Latest news with #Nostr
Engadget
5 days ago
- Business
- Engadget
Jack Dorsey backs an open-source development collective with $10 million
Jack Dorsey has been back in the news lately after unveiling a pair of new apps he worked on, Bluetooth-based messenager Bitchat and UV exposure tracker Sun Day . The Block CEO put those together under the auspices of a new development collective called "and Other Stuff," a nonprofit that he is backing with a $10 million cash injection through his StartSmall foundation , as TechCrunch reports. The group plans to work on open-source projects, including ones that could become consumer social media apps, along with app-development tools. The developers met on Nostr, a social networking protocol Dorsey has also backed financially. The "and Other Stuff" collective aims to support Nostr's "transition from an experimental protocol to a widely adopted, sustainable ecosystem through collaborative growth and funding." In addition to Nostr projects, the collaborators plan to experiment with building tools based on the likes of ActivityPub — which powers Mastodon — and Cashu. That e-cash platform's creator, dubbed Calle, is part of the "and other Stuff" team alongside Twitter's first employee, Evan Henshaw-Plath. The projects that "and Other Stuff" has worked on so far include voice note app heynow, a private messenger app called White Noise and social community +chorus. They have also created Shakespeare, which is designed to help developers build Nostr-based social apps with AI. Dorsey has long fostered an interest in open-source protocols. In 2019, during his second stint as Twitter CEO, the company set up a team that was tasked with forming an open, decentralized standard for social media. Dorsey had hoped to eventually shift Twitter onto that protocol, but of course that didn't pan out. Instead, Twitter spun out that project — Bluesky — as a public benefit corporation in 2022. Last year, after leaving Bluesky's board, Dorsey claimed that the team there was "literally repeating all the mistakes" he made while running Twitter such as, uh, setting up moderation tools (which are, in reality, a critically important aspect of any successful social platform). On an episode of Henshaw-Plath's new podcast , Dorsey reiterated a point he had made previously, that Twitter was beholden to advertisers (an issue that X is contending with under Elon Musk's ownership ). "It's hard for something like [Twitter] to be a company, because you have corporate incentives when it wants to be a protocol," Dorsey said. "If [Twitter] were an open protocol, if it were truly an open project, you could build a business on top of it, and you could build a very healthy business on top of it." He was also once again critical of Bluesky's structure, adding that, "I want to push the energy in a different direction... which is more like Bitcoin, which is completely open and not owned by anyone from a protocol layer. That's what I see in Nostr as well. That's where I want to push my energy... rather into the more corporate direction, even if it is a public benefit corporation."
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Jack Dorsey pumps $10 million into a nonprofit focused on open-source social media
Twitter co-founder and Block CEO Jack Dorsey isn't just vibe-coding new social apps, like Bitchat and Sun Day, he has invested $10 million in an effort to fund experimental open source projects and other tools that could ultimately transform the social media landscape. These efforts are funneled through an online collective called 'and Other Stuff,' formed in May, whose team includes Dorsey; Twitter's first employee, Evan Henshaw-Plath; 'Calle,' creator of the e-cash platform Cashu; Alex Gleason, former engineering head at Truth Social; and Jeff Gardner, the fourth employee at Intercom. The group originally met through collaborating on Nostr, an open, 'apolitical' social networking protocol that has been receiving the bulk of Dorsey's attention since Twitter's sale to Elon Musk and his stepping down from social network Bluesky's board. However, the team will experiment with other tools, too, like ActivityPub, the protocol that powers the decentralized app Mastodon and others, as well as Cashu. In recent years, Dorsey has been more critical of how social media platforms have evolved, saying that Twitter should have never been a company and that Bluesky seemed to be repeating the mistakes he and others made at Twitter. As a result, the team at 'and Other