The deplatforming of Trump and Parler was both the beginning and the end.
In a sense, it was the inevitable conclusion to years of disinformation on social media platforms. We finally found out what it would take for Twitter to ban the president.
More interesting, though, the new chapter that opened. Foreign leaders saw American companies hit the kill switch on their own president, then thought, “what could they do to us?”
Thus, the beginning of Internet 3.0 – according to Ben Thompson at Stratechery. Global leaders, in addition to companies everywhere, will want to establish technological sovereignty, taking their fate out of the hands of a few powerful platforms.
Some additional brainwaves here.
Happy birthday, Wikipedia!
The site turned 20 this week. It’s still not allowed in your bibliography, but compared to what you’ll find on social media, the crowdsourced info on Wikipedia is basically the word of God.
Founder Jimmy Wales talked to The Economist about his own “Big Tech” platform, the challenges of disinformation, and how he feels about Twitter banning Trump.
Here are my notes from the conversation.
More Questions
What are the risks of funding mental health startups with venture capital? (here)
How does the commodification of relationships influence our identity? (here)
What if you could de-escalate conversations on Twitter? (here)
Tweet of the Week
See you next week!
Mark