Dot Social Architecting a New Era of Community, with Blacksky’s Rudy Fraser
May 20, 2025
Rudy Fraser, Founder and CEO of Blacksky and a fellow at Harvard's Berkman Klein Center, discusses the vision of a decentralized social media landscape where communities, not algorithms, are in control. He shares insights on building vibrant online communities and the importance of mutual aid, discussing how personal data servers can safeguard user identities. Fraser explores innovative moderation strategies to foster trust and emphasizes creative fundraising models to support community initiatives. His passion for empowering users shines through as he charts Blacksky's independent path.
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Community Controls Social Feeds
- Blacksky uses decentralization to let community, not corporations or algorithms, control social media feeds.
- Blacksky operates independently from Bluesky, charting a unique path in decentralized social media.
Mutual Aid Inspires Blacksky
- Rudy learned about mutual aid groups from community fridges and volunteer delivery efforts during the COVID pandemic.
- He connects these horizontal, voluntary organizations to the communal ethics behind Blacksky's community model.
Unbundling Social Media via Decentralization
- App protocol unbundles social media components across different organizations for decentralized control.
- Blacksky owns key infrastructure and uses volunteer moderation to build its curated community feed.