Stuff' is determined not to build a company but is instead operating like a 'community of hackers,' explains Henshaw-Plath. Together, they're working to create technologies that could include new consumer social apps as well as various experiments, like developer tools or libraries, that would allow others to build apps for themselves. For instance, the team is behind an app called Shakespeare, which is like the app-building platform Lovable, but specifically for building Nostr-based social apps with AI assistance. The group is also behind heynow, a voice note app built on Nostr; Cashu wallet; private messenger White Noise; and the Nostr-based social community +chorus, in addition to the apps Dorsey has already released. Developments in AI-based coding have made this type of experimentation possible, Henshaw-Plath points out, in the same way that technologies like Ruby on Rails, Django, and JSON helped to fuel an earlier version of the web, dubbed Web 2.0. Related to these efforts, Henshaw-Plath sat down with Dorsey for the debut episode of his new podcast, with @rabble. (Henshaw-Plath's handle on X is @rabble.) Since Dorsey lives in Costa Rica and Henshaw-Plath lives in New Zealand, the two met up at a hackathon in Switzerland for the chat. In the nearly hour-long episode, Dorsey delves into Twitter's history as well as his philosophies around where social media went wrong and how it can be fixed. 'It took me a long time to realize this…I didn't really put it into words until I came back as CEO the second time. But it's hard for something like [Twitter] to be a company, because you have corporate incentives when it wants to be a protocol,' Dorsey says. He notes that Twitter was at the mercy of its advertisers — something Musk also faces despite taking Twitter, now called X, private. Musk has even threatened advertisers with lawsuits over ad boycotts driven by their concerns over X's lack of moderation and controversial comments Musk himself has made. While Dorsey understands that catering to advertisers was correct for the business and for Twitter's stock price, it was the 'wrong thing for the internet.' 'They can just remove the money — your money — and your revenue goes down completely,' Dorsey says of advertisers' power. 'So if [Twitter] were an open protocol, if it were truly an open project, you could build a business on top of it, and you could build a very healthy business on top of it.' Dorsey eventually funded an effort to build an open protocol inside Twitter, which later spun out to become Bluesky. But Dorsey believes Bluesky faces the same challenges as traditional social media because of its structure — it's funded by VCs, like other startups. Already, it has had to bow to government requests and faced moderation challenges, he points out. 'I think [Bluesky CEO] Jay [Graber] is great. I think the team is great,' Dorsey told Henshaw-Plath, 'but the structure is what I disagree with…I want to push the energy in a different direction, which is more like Bitcoin, which is completely open and not owned by anyone from a protocol layer. That's what I see in Nostr as well,' he says. 'That's where I want to push my energy…rather into the more corporate direction, even if it is a public benefit corporation,' Dorsey adds. In later episodes, Henshaw-Plath will interview others who have insight into how social media and tech have evolved, including journalists like Kara Swisher and Taylor Lorenz, former Twitter head of Trust & Safety Yoel Roth, Substack co-founder Chris Best, Medium CEO Tony Stubblebine, Cory Doctorow (who coined the term 'enshittification' to describe the state of much of the current web), and renowned misinformation researcher Renée DiResta. The team at 'and Other Stuff' is also working on a social media 'Bill of Rights,' says Henshaw-Plath, which spells out what social media platforms need to provide in areas like privacy, security, interoperability, transparency, identity, self-governance, and portability. This, they believe, will help platforms, including Bluesky and others, remain accountable to their users despite any outside pressure. Dorsey's initial investment has gotten the new nonprofit up and running, and he worked on some of its initial iOS apps. Meanwhile, others are contributing their time to build Android versions, developer tools, and different social media experiments. More is still in the works, says Henshaw-Plath. 'There are things that we're not ready to talk about yet that'll be very exciting,' he teases.
