Ideas and concepts to help you understand how we got here and where we're going next.
Mar 27, 2026
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8 min read
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.
Mar 6, 2026
9 min read
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.
Feb 27, 2026
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.
Jan 16, 2026
10 min read
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.
Oct 17, 2025
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.
Oct 10, 2025
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.
Aug 8, 2025
7 min read
Get your schadenfreude fix (and some useful insights) from the blunders of a previous generation of tech leaders.
Jul 18, 2025
Two millennia ago, Plato called them “philosopher-kings.” Today, we call them “global heads of platform safety.” They are still not a good idea.
Jun 20, 2025
6 min read
Ideas from the dial-up era are holding us back today. We can do better.
