June 13, 2023
3-4:30 p.m. Mountain Time
Free webinar

In the aftermath of a chaotic Twitter takeover, many people have moved away from centralized social media platforms to a new set of social platforms that are open-source, decentralized, and user-centered—like Bluesky, Mastodon, and Nostr. This shift highlights a pressing need for more trustworthy civic spaces. But civic-minded social platforms are nothing new. The advent of Open Social Media has been many years in the making.

This webinar presents some of Open Social Media's origin stories from speakers who have been involved in the development, culture, and communities of their platforms. We will explore how queer experiences and activist movements, for instance, have played a vital role in shaping the design and direction of emerging platforms.

Speakers:

Christine Lemmer-Webber (co-editor, ActivityPub)
Evan Henshaw-Plath (founder, Nos)
Golda Velez (co-founder, Bluesky)

Facilitated by Nathan Schneider and Skylar Hew.

Podcast: How does broadband policy affect our Internet access?

Our radio show, Looks Like New, airs across Colorado's Front Range on the fourth Thursday of every month on KGNU radio. Here's what we heard about back in April:

Many of us assume everyone has access to the Internet. In light of the last few years of global pandemic, however, we observed headlines about the unconnected and the issues that were created in social, work, and educational daily experiences.

Why are some Americans, especially in the rural Midwest flyover states, left without access or with incredibly slow Internet speed?

To answer these questions and explore policy failures, we speak with Dr. Christopher Ali, a Pioneers Chair in Telecommunications and Professor of Telecommunications at Penn State University. Dr. Ali’s research and advocacy work focus on exploring the lived experiences and the implications of broadband policy.

Open Social Media: Origin Stories

Podcast: How does broadband policy affect our Internet access?