TechCrunch
6 days ago
- Business
- TechCrunch
Jack Dorsey pumps $10 million into a nonprofit focused on open-source social media
Twitter co-founder and Block CEO Jack Dorsey isn't just vibe-coding new social apps, like Bitchat and Sun Day, he has invested $10 million in an effort to fund experimental open source projects and other tools that could ultimately transform the social media landscape. These efforts are funneled through an online collective called 'and Other Stuff,' formed in May, whose team includes Dorsey; Twitter's first employee, Evan Henshaw-Plath; 'Calle,' creator of the e-cash platform Cashu; Alex Gleason, former engineering head at Truth Social; and Jeff Gardner, the fourth employee at Intercom. Image Credits:and Other Stuff The group originally met through collaborating on Nostr, an open, 'apolitical' social networking protocol that has been receiving the bulk of Dorsey's attention since Twitter's sale to Elon Musk and his stepping down from social network Bluesky's board. However, the team will experiment with other tools, too, like ActivityPub, the protocol that powers the decentralized app Mastodon and others, as well as Cashu. Image Credits:Cashu In recent years, Dorsey has been more critical of how social media platforms have evolved, saying that Twitter should have never been a company and that Bluesky seemed to be repeating the mistakes he and others made at Twitter. As a result, the team at 'and Other Stuff' is determined not to build a company but is instead operating like a 'community of hackers,' explains Henshaw-Plath. Together, they're working to create technologies that could include new consumer social apps as well as various experiments, like developer tools or libraries, that would allow others to build apps for themselves. For instance, the team is behind an app called Shakespeare, which is like the app-building platform Lovable, but specifically for building Nostr-based social apps with AI assistance. Image Credits:shakespeare The group is also behind heynow, a voice note app built on Nostr; Cashu wallet; private messenger White Noise; and the Nostr-based social community +chorus, in addition to the apps Dorsey has already released. Techcrunch event Tech and VC heavyweights join the Disrupt 2025 agenda Netflix, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital — just a few of the heavy hitters joining the Disrupt 2025 agenda. They're here to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don't miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch Disrupt, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech — grab your ticket now and save up to $675 before prices rise. Tech and VC heavyweights join the Disrupt 2025 agenda Netflix, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital — just a few of the heavy hitters joining the Disrupt 2025 agenda. They're here to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don't miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch Disrupt, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech — grab your ticket now and save up to $675 before prices rise. San Francisco | REGISTER NOW Developments in AI-based coding have made this type of experimentation possible, Henshaw-Plath points out, in the same way that technologies like Ruby on Rails, Django, and JSON helped to fuel an earlier version of the web, dubbed Web 2.0. Related to these efforts, Henshaw-Plath sat down with Dorsey for the debut episode of his new podcast, with @rabble. (Henshaw-Plath's handle on X is @rabble.) Since Dorsey lives in Costa Rica and Henshaw-Plath lives in New Zealand, the two met up at a hackathon in Switzerland for the chat. In the nearly hour-long episode, Dorsey delves into Twitter's history as well as his philosophies around where social media went wrong and how it can be fixed. 'It took me a long time to realize this…I didn't really put it into words until I came back as CEO the second time. But it's hard for something like [Twitter] to be a company, because you have corporate incentives when it wants to be a protocol,' Dorsey says. He notes that Twitter was at the mercy of its advertisers — something Musk also faces despite taking Twitter, now called X, private. Musk has even threatened advertisers with lawsuits over ad boycotts driven by their concerns over X's lack of moderation and controversial comments Musk himself has made. While Dorsey understands that catering to advertisers was correct for the business and for Twitter's stock price, it was the 'wrong thing for the internet.' 'They can just remove the money — your money — and your revenue goes down completely,' Dorsey says of advertisers' power. 'So if [Twitter] were an open protocol, if it were truly an open project, you could build a business on top of it, and you could build a very healthy business on top of it.' Dorsey eventually funded an effort to build an open protocol inside Twitter, which later spun out to become Bluesky. But Dorsey believes Bluesky faces the same challenges as traditional social media because of its structure — it's funded by VCs, like other startups. Already, it has had to bow to government requests and faced moderation challenges, he points out. 