Entering a New Phase of the Web, with Citation Needed’s Molly White
May 16, 2024
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Cryptocurrency critic Molly White discusses the evolving web, highlighting optimism, blogging for all, digital ownership changes, and the POSSE model for content sharing. She explores identity frameworks, creator relationships, and sustainable funding models for online content.
Molly White sees the future web as more open and user-controlled despite critiquing crypto's impact.
White emphasizes the importance of ownership in digital content and enabling seamless interactions across platforms.
Deep dives
Molly White's Stance on Cryptocurrency and Web's Future
Molly White, a leading cryptocritic, expresses optimism about the web's future despite her skepticism about crypto's impact. Despite critiquing the financial focus of blockchains, she maintains optimism due to profound beliefs in the positive direction of the web. White's involvement with Wikipedia, her interest in the social web's transformations, blogging, and digital ownership reflect her deep-rooted positivity towards the web's evolution.
Shift Towards Alternative Social Media Platforms
White discusses notable negative shifts in social media and AI-generated content, leading to increased demand for new and authentic experiences. The rise of social media alternatives like Mastodon and platforms such as Blue Sky highlights a growing desire for diverse social networking options, steering away from traditional platforms like Twitter and Facebook.
Social Web and Its Intrinsic Relationship with the Web
White emphasizes the inextricable link between social interaction and the web, defining the fundamental nature of the web as inherently social. She acknowledges the diverse dynamics of social platforms, ranging from interactive forms like commenting and messaging to reader-publisher relationships.
Empowering Content Creation and Digital Ownership
White advocates for user-friendly models that facilitate content creation and distribution, envisioning a future where individuals can effortlessly engage with creators across various platforms. She stresses the importance of ownership in determining content accessibility and control, highlighting the significance of maintaining relationships and enabling seamless interactions beyond traditional platforms.
Molly White is a leading cryptocurrency critic, but get to know her and you’ll see she’s anything but cynical. In fact, this researcher, writer and software engineer cares so deeply about free and open access to high-quality information that she’s been a Wikipedia editor since she was a teenager.
Now Molly is the force behind the Citation Needed newsletter and the Web3IsGoingGreat site, and frequently speaks to journalists and makes media appearances. Despite tracking and writing about crypto’s shames, she is actually hopeful about how the internet is evolving in ways that are more open, collaborative, and in the user’s control.
In this interview, Molly shares her thoughts on how the social web is transforming our lives, why everyone should be a blogger, and how the concept of digital ownership is changing before our eyes. She also explains the POSSE model — Publish [on your] Own Site, Syndicate Elsewhere — which has the potential to revolutionize how we share digital content and think about our online identities.
Highlights of this conversation include:
Why Molly is optimistic about the future of the web
“Everyone is a blogger”
POSSE — Post on Own Site, Syndicate Elsewhere
New framework for identity on the web
Digital ownership and sovereignty
Enabling creators to build relationships that transcend platforms
Business models and public funding
🔎 You can find everything Molly’s posting via the POSSE implementation on her website at https://www.mollywhite.net/feed. She’s also on Mastodon at @molly0xfff@hachyderm.io.
✚ You can connect with Mike McCue on Mastodon at @mike@flipboard.social or via his Flipboard federated account, where you can see what he’s curating on Flipboard in the Fediverse, at @mike@flipboard.com
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