read

Explainer #4: “Exit, Voice, and Loyalty” is why big tech platforms want you to leave

A legendary economist and World War 2 badass tells us why heading to Bluesky or the Fediverse makes big platforms’ lives easier, and what it would take to convince you to stay and fight.

Explainer #3: The First Person Project could be the future of online identity

Oct 10, 2025

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10 min read

Explainer #3: The First Person Project could be the future of online identity

A new project with a long pedigree promises to put trust at the center of the Internet. I attempt to summarize their epic 80-page white paper in one post.

Five classic business books about tech failures to read after you finish “Yield”

Aug 8, 2025

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7 min read

Five classic business books about tech failures to read after you finish “Yield”

Get your schadenfreude fix (and some useful insights) from the blunders of a previous generation of tech leaders.

Explainer #2: Guardianship Is Why Tech Execs Think They Are Uniquely Qualified To Protect Communities

Jul 18, 2025

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8 min read

Explainer #2: Guardianship Is Why Tech Execs Think They Are Uniquely Qualified To Protect Communities

Two millennia ago, Plato called them “philosopher-kings.” Today, we call them “global heads of platform safety.” They are still not a good idea.

Explainer #1: “Implicit Feudalism” is why online communities feel like warring kingdoms

Jun 20, 2025

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6 min read

Explainer #1: “Implicit Feudalism” is why online communities feel like warring kingdoms

Ideas from the dial-up era are holding us back today. We can do better.

How tech companies became unelected governments and what to do about it, as told by a former Google executive.

© 2026 Jonathan Bellack.
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