'I think [Bluesky CEO] Jay [Graber] is great. I think the team is great,' Dorsey told Henshaw-Plath, 'but the structure is what I disagree with…I want to push the energy in a different direction, which is more like Bitcoin, which is completely open and not owned by anyone from a protocol layer. That's what I see in Nostr as well,' he says. 'That's where I want to push my energy…rather into the more corporate direction, even if it is a public benefit corporation,' Dorsey adds. In later episodes, Henshaw-Plath will interview others who have insight into how social media and tech have evolved, including journalists like Kara Swisher and Taylor Lorenz, former Twitter head of Trust & Safety Yoel Roth, Substack co-founder Chris Best, Medium CEO Tony Stubblebine, Cory Doctorow (who coined the term 'enshittification' to describe the state of much of the current web), and renowned misinformation researcher Renée DiResta. The team at 'and Other Stuff' is also working on a social media 'Bill of Rights,' says Henshaw-Plath, which spells out what social media platforms need to provide in areas like privacy, security, interoperability, transparency, identity, self-governance, and portability. This, they believe, will help platforms, including Bluesky and others, remain accountable to their users despite any outside pressure. Dorsey's initial investment has gotten the new nonprofit up and running, and he worked on some of its initial iOS apps. Meanwhile, others are contributing their time to build Android versions, developer tools, and different social media experiments. More is still in the works, says Henshaw-Plath. 'There are things that we're not ready to talk about yet that'll be very exciting,' he teases.
Business Mayor
17-05-2025
- Business
- Business Mayor
Nostr In 2025 Is A Lot Like Bitcoin In 2012
I recently sat down with Vitor Pomplona, creator of Nostr client Amethyst, to discuss how Nostr in 2025 is a lot like what Bitcoin was like in 2012 — a bit rough around the edges, but exciting to use. Nostr, a decentralized protocol for social media and other forms of communication, is only four years old, and developers are still figuring out how to create the best possible user experience within the clients they've created. These clients include apps like Primal (which is comparable to X) to Olas (which is like Instagram) to Yakihonne (which is similar to Substack). What's unique about Nostr clients, though, is that users can 'zap' (send small amounts of) bitcoin to one another to show appreciation for the content their fellow users have created. And Pomplona is optimistic that more and more Nostr clients are starting to gain traction, just as Bitcoin began to do so 13 years ago. 'We are starting to see communities being formed and more money being transferred,' Pamplona told Bitcoin Magazine in the interview. Pomplona acknowledged that part of the purpose of social media is to enable means for users to monetize what they create in ways that they can't do in their physical environment. '[Some social media] users want to earn a living,' said Pomplona. 'They have hope that they can achieve more with social media than they can alone or in their cities.' Pamplona believes that Nostr clients can help transform that hope into a reality, and it's his mission to help users do this. 'That is our end goal: If we can get creators to the point where they can earn a living, we will win as a platform.' This potential for users to earn a living with Nostr becomes greater everyday, especially as the Nostr user base expands and it continues to grow as the largest bitcoin circular economy in the world. In creating Amethyst, Pamplona had a vision for a Nostr client that served as an all-in-one app, which was inspired by a plan similar to the one that Elon Musk had for X (formerly Twitter). 'Amethyst came in at the same time that Elon was talking about buying Twitter,' explained Pomplona. 'He was like let's make a mega app out of Twitter, and I went for the same thing.' While Pomplona understands that Amethyst didn't quite achieve this, he's excited that it's come to play a different role. It serves as a lab for people who are developing new Nostr clients. 'Amethyst is helping everybody kickstart their own applications,' he said. 'Olas came from Amethyst.' Pomplona sees Nostr as a great way to onboard people to Bitcoin, though he doesn't think this should be the primary goal of Nostr clients. 'The main goal for [Nostr] apps is to get people to do their thing — to get people to be creative, or to talk to their friends or to have a chat with their family,' explained Pomplona. 'No app should ever talk about either Nostr or Bitcoin. They should just be what they are,' he added. Pamplona believes that, after some time, the app's users will inevitably start to learn about Nostr's self-sovereignty Nostr provides when it comes to users being able to control their own data and about Bitcoin. '[They'll realize that] it just so happens that the platform helps them to manage their own data, and use best payment protocol we have today.' And he highlighted that most new users are coming to Nostr because of the freedom and censorship resistance it offers. 'In the past two years, most of the new Nostr users came in because of freedom, because of some censorship in their country,' said Pomplona. 'And they learned about Bitcoin after that.'
Forbes
14-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Bitcoin Is An Unique Threat To Apple And Google's Business Model
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 23: Google CEO Sundar Pichai (L) and Apple CEO Tim Cook (R) listen as U.S. ... More President Joe Biden speaks during a roundtable with American and Indian business leaders in the East Room of the White House on June 23, 2023 in Washington, DC. Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held the meeting to meet with a range of leaders from the tech and business worlds and to discuss topics including innovation and AI. (Photo by) The tech titans that rule the Internet have many ways to maintain power. One way is to create effective monopolies of their app ecosystems - making them the guardians of what apps people can access when buying devices from Apple or Google. This power is more insidious than most people realize - for example, Apple will take down apps at the request of state powers such as the Chinese Communist Party and the Indian government fairly frequently. In essence, Apple and Google offer a perfect chokepoint for countries worldwide to shape the Internet according to their censorship. Bitcoin offers a hedge against this deal-making system with countries while tech titans sit on piles of cash. For example, Proton's CEO Andy Yen offers a privacy-protecting set of independent tools that aim to be independent of both Apple and Google's power - and has made the point that Apple has essentially signed a "deal with the devil." By concentrating manufacturing in China, Apple is at China's mercy whenever the country wants an app taken down. Proton has also recently moved to become a company that accepts Bitcoin and offers a wallet that allows others to use Bitcoin. The Nostr app Damus is another illustrative example. Nostr is a decentralized social media app where you can take your private key and decide which client you want to use to access the content created on the network. Nostr, like Bitcoin, is structured as a protocol and not a platform. While human teams/CEOs are building parts of the ecosystem, the protocol itself is uncensorable by any individual group. By implementing the ability to do Nostr zaps, which amount to Bitcoin micro-payments, this model poses a dual threat to Apple and Google - by creating an independent option to get payments that don't need to be subject to onerous developer fees. This independence of payments threatens the monopoly and state-platform relationship that drives today's app stores. In interviewing Will, the founder of Damus in the Apple app ecosystem, he noted that the ability of control Apple has can stifle developer innovation ironically. Not only can Apple review apps at their discretion, but they can also review and set strict regulations for how an app performs - Damus was hit with a randomly targeted review where it was stipulated that zaps sent within the app had to be subject to different rules - for example, you can only send zaps to a single person. It has to be structured as a tip after the content. Apple threatened to take down the Damus app in 14 days if it didn't remove the "Zap" button that allows users to send Bitcoin payments to each other. Will also notes that there's no way to support the developers directly, unlike in the Android world - where, for example, another Nostr client provider, Amethyst, allows for donations directly to the developers. As Will notes, getting support for developers directly from users would be amazing for Damus' ability to innovate. As he puts it, "Apple is effectively limiting our innovation just basically, so they have control over the payment system." Will notes that he's okay with Apple integrating Bitcoin and Lightning Network and taking a cut - but a choice of Apple also means wrapping into the legacy financial system along with control. The Google Play Store suffers from similar themes - though Damus is moving to the broader Android ecosystem, with options beyond the Play Store to release content and innovation. Bitcoin represents a change from the old financial order - and as companies like Apple and Google navigate Bitcoin's implications, it's clear that Bitcoin's ability to empower developer innovation and to allow people to pay each other peer-to-peer is something both app stores will struggle to control.
